Internet Survival Guide 2016

Internet_Survival_Guide_-_2016

User Manual:

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2016 Internet Survival Guide

An Edited Guide of How to Stay Safe on the Internet

By: DADOES

PREFACE..........................................................................................................................................................................12

ADECLARATIONOFTHEINDEPENDENCEOFCYBERSPACE...............................................................................................13

GOVERNMENTCORRUPTIONANDYOURRIGHTSTOPRIVACY,ENCRYPTION,FREEDOM,ANDPEACEOFMIND.............15

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................................15

GOVERNMENTINFRINGEMENTONPRIVACY..................................................................................................................................16

METADATA.............................................................................................................................................................................23

MANINTHEMIDDLE(MITM)....................................................................................................................................................24

YOURRIGHTSTOPRIVACY.........................................................................................................................................................24

WHYNOTWINDOWS–....................................................................................................................................................27

RESTRICTIONS.........................................................................................................................................................................27

THESMALLPRINTINTHECONTRACT.............................................................................................................................................27

THEMEANINGBEHIND..............................................................................................................................................................28

MOREDETAILSONRESTRICTIONS................................................................................................................................................28

POORSUPPORTFOROPENSTANDARDS.........................................................................................................................................29

STANDARDSTHATCHANGEALLTHETIME......................................................................................................................................29

DEFAULTPROGRAMSYOUCAN'TUNINSTALL..................................................................................................................................30

MONOPOLISTICPRACTICES.........................................................................................................................................................30

WHATABOUTSOURCECODE?....................................................................................................................................................30

INSECURITYMEANSBUSINESS.....................................................................................................................................................31

YOUCANTRUSTFREESOFTWARE.................................................................................................................................................31

PROFESSORNORMMATLOFF’SBEGINNER’SGUIDETOINSTALLINGANDUSINGLINUX..................................................32

1BACKGROUNDNEEDED...........................................................................................................................................................32

2INSTALLTOWHERE?..............................................................................................................................................................32

3WHICHLINUXDISTRIBUTIONISBEST?......................................................................................................................................32

4INSTALLATION.......................................................................................................................................................................33

4.1TheShortAnswer.....................................................................................................................................................33

4.2InstallingLinuxtoaUSBKeyorExternalHardDrive................................................................................................33

4.2.1InstallationMethodI(forSlaxLinux)....................................................................................................................33

4.2.2OtherMethods......................................................................................................................................................34

5POSTINSTALLATIONCONFIGURATION.......................................................................................................................................34

5.1ConfiguringYourSearchPath(“Whycan’tIrunmya.out?”)..................................................................................34

5.2ConfiguringaPrinter................................................................................................................................................34

5.3SwitchingfromGNOME/UbuntuUnity....................................................................................................................34

5.4ConfiguringKDE/GNOMEforConvenientWindowOperations................................................................................35

5.4.1AutoraiseEtc.........................................................................................................................................................35

6SOMEPOINTSONLINUXUSAGE...............................................................................................................................................35

6.0.2UbuntuRootOperations.......................................................................................................................................35

6.1MoreonShells/TerminalWindows..........................................................................................................................36

6.2CutandPasteWindowOperations..........................................................................................................................36

6.3MountingOtherPeripheralDevices.........................................................................................................................36

6.3.1MountPoints.........................................................................................................................................................36

6.3.2UsingUSBDevices.................................................................................................................................................37

7LINUXAPPLICATIONSSOFTWARE..............................................................................................................................................37

7.1GUIVs.TextBased...................................................................................................................................................37

7.2MyFavoriteUnix/LinuxApps....................................................................................................................................38

7.2.1TextEditing............................................................................................................................................................38

7.2.2WebBrowsingandJava........................................................................................................................................38

7.2.3HTMLEditing.........................................................................................................................................................38

7.2.4Compilers...............................................................................................................................................................38

7.2.5IntegratedSoftwareDevelopment(IDE)...............................................................................................................39

7.2.6WordProcessing....................................................................................................................................................39

7.2.7PlayingMovies,Music,Etc....................................................................................................................................39

7.2.8VideoEditing.........................................................................................................................................................41

7.2.9ImageViewing,ManipulationandDrawing.........................................................................................................41

7.2.10FTP.......................................................................................................................................................................41

7.2.11StatisticalAnalysis...............................................................................................................................................41

7.2.12VideoChat...........................................................................................................................................................41

7.2.13RuningWindowsApplicationsfromWithinLinux...............................................................................................42

7.3DownloadingNewSoftware.....................................................................................................................................42

7.3.1HowtoFindIt........................................................................................................................................................42

7.3.2AutomaticDownload/Installation.........................................................................................................................42

7.3.3Debian/Ubuntu.debFiles......................................................................................................................................43

7.3.4UsingRPMs...........................................................................................................................................................43

8LEARNINGMOREABOUTLINUX...............................................................................................................................................43

9ADVANCEDLINUXUSAGE.......................................................................................................................................................44

9.1DualBootIssues.......................................................................................................................................................44

9.2LiveCDsorUSBKeyBasedLinuxAsRescueTools....................................................................................................44

9.3Troubleshooting.......................................................................................................................................................45

9.3.1Tools......................................................................................................................................................................45

9.3.2WiFiNetworking....................................................................................................................................................45

9.3.3GeneralInformation..............................................................................................................................................45

9.3.4NetworkManagementTools.................................................................................................................................46

9.3.5IndividualLinuxNetworkCommands....................................................................................................................46

9.3.6IfYouHaveaProblem...........................................................................................................................................47

9.3.7AProgramFreezes................................................................................................................................................48

9.3.8ScreenFreezes.......................................................................................................................................................48

9.4AccessingYourWindowsFilesfromLinux................................................................................................................48

AWHATISLINUX?..................................................................................................................................................................49

BWHATISPARTITIONING?.......................................................................................................................................................50

B.1PartitioningUsingGParted......................................................................................................................................50

TOR–THEONIONRELAY.................................................................................................................................................52

TOR:OVERVIEW......................................................................................................................................................................52

Topics.............................................................................................................................................................................52

OVERVIEW..............................................................................................................................................................................52

WHYWENEEDTOR..................................................................................................................................................................53

THESOLUTION:ADISTRIBUTED,ANONYMOUSNETWORK.................................................................................................................53

STAYINGANONYMOUS..............................................................................................................................................................55

THEFUTUREOFTOR.................................................................................................................................................................55

TAILS...............................................................................................................................................................................56

ONLINEANONYMITYANDCENSORSHIPCIRCUMVENTION..................................................................................................................56

TOR.......................................................................................................................................................................................56

I2P.......................................................................................................................................................................................57

USEANYWHEREBUTLEAVENOTRACE..........................................................................................................................................57

STATEOFTHEARTCRYPTOGRAPHICTOOLS...................................................................................................................................57

WHAT'SNEXT?........................................................................................................................................................................58

INSTALLINGTAILS............................................................................................................................................................59

MANUALINSTALLATIONUSINGLINUX..........................................................................................................................................59

MANUALINSTALLATIONUSINGWINDOWS....................................................................................................................................61

MANUALINSTALLATIONUSINGMAC...........................................................................................................................................65

JOLLYROGER’SSECURITYTHREADFORBEGINNERS........................................................................................................67

INTRODUCTIONTOSECURECOMMUNICATIONTOR,HTTPS,SSL.....................................................................................68

PGP,TAILS,VIRTUALBOX....................................................................................................................................................69

PGPCONTINUED.................................................................................................................................................................72

WHOLEDISKENCRYPTIONANDFILESHREDDING...............................................................................................................74

JAVASCRIPTVULNERABILITIESANDREMOVINGPERSONALMETADATAFROMFILES.........................................................76

GENERALSECURITYPRECAUTIONSWHENPOSTINGONLINE,LEARNFROMOTHERS'MISTAKES.......................................78

EXIFDATA............................................................................................................................................................................79

RETAININGALAWYER,HOWTOHANDLEGETTINGCAUGHTORINTERROGATED..............................................................80

COMBININGTORWITHAVPN.............................................................................................................................................81

COMBININGTORWITHAVPNCONTINUED........................................................................................................................84

TRACKINGCOOKIES.............................................................................................................................................................87

LEARNINGFROMOTHERS'MISTAKES.LIBERTAS,DPR,SABU,LULZSEC..............................................................................88

HOWFARWILLLAWENFORCEMENTGO?..........................................................................................................................89

FRAUDULENTPRIVATEMESSAGES......................................................................................................................................92

LEARNINGFROMOTHERS'MISTAKES.HOWTHEYBUSTEDSABU.......................................................................................93

LEARNINGFROMOTHERS'MISTAKES.SABUBECAMEFBIINFORMANTANDBETRAYEDJEREMYHAMMOND...................96

WHEREYOUMIGHTCONSIDERRUNNINGTO,IFYOUHADNOOTHERCHOICE..................................................................99

SECURINGYOURACCOUNTFROMFBIMONITORING.......................................................................................................101

HOWTOCONNECTTOTOROVERTOPOFTOR.................................................................................................................103

HOWTOVERIFYYOURDOWNLOADEDFILESAREAUTHENTIC..........................................................................................104

VERIFYINGSIGNEDMESSAGESWITHSIGNATURESANDSIGNINGYOUROWNMESSAGES...............................................109

ANEXAMPLEOFREALLYBADOPSECSMARTENUP!........................................................................................................112

TORCHAT..........................................................................................................................................................................114

OBTAINING,SENDINGANDRECEIVINGBITCOINSANONYMOUSLY..................................................................................116

CLEARNETVSHIDDENSERVICESWHYYOUSHOULDBECAREFUL...................................................................................120

THEYAREWATCHINGYOUVIRUSES,MALWARE,VULNERABILITIES...............................................................................121

MONITORINGYOUWITHANANTENNA............................................................................................................................124

COOKIES&JAVASCRIPTREVISITED,PLUSFLASHCOOKIESANDOTHERBROWSERTRACKING..........................................127

AFEWRECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................................129

COLDBOOTATTACKS,UNENCRYPTEDRAMEXTRACTION................................................................................................130

THESTRENGHOFCRYPTOGRAPHYANDANONYMITYWHENUSEDPROPERLY.................................................................136

ANOTHERSCAMEMAILBEWARE....................................................................................................................................138

ANINTRODUCTIONTOANEXPERTONOPSEC,PLUSMD5&SHA1CHECKSUMS.............................................................139

ITISOBVIOUSWHENYOUAREUSINGTOR.......................................................................................................................142

AREYOUUSINGSAFEMAIL.NET?.....................................................................................................................................143

LOCALBITCOINSPART1POLICEAREWATCHINGIT!........................................................................................................144

LOCALBITCOINSPART2THIEVES,SCAMMERSANDCOUNTERFEITBILLS!.......................................................................147

LOCALBITCOINSPART3MORESCAMSTORIES................................................................................................................151

LOCALBITCOINSPART4SELLERSBUSTEDFORMONEYLAUNDERING.............................................................................154

HIDINGTORFROMYOURISPPART1BRIDGESANDPLUGGABLETRANSPORTS............................................................156

CAPABILITIESOFTHENSA.................................................................................................................................................165

WHYYOUSHOULDALWAYSBACKUPYOURDRIVES,ESPECIALLYENCRYPTEDDRIVES.....................................................166

BITCOINCLIENTSINTAILSBLOCKCHAINANDELECTRUM...............................................................................................167

YETANOTHEREXAMPLEOFHOWSTRONGCRYPTOPGRAPHYANDPROPEROPSECCANPROTECTEVENPEDOPHILES....169

DENIABILITY,IDENTIFYINGTAILSUSERS,ANDCANYOUBEFORCEDTOGIVEUPYOURPASSWORDS?............................174

SECURITYCULTURE:AHANDBOOKFORACTIVISTS........................................................................................................181

INTRODUCTION:.....................................................................................................................................................................181

SECURITYWHATITIS,WHYWENEEDITANDHOWWEIMPLEMENTIT...............................................................................................182

SOWHATISASECURITYCULTURE?...................................................................................................................................182

WHATNOTTOSAY............................................................................................................................................................182

THREEEXCEPTIONS...........................................................................................................................................................183

SECURITYMEASURES........................................................................................................................................................183

SECURITYVIOLATINGBEHAVIOURS..................................................................................................................................184

EDUCATETOLIBERATE......................................................................................................................................................184

DEALINGWITHCHRONICSECURITYPROBLEMS................................................................................................................185

ABRIEFPRIMERONTHECANADIANSTATESECURITYAPPARATUS...................................................................................................185

ANOVERVIEWOFDOMESTICINTELLIGENCEORGANIZATIONS........................................................................................186

THECOUNTERINSURGENCYMODEL................................................................................................................................187

EVERYTHINGYOUEVERWANTEDTOKNOWABOUTINFORMERSANDINFILTRATORS...........................................................................188

CRYPTOANARCHYANDVIRTUALCOMMUNITIES..........................................................................................................190

EXTENDEDABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................................................190

1INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................................191

2MODERNCRYPTOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................................................192

3VIRTUALCOMMUNITIES.......................................................................................................................................................193

4OBSERVABILITYANDSURVEILLANCE........................................................................................................................................194

5CRYPTOANARCHY...............................................................................................................................................................194

6TRUENAMESANDANONYMOUSSYSTEMS...............................................................................................................................195

7EXAMPLESANDUSES...........................................................................................................................................................196

8COMMERCEANDCOLONIZATIONOFCYBERSPACE......................................................................................................................197

9IMPLICATIONS.....................................................................................................................................................................197

10HOWLIKELY?...................................................................................................................................................................198

11CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................................................................................................199

12ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.........................................................................................................................................................200

13REFERENCESANDNOTES....................................................................................................................................................200

THECRYPTOPARTYHANDBOOK.....................................................................................................................................203

1INTRODUCINGCRYPTOPARTY.....................................................................................................................................211

1.1ABOUTTHISBOOK...........................................................................................................................................................211

1.2ACRYPTOPARTYMANIFESTO..............................................................................................................................................213

1.3HOWTOCRYPTOPARTY.....................................................................................................................................................215

1.4PARTYLIKEIT’SDECEMBER31ST1983.................................................................................................................................218

1.4.1WhatisCryptoParty?..........................................................................................................................................218

1.5PREFACE.........................................................................................................................................................................218

1.6WHYPRIVACYMATTERS....................................................................................................................................................219

2UNDERSTANDINGEMAIL.............................................................................................................................................220

2.1BASICTIPS.......................................................................................................................................................................220

2.1.1Inbrief:.................................................................................................................................................................220

2.1.2Passwords............................................................................................................................................................220

2.1.3ReadingEmailinPublicPlaces.............................................................................................................................221

2.1.4CacheCunning......................................................................................................................................................221

2.1.5Securingyourcommunication..............................................................................................................................222

2.1.6DNSSEC&DANE...................................................................................................................................................222

2.1.7AccountSeparation..............................................................................................................................................222

2.1.8Anoteabouthostedemail...................................................................................................................................223

2.2TYPESOFEMAIL................................................................................................................................................................223

2.2.1Remotelyhostedemail(‘webmail’),resourcedusingawebbrowser..................................................................223

2.2.2Remotelyhostedemail,resourcedusinganemailprogramorusingawebbrowser..........................................223

2.2.3Contextconsiderations.........................................................................................................................................224

2.2.4Email&Metadata................................................................................................................................................224

2.2.5Selfadministeredemailserver.............................................................................................................................225

2.2.6‘Free’emailservices.............................................................................................................................................225

2.2.7Nonprofit.............................................................................................................................................................225

2.2.8Notesonemailforwarding...................................................................................................................................225

2.3FEARS.............................................................................................................................................................................225

2.3.1Randomabuseandtheftbymalicioushackers....................................................................................................226

2.3.2Targetedabuse,harassment,andspying............................................................................................................227

2.3.3WhenEncryptionGoesWrong.............................................................................................................................228

2.4SECURECONNECTIONS.......................................................................................................................................................228

2.4.1CanotherpeoplereadalongwhenIcheckmyemail?.........................................................................................228

2.4.2Notes....................................................................................................................................................................229

2.5SECUREEMAILS................................................................................................................................................................229

2.5.1WhatsoftwarecanIusetoencryptmyemail?....................................................................................................230

3UNDERSTANDINGBROWSING.....................................................................................................................................230

3.1BASICTIPS.......................................................................................................................................................................230

3.1.1InBrief:.................................................................................................................................................................230

3.1.2Yourbrowsertalksaboutyoubehindyourback..................................................................................................230

3.1.3Websitescantrackyouasyoubrowse................................................................................................................231

3.1.4Searchingonlinecangiveawayinformationaboutyou......................................................................................231

3.1.5Moreeyesthanyoucansee.................................................................................................................................231

3.1.6Yourrighttobeunknown.....................................................................................................................................232

3.2FEARS.............................................................................................................................................................................232

3.2.1SocialNetworkingwhatarethedangers?.........................................................................................................232

3.2.2Whocanstealmyidentity?..................................................................................................................................233

3.2.3CanIgetintroubleforGooglingweirdstuff?......................................................................................................234

3.2.4WhoiskeepingarecordofmybrowsingandamIallowedtohidefromthem?.................................................234

3.2.5HowtonotrevealmyIdentity?............................................................................................................................234

3.2.6Howtoavoidbeingtracked?................................................................................................................................234

3.3WHATHAPPENSWHENYOUBROWSE...................................................................................................................................234

3.3.1Atopographyofyou:footprints...........................................................................................................................235

3.4ACCOUNTSANDSECURITY..................................................................................................................................................237

3.4.1Canmaliciouswebsitestakeovermyaccounts?................................................................................................237

3.5TRACKING........................................................................................................................................................................238

3.5.1Howdotheytrackus?..........................................................................................................................................238

3.5.2HowcanIpreventtracking?................................................................................................................................239

3.5.3Awordofwarning................................................................................................................................................245

3.6ANONYMITY.....................................................................................................................................................................245

3.6.1Intro......................................................................................................................................................................245

3.6.2Proxy.....................................................................................................................................................................246

3.6.3Tor........................................................................................................................................................................246

3.7VPN..............................................................................................................................................................................247

4PUBLISHINGANDDISTRIBUTION.................................................................................................................................249

4.1PUBLISHINGANONYMOUSLY...............................................................................................................................................249

4.1.1SeveralDon’ts......................................................................................................................................................250

4.2ANONYMOUSEMAIL..........................................................................................................................................................251

4.2.1SendingFromThrowawayEmailAccounts.........................................................................................................251

4.2.2BeCarefulaboutwhatyousay!...........................................................................................................................251

4.3FILESHARING...................................................................................................................................................................252

4.3.1BitTorrent.............................................................................................................................................................253

4.3.2SoulSeek...............................................................................................................................................................254

4.3.3I2P........................................................................................................................................................................255

5SECURECALLSANDSMS..............................................................................................................................................256

5.1SECURECALLS..................................................................................................................................................................256

5.1.1iOSInstallingSignal............................................................................................................................................256

5.1.2AndroidInstallingRedPhone..............................................................................................................................256

5.2SECUREMESSAGING..........................................................................................................................................................256

5.2.1Android.................................................................................................................................................................257

6BASICEMAILSECURITY................................................................................................................................................257

6.1STARTUSINGTHUNDERBIRD...............................................................................................................................................257

6.1.1InstallingThunderbirdonWindows.....................................................................................................................257

6.1.2InstallingThunderbirdonUbuntu........................................................................................................................261

6.1.3InstallingThunderbirdonUbuntu12.04ornewer...............................................................................................261

6.1.4InstallingThunderbirdonMacOSX.....................................................................................................................263

6.1.5StartingThunderbirdforthefirsttime.................................................................................................................265

6.2SETTINGUPSECURECONNECTIONS......................................................................................................................................266

6.2.1Configurationrequirements.................................................................................................................................266

6.2.2PreparingaGmailaccountforusewithThunderbird..........................................................................................266

6.2.3ConfiguringThunderbirdtouseSSL/TLS..............................................................................................................267

6.2.4Manualsetup.......................................................................................................................................................268

6.2.5Finishingthesetup,differentencryptionmethods...............................................................................................271

6.2.6Returningtotheconfigurationscreens................................................................................................................271

6.3SOMEADDITIONALSECURITYSETTINGS.................................................................................................................................271

6.3.1Junkmailsettings.................................................................................................................................................272

6.3.2Scamdetectionandwarningsystem....................................................................................................................273

6.3.3Antivirusintegration...........................................................................................................................................274

6.3.4Setamasterpassword.........................................................................................................................................275

