Online Privacy

[STATUS] Information Gathering

• Add the WHY
• Add the WHAT (traffic analysis / eavesdropping + paradox of using crypto vs. being swallowed up in the crowd)
• Then the HOWTO

Introduction and Objectives

As the War On Terror (Wo0T!) threatens citizenship and turns everyone into a Potential Terrorist, as corporations build and trade customer files, individual privacy fades away, as well as the individual status of human being. Neither you nor I want to become a citizen-slave nor turn our lives into a statistical record, lest you want to be a number. As free men, we much prefer fostering technology to protect our privacy and make our conversations secure and protected from the prying eye of wannabe-Big-Brothers.

This guide will set you free ;o) After following its guidelines, you'll be operating a Debian/GNU/Linux box with encrypted filesystem and swap, anonymized connections, always-on and encrypted email service and encrypted Instant Messaging: something that terrorists should use, but that law enforcement do not cover, as its aim is not to chase terrorists but restrict civil liberties. Anyway, the instructions here are made for Debian GNU/Linux, but could be adapted to any flavor of *nix or even the other OS with some patience and dedication. Feel free to incorporate your platform-specific annotations!

Overview

First, we'll need to install a basic Debian/GNU/Linux system. Then we'll secure it a bit, and encrypt the filesystem and swap so that we get a really secure box. This step can be skipped if you don't want that level of security: the following steps will still work on a clear filesystem. Once there, we'll install some applications (email, web browser, IM...) and secure them.

Install Debian/GNU/Linux

Minimal OS Configuration

Encrypting the Filesystem

As you may know, most of security threats come from internal attacks: people spying on the same network, or trying to get a hand on your box.

Install a Desktop :)

You don't need one, but you crave for the colorful background, the transparent consoles, Firefox and VLC :)

Anonymization

• http://www.onion-router.net/
  • http://www.onion-router.net/Summary.html#Problem
• http://shellscripts.org/project/toraliases (Alias your apps in Bash to use tor)

Secure Email Anywhere

• http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/RemailingAndTor

Secure Instant Messaging

• http://www.stanford.edu/~amo/otr_analysis.pdf

Anonymous Publication Online

• http://www.crime-research.org/articles/2110
• one-shot using news, etc.
• hidden service (.onion)
• anonymous blogging (http://invisiblog.com/)