IT Security Stack Exchange
IT Security Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [anonymity]

The state of being anonymous. Meaning: not identified by name and not having outstanding, individual, or unusual features that enable identification.

The state of being anonymous. Meaning: not identified by name and not having outstanding, individual, or unusual features that enable identification.

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Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

On some accounts I use my real name on-line (Google+/Facebook/Wikipedia/personal blog), others (Q&A/Gaming) I use an alias. My question is: Security and privacy wise, what can people do with my real name? What are the dangers of using your real name…
blade19899
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How can someone go off-web, and anonymise themselves after a life online?

With data mining tools like Maltego and other correlation tools for large data sets, if we conduct any transactions online assume that these can all be collated to build a good picture of what we do, buy, read etc (hence Google etc). If a normal…
Rory Alsop
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Best Practice: ”separate ssh-key per host and user“ vs. ”one ssh-key for all hosts“

Is it better to create a separate SSH key for each host and user or just using the id_rsa key for all hosts to authenticate? Could one id_rsa be malpractice for the privacy/anonymity policies? having one ssh-key for all…
static
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How much can I trust Tor?

How much can I depend on Tor for anonymity? Is it completely secure? My usage is limited to accessing Twitter and Wordpress. I am a political activist from India and I do not enjoy the freedom of press like the Western countries do. In the event my…
Freedom
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Why is it difficult to catch "Anonymous" or "Lulzsec" (groups)?

I'm not security literate, and if I was, I probably wouldn't be asking this question. As a regular tech news follower, I'm really surprised by the outrage of Anonymous (hacker group), but as a critical thinker, I'm unable to control my curiosity to…
claws
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Is changing pitch enough for anonymizing a person's voice?

In every TV program where there's a person that wants to remain anonymous, they change their voice in a way that to me sounds like a simple increase or decrease in pitch (frequencies). What I'm wondering is: is the usual anonymizing method actually…
reed
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Best practices for Tor use, in light of released NSA slides

It has been known in the security community that a tool as versatile as Tor is likely the target of intense interest from intelligence agencies. While the FBI has admitted responsibility for a Tor malware attack, the involvement of SIGINT…
nitrl
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What is torrent encryption and does it make my traffic anonymous?

This question is inspired by this article (in Russian) about a website called I Know What You Download. From what I understand, they scan the DHT networks and display torrents that any given IP participated in, and although it is sometimes…
Gallifreyan
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How to publish scanned documents anonymously?

I was thinking of the following question for a long time and did not find a lot of material* in the web and nothing at all on Security.SE. I think its a very interesting question as it covers different anonymization measures (or counter measures to…
Robert
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Differences between using Tor browser and VPN

I can't quite figure out the differences between using the Tor browser and using a VPN (like concretely proXPN). From what I understand the idea is the same, that they both hide the IP address. The only difference that I can see is that Tor seems…
Thomas
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Tell browser my site has no scripts

I have created a Tor hidden service site which has absolutely no JavaScript or other types of client side scripts. The page is HTML, CSS, images, and some JSP for handling user input. I encourage users to use NoScript, however many times users do…
k1308517
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Why does one need a high level of privacy/anonymity for legal activities?

This question is sort-of spun off of a previous one. Why do law-abiding citizens need strong security? There are a lot of great security-focused answers there. However, I think the true question that is brought up is more about privacy and…
Iszi
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How would two people with burner phones communicate?

According to Edward Snowden in this tweet... Phones used in real-world ops are disposed on a per-action, or per-call basis. Lifetimes of minutes, hours. Not days. Let's imagine for a moment that I'm Jason Bourne. I've stopped by the kiosk in…
Roger Lipscombe
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Anonymity on Facebook - how do they suggest people I should know?

I want to know how Facebook discovers the people who you know in real life or who know you. I tried the following to see if Facebook can still discover my acquaintances in real life and suggest them to me as a friend. I connected using a VPN (an…
Neon Flash
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How can I make payments on the Internet without leaving a money trail?

For someone who values anonymity and privacy, what is the recommended way to pay on the Internet? Example: To buy a domain or a VPN or another service I know that we can use cryptocurrencies, but at some point, you need to buy cryptocurrency using a…
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