6.3.5Adaptivejunkmailcontrols..................................................................................................................................278

7EMAILENCRYPTION.....................................................................................................................................................280

7.1INTRODUCINGMAILENCRYPTION(PGP)................................................................................................................................280

7.1.1Usingakeypairtoencryptyourmail..................................................................................................................281

7.1.2Sendingencryptedmailstootherpeople:youneedtheirpublickey...................................................................281

7.1.3Receivingencryptedmailsfromotherpeople:theyneedmypublickey.............................................................281

7.1.4Conclusion:encryptionrequirespublickeydistribution!......................................................................................282

7.2INSTALLINGPGPONWINDOWS.........................................................................................................................................282

7.2.1InstallingPGP(GPG)onMicrosoftWindows........................................................................................................282

7.2.2InstallingwiththeEnigmailextension.................................................................................................................283

7.2.3Installationsteps..................................................................................................................................................283

7.3INSTALLINGPGPONOSX..................................................................................................................................................285

7.3.1Gettingstarted.....................................................................................................................................................285

7.3.2DownloadingandinstallingtheSoftware............................................................................................................285

7.3.3InstallingupEngimail...........................................................................................................................................293

7.4INSTALLINGPGPONUBUNTU.............................................................................................................................................295

7.5INSTALLINGGPGONANDROID............................................................................................................................................296

7.5.1APG.......................................................................................................................................................................296

7.5.2GPGenabledemailonAndroid:K9Mail............................................................................................................297

7.6CREATINGYOURPGPKEYS.................................................................................................................................................297

7.7DAILYPGPUSAGE............................................................................................................................................................306

7.7.1Encryptingattachments.......................................................................................................................................307

7.7.2Enteringyourpassphrase....................................................................................................................................307

7.7.3Receivingencryptedemails.................................................................................................................................308

7.7.4Sendingandreceivingpublickeys........................................................................................................................308

7.7.5Receivingpublickeysandaddingthemtoyourkeyring......................................................................................309

7.7.6Usingpublickeyservers.......................................................................................................................................312

7.7.7Signingemailstoanindividual.............................................................................................................................317

7.7.8Sendingencryptedmailstoanindividual.............................................................................................................318

7.7.9Automatingencryptiontocertainrecipients.......................................................................................................319

7.7.10Verifyingincomingemails.................................................................................................................................323

7.7.11RevokingyourGPGkeypair...............................................................................................................................324

7.7.12Whattodowhenyouhavelostyoursecretkey,orforgotyourpassphrase.....................................................325

7.7.13Whattodowhenyoursecretkeyhasbeenstolen,orcompromised.................................................................325

7.7.14Receivingarevocationcertificate......................................................................................................................325

7.7.15Preparingfortheworst:backupyourkeys........................................................................................................326

7.7.16Furtherreading..................................................................................................................................................327

7.8WEBMAILANDPGP.........................................................................................................................................................327

8SAFERBROWSING........................................................................................................................................................328

8.1WHYFIREFOX?.................................................................................................................................................................328

8.2ACCESSINGFIREFOXONUBUNTU.........................................................................................................................................328

8.3INSTALLINGONMACOSX.................................................................................................................................................329

8.4INSTALLINGFIREFOXONWINDOWS......................................................................................................................................334

8.4.1Troubleshooting...................................................................................................................................................338

8.5EXTENDINGFIREFOX..........................................................................................................................................................338

8.5.1HTTPSEverywhere................................................................................................................................................338

8.5.2Installation...........................................................................................................................................................339

8.5.3Configuration.......................................................................................................................................................340

8.5.4Usage...................................................................................................................................................................341

8.5.5IfnetworksblockHTTPS.......................................................................................................................................343

8.5.6AddingsupportforadditionalsitesinHTTPSEverywhere...................................................................................343

8.5.7EnforcingsecureHTTPSserverconnections.........................................................................................................344

8.5.8AdblockPlus.........................................................................................................................................................344

8.5.9GettingstartedwithAdblockPlus........................................................................................................................344

8.5.10Choosingafiltersubscription.............................................................................................................................345

8.5.11Creatingpersonalizedfilters...............................................................................................................................346

8.5.12EnablinganddisablingAdBlockPlusforspecificelementsorWebsites...........................................................346

8.5.13Otherextensionsthatcanimproveyoursecurity...............................................................................................346

8.6PROXYSETTINGS...............................................................................................................................................................347

8.6.1DefaultFirefoxproxyconfiguration.....................................................................................................................347

8.7USINGTOR?...................................................................................................................................................................349

8.7.1UsingTorBrowserBundle....................................................................................................................................350

8.7.2DownloadingTorBrowserBundle........................................................................................................................350

8.7.3RunningaRelayorBridge....................................................................................................................................351

8.8EXTENDINGGOOGLECHROME.............................................................................................................................................351

8.8.1DisablingInstantSearch.......................................................................................................................................351

8.8.2AdBlockforChrome..............................................................................................................................................351

8.8.3HTTPSEverywhere................................................................................................................................................351

8.8.4PrivacyFix.............................................................................................................................................................351

9PASSWORDS................................................................................................................................................................352

9.1KEEPINGPASSWORDSSAFE.................................................................................................................................................352

9.1.1Passwordlengthandcomplexity..........................................................................................................................352

9.1.2Easytorememberandsecurepasswords............................................................................................................352

9.1.3Minimizingdamage..............................................................................................................................................352

9.1.4Usingapasswordmanager..................................................................................................................................352

9.1.5Physicalprotection...............................................................................................................................................353

9.1.6Othercaveats.......................................................................................................................................................353

9.2INSTALLINGKEEPASS.........................................................................................................................................................353

9.2.1InstallingKeePassXonUbuntu.............................................................................................................................353

9.2.2InstallingKeePassonWindows............................................................................................................................354

9.2.3InstallingKeePassonMacOSX............................................................................................................................360

9.3ENCRYPTINGPASSWORDSWITHAPASSWORDMANAGER.........................................................................................................367

9.3.1EncryptingPasswordswithKeePassXonUbuntu.................................................................................................367

9.3.2EncryptingPasswordswithKeePassonWindows................................................................................................373

9.3.3EncryptingPasswordswithKeychainonMacOSX...............................................................................................379

10USINGVPN................................................................................................................................................................382

10.1GETTING,SETTINGUPANDTESTINGAVPNACCOUNT............................................................................................................382

10.1.1AnaccountfromacommercialVPNprovider....................................................................................................382

10.1.2SettingupOpenVPNclient.................................................................................................................................384

10.1.3Caveats&Gotchas.............................................................................................................................................385

10.2VPNONUBUNTU...........................................................................................................................................................385

10.2.1PreparingNetworkManagerforVPNnetworks................................................................................................385

10.2.2ConfiguringanOpenVPNnetwork.....................................................................................................................390

10.2.3UsingyournewVPNconnection........................................................................................................................396

10.3VPNONMACOSX.........................................................................................................................................................398

10.3.1Setup..................................................................................................................................................................398

10.4VPNONWINDOWS........................................................................................................................................................411

10.4.1Setup..................................................................................................................................................................411

10.5MAKINGSUREYOURVPNWORKS....................................................................................................................................424

11DISKENCRYPTION***TRUECRYPTCOMPROMISED***.............................................................................................425

11.1INSTALLINGVERACRYPT...................................................................................................................................................425

11.1.1InstallingonUbuntu/Debian..............................................................................................................................425

11.1.2InstallingonOSX................................................................................................................................................428

11.1.3InstallingonWindows........................................................................................................................................431

11.2USINGVERACRYPT..........................................................................................................................................................432

11.2.1CreatingaVeraCryptContainer.........................................................................................................................432

11.2.2MountingtheEncryptedVolume.......................................................................................................................438

11.2.3Whatdoesthismean?........................................................................................................................................441

11.2.4Remembertodismount!....................................................................................................................................441

11.3SETTINGUPAHIDDENVOLUME..........................................................................................................................................441

11.4SECURELYDESTROYINGDATA.............................................................................................................................................445

11.4.1AnoteonSolidStateHardDrives.......................................................................................................................446

11.4.2SecurelydeletedataunderWindows.................................................................................................................446

11.4.3SecurelydeletedataunderMacOSX..................................................................................................................448

11.4.4SecurelydeletedataunderUbuntu/Linux..........................................................................................................452

11.5ABOUTLUKS.................................................................................................................................................................460

11.5.2Encryptingadevice............................................................................................................................................461

11.5.3Usinganencrypteddevice.................................................................................................................................464

12CALLENCRYPTION.....................................................................................................................................................465

12.1INSTALLINGCSIPSIMPLE...................................................................................................................................................465

12.1.1IntroducingTheOSTNNetwork..........................................................................................................................465

12.1.2CSipSimple..........................................................................................................................................................466

13INSTANTMESSAGINGENCRYPTION...........................................................................................................................470

13.1SETTINGUPENCRYPTEDINSTANTMESSAGING......................................................................................................................470

13.1.1AndroidInstallingGibberbot............................................................................................................................470

13.1.2iOSInstallingChatSecure.................................................................................................................................470

13.1.3UbuntuInstallingPidgin...................................................................................................................................470

13.1.4OSXInstallingAdium.......................................................................................................................................470

13.1.5WindowsInstallingPidgin................................................................................................................................471

13.1.6AllOScrypto.cat...............................................................................................................................................471

13.1.7ChatLogFiles.....................................................................................................................................................472

14SECUREFILESHARING................................................................................................................................................472

14.1INSTALLINGI2PONUBUNTULUCIDLYNX(ANDNEWER)ANDDERIVATIVESLIKELINUXMINT&TRISQUEL........................................472

14.2INSTRUCTIONSFORDEBIANLENNYANDNEWER....................................................................................................................474

14.3STARTING I2P................................................................................................................................................................474

14.4ANONYMOUSBITTORRENTWITHI2PSNARK.........................................................................................................................475

15APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................................................476

15.1CRYPTOGRAPHYANDENCRYPTION.....................................................................................................................................476

15.1.1Encryptionexamples..........................................................................................................................................477

15.1.2AWarning!.........................................................................................................................................................477

15.1.3Historicalciphers................................................................................................................................................477

15.1.4Modernciphers..................................................................................................................................................480

15.1.5QuantumCryptography.....................................................................................................................................481

15.1.6Challenges&Implications..................................................................................................................................481

15.2GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................................................................................481

15.2.1aggregator.........................................................................................................................................................481

15.2.2anonymity..........................................................................................................................................................481

15.2.3anonymousremailer..........................................................................................................................................482

15.2.4ASP(applicationserviceprovider)......................................................................................................................482

15.2.5backbone............................................................................................................................................................482

15.2.6badware.............................................................................................................................................................482

15.2.7bandwidth..........................................................................................................................................................482

15.2.8bash(Bourneagainshell)..................................................................................................................................482

15.2.9BitTorrent...........................................................................................................................................................482

15.2.10blacklist............................................................................................................................................................482

15.2.11bluebar.............................................................................................................................................................483

15.2.12block.................................................................................................................................................................483

15.2.13bookmark.........................................................................................................................................................483

15.2.14bridge...............................................................................................................................................................483

15.2.15bruteforceattack............................................................................................................................................483

15.2.16cache................................................................................................................................................................483

15.2.17censor...............................................................................................................................................................483

15.2.18censorware.......................................................................................................................................................483

15.2.19CGI(CommonGatewayInterface)...................................................................................................................484

15.2.20chat..................................................................................................................................................................484

15.2.21cipher................................................................................................................................................................484

15.2.22circumvention...................................................................................................................................................484

15.2.23CommonGatewayInterface............................................................................................................................484

15.2.24commandlineinterface...................................................................................................................................484

15.2.25cookie...............................................................................................................................................................484

15.2.26countrycodetopleveldomain(ccTLD)............................................................................................................484

15.2.27cryptography....................................................................................................................................................485

15.2.28DARPA(DefenseAdvancedProjectsResearchAgency)....................................................................................485

15.2.29decryption........................................................................................................................................................485

15.2.30diskencryption.................................................................................................................................................485

15.2.31domain.............................................................................................................................................................485

15.2.32DNS(DomainNameSystem)............................................................................................................................485

15.2.33DNSleak...........................................................................................................................................................485

15.2.34DNSserver........................................................................................................................................................485

15.2.35DNStunnel........................................................................................................................................................486

15.2.36Eavesdropping..................................................................................................................................................486

15.2.37email...............................................................................................................................................................486

15.2.38embeddedscript...............................................................................................................................................486

15.2.39encryption........................................................................................................................................................486

15.2.40exitnode...........................................................................................................................................................486

15.2.41filesharing........................................................................................................................................................487

15.2.42filespreadingengine........................................................................................................................................487

15.2.43filter..................................................................................................................................................................487

15.2.44Firefox...............................................................................................................................................................487

15.2.45forum................................................................................................................................................................487

15.2.46frame................................................................................................................................................................487

15.2.47FTP(FileTransferProtocol)..............................................................................................................................487

15.2.48fulldiskencryption...........................................................................................................................................487

15.2.49gateway............................................................................................................................................................488

15.2.50GNUPrivacyGuard...........................................................................................................................................488

15.2.51GPG..................................................................................................................................................................488

15.2.52honeypot..........................................................................................................................................................488

15.2.53hop...................................................................................................................................................................488

15.2.54HTTP(HypertextTransferProtocol).................................................................................................................488

15.2.55HTTPS(SecureHTTP)........................................................................................................................................488

15.2.56IANA(InternetAssignedNumbersAuthority)..................................................................................................488

15.2.57ICANN(InternetCorporationforAssignedNamesandNumbers)...................................................................489

15.2.58InstantMessaging(IM)....................................................................................................................................489

15.2.59Intermediary.....................................................................................................................................................489

15.2.60Internet.............................................................................................................................................................489

15.2.61IP(InternetProtocol)Address..........................................................................................................................489

15.2.62IRC(Internetrelaychat)...................................................................................................................................489

15.2.63ISP(InternetServiceProvider)..........................................................................................................................489

15.2.64JavaScript.........................................................................................................................................................489

15.2.65KeePass,KeePassX...........................................................................................................................................489

15.2.66keychainsoftware............................................................................................................................................489

15.2.67keywordfilter...................................................................................................................................................490

15.2.68latency..............................................................................................................................................................490

15.2.69logfile...............................................................................................................................................................490

15.2.70lowbandwidthfilter.........................................................................................................................................490

15.2.71malware...........................................................................................................................................................490

15.2.72maninthemiddle............................................................................................................................................490

15.2.73middlemannode..............................................................................................................................................490

15.2.74monitor.............................................................................................................................................................490

15.2.75networkaddresstranslation(NAT)..................................................................................................................491

15.2.76networkoperator.............................................................................................................................................491

15.2.77node.................................................................................................................................................................491

15.2.78nonexitnode...................................................................................................................................................491

15.2.79obfuscation.......................................................................................................................................................491

15.2.80opennode.........................................................................................................................................................491

15.2.81OTR/OfftheRecordmessaging.......................................................................................................................491

15.2.82packet...............................................................................................................................................................491

15.2.83passwordmanager...........................................................................................................................................492

15.2.84pastebin............................................................................................................................................................492

15.2.85peertopeer.....................................................................................................................................................492

15.2.86perfectforwardsecrecy....................................................................................................................................492

15.2.87PrettyGoodPrivacy(PGP)................................................................................................................................492

15.2.88PHP...................................................................................................................................................................492

15.2.89plaintext..........................................................................................................................................................492

15.2.90plaintext...........................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.91privacy..............................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.92privatekey........................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.93POP3.................................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.94port...................................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.95protocol............................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.96proxyserver......................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.97Psiphonnode....................................................................................................................................................493

15.2.98privatenode.....................................................................................................................................................494

15.2.99publickey.........................................................................................................................................................494

15.2.100publickeyencryption/publickeycryptography.............................................................................................494

15.2.101publiclyroutableIPaddress...........................................................................................................................494

15.2.102regularexpression..........................................................................................................................................494

15.2.103remailer..........................................................................................................................................................494

15.2.104router.............................................................................................................................................................494

15.2.105rootnameserver............................................................................................................................................495

15.2.106RSS(RealSimpleSyndication)........................................................................................................................495

15.2.107scheme...........................................................................................................................................................495

15.2.108shell................................................................................................................................................................495

15.2.109SOCKS.............................................................................................................................................................495

15.2.110screenlogger...................................................................................................................................................495

15.2.111script...............................................................................................................................................................495

15.2.112smartphone....................................................................................................................................................496

15.2.113spam...............................................................................................................................................................496

15.2.114SSH(SecureShell)...........................................................................................................................................496

15.2.115SSL(SecureSocketsLayer)..............................................................................................................................496

15.2.116steganography...............................................................................................................................................496

15.2.117subdomain......................................................................................................................................................496

15.2.118threatanalysis................................................................................................................................................496

15.2.119TopLevelDomain(TLD).................................................................................................................................497

15.2.120TLS(TransportLayerSecurity)........................................................................................................................497

15.2.121TCP/IP(TransmissionControlProtocoloverInternetProtocol).....................................................................497

15.2.122Torbridge.......................................................................................................................................................497

15.2.123trafficanalysis................................................................................................................................................497

15.2.124tunnel.............................................................................................................................................................497

15.2.125UDP(UserDatagramPacket).........................................................................................................................497

15.2.126URL(UniformResourceLocator)....................................................................................................................497

15.2.127Usenet............................................................................................................................................................498

15.2.128VoIP(VoiceoverInternetProtocol)................................................................................................................498

15.2.129VPN(virtualprivatenetwork)........................................................................................................................498

15.2.130whitelist..........................................................................................................................................................498

15.2.131WorldWideWeb(WWW)..............................................................................................................................498

15.2.132Webmail.........................................................................................................................................................498

15.2.133Webproxy......................................................................................................................................................499

15.2.134WHOIS............................................................................................................................................................499

15.3THENECESSITYOFOPENSOURCE.......................................................................................................................................499

Preface

I was unaware of how to go about this project when I first began it. I thought that maybe I should

write all of the guides by hand using my own knowledge. However, I found that there are others who

have been able to construct specific guides in a more informative manner than myself. From this I

thought that it might be useful to use other people's guides in my work and then I would pick up where

they left off. Yet, after doing research I thought that it would be best to just combine the best guides

that I found into one document and folder. I truly hope that this guide is useful for at least one person

on the internet. I will begin this guide with a brief overview of government corruption and why you

should care about your privacy. After that, everything else is either a guide or text written by others

which I have fully credited. If there is one thing that I can say before reading this guide, it would be to

read Jolly Roger’s Guide. It is probably the most down to earth and comprehensible guide for anyone

at any skill level. Thank you for downloading and reading this file.

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

by John Perry Barlow <barlow@eff.org>

Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from

Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us

alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.

We have no elected government, nor are we likely to have one, so I address you with no

greater authority than that with which liberty itself always speaks. I declare the global social

space we are building to be naturally independent of the tyrannies you seek to impose on us.

You have no moral right to rule us nor do you possess any methods of enforcement we have

true reason to fear.

Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. You have neither

solicited nor received ours. We did not invite you. You do not know us, nor do you know our

world. Cyberspace does not lie within your borders. Do not think that you can build it, as

though it were a public construction project. You cannot. It is an act of nature and it grows

itself through our collective actions.

You have not engaged in our great and gathering conversation, nor did you create the wealth

of our marketplaces. You do not know our culture, our ethics, or the unwritten codes that

already provide our society more order than could be obtained by any of your impositions.

You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve. You use this claim as an

excuse to invade our precincts. Many of these problems don't exist. Where there are real

conflicts, where there are wrongs, we will identify them and address them by our means. We

are forming our own Social Contract. This governance will arise according to the conditions of

our world, not yours. Our world is different.

Cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself, arrayed like a standing

wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and

nowhere, but it is not where bodies live.

We are creating a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race,

economic power, military force, or station of birth.

We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter

how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity.

Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to

us. They are all based on matter, and there is no matter here.

Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion.

We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance

will emerge. Our identities may be distributed across many of your jurisdictions. The only law

that all our constituent cultures would generally recognize is the Golden Rule. We hope we

will be able to build our particular solutions on that basis. But we cannot accept the solutions

you are attempting to impose.

In the United States, you have today created a law, the Telecommunications Reform Act,

which repudiates your own Constitution and insults the dreams of Jefferson, Washington, Mill,

Madison, DeToqueville, and Brandeis. These dreams must now be born anew in us.

