Reducing Your Digital Footprint - Are you being tracked? How to avoid it?

[W4GPL]

Hey y'all. Charles iPhone tracking thread me think it might be a fun idea to talk about what you can do to make it more difficult to be tracked by governments, corporations, and network voyeurs. I'm not paranoid, but they are out to get me. :shifty: Some of these suggestions are obvious, some are obscure, and others may be ineffective, but just make me feel better.

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Cookies - Mmm, cookies. Cookies aren't always evil, in fact, they're usually not. They often store login information and user web site settings so you don't have to re-input information next time you visit a website. However they can be used as a tool to track how often you visit a website and thus develop a usage profile about you and anyone who might use that same web browser install.

What I do is simple. I keep the cookies I want and delete the rest every time I close the web browser. The result is that sites I use regularly don't require any extra effort to login/setup next time I visit.

Google Chrome/Chromium has a very nice 'Extension' for cookie management called Vanilla -- it can be downloaded here: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/gieohaicffldbmiilohhggbidhephnjj

Firefox thankfully has very nice cookie management by default. You'll see I have it set to delete cookies every time I close Firefox, but whitelist certain domains.

http://heliosj.iddings.us/images/firefox-privacy.png

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/2534644455_4cb78c0d2c.jpg

Yes, Cookie Monster, delete cookies. Remember -- your web browser is not the only application to have cookies. Cookies can be found in Adobe's Flash Player, Microsoft Windows Media Player, and other applications. In fact, even sites that do not have Flash are starting to use Flash cookies simply because they are often overlooked by the average user. To make sure you're getting all these pesky little files tucked away all over your computer, I recommend CCleaner for Windows users. It can be found here: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

More to come..

[W4GPL]

'Anonymous Browsing' -- If you're really paranoid, you can use an application called 'Tor'. Tor is a network of servers throughout the Internet that allow you to access sites while proxying through someone else's connection. Tor and it's companion utilities can be found here: http://torproject.org

Accessing other sites thru Tor can be very slow, thus it's not something you'll want to use every day. But if you're looking to buy a small arsenal for your next Tea Party gathering, this is the application for you.

Make your dynamic IP address a little more dynamic. Most of us are on cable or DSL connections and though our IP addresses are sold as dynamic, they often stick with us for many weeks, months, and even years. This allows both your provider and the sites you access to track you via IP address. Force an IP address change as often as you feel is prudent. This can usually be done by changing the MAC address and/or hostname of the WAN side of your router.

Secure Searching? -- Try using Google Scrubbers like Scroogle when searching. Essentially Scroogle performs the search for you and hides your IP information from prying eyes. Great site, really -- much faster than the /enhanced/ Google main page -- https://ssl.scroogle.org/

http://donottrack.us/ -- both Chrome and Firefox have implemented this feature. It requires that website honor your request, but it's a good start.

Encryption -- encrypt everything! You may also know 'encryption' as SSL. If and when a website ever gives you the option to use SSL, take it. SSL encrypts the site between you and your browser/application making it more difficult for people to view your data stream. Almost all Internet protocols have an SSL option -- web, e-mail, etc. Use it. Seriously. :)

This also means encrypting your storage device (hard drive/memory stick/etc). If you lose your laptop or phone, imagine how much personal information is stored on that thing. At the very least be sure to use a utility to encrypt your /home partition (or C:\Users|C:\Documents & Settings for Windows users). There are many tools to achieve encryption, though I use dm-crypt/luks in Linux, which is compatible with Linux, Mac, and Windows.

[W4GPL]

Gotta run for now, those are the most basic and obvious ones.. what do you do to avoid Big Brother? ;) I'll post some more silly ideas later.

[N2NH]

Thank you, it's appreciated. Using a Mac here so I'm hoping someone has information on that platform.

[KC2UGV]

Thank you, it's appreciated. Using a Mac here so I'm hoping someone has information on that platform.

