This blog will be used as a very deep dive into staying anonymous in everything you do. This is not meant to be followed in every aspect. But servers as a guide on how to be untraceable and unnoticeable. Pick what would be most relevant to you
How do they acquire your identity?
First to know how to stay anonymous online you have to know how they get your identity. The main way websites and businesses do this online is through KYC which is also know as Know Your Customer. This was implemented into law after the 9/11 attacks as part of the Patriot Act. Its main purpose is to stop money laundering, identity theft and financial fraud. When you are identified all of the smart companies link an ip address to your name, while not required by law this useful for them because they can identify you with out they need of you telling them. Once you are identified with one company they can then sell that information to other companies.
They can also also identify you through your email that you give them which almost every website, business and social media sight makes you give to use their service. The last way they keep track of you is through your phone number. Giving away your phone number to these companies should be avoided because most people don’t change their number often at all.
When you connect to to a website there is a bunch of static information that you are revealing by not covering it by a VPN. Such as your location, the DNS servers you are routing through, Internet provider, operating system, plugins, and lastly the search engine you are using.
This type of information can also be used by hackers to steal your identity and gain access to your system and use it for bad actions.
What are you revealing right now?
We use IP Leak to show what the internet sees when we connect to websites. This tool is very useful and should be bookmarked. This tool gathers as much information as your connection reveals and shows you what you are revealing. All of this information a company or website can use against you.
How to be anonymous
Starting from a clean slate. You are going to buy a laptop but you don’t want any of your personal information to ever come into contact with it.
First when you buy this laptop you can not be looking for a main stream laptop that everyone uses. You have to go in the weeds and find something that is entirely controlled and adjustable by you. When I say entirely controlled and adjustable by you I mean this laptop must have functions that are not just software enabled but hardware enabled. A camera that has a switch to cover it or disconnect from the computer itself. Another switch that disconnects wifi antenna from the computer. These features all can be disabled from the software side on any computer. But this can be messed with if someone was able to gain access to your computer remotely.
When you find this laptop you now have to buy it. If you are buying it in person just pay for it in cash. If you are buying it online this process is a little bit more of a hassle. You first have to go to any store that sells prepaid gifts cards like Visa and pay for these prepaid cards with cash. If your laptop is over 500 dollars which is most likely the case then prepaid gifts cards wont work because they only go up to 500 dollars. Your best option is to find the laptop online that is in stock at a store like BestBuy then pay in cash.
Alias
In every single account you make online you should be using an Alias which allows you to use companies services without the ability to reveal your identity.
You need an Email. This should be created with out any backup accounts. We use Proton Mail and allows end to end encryption on all messages you send and receive. You can now use this email to sign up for any website, social media platform or service without ever revealing any details about you keeping you entirely anonymous. Many people use Proton Mail to sign up to Reddit or Instagram.
Cryptocurrency
With the rise of crypto coins there are a lot of good options to being able to pay for services anonymously. Bitcoin is the best so far being secure and completely anonymous in the relative sense that there is never a name tied to a wallet. As the government is cracking down on this anonymous payment system trying to put a name to transactions it is still viable to pay for services anonymously online without the need for credit cards. Bitcoin should be used to pay for services when the option is available
Operating System
Its important to note when you boot up your new laptop you need to make sure all the security features are enabled and you know what each of them does before connecting to the internet. Sometimes Microsoft OS can reveal some things about your PC/ Laptop that would harm you online.
MAC address
Now whats the point of going through the hassle of paying for a laptop in all cash? If you are truly trying to have full anonymity with a presence online then you have to go all the way. All devices come with a MAC address which is unique to any other computer. So if you want to be totally disconnected from this MAC address by name then you can’t use credit cards or debit cards which connect your name to every purchase.
Connection
You need a secure connection. This can be achieved through a VPN you can either pay for the service or build your own which we have detailed article on how to do. If you pay for the VPN service with someone like NordVPN it is best to pay yearly for the price discount and no recurring payments. This allows you to pay with a prepaid card which has no connection to your name. Keeping you anonymous.
Browser
The browser is one of the most crucial parts of a being anonymous. Almost all browsers take information about you and use it for their profit. Tor browser is a great browser to use when surfing the internet because it give you a secure connection with out anyone knowing who you are and is fully open source. This browser does have a downside of being a little slow because it employs a special protocol that transfers your connection over many different computers before leaving to the real web. Brave is also a very good secure and transparent browser that many people are starting. to use.
If you are don’t want to download a new browser it is always best to use the private browser when searching for things because this does not save cookies or any search history.
Messaging
If you are trying to message securely online there is an app called Signal. Signal is widely regarded as one of the best apps to communicate securely with know one online able to access. Its is an open-source protocol that secures your message end to end with encryption. Apps like WhatsApp are not secure as you may think and should be avoided at all cost.
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