You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always

be immigrants. Because you fear them, you entrust your bureaucracies with the parental

responsibilities you are too cowardly to confront yourselves. In our world, all the sentiments

and expressions of humanity, from the debasing to the angelic, are parts of a seamless

whole, the global conversation of bits. We cannot separate the air that chokes from the air

upon which wings beat.

In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States, you are trying to

ward off the virus of liberty by erecting guard posts at the frontiers of Cyberspace. These may

keep out the contagion for a small time, but they will not work in a world that will soon be

blanketed in bit-bearing media.

Your increasingly obsolete information industries would perpetuate themselves by proposing

laws, in America and elsewhere, that claim to own speech itself throughout the world. These

laws would declare ideas to be another industrial product, no more noble than pig iron. In our

world, whatever the human mind may create can be reproduced and distributed infinitely at no

cost. The global conveyance of thought no longer requires your factories to accomplish.

These increasingly hostile and colonial measures place us in the same position as those

previous lovers of freedom and self-determination who had to reject the authorities of distant,

uninformed powers. We must declare our virtual selves immune to your sovereignty, even as

we continue to consent to your rule over our bodies. We will spread ourselves across the

Planet so that no one can arrest our thoughts.

We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than

the world your governments have made before.

Davos, Switzerland

February 8, 1996

Government Corruption and Your Rights to Privacy, Encryption, Freedom,

and Peace of Mind

By: DADOES

Introduction

Would you allow someone to stalk you and know where you are going to be at all times, know

what you recently purchased, know who you are talking to, what you are saying, and what you are

doing at all times?

Today we live in a world where the majority of all information is stored online in some form or

another. This information spans from simple updates of the weather to possibly some of your most

private and intimate moments sent via SMS, email, instant messaging, or other forms of

communication via internet. Some information, such as the weather, is hosted on public domains for

everyone to see while the conversations that you may have with family members, a significant other,

coworkers, etc. are usually stored on private servers owned by private companies. I am sure that the

majority of you would not like to publicly share many of the conversations that you have had with such

people. However, in recent years it has come to our attention that these intimate conversations have

been being actively monitored by the National Security Agency (NSA), Government Communications

Headquarters (GCHQ), and others. Not only are these private conversations being monitored but so are

our:

 Online Banking Transactions

 Pictures sent via SMS, Email, and Instant Messaging

 Phone Records

 Locations

 Internet Browser History

 Google Searches

 Social Media Activity (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

Many people do not seem to actively have any concerns over the fact that all of these aspects of

their life are being monitored though. Some use the common “nothing to hide, nothing to fear

argument” while others use the argument that, for layman's terms, “there are bigger fish to fry than

me.” There are many problems with both of these arguments and I will go into them in further detail

later. The main point that needs to be conveyed here is why you should care that all of these parts of

your life are being monitored. First of all, if you are aware that you are constantly being surveyed then

it is more likely that you are going to be cautious as to what you will say or send through the internet.

This is what is called a chilling effect. The true definition of a chilling effect is “the inhibition or

discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction.”

This could even span as far as far as you being afraid to look up the latest news on terrorist attacks

around the world because your searches are monitored and therefore you may be associated with a

terrorist affiliation. This chilling effect also reduces creativity amongst people and their peers as well as

scrutiny to those in power... which are supposed to be given scrutiny by us, the people. Another reason

that you care is because there are people spying on every part of your life. Would you agree to let a

complete stranger set up a microphone or camera into your room and then agree to carry it around with

you everywhere you go? I most certainly think that you would not. Yet, that is exactly what you are

doing with your latest smartphones. Would you agree to show random strangers risqué pictures that

your significant other sent to you? According to this article, Edward Snowden states that such pictures

have been being around in underground trading circles throughout the NSA. Would you allow someone

to stalk you and know where you are going to be at all times, know what you recently purchased, know

who you are talking to, what you are saying, and what you are doing at all times? If you are a regular

user of the internet, a debit or credit card, a smartphone, or anything of the 21st century then all of this

is happening to you on a daily basis.

I will begin this guide with background information on how your internet activity has been being

monitored constantly, who is monitoring it, and what the implications are. After that I will go into the

programs and practices that you should use in order to keep your personal information safe. I have

included shortcuts to topics in the table of contents if you do not wish to read the background

information. However, if you are not familiar with it I do advise you to read it.

Government Infringement on Privacy

The modern world was shaken in 2013 by the leaks of Edward Snowden. These leaks revealed that

the NSA, GCHQ, and an overarching intelligence alliance deemed the “Five Eyes” had been

conducting mass surveillance that had only been imagined in Orwellian fiction.1 However, the uses of

mass surveillance have been around long before the Snowden leaks. In 2001, shortly after the attacks of

September 11, the program Stellarwind was implemented. Stellarwind was the code name of

information collected under the President's Surveillance Program. With this program implemented, the

United States government was able to conduct large scale data mining of the communications of

American citizens. This large scale data mining did not require warrants in order to collect the

information of American citizens. Snowden would later detail the Stellarwind program in great length

with his leaks. The amount of preparation in which the governments of the world have had leading up

to this point in mass surveillance is vast and therefore I will not be discussing it here. However, I do

plan on detailing in later on in a separate paper. What I will focus on here are the Snowden leaks and

the era which I will refer to as post-Snowden.

Snowden revealed to us what is known as the PRISM surveillance program. PRISM is the number

one source of raw intelligence for the NSA analytic reports and accounts for 91% of the NSA’s internet

traffic. This program initially began in 2007 through the Protect America Act under the Bush

Administration. Here is just one of many slides leaked by Snowden detailing the PRISM program. The

caption of the slide reads:

1 The Five Eyes intelligence alliance include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United

States.

PROVIDERS AND DATA: The PRISM program collects a wide range of data from the nine

companies, although the details vary by provider.

I am very certain that most people use either Microsoft, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Skype, or Apple

multiple times throughout the regular day. Then carefully read the gray filled box and see just how

many items that the PRISM program naturally requests. This does not even include the “Special

Requests” field which is not touched on. From this we can extrapolate that every online

communication that we send is being recorded. Every instance of our lives: our emotions, our opinions,

arguments, intimacy, everything, is being monitored and recorded.

There is no way they could ever look through all of this information though, right? If PRISM is

recording everyones online information then it must be impossible to pinpoint certain things? Wrong.

There is a program used to query through all of the NSA's database. This program is called

XKEYSCORE. What is this program capable of? Take a look.

In just around three days all of the unfiltered data can be searched for certain keywords, peoples,

images, etc. Say you just happen to look up the latest news on terrorist attacks through Google. All that

has to happen is for one NSA agent to XKEYSCORE the term “terror” or “terrorism” and your name,

IP address, physical address, online banking information, emails, text messages, pictures sent, and

everything else that you have EVER looked up or done online is available to said agent. I am not sure

about you, but I do not want every interaction that I have ever had recorded. And if you're a Verizon

customer... well then give this leaked document a quick read through:

This document states that “Telephony metadata does not include the substantive content of any

communication, as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 2510(8), or the name, address, or financial information of a

subscriber or customer.” However, I am not one to trust the government or big businesses enough,

especially a system as big as the NSA, to not just go ahead and gather all of the information that they

can.

Then there is this document, which I will only show one slide of for now, which is a proposal to

broaden the powers for the NSA to collect data.

The statement that is the most worrisome is, “the NSA may analyze communications metadata

associated with United States persons and persons believed to be in the United States.”

In a recent article, published by The Intercept (November 30, 2015), it is stated that “The USA

FREEDOM Act, signed into law on June 2 earlier this year, gave the executive branch 180 days to

wind down the bulk collection program. According to the Tumblr of the Office of the Director of

National Intelligence, the government is “prohibited from collecting telephone metadata records in

bulk” starting November 29. The executive branch will now be able to obtain phone metadata by

asking the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to order telecommunications companies to turn

over specific records.” This is no doubt a huge win for anti-NSA/Mass Surveillance activists. With that

stated, I am not one to easily trust the powers that are in charge. If they (the US government/ the NSA)

can and choose to directly spy on foreign governments and peoples illegally, then what makes you

think that they will not continue to conduct mass surveillance of their own people?

Metadata

All of this information might be new to you though, and therefore you may not fully understand

the terminology and the scope of it. Probably the most important and fundamental term that you will

need to understand is metadata. Most simply explained, metadata is everything about a piece of

information, apart from the information itself. So if someone or some organization is collecting

metadata then they can easily find out that you called a specific number from a specific location for X

amount of minutes. They directly have access to the content of the call, but that can easily be bypassed

even though the legality of it is in question. Truthfully though, the legality of the US government or

any of its large organizations does not matter much anymore. The governments of the United States,

United Kingdom, and others have put themselves above standards of legality. You might not think that

the collection of metadata is a big deal. They can just directly see who I contacted but not the

information? That does not seem so bad. Unless you are calling an HIV specialist/doctor, a sex hotline,

a suicide prevention hotline, or anyone else that you may not want people knowing about. Metadata is

not just applied to your phones. Your credit card/debit card purchases, locations, emails, attachments,

and just about everything else you do with your life is metadata.

I am sure most of you reading this carry a smartphone with you almost everywhere you go. That

smartphone is constantly tracking your location whether it be from your GPS being turned on or from

different radio towers pinging signals to it. Someone collecting your data would know when you are

home, when you are at work, where you go in between, if you went to a certain store, how long you

were at these places, etc. The best part for the people surveilling you is that you are doing all of the

work for them! Smartphones are a mass surveillance dream. There are other people tracking and

collecting your phone data other than the NSA. If you have the Facebook application installed on your

phone then your location is always being monitored, even when you turn off the features which allow it

to do so. Facebook also has access to your microphone, camera, images in your phones gallery, etc.

Edward Snowden, in an interview with Brian Williams, even stated that it was possible for the

government to turn your phone on when it was off, or even to be able to prevent it from being turned

off completely. From this they would be able to constantly listen in to your conversations by using your

phones microphone or even being able to use the camera on it. While Snowden does state that

intrusions like these happen to those who are specifically targeted, I would rather be safe than sorry in a

situation such as this.

Ultimately, the mass collection of metadata is an extreme intrusion of privacy and can also land

people in quite a bit of trouble. Without looking at the direct information, many situations can be blown

out of proportion or be seen in the wrong light. Activities that might appear suspicious to an NSA agent

or to a program they use are probably not suspicious at all, rather just regular searches and messages

that are misinterpreted. However, this could easily land you on a watch list and your information can

and will be monitored closer than before. This is why metadata should matter to you.

Man in the Middle (MitM)

A MitM attack is a simple concept to understand. Say you email your friend through unencrypted

channels and with no encryption in the email itself. If someone were to be monitoring you, or if they

are just snooping in on your unencrypted Wi-Fi connection, they would be able to intercept that email

without you or your friend ever knowing. The best way of preventing such attacks is to keep your

information encrypted and secure while also sending this information through a secure channel. I will

talk more about how to keep your information secure in later sections.

Your Rights to Privacy

If you live in the United States then you are (or at least should be) familiar with your Amendment

Rights. If not, I have included them here:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of

the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of

grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the

people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the

Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against

unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue,

but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing

the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless

on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or

naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger;

nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or

limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be

deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private

property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public

trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been

committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be

informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses

against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to

have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the

right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise

reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common

law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual

punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or

disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to

the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

The Amendments here we will focus on are the First and Fourth Amendments. These have been hot

topics in the media lately in terms of mass surveillance and government overreach. If you are not

familiar with them then I suggest you take a closer read to them. (It's like two sentences, just go ahead

and read them again.)

The First Amendment is strictly on the right of free speech. Free speech encompasses a persons

right to say whatever they want, for the press to report on whatever they want, and the right to peaceful

protests. However, if you have been paying any attention to the news lately you would know that all

three of these aspects to free speech are being torn away from us. Now instead of having the right to

say or report on anything you want, you can only say or report anything a long as it does not scrutinize

the powers that be. These powers can be anything from a telecommunications company (AT&T for

example) to the United States Government and the organizations it controls. The act of scrutiny is what

is key here. If you break through the false veil of “power” and “superiority” that such organizations

hold then they are not seen as strong. Rather, they have been embarrassed and now feel exposed and

weak. If this does happen then be prepared to have people come after you. Ask any whistleblower or

reporter who has come up with this information in the past 20 years. One person who does come to

mind is Weev. I will not get into the backstory of who Weev is but rather what he did. Weev was on his

iPad one day and went to log into his AT&T account. In the public domain web-address, something

along the lines of www.att.com/login/query1547 (randomly thought up URL), Weev decided to merely

add one to the end of the URL. So instead of www.att.com/login/query1547 he typed in

www.att.com/login/query1548. What this ended up doing is revealing the email address of the person

who last logged-in. The email would just show up in the “Please enter your email” field of the log-in

process. Weev noticed this as a major security flaw and proceeded to collect all of the emails of the

people who logged in. He then sent the list, which contained email addresses from everyday citizens to

those in the military and the White House, to a journalist who proceeded to publish a story about the

security hole in AT&T's webservers. Instead of rewarding Weev with the find, or even thanking him,

they decided to file criminal charges on him. Weev wound up spending 18 months in prison over

addition as well as being labeled a “malicious hacker.” I have provided information about his story at

the end of the document in the Sources section.

So why did AT&T decide to punish Weev instead of thanking him? Because if they came out and

acknowledged that such a security flaw existed it would undermine their “power” and “superiority.” In

reality, while usually having a great but of money and overall capital, such large corporations and

organizations are not that strong. They throw up this disguise of being larger than life but it truly is all a

facade. (Funny enough, one movie that accurately portrays the underbelly of such corporations is the

1995 classic, Hackers. If you have not seen this movie then I would highly recommend it just for the

nostalgia and hilarious moments that were created around 90's cyber culture.) AT&T was able to

circumvent any real scrutiny from the main stream media (MSM) by labeling Weev as a “hacker” as

many people are often afraid of these stigmatic buzzwords. The same exact thing happened with

Edward Snowden. Instead of actually explaining the programs and organizations in question, not to

mention how Snowden was given free reign and access to all of these documents, the United States

labeled him as a traitor which is was the majority of the MSM broadcasted after the first intial days of

his leaks. And even now, in the wake of the Paris Attacks (11/13/2015) we see various governments

blaming encryption software and Edward Snowden instead of accepting that they were unable to

prevent the attacks. Mind you that the people who executed the Paris Attacks were using unencrypted

communications anyways.

This conversation of exposing people or governments in power is not a new argument. If you wish

to look up more on the relationship between those in power and those who are not then I have provided

a reading list in the Sources section. It is an interesting and intriguing read if you wish to truly

understand the relationship you have to your government or to other people who are in power over you.

On top of all of this, we are apparently not allowed to protest anymore when we are challenging

the powers that be. There are numerous protests that have been broken up (many times in violent ways)

in recent years. Some that come to mind are Occupy Wall Street and the most recent protest in Paris

over the meetings on climate change. Many times these peaceful protesters are being arrested also.

Now comes the Fourth Amendment. As I have previously shown, the NSA, GCHQ, “Five Eyes”,

and others have all been intercepting our data, looking up information on our data through

XKEYSCORE, and then storing that data for however long they choose to do so. Not even to mention

the ability to listen in through the microphone on your smartphone or laptop, and even the camera on

them as well. These countries have been in direct violation of our Fourth Amendment since 2001, most

likely even prior to that. Obtaining all of this information without going through the proper channels to

issue search warrants is strictly illegal. Yet, these governments and organizations will face no true

backlash because they have been able to ascend themselves above continental laws. The only way to

ensure that your Fourth Amendment Right is being kept true is to encrypt your data and stay safe,

which is pretty fucked up that you have to actively fight and use alternative routes in order to keep your

rights.

Why not Windows –

http://www.getgnulinux.org/en/windows/

Restrictions

A legal copy of Windows is expensive, but what do you get? Windows and Office are

licensed, not sold.

By using these products, we have to agree to a number of harsh restrictions. For most

Windows licenses, you can't keep the software when you change the hardware. You

sometimes can't even give your software away. Who can run the software? On which

computer? What can you do with it? The list of restrictions is long and some items are

outrageous.

The small print in the contract

 Windows and Office are licensed, not sold.

No one can buy Windows or Microsoft Office: instead users purchase a permission to

use them. The license describes the terms of this permission. It is the restrictive legal

text you have to click "OK" to upon install.

 You must abandon many rights to use the software.

There are a number of restrictions that you must accept by law. Restrictions on who can

use the software, what kind of revenue you may earn with it, on how you choose to

install it, restrictions on your privacy, even on whether you can give it away: the list is

long. Reading the license and enumerating your remaining rights is itself a difficult task.

 An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)-distributed software cannot be

transferred to another computer.

If you bought your computer with Windows or Office pre-installed (the so-called OEM

licenses, or the "shrink wrap" Windows discs), if you change computers you must buy

software again. The license is linked to one computer, and expires when the computer

dies. It is then illegal to transfer the software on another computer.

If you go to most of the free software sites you can click down a couple of levels and

find the [GNU] ,GPL (General Public License) the X license, the Apache license,

whichever terms and conditions you have to accept in order to use that software.

Now with a proprietary software company, the license is buried so you can't read it until

after you have paid for the product, then they're asking you to turn off part of your

brain, they're asking you to turn off part of your ability to work with other people and

to do business, when you use their software.

Don Marti, 2005 interview

The meaning behind

Companies like Microsoft like to assimilate their software to physical products, when

mentioning copyright infringement for example. Yet, proprietary software is very

different because of the restrictive license -such restrictions would be unthinkable on a

car or bicycle, for example.

Restrictions on the use of Office and Windows are so harsh, that many violations occur

everyday around us. People are tempted to buy only one version of Microsoft Office and

install it on two computers. Others keep their version of Windows when they throw their

PC away. Other people give away their second-hand Windows software when they stop

using it.

You have an alternative to breaking this law, or feeling very restrained when you abide

to it. GNU/Linux is Free Software (much better than just freeware): its GPL license is

designed to protect your rights.

More details on restrictions

 It is unclear who can use, receive or buy your software.

The license is particularly unclear as to who may or may not use your version of

Windows or Office. Several sentences in the Microsoft Office license suggest it would

be illegal to let your neighbour type a letter with your version of Word on your

computer.

It is however clear in the Microsoft Windows license that you may only give or sell your

copy of Windows software to anyone if you are the first buyer. This means, that if you

buy it from the user who initially purchased it from Microsoft, then you are not able to

sell or give the software away to yet another user, even if you do not use it anymore,

even if you buy the latest software version with your new computer.

 You may not lease, lend or provide commercial hosting services with the software

You cannot let professional users use your software, whether they pay for the service or

not, and whether you use a "Professional" license or not.

 The upgrade is only valid for the first license you use it on

If that original license expires (for example because the computer it came on stops

working), so does the upgrade. If you purchase an upgrade, you are not allowed to use

the original software version anymore.

 Educational versions are crippled

If Microsoft accepts to define you as a student or an academic, you are allowed to buy

an academic license, and install the software on three computers. But it is illegal to use it

for any commercial purpose "or in any way related to the operation of any business

enterprise or revenue-generating activities".

 The components of the software may not be separated

It is illegal to buy Microsoft Office, then install only Word on one computer, and only

Excel on another. The Office suite is one single product.

 Private information is collected

The license explicitly states that "Microsoft and its affiliates" collect technical

information gathered on your computer by the software. They "may use this information

solely to improve products or to provide customized services or technologies".

In order to activate most Microsoft products, as part of the license agreement, your

computer connects to the Microsoft servers and sends "technical" information. It can

"solely" be used for pretty much anything.

Poor support for open standards

There exist open file formats and protocols, which are standards to store and carry many

types of information, respectively. They are openly specified: they can be read by

anyone on any computer, now and in the future. Proprietary programs, however, rarely

support them.

For a long time Microsoft Office only had support for Microsoft formats. There are

many ways to write work documents, but Microsoft Office users were bound to

Microsoft Office files. People who opted without expensive Microsoft products cannot

write and read .doc files very reliably.

There are of course other ways of writing and exchanging office files, the most well-

known being the OpenDocument Format. But Microsoft isn't keen on letting Office

users exchange files anyone can read and edit. As of Microsoft Office 2007 SP2,

Microsoft finally added support for the ODF format after being pushed by the European

Commission.

Standards that change all the time

Sticking to Microsoft standards is not an easy job – unless you can afford to upgrade

very often. Ever tried to work on the same .doc file with both an Office 95 and an Office

97 computer? You'll know what we mean.