On a Mac, if you use Firefox, you can run in "Protected Mode", which takes care of cleaning up tracks left :)

Friends don't let friends use IE or Safari :)

[W4GPL]

Use IPv6 -- wait, what? -- IPv6 is being completely overlooked right now by almost everyone, especially dinosaur administrators who stopped learning new things when HTML 4.0 was introduced. Establish connectivity with IPv6 and encourage your favorite websites to hurry up and make the transition. Security through obscurity never hurt anyone.

[W4GPL]

Wireless (WiFi) users - are you using WPA2 with a 64 character password? -- If not, why not?

Stuck on a public network at the airport or a hotel? Use a VPN to establish a secure tunnel. I'm doing this right now from the grand luxury LaQuinta Inn. :roll: This will prevent prying eyes from seeing your data. One of my most favorite things is to sit in an airport terminal and... well, let's just say you should be using a VPN on public wireless networks. ;)

www.linuxtg.com (LTG) offers VPN tunnels for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Contact sales for more information. (shameless plug alert)

[VE7DCW]

O.k. .....i'll be the first one to say it...... paranoia will destroy 'ya ..... how come I can't get so excited about the fact that "big brother" may have the capability of tracking my every move? Oh well ....i'll just nod ....and smile ...... :yes:

[n6hcm]

like so many things, the practical bit is somewhere in between.

[PA5COR]

I have a HTC TytN 2 so i'm not worried ;)

[W3MIV]

You may defeat crooks and pirates, but if the gummint wants to know, they will use avenues you cannot plug without shutting down. In any game of "us versus them," the thems can always win. They have "allies" that cannot afford to turn them down.

[N1LAF]

Gotta run for now, those are the most basic and obvious ones.. what do you do to avoid Big Brother? ;) I'll post some more silly ideas later.

More... more...

[KC2UGV]

You may defeat crooks and pirates, but if the gummint wants to know, they will use avenues you cannot plug without shutting down. In any game of "us versus them," the thems can always win. They have "allies" that cannot afford to turn them down.

The government can not crack a vast number of methods. AES256 encryption, Symetric Encryption, among other methods, such as skewing the statistical norms of analysis.

There are ways to keep the government from looking over your shoulder. I recommend reading "Little Brother" for some insight on how this "could" work.

[KC2UGV]

More... more...

TOR + Privoxy is a huge start...

[n2ize]

This also means encrypting your storage device (hard drive/memory stick/etc). If you lose your laptop or phone, imagine how much personal information is stored on that thing. At the very least be sure to use a utility to encrypt your /home partition (or C:\Users|C:\Documents & Settings for Windows users). There are many tools to achieve encryption, though I use dm-crypt/luks in Linux, which is compatible with Linux, Mac, and Windows.

When I reinstalled Linux I opted to encrypt my /home partition and my /mnt/volume1 partition which is where I store volumes of ddata, media, etc. Hoiwever, the encryption only helps in the event someone physically steals my computer or drive. But it ddesn;t matter if I am already logged in and the system up and running. At that point anyone accessing the maching can read any files on the encrypted volume. I would say encrypt things like removable drives that can be easily lost or stolen. That way one cnanot simply read them and copy whats on the,.

[W4GPL]

But it doesn't matter if I am already logged in and the system up and running. At that point anyone accessing the maching can read any files on the encrypted volume.Right.. I mostly included data encryption in the list, because potentially a LEO could dump your phone/laptop/memory stick -- and if that was to happen, go right ahead.. look luck cracking that.

You should also encrypt your swap partition, technically. Lots of goodies can be found in your memory's cache.

[N1LAF]

Also, running a browser in a VMware window works well too.

[w6tmi]

Wireless (WiFi) users - are you using WPA2 with a 64 character password? -- If not, why not?

Stuck on a public network at the airport or a hotel? Use a VPN to establish a secure tunnel. I'm doing this right now from the grand luxury LaQuinta Inn. :roll: This will prevent prying eyes from seeing your data. One of my most favorite things is to sit in an airport terminal and... well, let's just say you should be using a VPN on public wireless networks. ;)

www.linuxtg.com (LTG) offers VPN tunnels for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Contact sales for more information. (shameless plug alert)

Why use something outside. I use openvpn into my own linux host. :)