discussion Favorite Means of Anonymity

[chronicidyll]

Any recommended favorite tools for remaining anonymous while still contributing to communities you love?

What are your favorite OSs, browsers, search engines, payment methods, etc... for remaining anonymous on-line?

 

[User_80256]

Win10, Epic Privacy Browser, DuckDuckGo, prefer chinese VPN.
And one axiom: anonymity on the internet is a fantasy for youth. It doesn't exist.

 

[baumeb5]

Win10, Epic Privacy Browser, DuckDuckGo, prefer chinese VPN.
And one axiom: anonymity on the internet is a fantasy for youth. It doesn't exist.

Why a chinese vpn? That seems strange.

 

[misaki002]

Win10, Epic Privacy Browser, DuckDuckGo, prefer chinese VPN.
And one axiom: anonymity on the internet is a fantasy for youth. It doesn't exist.

As he said anonymity on the internet is nearly impossible. I personally dont use any special tools but i dont use the same browser, (even most of the times) computer and ofc emails for porn related things as i do for other stuff

 

[User_80256]

Why a chinese vpn? That seems strange.

Yes, Red China. Have you ever wondered how Chinese users upload videos to YouTube? Technically, VPNs are forbidden there, but if you really want to, you can.

 

[baumeb5]

I know they are using VPN to get data out of china, but you smuggle data into china?

 

[NuclearSpeck]

As @Enot1964 mentioned, anonymity is relative – especially if your threat model includes an opponent that has the means to overcome the obstacles you put in the way.

OS:
I use a Linux distribution myself but if you really are paranoid about security, you could use an OS like Qubes OS, but that in turn will also require a somewhat decent computer to run the virtual machines inside of it. I have not tried Qubes OS myself so far but I guess that one would probably run into few issues when one wants to play regular (Windows) games with it due to virtualization.

Browser:
The Tor browser would probably the best choice but has the drawback that it might be slow, sites might straight up block you, or you will waste time of your life solving CAPTCHA.

Search engine:
Personally, I also use DuckDuckGo as a search engine most of the time.


Keep in mind that even when you use all the tools available to you, one can still run a profile on how you act (i. e. time of day being active) or write for instance.

 

[ScAeX]

For me
OS: Win10 for now
Browser: brave browser
Sengine: DuckDuckGo most of time.

 

[chronicidyll]

Win10, Epic Privacy Browser, DuckDuckGo, prefer chinese VPN.
And one axiom: anonymity on the internet is a fantasy for youth. It doesn't exist.

VPNs are a whole other topic. Which ones can truly be trusted for anonymity?

 

[chronicidyll]

As @Enot1964 mentioned, anonymity is relative – especially if your threat model includes an opponent that has the means to overcome the obstacles you put in the way.

OS:
I use a Linux distribution myself but if you really are paranoid about security, you could use an OS like Qubes OS, but that in turn will also require a somewhat decent computer to run the virtual machines inside of it. I have not tried Qubes OS myself so far but I guess that one would probably run into few issues when one wants to play regular (Windows) games with it due to virtualization.

Browser:
The Tor browser would probably the best choice but has the drawback that it might be slow, sites might straight up block you, or you will waste time of your life solving CAPTCHA.

Search engine:
Personally, I also use DuckDuckGo as a search engine most of the time.


Keep in mind that even when you use all the tools available to you, one can still run a profile on how you act (i. e. time of day being active) or write for instance.

I gave Qubes a try, but the resource requirements were a bit much. Would it really offer much over just using a live OS?

Tor's a great choice, but definitely often frustrating.