Microsoft owns the Office file formats: they change them with every new Office

version and have no obligation to keep them backwards-compatible. Saved your

presentation as a .ppt file? If you give up using Microsoft Office next year, you'll have

to rely on other communities to reverse-engineer the format, to be able to access

and modify your own work.

Default programs you can't uninstall

Don't want Windows Media Player on your computer? Don't use Internet Explorer

anymore? You can't uninstall these programs. They previously worked on a

standalone basis, but have been intrinsically linked with Windows – so they come in

with every PC and no one can get rid of them.

Monopolistic practices

Microsoft has a tight control over OEMs (computer manufacturers) who ship their

computers with Windows installed.

This means that no program competing with Microsoft products, be it multimedia

player, web browser, office suite, instant messaging program or other, will come pre-

installed on most computers you can buy.

It is a good thing to propose a wide range of software and services like Microsoft do;

however, designing and combining them to shut users from non-Microsoft peers is

unethical. It's not technically hard to adopt more open formats. But it means your

customers are free to choose what they do with their work – Microsoft isn't there yet.

What about source code?

The source code details the way a program works (it is effectively what programmers

write). Without it no one can understand how the software is built. It does not matter if

you can't read code: whether or not it is available directly affects any user.

No one can look inside

Windows comes without its source code. More than that: all users must abide to the

license term that says:

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the software.

As such, it is illegal to work out how Windows or Microsoft Word are designed. It is

even illegal to try. You are also forbidden to modify the program for any purpose.

This restriction in the license makes sure that Microsoft remain the sole organization

that understand how their products work. Windows is very much like a car that only

the original manufacturer is allowed to service.

You might say, "How do I change this recipe to take out the salt?" and the great chef

would respond, "How dare you insult my recipe, the child of my brain and my palate, by

trying to tamper with it? You don't have the judgment to change my recipe and make it

work right!"

Richard Stallman, Why Software Should Be Free

Insecurity means business

Whenever a flaw in Windows is discovered, it is exploited, which results in trojans,

viruses, spyware and the likes. Such nuisances delight the Windows security

industry, including Microsoft, which develops various anti-virus protections with

subscriptions.

It is a lucrative process to release flawed software that no one is allowed to change, and

then selling protection services over it (anti-virus software doesn't correct flaws: it

merely prevents viruses from exploiting them, if it is active and updated).

Microsoft will today happily sell you their own protection over their own insecurities –

it sells the poisoned apple and its antidote, separately.

You can trust free software

It comes as no surprise that proprietary software is severely lacking in terms of security, compared to

software whose source code is freely available (including GNU/Linux).

Free software means programmers can change the code to repair flaws. It means you can hire

someone to really check how secure your software is. It means you can benefit from the contributions

of a world-wide community to improve safety and reliability. Fifteen million users run GNU/Linux

without an anti-virus, in complete safety. And the servers behind search engines and banks run on it

too.

Source code is the recipe for software. How could one improve on a meal with too much salt, if

forbidden to look at the recipe used to cook it?

Using Windows and Office requires us to not ask nor search for the source of the software. Only

Microsoft developers can modify your program.

Which would you rather trust: the package you are forbidden to study, or the package with the recipe?

Professor Norm Matloff’s Beginner’s Guide to Installing and

Using Linux

Norm Matloff

Department of Computer Science

University of California at Davis

matloff@cs.ucdavis.edu

c 1999-2013

January 4, 2013

1 Background Needed

I have tailored the material here to beginners. No special sophistication in computers is needed. Any

typical Microsoft Windows user should be able to understand the instructions here and install Linux in

less than an hour’s time. (Do not be intimidated by the length of this document; you probably will not

have to use most of it.) Don’t worry about the length of this document. You’ll probably only need a

small part of it. For some background on the history and significance of the Linux operating system, go

to Appendix A.

2 Install to Where?

I recommend that you install Linux on your hard drive, so that you will dual-boot either your old OS

(I’ll assume Windows from now on) or Linux. After installation, each time you boot up, you will be

given a choice of whether to boot Windows or Linux. Another alternative is to install Linux on a USB

key (memory stick) or external hard drive. Still another choice is to run Linux as a virtual machine.

This is not covered in this document, but if you are a UCD student, see

http://csifdocs.cs.ucdavis.edu/documentation/archives/csif-fedora-on-a-for the easy steps.

By the way, if you have a Mac, you may have the capabilities you need without Linux, since both the

Mac OS and Linux are Unix systems.

3 Which Linux Distribution Is Best?

Linux comes in various distributions, called distros by Linux aficionados—but they are all Linux in

terms of functionality. Some of the most popular are Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, Linux Mint, SuSE,

MEPIS, PCLinuxOS and so on. Remember, there are tons of good distros out there. Any of the above

would be fine, as would many others, but here is my short answer: Use Ubuntu (or one of the many

Ubuntu derivatives, such as Linux Mint). It is arguably one of the most user-friendly of the distros, and

it has a large user community you can access in the Ubuntu forum on the Web, probably the most

active one out there. I now use Ubuntu myself on my home computers, as well as on my office

computer, after years of using various other distros.

If you have an old machine, especially one with limited memory (i.e. RAM), you may wish to give

Puppy Linux or Damn Small Linux a try. I installed them (one at a time) on an old 1998 laptop with

only 64M of memory! And they take as little as 50M of disk space.

4 Installation

Here is the short way to install Linux on your hard drive, dual-booting with Windows.

4.1TheShortAnswer

Here you will install the Ubuntu distro, using UNetbootin as your installation tool.

For simplicity, I’ll assume you wish to install Linux to your laptop.

1. Download UNetbootin from its home page http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ to your hard drive. (For

further informat on UNetbootin, see http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/unetbootin/wiki/guide.

2. Insert a USB key (memory stick). It needs to have FAT32 format. It probably came that way, but if not

then check the Web for how to fix that using your OS.

3. Run UNetbootin.

4. Click Select Distribution, and choose Ubuntu. Then choose the latest Live version in the window to the

right.

5. For Type, choose USB Drive, and for Drive, choose the drive in which your USB key is inserted.

6. Click OK.

7. After the installation to your USB key finishes, choose Exit.

8. Leaving your key in the drive, restart your laptop.

9. Select the choice labeled something like Try Ubuntu.

10. Once Ubuntu boots up, try to use the WiFi: Click on the proper icon at the top right of the screen, and

select your wireless network. If none appears, then for now, connect your machine to an Ethernet jack,

say at a public library or copy shop.

11. Follow directions. If asked whether you want third-party software to be installed, say yes.

12. Reboot (remove the USB key when the screen goes dark).

13. If WiFi didn’t work above, it should work now. You may have to click a pop-up window that asks If you

want to use the proprietary drivers.

During the installation process, there may be some mention of disk partitions. You should not have to

take action, but if you wish to know about partitions (very useful!), see Appendix B.

4.2InstallingLinuxtoaUSBKeyorExternalHardDrive

You can install Linux to a USB key or external hard drive, and boot up Linux from there whenever you

want to use Linux. (This is not the same as the USB key created from UNetbootin, which is only

temporary.)

1Unfortunately, UNetbootin does not produce Mac-bootable USB keys.

4.2.1InstallationMethodI(forSlaxLinux)

Slax is a nice, colorful and small version of Linux, at http://www.slax.org. Click on “Get Slax”

to download, and on “Read Manuals” to see how to install onto a USB key or external hard drive. It is

extremely easy!

In short:

1. Download the Slax .tar package.

2. Go to the directory (or folder, in Windows) for your USB key.

3. Unpack the .tar file from that directory.

4. Go to the boot subdirectory, and run either bootinst.sh (from Linux) or bootinst.bat (from Windows).

In the Linux case, you may need to precede your command by sudo.

4.2.2OtherMethods

You can use UNetbootin (Section 4.1), but you’ll need to make your USB installation persistent; see

http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/unetbootin/wiki/guide. There are methods to construct your USB

installation “by hand” from an ISO file. This is complicated, and will not be pursued here.

5 Post-Installation Configuration

This section describes some further steps I recommend taking after your installation is finished.

5.1ConfiguringYourSearchPath(“Whycan’tIrunmya.out?”)

Most Linux distros do not include your current directory, ‘.’, in the PATH variable. Thus if for example

you compile a program and then type

a.out

the shell may tell you that a.out is not found. You are expected to explicitly specify the current

directory: ./a.out

If you consider this a problem, as I do, to remedy it in the case of the BASH shell (the default shell for

most distros), edit the file /.bash profile In the line which sets PATH, append “:.” (a colon and a dot) at

the end of the line, with no intervening spaces. Then log out and log in again, or do source

˜/.bash_profile

5.2ConfiguringaPrinter

Your Linux distribution should have some program to help you configure your printer if something

went wrong during installation. For example, if you are running the GNOME GUI, select System j

Administration j Printing.

It’s now easy to connect to a remote printer elsewhere on your network (even if it is on a Windows

machine), using Samba.

5.3SwitchingfromGNOME/UbuntuUnity

I personally don’t like the Unity window manager in GNOME. Many others feel the same way. So,

Ubuntu gives us other choices. To set them up, do

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

At your next start, the login screen will show a symbol next to choices of login names; choose

Gnome Classic (No Effects) or whatever you like; experiment to find one that suits you.

5.4ConfiguringKDE/GNOMEforConvenientWindowOperations

5.4.1AutoraiseEtc.

You should find that windowing operations are generally easier in Linux systems than in Windows, in

the sense of requiring fewer mouse clicks, if you set things up that way. Personally, I find it annoying

in Windows that, when I switch from one window to another, I need to click on that second window. In

most Linux windowing systems, I can arrange things so that all I have to do is simply move the mouse

to the second window, without clicking on it. The term for this focus follows mouse, and we can

configure most Linux windowing systems to do this.

Also when I move from one window to another, I want the second one to “come out of hiding” and be

fully exposed on the screen. This is called autoraise, and can be configured too.

You can arrange this configuration in less than one minute’s time. Again, the exact configuration steps

will vary from GNOME to KDE, and from one version to another within those systems, so I can’t give

you the general steps here but here is how it works on GNOME in Ubuntu 12.10 or later:

Open a terminal window (ctrl-alt-t), and type

sudo gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences auto-raise true

sudo gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences focus-mode ’mouse’

Then log out and back in. You only need do this once.

You get check these settings using get instead of set, or use reset to revert to the original values (false

and ’click’), e.g.

sudo gsettings resset org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences auto-raise

6 Some Points on Linux Usage

6.0.2UbuntuRootOperations

Ubuntu works like any other Linux distro, except for one important point: Ubuntu does not have a root

user account in the classic Unix sense. Instead, whenever executing a command which requires root

privileges, one precedes the command by the term sudo (“superuser do”). One is then prompted for a

password, which is the password for the first user account created at the time of installation. If you

have a lot of root-type work to do in a session, type

$ sudo –s

to create a new superuser shell, and do your work there.

6.1MoreonShells/TerminalWindows

In Microsoft Windows, most work done by most users is through a Graphical User Interface (GUI),

rather than in a command window (Start j Run j cmd). In Linux, a lot of work is done via GUIs but also

it is frequently handier to use a command window, called a terminal window. You should always keep

two or three terminal windows on your screen for various tasks that might arise. You can start a

terminal window in GNOME by typing ctrl-alt-t.

When you type commands in a terminal window, the program which reads and acts on those

commands is called a shell. (Thus a terminal window is sometimes called a “shell window.”)

I have an introduction to Unix shells, at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/UnixAndC/

Unix/ShellIntro.html and http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/UnixAndC/Unix/CShellII.html. These

are based on the T C-shell, tcsh, but at least in the case of the first tutorials, most of the material also

applies to the more popular bash shell.

6.2CutandPasteWindowOperations

To do a cut-and-paste operations, hold down the left mouse button and drag it to highlight the text you

wish to copy. Then go to the place you wish to copy that text, and simultaneously push both the left and

right buttons. Generally, more things are cut-and-pastable in Linux than Windows, so this is a big

convenience.

6.3MountingOtherPeripheralDevices

This section explains how to use DVDs, USB devices and so on under Linux. You may wish to review

Section B before continuing.

6.3.1MountPoints

Each I/O device that contains a file system must be mounted, i.e. associated with some directory. That

directory is called a mount point. The files then appear in that directory.

These days most Linux distributions have a designated directory for mount points for DVD/CD-ROMs,

USB devices, floppy disks, etc. This will vary from one distribution to another, but typical directory

names are /mnt, /media etc. You can check what is currently mounted by running the df command from

a shell window (another good Linux learning experience). The mount points are listed along with the

/dev files. Also, to list the /dev files for all your operating drives including USB flash drives and

including drives not mounted, type

sudo fdisk

- For more detailed information, such as file system types, just run mount without any arguments.

Your machine’s internal hard drives, and possibly other devices, will be mounted automatically at boot

time. This is controlled by the entries in the file /etc/fstab. The details are an advanced topic, but even

without understanding everything, you might find it worthwhile to take a quick look at that file. Here is

a line from the file on my office machine,

/dev/sda3 /usr/home ext3 defaults 0 2

Here /dev/sda3 is the third partition (’3’) on my first SATA hard drive (‘a’). The entry says that this

partition has an ext3 type filesystem in it, and is to be mounted at the directory /usr/home. The

remaining entries concern things such as backup and file system checks.

When you attach a device to your machine after bootup, your system will probably recognize it

immediately, and maybe pop up a window showing the device’s contents. If you have trouble, you can

use the Unix mount command. This is an advanced command, but just to give you an idea, a typical

usage would be

mount -t iso9660 /dev/hdc /mnt/yyy

This tells Linux that the I/O device corresponding to /dev/hdc, our CD-ROM, should be mounted at the

directory /mnt/yyy. If that directory doesn’t exist, you must create it first, using mkdir. The field -t

iso9660 says that the file system type is ISO9660. This is standard for CD-ROMs, and you can

probably omit it. Use umount to unmount. It’s not safe to remove a USB device without running this

first.

6.3.2UsingUSBDevices

USB drives, including memory sticks, should have their filesystems mounted automatically when you

attach them. Use the df command to check where they’ve been mounted (it could be in the directory

/mnt/ /media etc.).USB mice should become automatically usable when you attach them.

2This might not work in some cases. If fdisk doesn’t recognize your device, try viewing the file /proc/partitions. Your

device

may appear there, say as sdb1. Then run mount as shown below, on /dev/sdb1.

7 Linux Applications Software

7.1GUIVs.TextBased

Most people prefer to use GUI-based applications. If you are one of them, rest assured that there are

tons of them available for Linux.

I do wish to mention, though, that many “super hard core” Linux users prefer to use text-based

applications, rather than GUI ones. For instance, I and many others like the mutt e-mail utility

(Section ??), which is text-based. Here’s why, at least in my view:

 I often access my Linux machine remotely, while traveling. I might be at a university library, for

instance, or at the business center in a hotel, and be “stuck” with a Windows machine, and logging in to

my Linux machine via an SSH connection.4 This limits me to text.

 It’s very important to me that I use the same text editor for all my computer applications—e-mail,

programming, word processing, etc.—so that I can take advantage of all the abbreviations, shortcuts and

so on which I have built up over the years. This saves me huge amounts of typing. But most GUI

applications, e.g. e-mail utilities, have their own built-in text editors, so I can’t use mine.

 I find that text-based applications often have more features, are better documented, etc. For example, I

often wish to automate certain processes, such as uploading files to another machine, and typically text-

based programs do this better. However, in listing my favorite applications in Section 7.2 below, I’ve

made sure to list both text-based and GUI programs.

7.2MyFavoriteUnix/LinuxApps

In Ubuntu, one downloads new apps using apt-get, which I’ll use in my examples here. The same is

true for other distros derived from Debian. In Fedora, use yum.

7.2.1TextEditing

I use a modern extension to the vi editor, vim. This is the version of vi which is built in to most Linux

distros. See my tutorial at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/vim.html.

Note: In some Fedora distros, somehow the version of vim that is linked to vi isn’t configured fully

correctly. I suggest using /usr/bin/vim directly. Even though vim is text-based, it does have a GUI

version too, gvim. This comes with nice icons, allows you to do mouse operations, etc. Unfortunately,

most Linux distros seem to have only the text-based program. To get the GUI, you can download it

yourself. In Ubuntu, do

sudo apt-get install vim-gnome

For this, you may need to edit /etc/apt/sources.list and uncommented the lines for Canonical’s ’partner’

repository.

7.2.2WebBrowsingandJava

Your Linux distro will come with a Web browser, probably Firefox, and possibly Konqueror in

addition. I usually use Firefox. Chrome is nice, but I really like the plugins available for Firefox.

But believe it or not, sometimes I use the famous text-based browser, lynx. In some cases, it is just

plain quicker and easier. Moreover, you can do cool tricks, such as recording keystrokes for later

playback, thus enabling one to do certain Web operations automatically.

If you use Ubuntu, your system may not be configured for Java in Web browsing. If so, do

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

sudo apt-get install icedtea-7-plugin

7.2.3HTMLEditing

I usually use Vim, along with some macros I’ve written for HTML editing, but I sometimes use

Amaya, which is a full-featured GUI HTML editor, written by the Web policy consortium. One nice

feature is that you can actually use the embedded Web links, good for testing them. See my tutorial at

http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/amaya.html. There are many newer and more powerful packages,

such as Quanta+, Bluefish and NVu.

7.2.4Compilers

Some distros come with the GCC suite. Ubuntu, for example, does not, but it can be downloaded via

sudo apt-get install build-essential

# may need to do this separately:

sudo apt-get install libc6-dev # C library

7.2.5IntegratedSoftwareDevelopment(IDE)

For programming work, I rarely use IDEs, as they are slow to load, take up too much space, and often

don’t allow me to use my own text favorite editor. I find that the vim editor (cited above) and the ddd

GUI interface to the gdb debugging tool, work great together. For example, in vim I can type: make

(which I have aliased to just M, or with gvim click on the make icon, and the source code I’m

debugging will be recompiled. And as I’ve mentioned, it’s important to me that I use the same text

editor for all applications, which most IDE would not allow me to do. I use either GDB (try CGDB!) or

DDD for my debugging tool. See my tutorials at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/vim.html and

http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/debug.html.

DDD is also usable with my favorite programming language, Python.

However, if you love IDEs, try Eclipse. I’ve got a tutorial that is more complete than most, at http:

//heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/eclipse.html. It can be used with C, C++, Java,

Perl, Python and many others.

Another system that has become quite popular is NetBeans. For R programming, RStudio and StatET

are both first-rate.

7.2.6WordProcessing

I use LATEX because of its flexibility, its beautiful output, and its outstanding ability to do math. You

may like Lyx, which is a great GUI interface to LATEX which is especially good for math work. See

my tutorials

at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/latex.html and http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/lyx.html.

Install by running

sudo apt-get install texlive

# you may also need:

sudo apt-get install texlive-fonts-recommended

If you wish to work with files compatible with the Microsoft Office environment, there is a free suite of

programs, OpenOffice, which provide Microsoft compatibility. It is packaged with most Linux

distributions. If you would like something that quickly converts an Office file to rough text form, say to

use with e-mail attacments, try Antiword. In Ubuntu, install via

sudo apt-get install antiword

7.2.7PlayingMovies,Music,Etc.

MPlayer is free and outstanding. Its capabilities are amazingly broad.

The documentation is extensive, and hard to navigate, but here are a couple of things to get you started:

Installation: It’s easy in Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install mplayer

sudo apt-get install mencoder

Otherwise, build it yourself, as follows

One downloads the source code, MPlayer-1.0pre7try2.tar.bz2 and the codecs, essential-

20041107.tar.bz2,

from www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html.

Unpack the codecs file first,

tar xfj essential-20041107.tar.bz2

This creates a new directory. Copy the contents of that directory to the directory /usr/local/lib/codecs

(use mkdir to create it if necessary). (Note: There may be legality issues with some codecs. When in

doubt about a particular codec, you should obtain it from a site like Fluendo that offers it for a nominal

fee, See a discussion at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/CodecBuddy.

Now, unpack the source code file, and go into the directory it creates. Then go through the usual

sequence for building open-source software from source:

configure

make

make install

Note that if you want to use the GUI, the configure command should be

configure --enable-gui

After make install is done, you will probably get a message something like

*** Download font at http://www.mplayerhq.hu/dload.html

*** for OSD/Subtitles support and extract to

/usr/local/share/mplayer/font/

*** Download skin(s) at http://www.mplayerhq.hu/dload.html

*** for GUI, and extract to /usr/local/share/mplayer/skins/

The fonts are needed for the subtitles (and for the GUI, if you use it). Just the iso1 font is needed.

Download the font package, go to the indicated directory (/usr/local/share/mplayer/font/ in the above

example), and then do the unpack operation. This will produce a subdirectory, e.g. font-arial-iso-8859-

Viewing a video:

To play a video or audio file, say x.avi, type

mplayer x.avi

If you specify several files, as a playlist, it will play them all. Hit the Enter key if you want to skip the

rest of the current file and go to the next one.

You have the following controls:

 right and left arrow keys to go back or forward 10 seconds

 down and up arrow keys to go back or forward 1 minutes

 PgDown and PgUp keys to go back or forward 10 min

 left- and right-bracket keys to decrease/increase speed by 10%, or left- and right-brace for 50%;

 Backspace key to return to normal speed

 Space bar to pause, then . to go forward frame by frame, Space bar to resume play

 f to go full screen

 q to quit

You can use mplayer, actually mencoder, which comes with the package, to do format conversion, e.g.

AVI to MPG, change aspect ratio, and even do some primitive editing.

There are many, MANY,MANYdifferent options. You may wish to try other players, e.g. VLC.

7.2.8VideoEditing

Try Kino, Cinelerra, LiVES and many others.

7.2.9ImageViewing,ManipulationandDrawing

I use xpdf to view PDF files, though Acroread for Linux is available. I like the fact that xpdf allows me

to copy ASCII text from the file. Others popular with Linux are evince, okular and MuPDF. For

collections of JPEG files and the like, I use xzgv, gqview and gwenview; for viewing a single image, I

use qiv.

Want something like Adobe Photoshop? The GIMP program is quite powerful, and free. It’s included

with most Linux distributions.

You can use GIMP to draw, but for “quick and dirty” tasks, I would suggest Dia, at

http://www.gnome.org/projects/dia/.

7.2.10FTP

I usually use the text-based ftp and sftp, the latter being an SSH version for security.

If you do frequent uploads/downloads to/from a particular site and wish to automate them, another text-

based program, yafc, is excellent. A very nice GUI program, though, is gftp, which you can download

from the Web if your Linux system doesn’t already have it. In addition to the GUI, this program also

has some functionality which ordinary FTP programs don’t have.

7.2.11StatisticalAnalysis

Use the statistical package that the professional statisticians use—R!

In my opinion from the point of view of someone with a “foot in both camps”—I’m a computer science

professor who used to be a statistics professor—the R statistical package is the best one around,

whether open source or commercial. It is statistically modern and correct, and it also is a general-

purpose programming language.

I have a tutorial on R at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/r.html.

Install via

sudo apt-get install r-base

7.2.12VideoChat

Currently, this is an area in which many Linux distros need work. Ubuntu comes with Ekiga, which

works best if the person you’re chatting with has Ekiga too. Skype has a Linux version, which many

people use, but some have found to have problems. As of this writing, Google does not offer Google

Talk for Linux. However, Empathy can be used. There are driver issues for some Webcams. Those

using the UVC protocol are supposed to work on Linux, with the uvcvideo driver that comes with

Linux. But again, there may be problems.

7.2.13RuningWindowsApplicationsfromWithinLinux

I am simply not a Windows user, but on occasion there is a Windows program I need to run from

within Linux. The simple way, if it works, is the WINE Windows emulator. Your distro may include it

(type which wine in a terminal window to check); if not, download it, with for example the Ubuntu

command being

udo apt-get install wine

For more involved applications, you may wish to try one of the virtual machine packages. See http:

//heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/vm.html for a brief introduction.

7.3DownloadingNewSoftware

There is a vast wealth of free software for Linux on the Web. Here’s how to obtain and install it.

7.3.1HowtoFindIt

These days most downloads and installs are done automatically, say with yum or apt-get, as seen in

Section 7.3.2 below. That helps you find it too. If you want to find application Z, instead of plugging

“Z” into Google, plug “yum install Z” or “apt-get install Z” so as to narrow down the volume of

response.

5In some respects, it’s even better than S, the commercial product it is based on.

7.3.2AutomaticDownload/Installation

In recent years, most Linux distros have made it very easy to download and install new software. In

Fedora, for instance, one uses the yum command. For example, to download the program yafc

mentioned above, one simply types yum install yafc. In Ubuntu, there is the apt-get command, which

works similarly. For instance, to download the xpdf PDF viewer, I typed

sudo apt-get install xpdf

(See Section 6.0.1 for an explanation of sudo. Ubuntu may ask you to install from your CD-ROM, but

yours may be incomplete. If so, comment out the first line of /etc/apt/sources.list; this is the line telling

Ubuntu to install from the CD-ROM.) For those who prefer GUIs, Ubuntu offers the Synaptic package

manager. With both yum and apt-get, one can direct where to download from, by making the proper

entries in the file etc/apt/sources.list. For instance, for the R statistical package above, apt-get may not

find it on its own, in which case we can add a line

deb http://cran.stat.ucla.edu/bin/linux/ubuntu gutsy/

to etc/apt/sources.list, telling apt-get that here is an alternative place it can look. (This is for the Gutsy

edition of Ubuntu.)

By default apt-get will try to retrieve your requested program from your installation CD/DVD. You can

change this by commenting-out the line in etc/apt/sources.list that begins with

deb cdrom:

Sometimes it may not be clear which package name to use with yum or apt-get. For instance, to install

the GCC compiler, C library and so on, the command is

sudo apt-get install build-essential

How did I learn this? I did a Web search for “apt-get GCC.”

To install the curses library (and include file), do

sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev

7.3.3Debian/Ubuntu.debFiles

The Debian distro of Linux uses its own packaging for downloaded programs, which you’ll see as files

whose names have a .deb suffix. Ubuntu, as a derivative of Debian, uses this too.

Usually you will not need to work directly with these files, since you will use apt-get or Synaptic. But

if you do download such a file directly from the Web, use gdebi to install it; the GUI version is gdebi-

gtk.

7.3.4UsingRPMs

Though the methods in Section 7.3.2 have now made RPMs less important, you may find that the

software you want comes in an RPM package, with a.rpm suffix in its name. To install such a package,

type rpm -i package_file_name If you later wish to remove, i.e. uninstall a package, you can use rpm -e

(‘e’ stands for “erase”). You do NOT have to have the RPM file present to do this. Some packages will

have different versions for different C libraries. Red Hat uses glibc. Type ls -l /lib/libc* to see which

version you have. You may find that you need some library files for a program you download, and that

you are missing those files. You can usually get these from the Web too. If a program complains about

a missing file, try the ldd command (e.g. ldd x if the name of the program which needs the library is x);

this will tell you which libraries are needed, where they were found on your system, and which ones, if

any, were not found.

8 Learning More About Linux

The only way to really learn Linux is to use it on a daily basis for all your computer work—e-mail,

word processing, Web work, programming, etc. As you do this, the expertise you’ll want to pick up

includes: file, directory and mount operations; process operations; roles of system directories (/usr, /etc,

/dev, /sbin and their various subdirectories, e.g. /usr/lib; search paths; network operation and utilities

such as netstat; and so on. Don’t try to do this all at once. Instead, take your time, and learn these

naturally, as the need arises. As you use Linux more and more in your daily computer application work

(e-mail, word processing, etc.), the needs will arise as you go along. And remember, there’s lots of help

available if you need it.

_ If you are running Ubuntu or one of its offshoots, the Ubuntu Forums, http://ubuntuforums.

org/ is an excellent resource.

 Linux home page, at http://www.linux.org/Lots and lots of information is available here.

www.linux.com. Chock full of information and links.

 Google’s excellent set of links to various Linux sites,

http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Operating_Systems/Linux

 Another good set of Linux links, http://www.linuxjunior.org/resources.shtml

 If you are having trouble with specific hardware in your Linux installation, an excellent place to go for

detailed information is the Linux HOW-TO documentation. (For the same reason, if you are about to

purchase a machine and suspect that some of the hardware is nonstandard, you can check the

corresponding Linux HOW-TO to see if there are any problems with that hardware.

The HOW-TO documents are available at many sites, such as the one at linux.org.

There are Linux Users Groups (LUGs) in virtually every city. You can join if you wish, or just get to

know them casually. They are great sources of help! And by the way, many of them hold monthly

Linux Installfests, where you can see Linux being installed or have it installed on your own machine.

9 Advanced Linux Usage

9.1DualBootIssues

You may wish to change some parameters of your dual-boot process, e.g. change the default OS. You

can do this by editing the configuration file for your bootloader.

Most distros today use GRUB as their bootloader. Its configuration file is /boot/grub/menu.lst. By the

way, note that GRUB’s notation for partitions is (drive ID, partition number), so that for instance

(hd0,1) means the second partition in the first hard drive.

9.2LiveCDsorUSBKeyBasedLinuxAsRescueTools

Among other things, Knoppix has developed a reputation as being useful as an OS rescue/repair tool,

including for Windows! And now, most of the live CDs or USB-key based Linux installations can be

used this way. A common usage is to either fix broken files or at least make copies of important user

files. It may be, for instance, that Windows is not bootable due to corruption, but by using a Linux

rescue CD/USB key, we can access individual files. Here is a typical pattern. One brings up a terminal

window and then:

sudo -s # get root privileges; could try su root instead

fdisk -l # check where the partitions are

# say /dev/sda1 is of interest

mkdir x

mount /dev/sda1 x

cd x

# now you have those files at your disposal

In one case, I forgot my password on an Ubuntu netbook. I could fix it as root if I could boot up in

Ubuntu recovery mode, but unfortunately the GRUB bootloader was configured with a timeout value

of 0 seconds, giving me no way to choose recovery mode. So, I booted up Linux from a USB key

(Section 4.2), mounted my Ubuntu file system as above, and then edited the GRUB startup file,

/boot/grub/menu.lst, changing the timeout value to 5 seconds.

The preceding operations can be done by booting almost any Linux distro, but Knoppix is nicer as it

comes with two very nice utilities (both can be obtained separately as well):

 testdisk: This does a lot of diagnostics on your hard drive, recover lost partitions, undelete deleted files,

fix boot sectors and so on.

 ntfsfix: May be able to fix your broken NTFS partition.

 photorec: Quite a program! It bypasses your (possibly broken) file system, and looks for files by going

through your hard drive literally bit by bit, looking for bytes that encode any of 180 known file types,

e.g. .jpg, .avi, .pdf etc.

9.3Troubleshooting

One of Linux’s biggest strengths is its stability. If you are tired of getting Windows’ infamous “blue

screen of death,” then Linux is the OS for you. (It is also subject to far fewer virus and other attacks

than Windows.) So emergencies are rare, but they can happen. Here are some tips for such cases.

9.3.1Tools

Here are some commands you can run in a terminal window that you can use to investigate:

 ps: Tells you what processes are running. Typically one uses this with something like the ax option.

 dmesg: Tells you the major events that have occurred on your machine ever since it was last booted up.

 lsmod: This tells you what OS modules are installed, i.e. device drivers and the like.

 lpq: Lists the current printer queue.

 lsusb: Lists what USB devices are currently plugged in.

 ifconfig: Lists network interfaces.

 iwconfig: Lists currently operating wireless devices.

 iwlist: Lists wireless access points in range.

 netstat: Lists current network connections.

9.3.2WiFiNetworking

The newer versions of the major distros handle WiFi configuration pretty well without your

intervention. But if you have problems, the material in this section may be helpful.

9.3.3GeneralInformation

Below is a five-minute crash course in WiFi. Even if you don’t understand all of it, even partial

understanding may be helpful.

 Recall that in Unix-family operating systems, I/O devices are represented as “files” in the directory /dev.

Your WiFi device is probably eth1 or wlan0.

 Your WiFi device needs a driver. Many, if not most, laptops use Broadcom WiFi hardware, and in older

Linux distros, they needed some fiddling to work, but now it’s much easier (see below).

 The names of wireless access points are called ESSIDs.

 If you are connected to a router or a wireless access point, your machine is probably assigned an IP

address via DHCP, rather than statically. An error message like “no lease offered” means that the DHCP

process failed.

 DNS servers convert an “English” address like www.google.com to a numerical address like

209.85.171.103. So your OS needs to set up a connection to a DNS server.

9.3.4NetworkManagementTools

If you are running the GNOME windows manager, select System j Administration j Network. There is

also an icon you can click in the toolbar; it looks like two black monitors when you are not connected,

and is a set of blue bars indicating signal strength when you are connected. Note that left- and right-

clicking gives different results, so try both. In KDE, select System j Network Device Control. You can

activate/deactivate your netword card during a session. In GNOME, this is done via System j

Administration j Network. The network managers included with most Linux distros are rather

primitive. An excellent alternative is WiFi Radar. In Ubuntu, install via

sudo apt-get install wifi-radar

9.3.5IndividualLinuxNetworkCommands

Useful commands from a terminal window include:

 iwlist: You can determine which ESSIDs are within range of you by typing the command

$ sudo iwlist eth1 scanning

say if your wireless device is eth1.

 ifconfig: Shows information about all your network interfaces, i.e. their hardware addresses, IP

addresses and so on. Lack of IP address on your wireless port, e.g. wlan0 or eth1, may indicate that

DHCP has failed. This command can also be used to set the IP address and other parameters “manually,”

deactivate/reactive a network interface, etc.

 iwconfig: Shows information about all your wireless connections. Also can be used by you to specify

which access point you wish to use. For example, to select a particular wireless access point named X,

type

sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid "X"

(assuming wlan0 is your wireless interface)

 dmesg: Shows a record of your last bootup. This may show error messages regarding yourWiFi card. It’s

pretty long, so either run it through more, i.e. run

dmesg | more

or save it to a file, say dmesg.out, and then explore the file at your leisure with a text editor.

 _ route: Displays the current packet routing table.

 _ ethtool: Running

ethtool eth0

will give you information about your Ethernet link, e.g. link speed. To get statistics on recent usage, run

ethtool --statistics eth0

Some of these must be used with root privilege. For example, running

iwlist eth1 scanning

may produce no access points, while

sudo iwlist eth1 scanning

will show you all of them.

The file /etc/resolv.conf lists the IP addresses of the DNS servers. You can add more nameserver lines if

you know of some, say from your ISP (of for that matter, other ISPs).

9.3.6IfYouHaveaProblem

These days, Linux generally does well with WiFi, and it might work for you “right out of the box,”

with no configuration on your part. If not, this section is for you. Some wireless network cards typically

sold with PCs today do not have direct Linux drivers available. A common example is the Broadcom

BCM43XX series. However, you can still operate as usual after some

preparation, as explained below.

Ubuntu: BCM43XX Series

Ubuntu handles Broadcom cards well, as long as you have Linux kernel 2.6.15 or newer. (Run dmesg if

you want to check this.) You simply need to take the following action once:

First establish an Ethernet connection to the Internet, to enable download. For example, if you have a

router at home, even a wireless one, connect your machine directly to the router with an Ethernet cable.

Then Select System j Administration j Hardware Devices (the last might be labeled Additional

Drivers). It will ask you if you want to download the Broadcom firmware, so say yes. Check the Enable

box for Firmware for Broadcom 43 Wireless Driver. You will be asked whether you want the firmware

to be downloaded from the net; say yes. Then check Enabled after the download. Know YourWiFi

Card You first need to determine which wireless card you have. On the laptop I use now, I determined

this by running dmesg and lspci under Linux. Sure enough, it turned out to be a Broadcom BCM43XX

series card. Other Cards/Kernels

For other cards, go to the ndiswrapper home page, http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/.

The program ndiswrapper allows Linux to use Windows drivers.

9.3.7AProgramFreezes

If an application program freezes up and you invoked it from the command line within a shell, you can

inmost cases kill it by hitting Ctrl-c in the terminal window from which invoked it. If this doesn’t work,

run the “processes” command by typing

ps ax

in another terminal window, and noting the process number of your program. Say for concreteness that

that number is 2398. Then type

kill -9 2398

to kill the program. If you have a program named, say, xyz, the command

pkill -9 xyz

kills all running instances of the program.

9.3.8ScreenFreezes

What if your entire screen freezes up? Again, this should be quite rare, but it is possible. I recommend

the following remedies, in order:

 _ In Gnome hit Alt F2, which will bring up a little window in which you can run a command, say pkill

as above.

 _ In Gnome, hit Ctrl Alt T, which will create a new terminal window, from which you can kill the

offending program.

 _ Try going to another screen! Linux allows you to switch among multiple screens. In Gnome, for

instance, you can switch to the second screen from the first via Ctrl Alt Right, and go back via Ctrl Alt

Left. Then open a terminal window in the new screen, find the process number of the program and kill

the program, as described above.

 _ In Gnome, try hitting Ctrl Alt Del). This should cause an exit from Linux’s X11 windowing system but

not an exit from Linux itself. You would then get an opportunity to log in again.

 Try NOT to simply poweroff the machine, as that may do damage to your files. It may not be permanent

damage, as the OS will try to fix the problems when you next reboot, but don’t just pull the plug unless

you have no other recourse.

9.4AccessingYourWindowsFilesfromLinux

At this point, most Linux distributions, except Fedora/Red Hat, give you access (at least read access) to

your Windows partition from Linux. For some of them, they may do this automatically, in which case

your Windows partition, say /dev/hda1 should be visible in the file /etc/fstab. If not, mount it yourself:

mkdir /dosc

mount /dev/hda1 /dosc

cd /dosc

You should now see your Windows files, and should be able to access them on at least a read basis. For

more information, including concerning write access, ss the Linux-NTFS Project, http://www.linux-

ntfs.org/.

A What Is Linux?

Linux is a form of the Unix operating system. Though originally Unix was used mainly by engineers

and scientists and thus was not very familiar to the general public, a lot of what you take for granted on

computer systems today began in Unix. A notable example is the Internet—the first major operating

system to implement the TCP/IP protocol at the heart of the Internet was Unix, and that led to the

general acceptance of the protocol. The Apple Macintosh operating system is based on a form of Unix,

and the Android system is based on Linux.

In the early 1990s, computer science student Linus Torvalds decided to write his own version of Unix,

which he called Linux. Other “homegrown” versions of Unix had been written, such as MINIX, but

what distinguished Linux was the scale of worldwide participation involved. Torvalds innocently put a

message on the Internet asking if anyone wanted to help, and he got a torrent of responses. There are a

several reasons why Linux is mainstream today. First, it became known as a very reliable, stable

operating system, with one result being that Linux has become a major platform for large corporate

Web servers. Another reason is that it is free, as is the vast majority of the software associated with it

developed elsewhere. Many companies have found that it is cheaper to run Linux on their PCs, both for

this reason and because of reduced maintenance costs. There are several good reasons for you to use

Linux:

 As mentioned, Linux is becoming one of the “hottest” software systems. Virtually all of the major

companies are promoting it, and as mentioned Linux is a leading corporate choice for Web servers.

Linux is the main operating system used at , and in fact they developed their own version of Linux,

Goobuntu (a play on Ubuntu, one of the most popular versions of Linux).

 Linux is also starting to make inroads in large desktop markets, such as businesses, schools and so on,

due to its high reliability, far lower rate of infection by viruses compared to Windows, and its low cost.

 The Linux community shares. That means that people online are much more willing to help you, and

more open source software is available. If you are a university computer science student, there are some

very important additional advantages:

 Many CS courses make specific use of Unix, and thus their work cannot be done on Windows platforms.

 Since it is a full Unix system, Linux allows students to do their homework in the comfort

of their own homes. If you are new to Unix, click here for my Unix tutorial Web page at

http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/˜matloff/unix.html, which will introduce you to Unix file and directory

commands, and so on.

 In installing and using Linux, students learn many practical things about computers which they do not

learn in coursework. This practical experience can also help you in job interviews, both for permanent

jobs after graduation and for summer jobs and internships/co-ops during your college years. Even if the

job you interview for does not involve Linux, you will definitely impress the interviewer if, for example,

you discuss various things you have done to use and customize your Linux system.



B What Is Partitioning?

It is probably not necessary for you to know the material here, and it is rather detailed, but you

may find it useful at some point. I do recommend that you take a few minutes and read this section. A

hard drive (not just for Linux) will consist of one or more partitions. A partition is a set of contiguous

space (sequential blocks) on the disk, and is treated as an independent disk.

So, assuming you want your system to include bothWindows and Linux (termed a dual boot situation,

since you can boot either system), you will need at least one partition for Windows and one (actually

two) for Linux. It’s important to understand how the naming works: In Linux systems, all I/O devices

are treated as “files.” If your first hard drive is of the IDE type, the entire drive is probably called

/dev/hda, i.e. the “file” had within the directory /dev. In the case of SATA-type hard drives, the

notation is /dev/sda etc. Your first CD-ROM/DVD drive may be /dev/hdc (your third “hard drive”),

your first USB port may be /dev/sdf1 and so on.

Partitions within, say, /dev/hda, are called /dev/hda1, /dev/hda2 and so on.

Your original Windows single partition was probably /dev/hda1 or /dev/sda1. Within a partition

you’ll have some type of file system. The disk consists simply of a long stream of bytes, with no

structure, so the OS needs to have a way of organizing them into files, recording where in that stream

each file has its bytes. But you don’t need to know the details. Windows XP and Vista use the NTFS

file system. The standard Linux file system is ext2 (number 0x83, sometimes called Linux native), or

possibly ext3, for your main Linux partition and of type swap for your swap partition (number 0x82,

used for temporary storage during the time the OS is running).PCs were originally designed to have up

to four “real” partitions, called primary partitions. After people found that to be too constraining,

logical or extended partitions were invented. You should install Linux in a primary partition, for

recovery reasons, but it is not necessary.

B.1PartitioningUsingGParted

Today most distros will invoke a partitioning program to do your partitioning. This could be the

famous GParted program, or one that the authors of your distro wrote themselves.

You can use GParted on your own by downloading and booting a GParted live CD (or USB key), but

I’ll assume here that your Linux installation program invokes either GParted or another program

written specifically for your distro. Since every distro will handle this a bit differently, what I will do

here is just give you an understanding of what operations need to be done, with the specific mouse

clicks needed varying from one distro to another. I’ll assume that you want your Windows and Linux

systems to coexist on the same hard drive. So when your

distro’s installer program asks you whether you want to use the entire disk, be sure to say no! Of

course, if you do want to erase Windows, or if you are installing Linux on a separate drive from

Windows, you can go ahead and use the whole drive.

Here are the main steps in GParted, roughly stated (you may see some variation):

 Select the disk you wish to repartition. If you have only one disk, it will be something like /dev/hda. (See

Section B.)

 Select the partition where Windows resides. This will typically cover the entire disk, and will almost

certainly be of file system type NTFS. I’ll assume that here.

 Decide how much space you want to remove from the Windows partition in order to make a partition for

Linux.

 Now resize, in this case shrink, the Windows partition. The partioner will ask you how much room to

make.

 Adjust the partition size according to your desired value.

 You’ll need to make the main Linux partition primary, of type ext2 or ext3, and set to be bootable.

 You’ll need a smaller partition of type linux-swap. This is not used for files, but rather as “scratch

space” by the OS, for virtual memory and for storage when your machine is in hibernate mode.

 You’ll then have to commit, i.e. save, the changes to the partitions. This might take a few minutes, so be

patient.

 The next time you boot Windows; you will be asked if you want a disk consistency check. Definitely say

yes.

TOR – The Onion Relay

(Links route to www.torproject.org)

Tor: Overview

Topics

 Overview

 Why we need Tor

 The Solution

 Staying anonymous

 The future of Tor

Overview

The Tor network is a group of volunteer-operated servers that allows people to improve their privacy

and security on the Internet. Tor's users employ this network by connecting through a series of virtual

tunnels rather than making a direct connection, thus allowing both organizations and individuals to

share information over public networks without compromising their privacy. Along the same line, Tor

is an effective censorship circumvention tool, allowing its users to reach otherwise blocked destinations

or content. Tor can also be used as a building block for software developers to create new

communication tools with built-in privacy features.

Individuals use Tor to keep websites from tracking them and their family members, or to connect to

news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet

providers. Tor's hidden services let users publish web sites and other services without needing to reveal

the location of the site. Individuals also use Tor for socially sensitive communication: chat rooms and

web forums for rape and abuse survivors, or people with illnesses.

Journalists use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers and dissidents. Non-governmental

organizations (NGOs) use Tor to allow their workers to connect to their home website while they're in

a foreign country, without notifying everybody nearby that they're working with that organization.

Groups such as Indymedia recommend Tor for safeguarding their members' online privacy and

security. Activist groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recommend Tor as a mechanism

for maintaining civil liberties online. Corporations use Tor as a safe way to conduct competitive

analysis, and to protect sensitive procurement patterns from eavesdroppers. They also use it to replace

traditional VPNs, which reveal the exact amount and timing of communication. Which locations have

employees working late? Which locations have employees consulting job-hunting websites? Which

research divisions are communicating with the company's patent lawyers?

A branch of the U.S. Navy uses Tor for open source intelligence gathering, and one of its teams used

Tor while deployed in the Middle East recently. Law enforcement uses Tor for visiting or surveilling

web sites without leaving government IP addresses in their web logs, and for security during sting

operations.

The variety of people who use Tor is actually part of what makes it so secure. Tor hides you among the

other users on the network, so the more populous and diverse the user base for Tor is, the more your

anonymity will be protected.

Why we need Tor

Using Tor protects you against a common form of Internet surveillance known as "traffic analysis."

Traffic analysis can be used to infer who is talking to whom over a public network. Knowing the

source and destination of your Internet traffic allows others to track your behavior and interests. This

can impact your checkbook if, for example, an e-commerce site uses price discrimination based on

your country or institution of origin. It can even threaten your job and physical safety by revealing who

and where you are. For example, if you're travelling abroad and you connect to your employer's

computers to check or send mail, you can inadvertently reveal your national origin and professional

affiliation to anyone observing the network, even if the connection is encrypted.

How does traffic analysis work? Internet data packets have two parts: a data payload and a header used

for routing. The data payload is whatever is being sent, whether that's an email message, a web page, or

an audio file. Even if you encrypt the data payload of your communications, traffic analysis still reveals

a great deal about what you're doing and, possibly, what you're saying. That's because it focuses on the

header, which discloses source, destination, size, timing, and so on.

A basic problem for the privacy minded is that the recipient of your communications can see that you

sent it by looking at headers. So can authorized intermediaries like Internet service providers, and

sometimes unauthorized intermediaries as well. A very simple form of traffic analysis might involve

sitting somewhere between sender and recipient on the network, looking at headers.

But there are also more powerful kinds of traffic analysis. Some attackers spy on multiple parts of the

Internet and use sophisticated statistical techniques to track the communications patterns of many

different organizations and individuals. Encryption does not help against these attackers, since it only

hides the content of Internet traffic, not the headers.

The solution: a distributed, anonymous network

Tor helps to reduce the risks of both simple and sophisticated traffic analysis by distributing your

transactions over several places on the Internet, so no single point can link you to your destination. The

idea is similar to using a twisty, hard-to-follow route in order to throw off somebody who is tailing you

— and then periodically erasing your footprints. Instead of taking a direct route from source to

destination, data packets on the Tor network take a random pathway through several relays that cover

your tracks so no observer at any single point can tell where the data came from or where it's going.

To create a private network pathway with Tor, the user's software or client incrementally builds a

circuit of encrypted connections through relays on the network. The circuit is extended one hop at a

time, and each relay along the way knows only which relay gave it data and which relay it is giving

data to. No individual relay ever knows the complete path that a data packet has taken. The client

negotiates a separate set of encryption keys for each hop along the circuit to ensure that each hop can't

trace these connections as they pass through.

Once a circuit has been established, many kinds of data can be exchanged and several different sorts of

software applications can be deployed over the Tor network. Because each relay sees no more than one

hop in the circuit, neither an eavesdropper nor a compromised relay can use traffic analysis to link the

connection's source and destination. Tor only works for TCP streams and can be used by any

application with SOCKS support.

For efficiency, the Tor software uses the same circuit for connections that happen within the same ten

minutes or so. Later requests are given a new circuit, to keep people from linking your earlier actions to

the new ones.

Staying anonymous

Tor can't solve all anonymity problems. It focuses only on protecting the transport of data. You need to

use protocol-specific support software if you don't want the sites you visit to see your identifying

information. For example, you can use Tor Browser while browsing the web to withhold some

information about your computer's configuration.

Also, to protect your anonymity, be smart. Don't provide your name or other revealing information in

web forms. Be aware that, like all anonymizing networks that are fast enough for web browsing, Tor

does not provide protection against end-to-end timing attacks: If your attacker can watch the traffic

coming out of your computer, and also the traffic arriving at your chosen destination, he can use

statistical analysis to discover that they are part of the same circuit.

The future of Tor

Providing a usable anonymizing network on the Internet today is an ongoing challenge. We want

software that meets users' needs. We also want to keep the network up and running in a way that

handles as many users as possible. Security and usability don't have to be at odds: As Tor's usability

increases, it will attract more users, which will increase the possible sources and destinations of each

communication, thus increasing security for everyone. We're making progress, but we need your help.

Please consider running a relay or volunteering as a developer.

Ongoing trends in law, policy, and technology threaten anonymity as never before, undermining our

ability to speak and read freely online. These trends also undermine national security and critical

infrastructure by making communication among individuals, organizations, corporations, and

governments more vulnerable to analysis. Each new user and relay provides additional diversity,

enhancing Tor's ability to put control over your security and privacy back into your hands.

Tails

(Links route to https://tails.boum.org/about/index.en.html, debian.org,

or to torproject.org)

Tails is a live system that aims to preserve your privacy and anonymity. It helps you to use the Internet

anonymously and circumvent censorship almost anywhere you go and on any computer but leaving no

trace unless you ask it to explicitly.

It is a complete operating system designed to be used from a DVD, USB stick, or SD card

independently of the computer's original operating system. It is Free Software and based on Debian

GNU/Linux.

Tails comes with several built-in applications pre-configured with security in mind: web browser,

instant messaging client, email client, office suite, image and sound editor, etc.

1. Online anonymity and censorship circumvention

1. Tor

2. I2P

2. Use anywhere but leave no trace

3. State-of-the-art cryptographic tools

4. What's next?

5. Press and media

6. Acknowledgments and similar projects

Online anonymity and censorship circumvention

Tor

Tails relies on the Tor anonymity network to protect your privacy online:

 all software is configured to connect to the Internet through Tor

 if an application tries to connect to the Internet directly, the connection is automatically blocked

for security.

Tor is an open and distributed network that helps defend against traffic analysis, a form of network

surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and

relationships, and state security.

Tor protects you by bouncing your communications around a network of relays run by volunteers all

around the world: it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites

you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location.

Using Tor you can:

 be anonymous online by hiding your location,

 connect to services that would be censored otherwise;

 resist attacks that block the usage of Tor using circumvention tools such as bridges.

To learn more about Tor, see the official Tor website, particularly the following pages:

 Tor overview: Why we need Tor

 Tor overview: How does Tor work

 Who uses Tor?

 Understanding and Using Tor — An Introduction for the Layman

To learn more about how Tails ensures all its network connections use Tor, see our design document.

I2P

You can also use Tails to access I2P which is an anonymity network different from Tor.

Learn how to use I2P in Tails in the documentation.

To know how I2P is implemented in Tails, see our design document.

Use anywhere but leave no trace

Using Tails on a computer doesn't alter or depend on the operating system installed on it. So you can

use it in the same way on your computer, a friend's computer, or one at your local library. After

shutting down Tails, the computer will start again with its usual operating system.

Tails is configured with special care to not use the computer's hard-disks, even if there is some swap

space on them. The only storage space used by Tails is in RAM, which is automatically erased when

the computer shuts down. So you won't leave any trace on the computer either of the Tails system itself

or what you used it for. That's why we call Tails "amnesic".

This allows you to work with sensitive documents on any computer and protects you from data

recovery after shutdown. Of course, you can still explicitly save specific documents to another USB

stick or external hard-disk and take them away for future use.

State-of-the-art cryptographic tools

Tails also comes with a selection of tools to protect your data using strong encryption:

 Encrypt your USB sticks or external hard-disks using LUKS, the Linux standard for disk-

encryption.

 Automatically use HTTPS to encrypt all your communications to a number of major websites

using HTTPS Everywhere, a Firefox extension developed by the Electronic Frontier

Foundation.

 Encrypt and sign your emails and documents using the de facto standard OpenPGP either from

Tails email client, text editor or file browser.

 Protect your instant messaging conversations using OTR, a cryptographic tool that provides

encryption, authentication and deniability.

 Securely delete your files and clean your diskspace using Nautilus Wipe.

Read more about those tools in the documentation.

What's next?

To continue discovering Tails, you can now read:

 the warning page to better understand the security limitations of Tails and Tor,

 more details about the features and software included in Tails,

 our documentation explaining in detail how to use Tails,

 some hints on why you should trust Tails,

 our design document laying out Tails specification, threat model and implementation,

 the calendar that holds our release dates, meetings and other events.

Installing Tails

Here is the link you can use to find the Tails .iso you need in order to manually install

Tails onto your drives. https://tails.boum.org/download/index.en.html

Manual Installation using Linux

Find out the device name of the device

The device name should be something like /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc, etc.

If you are not sure about the exact device name, with GNOME, do the following:

1. Make sure that the USB stick or SD card onto which you want to install Tails is unplugged.

2. Open GNOME Disk Utility from the menu Applications ▸ Accessories ▸ Disk Utility

3. Disk Utility lists all the current storage devices in the left pane of the window.

4. Plug the USB stick or SD card onto which you want to install Tails.

A new device appears in the list of storage devices. Click on it.

5. In the right pane of the window, verify that the device corresponds to your device, its brand, its

size, etc.

On this screenshot, the USB stick is a Kingston DataTraveler of 2.0 GB and its device name is

/dev/sdc. Yours are probably different.

If you are not sure about the device name, you should stop proceeding or you risk overwriting any

hard disk on the system.

Do the copy

All the data on the installed device will be lost.

Execute the following commands, replacing [tails.iso] with the path to the ISO image that you

want to copy and [device] with the device name found in step 1.

dd if=[tails.iso] of=[device] bs=16M && sync

Here is an example of the commands to execute, yours are probably different:

dd if='/home/amnesia/Desktop/tails-0.6.2.iso' of=/dev/sdc bs=16M && sync

If you are not sure about the path to the ISO image or if you get a No such file or directory error

message, you can first type dd, followed by a space, and then drag and drop the icon of the ISO image

from a file browser onto the terminal. This should insert the correct path to the ISO image in the

terminal. Then complete the command and execute it.

If you don't see any error message, Tails is being copied onto the device. The whole process might take

some time, generally a few minutes.

Once the command prompt reappears, you can shutdown your computer, and start Tails from this new

device.

Troubleshooting

dd: /dev/sdx: No such file or directory

Then double-check the name of the device you found in step 1.

dd: /dev/sdx: Permission denied

You might also have committed a mistake in the device name, so please double-check it. If you are sure

about the device name, this could be a permission problem and you could need to gain administration

privileges before running the commands in the terminal. That could be:

sudo dd if=[tails.iso] of=[device] bs=16M && sync

dd: tails.iso: No such file or directory

Then you surely have committed a mistake on the path to the ISO image in step 2.

Manual Installation using Windows

This technique uses the Universal USB Installer, for more info or more help visit

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/.

Insert a USB stick with at least 2GB of free space

Download the Universal USB Installer

You will need version 1.9.5.4 or later.

Click 'Run' when prompted

If the security dialog appears, confirm by clicking 'Run'

Read the license agreement and choose 'I Agree' to continue

Select Tails from the dropdown list

Click 'Browse' and open the downloaded ISO file

Choose the USB stick

Click 'Create'

Then safely remove the USB stick from the computer.

After the installation completes, you can start Tails from this new USB stick.

Manual Installation using Mac

Find out the device name of the USB stick

The device name should be something like /dev/disk8, /dev/disk9, etc.

If you are not sure about the exact device name, do the following:

1. Unplug the USB stick.

2. Open Terminal from Applications ▸ Utilities ▸ Terminal.app

3. Execute the following command:

4. diskutil list

This returns a list of all the current storage devices. For example:

$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.1 GB disk0

1: EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS MacDrive 250.0 GB disk0s2

3: EFI 134.1 GB disk0s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 115.5 GB disk0s4

1. Plug back the USB stick and run the same command as before:

2. diskutil list

A new device should appear in the list of storage devices. Check that the size of the device

corresponds to the size of your USB stick.

$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.1 GB disk0

1: EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS MacDrive 250.0 GB disk0s2

3: EFI 134.1 GB disk0s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 115.5 GB disk0s4

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: FDisk_partition_scheme *4.0 GB disk1

1: Apple_HFS Untitled 1 4.0 GB disk1s1

In this example, the USB stick is 4.0 GB and the device name is /dev/disk1. Yours are probably

different.

If you are not sure about the device name you should stop proceeding or you risk overwriting any

hard disk on the system.

Unmount the USB stick

Execute the following command, replacing [device] with the device name found in step 1.

diskutil unmountDisk [device]

Do the copy

Execute the following command, replacing [tails.iso] by the path to the ISO image that you want to

copy and [device] by the device name found in step 1. You can add r before disk to make the

installation faster.

dd if=[tails.iso] of=[device] bs=16m && sync

You should get something like this:

dd if=tails-i386-1.3.iso of=/dev/rdisk9 bs=16m && sync

If you are not sure about the path to the ISO image or if you get a No such file or directory error, you

can first type dd if= and then drag and drop the icon of the ISO image from a file browser onto

Terminal. This should insert the correct path to the ISO image in Terminal. Then complete the

command and execute it.

If you don't see any error message, Tails is being copied onto the USB stick. The whole process might

take some time, generally a few minutes.

If you get a "Permission denied" error, try executing the command with sudo:

sudo dd if=[tails.iso] of=[device] bs=16m && sync

Be careful, if the device name is wrong you might overwriting any hard disk on the system.

The installation is complete when the command prompt reappears.

Start Tails

After the installation completes, follow the instructions to start Tails on Mac.

Notes

This method was successfully tested on the following hardware:

 MacBook Pro Model A1150 with OS X 10.6.8, 2006

 MacBook Pro Retina 15" Mid-2012 (aka MacBookPro10,1)

The method worked on some hardware but a bug in the video support prevented Tails to start

successfully:

 MacBook Pro Retina with OS X 10.8.3, December 2012

 Macbook Pro model A1150

Note that Tails developers are in general not very knowledgeable about Mac. Any additional

information is welcome.



Jolly Roger’s Security Thread for

Beginners

LastUpdated2014

By: Jolly Roger

ActiveSource

http://bm26rwk32m7u7rec.onion/index.php?PHPSESSID=8i5jin3i1ufu6dhm7ned59jdm6&topic=2107.

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INTRODUCTION TO SECURE COMMUNICATION - TOR, HTTPS, SSL

Greetingscomrades.

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ThroughmyresearchIhaveputtogethersomesecuritymeasuresthatshouldbeconsideredby

everyone.ThereasonIputthistogetherismainlyforthenewbiesofthisforum.ButifIcanhelp

anyoneout,thenIamgratefulforthis.Iwouldliketostartoutbysaying,ifyouarereadinglike,you

arelikelyaSilkRoaduser.Ifthisisthecase,thenthe#1thingyoumustbeusingtoevenaccessthis

formisTor.Torwillprovideyouwithadegreeofanonymitybyusingan128bitAES(Advanced

EncryptionStandard).TherehasbeensomedebateastowhetherornottheNSAcancrackthiscode,

andtheanswerislikelyyes.Thisiswhy,youshouldneversendanythingoverTorthatyouaren't

comfortablesharingwiththeentireworldunlessyouareusingsomesortofPGPencryptionwhichwe

willtalkaboutlater.

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Communicationfromyourcomputer,totheinternetreliesonanentrynodewhichbasically

"entersyourcomputer"intotheTornetwork.Thisentrynodecommunicateswithyourcomputer,this

entrynodeknowsyourIPaddress.Theentrynodethenpassesyourencryptedrequestontotherelay

node.Therelaynodecommunicateswiththeentrynodeandtheexitnodebutdoesnotknowyour

computer'sIPaddress.Theexitnode,iswhereyourrequestisdecryptedandsenttotheinternet.The

exitnodedoesnotknowyourcomputer'sIP,onlytheIPoftherelaynode.Usingthismodelof3nodes

itmakesitharder,butnotimpossibletocorrelateyourrequesttoyouroriginalIPaddress.

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TheproblemcomesobviouslywhenyouareenteringplaintextintoTORbecauseanybodycanset

upanexitnode.TheFBIcansetupanexitnode,theNSA,oranyotherforeigngovernment,orany

maliciouspersonwhomaywanttostealyourinformation.Youshouldnotbeenteringanysensitive

dataintoanywebsites,especiallywhenaccessingthemoverTOR.Ifanyofthenodesinthechainare

compromised,andsomelikelyare,andthepeopleinchargeofthosecompromisednodeshavethe

computingpowertodecryptyourrequest,thenyoubetterhopeitwasn'tanythingsensitive.

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Sowhatcanwedotofixthis?Well,luckilywearenowhavingmoreandmoreserversthatare

offeringsomethingcalledHiddenservices.Youcaneasilyrecognizetheseservicesbythe

address.onion.Theseservicesofferwhat'scalledendtoendencryption.Whatthisdoesistakethe

poweroutofthecompromisedexitnodesandputthembackinyourhands.Thewebserverofthe

hiddenservicenowbecomesyourexitnode,whichmeansthewebsiteyouarevisitingistheone

decryptingyourmessage,notsomerandomexitnoderanbyapotentialattacker.Remember,theexit

nodehasthekeytodecryptyourrequest.Theexitnodecanseewhatyouaresendingincleartext

oncetheydecryptit.Soifyouareenteringyournameandaddressintoafield,theexitnodehasyour

information.Ifyouareputtingacreditcard,abankaccount,yourrealname,evenyourlogin

information,thenyouarecompromisingyouridentity.

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Anotherstepyoucantake,istoonlyvisitwebsitesthatusesomethingcalledHTTPSecure.You

cantellifthewebsiteyouarevisitingisusingHTTPSecurebytheprefixatthebeginningofthe

address.Ifyouseehttps://thenyourwebsiteisusingHTTPSecure.Whatthisdoesisencryptsyour

requestssothatonlytheservercandecryptthem,andnotsomebodyeavesdroppingonyour

communicationsuchasacompromisedTorexitnode.Thisisanotherformofendtoendencryption.If

somebodywere tointerceptyour request over HTTPSecure, they wouldsee encrypteddataandwould

havetoworktodecryptit.

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AnotherreasonyouwanttouseHTTPSwheneverpossible,isthatmaliciousTornodescan

damageoralterthecontentspassingthroughtheminaninsecurefashionandinjectmalwareintothe

connection.Thisisparticularlyeasierwhenyouaresendingrequestsinplaintext,butHTTPSreduces

thispossibility.Youmustbemadeawarehowever,thatHTTPScanalsobecurrentlycrackeddepending

onthelevelofthekeyusedtoencryptit.WhenyouvisitawebsiteusingHTTPS,youareencrypting

yourrequestusingtheirpublickeyandtheyaredecryptingitusingtheirprivatekey.Thisishow

cryptographyworks.Apublickeyisprovidedtothosewhowanttosendanencryptedmessageandthe

onlyonewhocandecryptistheonewiththeprivatekey.

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Unfortunately,manywebsitestodayarestillusingprivatekeysthatareonly1,024bitslongwhich

intoday'sworldarenolongerenough.Soyouneedtomakesureyoufindoutwhichlevelofencryption

thewebsiteyouarevisitinguses,tomakesuretheyareusingataminimum2,048,ifnot4,096bits.

Evendoingallofthisunfortunatelyisnotenough,becausewehaveanotherproblem.Whathappensif

thewebserveritselfhasbecomecompromised?MaybeyourTORnodesareclean,maybeyouhave

usedHTTPSforallyourrequests,butthewebserveritselfofthewebsiteyouarevisitinghasbeen

compromised.Wellthenallyourrequestsareagain,asgoodasplaintext.

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Withthatbeingsaid,thiswillconcludethefirstpostinthisseriesofthestepswecantaketoprotect

ourprivacyonline,toremainanonymousandmaintainourfreedom.

PGP, TAILS, VIRTUAL BOX

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SokeepinmindthatifyouareauserofSilkRoad,oranyotherformofactivism,youneverwant

toenteranyidentifyingdetailsaboutyourselfonline.MakeitsothateveniftheNSAinterceptedand

decrypted,orcompromisedSilkRoadthattheonlyinformationtheyhaveagainstyouisyourusername

andpassword.Howsafeisthatusernameandpassword?Doesyourpasswordcontainanyidentifying

information?Isitthesamepasswordthatyouuseforyourpersonalemail?Doesitcontainanameof

somebodyyouknowpersonally?Alwayskeepallofthesefactorsinmind.

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Anotherstepyoumusttake,especiallywhencommunicatingwithotherusersonsitessuchasSilk

RoadisusingPGPencryption.Thisisnotalwayspossible,suchasincaseswhenyouareloggingintoa

website,fillingoutaform,loggingintoanemail,etc..Consideranytypeofinformationyouenterintoa

websiteusingplaintextpossiblycompromised.Neverputanythingsensitiveisanytypeofplaintext

formatonline.PGPcomesintoplaybecauseitusesaverystrongmethodofencryptioncalled

cryptography.PGPstandsforPrettyGoodPrivacy,anditisusedforencrypting,decryptingandsigning

texts,emails,files,directories,andwholediskpartitionsandtoincreasethesecurityofemail

communications.

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Forthemoretechnicalusers,itusesaserialcombinationofhashing,datacompression,

symmetrickeycryptography,andfinallypublickeycryptography.Forthelesstechnicalusers,the

processofencryptingmessagesusingPGPisasfollows.Youcreateaprivatekeyandapublickey.The

public keyis thekeyyougive outtopeople youwanttosendyouencryptedmessages.Your private

key,iskeptprivatelybyyou.Thisprivatekeyistheonlykeythatcanunlockmessagesthatwere

previouslylockedwithyourpublickey.

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Ifyouarestillconfused,thinkaboutitlikethis.Thinkaboutapublickeythatcangoaround

lockingboxesthatareintendedforyou.Anyonecanlockaboxthatisintendedforyou,butyouarethe

onlyonewiththekeytounlockthebox.Eitherifthepersonwhosentyouamessagelockedabox

(message)withyourpublickey,theythemselvescannotunlockit.Onlythepersonpossessingthe

privatekeycanunlockit.Ifyouwishtorespondtothisperson,youmustusetheirpublickeytoencrypt

themessageyouintendtosendtothem.Andtheythemselves,usetheirownprivatekeytodecrypt

themessageyousentthem.

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Ifyouarestillwithme,IamgladIhaven'tlostyouyet.Thisiscalledcryptographyandwas

designedsothatanybodyinterceptingyourmessagecouldnotdecryptthemessagewithoutyour

privatekey.Evenifyouyourself,loseyourprivatekey,thereisnomethodofkeyrecovery.Youcan

considerthatmessagelockedforever.SohowdoyouusePGP?

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Wellbeforewegettothat,IwanttointroduceyoutoaLiveOperatingSystem,whichmakesusing

PGPencryptionanddecryptionveryeasy.Aliveoperatingsystemisanoperatingsystemthatyoucan

runontopofyourcurrentoperatingsystem.Soforexample,ifyouareaWindowsuser,youhave2

choices.Youcandownloadtheliveoperatingsystem,burnittoaCDorDVDandthenbootyour

computerfromthatDVDorCD.Thiswillmakesureyourcomputerrunasifyouhavethisoperating

systeminstalledonyourcomputer.However,ifyouremovetheCDorDVDandreboot,thenyour

computerwillbootasnormal.YoucanalsouseaUSBdrivetoperformthissamefeature.

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Secondly,youcanrunthisliveoperatingsysteminwhat'scalledaVirtualBox.Thebenefitsofthis

arethatyoucanrunWindowssimultaneouslyasyourunthisotheroperatingsystemandyoucan

easilyswitchbackandforthbetweenthemwithoutrebootingthecomputer.Bothmethodshavetheir

prosandcons.TheprosofrunningaliveCDboot,arethatreducetheriskofhavingyourcomputer

compromisedbyviruses,malwareandkeyloggersthatrelyonWindowsvulnerabilitiestorun.

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IfyouaregoingtorunthisOSfromaVirtualBox,IsuggestdownloadingVirtualBoxfromOracle.Note

thehttps://



https://www.virtualbox.org/

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Next,theliveoperatingsystemIwouldencourageyoutouseisTails.Tailscanbefoundatthe

followingwebsite.



https://tails.boum.org/



ThereasonIchooseTails,isbecauseithasmanyofthesecurityfeaturesthatyourequiretostay

anonymousalreadyinstalled.SomeusersarenothappywithTails,butitreallyisagreatoperating

systemloadedwithsecurityfeatures.ManyIwilltalkaboutinthisseriesonsecurityincludingPGP

encryptionanddecryption.MakesureyoudownloadtheTailsISOfilefromtheofficialTailswebsite

andyoucaneither loadit intoVirtualBoxor burnittoaDVD or loaditonto aUSB andbootingyour

computerfromthatdrive.



ThereareplentyoftutorialsonhowtoloadTailsintoVirtualBox,soIwon'tgointomuchdetailother

than,makesureyourunVirtualBoxandTailsfromaUSBdriveorSDcard.IwouldsuggestaUSBdrive

howeverforreasonsIwillexplainlater.ButbasicallywhenwhenVirtualBoxrunsdirectlyonyourhard

drive,itcreatesavirtualharddrivethatisusesasatemporaryharddrivewhileTailsisrunning.Once

Tailsisclosed,thisvirtualdriveisdeleted,butit'snotpermanentlydeleted.Asweknowfromthe

powerofrecoverytools,deletedfilesareeasilyrecoverablewiththerighttools.Iwilltalkabouthowto

protectyourfilesfromdatarecoverytoolsinfuturepostsbutfornow,justkeepVirtualBoxandTails

OFFofyourharddrive,andloaditeitheronaUSBdriveorSDcard.



ThesamegoeswhenbootingyourcomputerdirectlyintoTailsfromaDVDorUSBstick.Yourhard

drivewillbeusedtostorefilesusedbyTails,somakesureanyfilesthataresavedoraccessedusing

TailsaredonefromaUSBstickorSDcard,otherwisetheywillberecoverable.ThisiswhyIpreferusing

aVirtualBoxandrunningboththeVirtualBoxandTailsinsideofit,offofaUSBstick.Keepasmuchas

possibleoffofyouractualharddrive.Itispossibletoshredfilesbeyondrecovery,butit'smucheasier

todothisona16gbflashdrive,thenitisa1TBharddrive.



NextpostwewillgetbackontopicandstartlearninghowtousePGP.ThereasonIhavetotakea

detourtousingTailsisbecausewewillbeusingTailsformanyofthefeaturesfromhereonout,

includingPGP.

PGP CONTINUED



Ok,sobynowIamassumingyouhaveTailsrunning.Let'slearnhowtousePGPwithinTails.First

thingyouaregoingtowanttodoiscreateyourownpersonalkey,whichconsistsofyourpublickey

thatyoucangiveouttopeopleorpostinyourprofilesonline.Asmentionedbefore,thisisthekey

peopleusetoencryptmessagestosendtoyou.Yourpersonalkeyalsoconsistsofyourprivatekey

whichyoucanusetodecryptmessagesthatareencryptedusingyourPGPpublickey.



Ifyoulookuptothetoprightarea,youwillseealistoficons,andoneothemlookslikeaclipboard.

YouneedtoclickonthatclipboardandclickManageKeys



NextclickFile>New

SelectPGPKeyandclickContinue

Filloutyourfullname(Isuggestyouuseyouronlinename,notyourrealname)

Optionallyfilloutanemailandacommentaswell.

Next,clickAdvancedKeyOptions.

MakesureEncryptiontypeissettoRSAandsetkeystrengthto4096.

Onceyouhavedonethis,clickCreateanditwillgenerateyourkey.



Onceyouhavedonethis,youcanviewyourpersonalkeybyclickingthetabMyPersonalKeys.You

have nowcreatedyour personalkey!Tofindyour PGPpublic key, yourightclickonyour personalkey

andclickCopyanditwillcopyyourPGPpublickeytoyourclipboard,inwhichyoucanpasteanywhere

youwish.APGPpublickeywilllooksomethinglikethis.



BEGINPGPPUBLICKEYBLOCK



mQINBFLLWDcBEADEzn3mnLsezUDDAS5Q0lm1f6JdkI534WPuRlAN8pnuQsCSwUQU

hPEAgNCUNhxN4yCJ1mDt9xpXpX8QzsMIcofCHeE9TMLAnHzbmXLLi+D8sPZpLpDN

6jEIFvmBD4dvp5adimvRl8Ce49RpO345VUz8Ac0qLSmsv2u+kQviDQXZkrrxXHnA

IalvgDopXTISa9Sh7J3HHYYQazOZt9mfAjjuuRdaOqmAAtEe9dl43nrx+nSd/fqH

13XvMKhqJhIoJ02CBFfRBm86vtx5yiXqHZX438M9kbASqU0A2jAfRd+IZG5Z9gCI

W6FTror+F4i+bEdAuGTG1XFsQSgjKTIG0vgYiTJ93C2MZxrLvNnJp0g2zD0URyk8

Y2IdyCDfIL10W9gNMqLmjD0z/f/os66wTJkflSGaU9ZsrKHUKFN5OSfOZtNqktWn

fCpY4bigkJ8U/5C8mtr9ZE3Tv+RV4rPY0hAOtZucnhlRmYKVFNjvbS0MjqA1188c

wzBNG0XcpCNtmM5UsSvXwnDoUaEMXe50Hikxdk3d+CJzqYnor72g/WmIDROCiXl6

2D9rJ2JuLpl9bQLM+KCbXJf3kUSvzszZGXL/AwmynvqlruaXqr5975sCdfqXVexx

1sxsLofOzE01xSDEJRWwHQPlxTKPZFnXD709Xumjdinjv1w4onLk04Z96wARAQAB

tC5Kb2xseSBSb2dlciAoVGhleSB3b3VsZCBsaXZlIGFuZCBkaWUgdW5kZXIgaXQp

iQI3BBMBCgAhBQJSy1g3AhsDBQsJCAcDBRUKCQgLBRYCAwEAAh4BAheAAAoJEPuh

6tSg81nyzNsP/2ayrAz4InCK/ZnyRnnsjSHIXMv7t2uDTbYomA/0B6v/S6wHMNZX

G6+sYg41mfMuZEimgavNb0Uc2r6mI7UyWy5lp1Gd/D+all81X7bm5EBpvl1isPgJ

EqjehEdh9FQjrTiRIJafM1m254hIAaZ1RvAphI0tM2lpudk+tNKq+ivV8PpsN9TP

0mg5ZAu1lIKtG9k5vS9HAQ0grJ01TFMEjlifrf7eRyJ1+dmRJ+Xtoy2js8UwS+wM

RrIi3G39P2BfEZFQka3EmQ2JgN4pDWFoI0hODGhTba8Z0XSnVtabOTi1TOWIFmFu

yqA9bNtuOt3KhIC/O+mEATRsc/VPbTY+80kf45LwlDBfKO3PcOXSOG7ygibzEqXn

Ms/Rfe1kNEBeR9Wx2NMJSdxypqGij17CLJwNLC3KypTIQrhzy3YAndeDG4TadW2P

v/FJxhz+MX+s+9VeX2fGC0Fsfp8JbeWMAznp8Rf6O/tzEYW+pbLoLRPdi/DvFBZV

yWGPspzt3Qspm+BHbeW9iFjvCyvP2/DrKmQM7ABuRh/TMZR7uQ5na11L8rf3nzrS

Al/lSul42xLzxG+h9mDixXd1Vh6rVGMbCjL7wO25TUneFo13U5J+klo1blQWV/DL

FZUwhh2utWNCMCtcdRW0HYa14Wdyy7H68WmsJqBWUsbyD9PZ2gSawBy7uQINBFLL

WDcBEACg3IOme+sg0OZN349UYRr9/O6uW2vC5x9/azZrFNSNYh/LFJTt3XI/FsjN

gCj6NxRxbfdyLjL1gxSlJyFtclkFGS0lC0GIz7lINvemkewjde/bHXChz2IIaIli

L2A6Z6w3fP4jlQCw8NoGGJ360WMkZVTDDakYYkb50BrZSx4TVLjrHfFuLMXTE255

gQrId02jYO6240EDIhHITuiSwUQvHtXlOrHSohN83TD1I4H7iH/FLae9gYh4C/Ix

VLkzLUqvpf72Q/xogCZAJl4WEMmWD6dXufvyvhCXQnbjiLuAdQas0ef/t652LPw/

vJFDSDmguw9PXWpv3vFOe13UNU//+nw3kIGxaVWGvazXk8IFiDv9USgEGjcNn4zo

8HQlQrYz9/gyI3XojGV6L8iecWpHSweqR3NxKJmWKWEG1wwnWPL8M+z6OwEvRdxV

spy+eG0Zs+6igbw3tk6gJ4cq5ehdlmD6py27AhRhlj7uLlZxmK3uFV19QjtX/Dyt

73ZNX16krXqufl0HAJRd1PwhITPCtSviW3L2qKF2Pdak3j97A656EcInCcAyOUC/

mUNUDtXJik6uwFgFFn9/pnFr+acY7ppsWPG5rr7jRj+Lgjnjkckpkjo8jN1hZE17

CfJyrYrSqdglCcIgTHteIEZdPfPUmnbbSoyeufkyEW1AoIKatQARAQABiQIfBBgB

CgAJBQJSy1g3AhsMAAoJEPuh6tSg81ny4nIP/2lVf0DTp1n5xPEBZEUlgzcMNeh5

FTIS3J44g5a+OlkRVgHFtu7K/MUsftlUzkvMMa0sXllhKc6syxcytoD7LAt9tbQh

62yEzijTliU2QFgWJSS6IfbtC2IyRouAns3KD6XouKTFUs/i0n/QpwhnM+Ya/SAg

c/oroM7SE/T4g+v6EeRCq7In/TMgc74j+25zUF1rVSCenbZKkYezxqZ33cXLwl7l

IUBcK2uNHDBUB5G853NR0OkBm5i+KC8vM3K1/MZ+P/lK0xOcTGXZH/A7GrEsI4FJ

nw5i6zJZb8gmDt44Tp/1Ujxnm5xhVWgnOQeSVSyiRsHQ/gTCL1PqsZhW7yulwL05

yxZgN+oYVx4pNtLJMigRjoCY9IKEmZhY75cWXXA19j14Wnxu8IrwwSk1WyzMQcjj

7onP4OEhbPuotqWqVAc0M/+MV5oMGIG0Qepy6XpZOCCpZw/p1rDrZSYP5eQMd/4x

LB7xch6GjbWsnKhA1wGdjdclBodixorVfCRn4s5jTgXx7wWz/opM4ix/CPAkify7

4Sf0BdJ5YtFILZc5StED4WC5pljJbdEWVsb9rn6egvFn7W/ZlDJAerS6Mt5LJGAh

Aude0Kz2HJwDtOBF4nXeTzRCK5BrBnCYPHAtO2aqfowirzjMTd9A/ADoPmIbIJAm

04mA6krRiH909Bnx

=Az2N

ENDPGPPUBLICKEYBLOCK



Next,youaregoingtowanttosavetheprivatekeyonasecondaryUSBdriveorSDcard.Ifyouare

runningTailsfromaUSBdrive,thenyoumustuseaseparatedrivetostoreyourkeyon.Ifyouare

runningVirtualBox,youwanttorightclickontheiconinthebottomrightcornerthatlookslikeaUSB

drive,andselectyourseparatedrivethatyouwillbeusingtostoreyourkeyson.Again,neverstore

yourprivatekeysonyourharddrive,keepthemOFFyourcomputer.



Tosaveyourprivatekey,youaregoingtorightclickonyourpersonalkeyandclickProperties.Iknow

youprobablysawwhereitsaysExport,butthisisnotwhatyouwanttodo.ClickingexportwillONLY

exportyourpublickeyandwillnotsaveyourprivatekey.Ifyouloseyourprivatekey,youcannever

recoveritevenifyoucreateanotherpersonalkeyusingtheexactsamepassword.Eachprivatekeyis

uniquetothetimeitwascreatedandiflost,islostforever.SoonceyouhaveclickedProperties,go

overtothetabDetailsandclickExportCompleteKey.



Onceyouhavedonethis,youhavesavedyourpersonalkeyforfutureuseonceyourestartTails.

RememberingthatTailsisnotinstalledonyourharddrive,soeverytimeyourestartTailsyouloseall

yourkeys.BysavingyourkeysontoaUSBdriveorSDcard,youcanimportyourkeysforuseeverytime

yourestartit.



Nextyouaregoingtowanttolearnhowtoencryptanddecryptmessagesusingyourkey.Well,

luckilyforme,Tailshasalreadymadeatutorialonhowtodothis,soIwillreferyoutotheirwebpage.

ButbeforeIdothat,Ineedtomentionthatyouneedtofindsomebodyelse'sPGPpublickey,oryou

canpracticebyusingyourown.Needlesstosay,thewayyouimportotherpeople'skeysintowhat's

calledyourkeyringisbyloadingthemintoatextfile.YoudothiswiththeprogramcalledgeditText

Editor.



ClickApplications>Accessories>geditTextEditorandenterinsomeone'spublickeyandhitsave.

NextyoucanreturntoyourkeyprogramfromtheclipboardiconandclickFile>Importandselect

thatfile.Itwillimportthatperson'spublickeyintoyourkeyring.Toaddfuturepublickeystoyourkey

ring,Isuggestreopeningthesamefileandjustaddingthenextkeybelowthepreviouskeyandeach

timeyouopenthatfileitwillloadallkeyswithinthatfile.ThiswayyoucankeepallthePGPpublickeys

togetherinonefileandsaveitonyourSDcardorUSBdriveforfutureuse.



Finallyyoucanusethefollowing2pagestolearnhowtoencryptanddecryptmessagesusingPGP.



https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/gpgapplet/publickey_cryptography/index.en.html



https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/gpgapplet/decrypt_verify/index.en.html



Untilnexttime.HavefunwithyournewfoundabilitytocommunicateinPGP!

WHOLE DISK ENCRYPTION AND FILE SHREDDING

Welcomebackagain!



NowthatwehavePGPfiguredout,hopefully,IwanttoremindyouthatusingPGPwhenever

possible,isveryveryveryimportant.OneofthepitfallsofSilkRoad1,isthatsomeofthe

administrators,includingRosshimselfdidnotalwayscommunicateusingPGPencryption.OnceRoss

wasbusted,theyhadaccesstohis serversandhiscomputersandanythingthatwasn'tencryptedwas

wideopenforthemtolookat.MostusersonSilkRoad2believethatRosshadstoredpersonal

informationaboutsomeofAdminsandModeratorsonhiscomputerinplaintextthatwasusedto

make3morearrestsofSilkRoadusers.



OneofthereasonswhyIwouldsuggestforyoutostoreyourPGPkeysandothersensitivedataona

SDcard,isthatifthatdaycomeswhenyouarecompromisedandyougetaknockatyourdoor,you

havetimetodisposeofthatSDcardorUSBdrivequickly.Evenbetter,ifyouhaveamicroSDcardthat

plugsintoanSDadapter,thenyoucansnapitwithyourfingersorattheveryleasthideit.USBswould

needtobesmashedintopiecesanditmightnotbeeasytodothisintheheatofthemoment,sodo

whatyoufeelbestabout.Butalwaysprepareforthedaytheymightcomeforyou.



ButournexttopicbringsustosomethingcalledWholeDiskEncryptionorFullDiskEncryption.From

hereonoutIwillrefertoitasFDE(FullDiskEncryption).TailshasaFDEfeaturebuiltintoit,whichis

anotherreasonwhyIencouragetheuseofTails.Ithasmanyofthesefeaturestoprotectyou.

EssentiallyFDEwillprotectyourdrive,whetherSDorUSBfromthepeoplewhomaycomeforyouone

day.Themethodinwhichitdoesthisisitformatsyourdriveandrewritesthefilesysteminan

encryptedfashionsothatitcanbeonlybeaccessedbysomeonewhohasthepassphrase.



Ifyouloseyourpassphrase,justlikeinPGP,thereisnorecovery.Youronlychoiceistoformatthe

driveandstartoveragain.Somakesureyourememberit!AndpleasefortheloveofGod,Allah,

Buddah,etc...don'tstorethepassphraseonyourharddrivesomewhere.Thetutorialonhowtodothis

islocatedatthefollowingwebpage.



https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/encrypted_volumes/index.en.html



Again,alwaysprepareforthedaytheycomeknocking,encrypteverything.UsePGPwhen

communicatingwithothersandalwaysshredyourfileswhenfinishedwiththem.Whichbringsmeto

mynexttopic.Fileshredding.



Fileshreddingisextremelyimportantandhereiswhy.Ifyoudeleteafilefromyourcomputer,you

areonlydeletingwhereitislocatedonthedrive.Itisstillontheactualdrive,justit'slocationdatahas

beenremoved. Ifyoutake afile recoverytoolyoucanrecover virtuallyanyfile thatyouhaverecently

removed.Fileshreddingcombatsthisbyoverwritingfilesinstead.Theideaisthatinsteadofremoving

thefile'slocation,youneedtooverwritethefilewithrandomdatasothatisbecomesunrecoverable.



Therearealotofdebatehappeningonwhetheryoucanoverwriteafileonce,orifyouneedtodoit

multipletimes.SupposedlytheNSArecommends3times,supposedlytheDepartmentofDefense

recommends7times,andanoldpaperbyamannamedPeterGutmannwritteninthe90's

recommended35times.Needlesstosay,Ipersonallythinkbetween37timesissufficient,andseveral

peopleouttherebelieve1timewillgetthejobdone.



Thereasoningbehindthisisthatsomepeoplebelievethedrivemaymisssomefilesthefirsttimeit

overwritesthemandtobemorecomplete,youshoulddomultiplepasses.Dowhatyoufeelmost

comfortablewith,butIeventhink3passeswouldbesufficient,althoughitwouldn'thurteverynow

andthentorun7passesandjustleaveitovernight.



TheprogramsthatcandofileshreddingareonesyouwillwanttorunfromWindowsorwhatever

operatingsystemyourcomputerisrunning.TheseprogramscandeleteyourfilesfromyourRecycling

Bin,deleteyourtemporaryinternetfilesandevenWipeyourfreediskspacetomakesureeverything

getscleanedup.Youalwaysneedtothink,didIhaveanysensitivematerialonmyharddrive?Ifso,

maybeIneedtoshredmyfreediskspace.WhenemptingyourRecycleBin,youshouldalwaysusea

shredder.Whenonlydeletingunder1gbatatime,youcaneasilydo7passesprettyquickly.



Toputthisinperspective,theleaderofagroupcalledLulzSecnameTopiaryhasbeenbannedaspart

ofhissentencefromusinganytypeoffileshreddingapplicationssothatiftheFBIwantstocheckup

onhim,theycan.Fileshreddingkeepsyourdeletedfilesactuallydeleted.



Herearesomefileshreddingapplicationsyoucanuse.



http://www.dban.org/

http://www.fileshredder.org/

https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner



Nextwe'regoingtotalkaboutremovingharmfulmetadatafromfiles,andsomeothertopicsaswell.

JAVASCRIPT VULNERABILITIES AND REMOVING PERSONAL METADATA

FROM FILES



WelcomeBack.



BeforeIgetintoremovingharmfulmetadatafromyourfiles,Iwanttotalkaboutanother

vulnerabilitytoourbrowsingcapabilitiescalledJavascript.



Inmid2013,apersoninIrelandwasprovidinghostingtopeoplethathostedhiddenservices

includingasecureemailplatformcalledTorMail.Unfortunately,theybustedhimonanunrelated

chargerelatingtochildpornographyandseizedallhisservers.Whetherornothewasrelatedtochild

pornor not, isunknowntome, or itcouldbeasilly charge thefedsslappedhimwithbuteither way,

thefedsendedupinjectingmaliciousJavascriptintohisserverssothatwhenuserswouldvisitcertain

sites,thismaliciouscodewouldexecuteontheircomputersandrevealinformationabouttheir

computerstothefeds.Isuggestyoureadthefollowingarticletolearnmoreaboutthis.



https://openwatch.net/i/200/



Withthatbeingsaid,youmaywanttodisableJavascriptinyourbrowsers,especiallywhenvisiting

certainwebsiteslikeSilkRoadthatmaybecomecompromisedoneday.Manyusersrefusetovisitthe

originalSilkRoadwebsiteandforumswithJavascriptenabledbecausethefedslikelyinjecteditwith

maliciousJavascripttoidentifyusers.



InTails,thebrowseriscalledIceweaselandwhenTorinraninWindows,itusesFirefox.Both

browserscandisableJavascriptusingtheexactsamemethod.OpenupaWindowandtypethe

followingcommandintheaddressbar,"about:config"andclickthebuttonthatsays"I'llbecareful,I

promise."



Thiswillbringupabunchofsettingsincludingasearchbaratthetop.Enterjavascriptinthesearch

barandlookforthefollowingtwoentries,"javascript.enabled"and"browser.urlbar.filter.javascript".

Rightclickontheseandclick"Toggle"andyouwillseetheValuechangedtofalse.Ifyouwantto

enableJavascriptagain,justclickToggleagainandyouwillseethevaluechangebacktotrue.



Again,rememberthateverytimeyourestartTailsyouwillhavetodothisagain,sogetintoahabitof

doingthiseverytime.Youneverknowwhenyourfavoritewebsitecouldbecomecompromised.



Movingontometadata.Thereisabitofafamousstoryaboutanonlinehackernamedw0rmerthat

wouldtakepicturesofhisgirlfriendandpostthemonlineafterhewoulddefaceawebpage.Whathe

eitherforgot,ordidn'tknowwasthatphotostakenwiththeiPhoneandothersmartphonessavethe

GPScoordinatesofwherethepicturewastakenandstoreitinthemetadataofthepicture.Checkout

thisarticlebelow.



https://encyclopediadramatica.es/W0rmer



Youneedtoremovethismetadata!Otherwiseyoucouldendupinfederalprisonwithw0rmer.

LuckilyTailshasasolutionforthis!SeewhyIloveTails?



Applications>Accessories>MetadataAnonymisationToolkit



Pleasegetamoreclearideaofhowthisworksbyreadingthefollowingpage.



https://mat.boum.org/



Pleasenotethecurrentlysupportedformats.Intermsofpictures,jpg,jpegandpng.But

unfortunatelyMATisnotperfectandIwouldn'tsolelyrelyonit,soabetterideawouldbetonever

uploadpicturesofyourselfor your significantother online, especiallybraggingaboutahackyou

committed.Pleasereadthesiteprovidedaboveformoreinformation.

GENERAL SECURITY PRECAUTIONS WHEN POSTING ONLINE, LEARN

FROM OTHERS' MISTAKES

NextIwanttotalkaboutgoodpracticeswhenusingTOR,Tailsandotherhiddenservices.



Firstofall,itishighlyrecommendedthatyouusemultipleidentitiesonlinefordifferentthings.

PerhapsifyouareabuyerandaselleronSilkRoad,youmaywanttohaveseparateloginsforthis.And

thenpossiblyathirdloginfortheforums.Thenmaybeyouwanttobepartofanothermarketplace,

thenyoumightwantafourthlogin.



Well,TailshasanothergoodprogramofferedbyTailsiscalledKeePassX.Whenyouhavemultiple

logins,itishardtokeeptrackofthemall,soitmightbeabetterideatokeepthemallin1document

thatisencryptedwithastrongpassword.KeePassXcanhelpyouwiththis.



https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/manage_passwords/index.en.html



Youneverwanttousenicknamesorlocations,oranythingelsethatisrelatedtoyourselfonlinewhen

youpostorcreateusernames.Andanotherthingyouneedtoadoptarenewwaysofconducting

yourself.Ifyouaregenerallyamessytyper,whomakesthesamegrammarmistakes,orthesame

spellingmistakesallthetime,thiscanbeusedtoidentifyyou.Alwaysproofreadanythingyoupost

publicly,orprivatelybecausethefedswillalwaysfindwaystocorrelatethingstoyou.



WithRossUlbricht,theyfoundanoldposthepostedonaforumwhenhefirststartedSilkRoad

askingpeopleiftheyhadheardofamarketplacecalledSilkRoad.Obviouslythisisanoldtrickusedby

peopletryingtospreadawarenessaboutanewprojectoftheirs.Laterheidentifiedhimselfbysaying

hewaslookingforprogrammersandgaveouthisprivateemailaddressonthesameforumunderthe

samename.



Butifyoualwaysmisspellthesamewords,ifyoualwaysusethesameslangterms,capitalizethe

samewords,useacertainamountofperiodsafteranetc....oralwaysusethesamenumberof!!!!!

thenallofthesethingsgivethemreasonablesuspicionanditbecomeseasiertotiethingstoyou.Once

theyhaveyouundertheirradar,liketheyhadRoss,itonlytookafewslipupsandhewastheirs.

Remember,youonlyhavetomakeonemistake.Sotalkingaboutyourlocalelectionisareallydumb

idea,getit?



Thinkaboutthetimeyouuseyourcomputer.Isiteasytocorrelateyourtimezonebasedonthetime

yougoonline?Orisitmorerandom?Doyouhavepatterns thatarepredictable?Alwaysthinkabout

thesethingswhenyoupostonline.Alwaysthinkaboutwhattypeofpersonalityyouareputtingout

thereaboutyouronlinename.



ExpectthateverysinglewordyoutypeonlineisbeingreadbytheFeds.Tothem,thisismucheasier

thantrackingdruglordsonthestreets.Theysitinanofficeandreadforumpostsandtryandmake

connections. Don'tunderestimate thefeds. Alwaystreateverythingascompromised, alwaystreat

everybodyascompromisedanddon'teverthinkanybodywillevergotojailforyou.Ifsomebodycan

avoid1020yearsbyrattingyouout,theywilldoitinaheartbeat.



TheperfectexampleisSabufromLulzSec.Afterhewasbustedandfacing112yearsinjail,theymade

himadealtohelpthemratouthisfriendsandheendedupgettingmanyofhis"friends"arrested.

Evenpeoplewhoareyourfriendswillturntheirbacksonyouwhenitcomesdowntotheirfreedom.

EXIF DATA

Iforgottomentionabovewhentalkingaboutmetadata,thatwhenitcomestophotos,thereis

anotherriskinvolvedcalledEXIFdata,thisisanotherformofmetadataspecificallyrelatedtoimages

andmaynotbeproperlyremovedbyMetadataAnonymisationToolkitmentionedbefore.



EXIFdatastandsforExchangeableimagefileformatandaffectsJPG,JPEF,TIFandWAVfiles.Aphoto

takenwithaGPSenabledcameracanrevealtheexactlocationandtimeitwastaken,andtheunique

IDnumberofthedevicethisisalldonebydefaultoftenwithouttheuser'sknowledge.



InDecember2012,antivirusprogrammerJohnMcAfeewasarrestedinGuatemalawhilefleeing

fromallegedpersecutioninBelize,whichsharesaborder.Vicemagazinehadpublishedanexclusive

interviewwithMcAfee"ontherun"thatincludedaphotoofMcAfeewithaVicereportertakenwitha

phonethathadgeotaggedtheimage.Thephoto'smetadataincludedGPScoordinateslocatingMcAfee

inGuatemala,andhewascapturedtwodayslater.



Toavoidthis,onlytakephotosthatusePNGbecauseitdoesnotstoreEXIFdata.Tocheckifyour

photohasanyrevealingEXIFdataattachedtoit,checkoutthissite.



http://www.viewexifdata.com/



oryoucandownloadatoolbydoingaquicksearchonlinetoseewhatEXIFdatamaybecontainedin

yourphotosbeforeyouuploadthem.Beverycarefulwithanyfilesthatyouuploadonline,becauseyou

never knowwhattypeofharmfuldatacouldbeattachedinthem.IthelpstouseTails,butalways

considereverythingyouputonlineasapotentialpieceofevidencetobeusedagainstyouandalways

prepareforthedaythefedscometoyourdoor.

RETAINING A LAWYER, HOW TO HANDLE GETTING CAUGHT OR

INTERROGATED

Nextentryintotheseriesonsecurityishowtohandlegettingcaught.



Letusfaceit.Weareallhumanandwemakemistakes.Unfortunately,youonlyneedtomakeone

mistake,andtheLawEnforcement,commonlyreferredtoasLEontheseforumscanbustyou.Maybe

they willwaitforyoutodosomethingmoreseriousbeforetheynabyou,butifyouslipupandthey

feelyouareworthgoingafter,youcanexpectthemtogetyounomatterwhereyoulive,withrare

exception.

ThefirstthingIwanttodoislinkyoutoanotherthreadIjustcameacrossontheseforums.



https://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=13093.0



Themainquestionis,shouldIkeepanemergencylawyerfundonhand?Andhowmuchshoulditbe.

TheresponseIthinkwasmostappropriateforthisquestionwasthefollowing.

Quotefrom:VanillaRoyaleonJanuary02,2014,05:33:49am

Giveyourlawyer50kandputhimonaretainer.



Don'thaveaemergencyfund'stash'lyingaroundifthatiswhatyoumean....youshouldalreadyhave

yourlawyerpaid+plusextraincaseheneedstopostbondforyouandtheyseizethemajorityofyour

drugfunds.



OnceyougetarrestedbyLE,theycanseizeyourmoneybasedontheassumptionthatitisdrug

related.Soyouneedtohavealawyerpaidforaheadoftime.Thatway,intheunfortunatecasethat

yougetavisitfromthefeds,youhavealawyerreadytogo.Theagreeduponamountwasaround

$50,000.



NextIwanttotalktoyouaboutwhattodoincaseyougetinterrogatedbyLE.Thereisagreatthread

aboutthis.



https://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=4461.0



Thetakehomesfromthisthreadarebasically.Keepyourmoouthshut.Thefedsaregoingtotryall

typesoftacticsonyoutogetyoutoadmittoguiltofthecrimesyouarebeingaccusedof.Theywill

likelyusethegoodcop,badcoponyou.Firsttheywilltellyouthattheywanttohelpyou,andthat

they areafterthebigguys.Theyjustneedyourhelptoputawaythebigguys.Donotlistentothis,I

havenevercooperatedwithagoodcopLEandhaveitendupworkinginmyfavor.Onceyouadmitto

beingguilty,youcankissyourfreedomgoodbye.



Secondly,ifyourefusetocooperate,theirattitudewillchangetobadcop.Theywillsay,"OKfine,you

donotwanttocooperate?Itriedtohelpbutnowyouaregoingtobeinalotoftrouble.Doyouhave

anyideawhatkindofchargesyouarefacing?Youaregoingawayforalongtimeunlessyoustart

talking."



Theyaregoingtotryandscareyouintoadmittingguilt.Again,keepyourmouthshutandcontinueto

askforalawyer,hopefullytheoneyouputona$50,000retainerpriortothishappening.Neverspeak

withoutalawyerpresentandneverdoanythingyoudonothavetodolegally.Ifyouhavetherightto

remainsilent,thenexercisethatright.Iknowtherearesomecircumstancesinwhichyoudonothave

thatright,butunlessthatisthecase,youarebetteroffstayingquiet.



Third,droptheattitude.Donotarguewiththecopsabouthavingnothingonyou,orsomethingfor

thatmatter.Actscared,anxiousandconfused.Actlikeyouhavenoideawhatisgoingonandthatyou

are scaredfor your life. Tellthe copsthey are scaringyouandyouwanttosee your lawyer becauseyou

donotknowwhatthisisabout.Theyneedevidence,andsolidevidenceatthat,tochargeyouwitha

crime.



Theyaregoingtotryandcorrelatepostsyoumadeonforums,phonenumbersyoucalled,perhapsa

packageshippedtoyourhome,allformsofcommunication,banktransfers,andsoforth,untiltheycan

findawaytolinkyoutothecrimeyouarebeingaccusedof.Butthebiggestpieceofevidencewill

alwaysbeyourwillingnesstoadmityourguiltforalessersentence.



WhenSabufoundthathewasfacing112yearsinfederalprison,hequicklyspilledeverythingand

startedworkingforthefeds.Again,talktoyourlawyer,findouttheevidenceagainstyouandonly

answersquestionsyourlawyeradvisesyoutoanswer,andanswertheminawayyourlawyeradvises

youtoanswerthem.



Tryandbeashonestaspossiblewithyourlawyer.Yourlawyercannotandwillnotshareany

admittanceofguiltyouhavewiththeprosecutorsorLE,thisiscalledAttorneyclientprivilege.Please

notethereareafewinstanceswherethisdoesnotapply.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney%E2%80%93client_privilege#When_the_privilege_may_not_ap

ply

COMBINING TOR WITH A VPN

Welcomebackreaders!



TodayIwanttotalkaboutagreatlydebatedtopic.



ShouldIuseaVPNwithTOR?

ShouldIuseTORtoconnecttoaVPN,or useaVPNtoconnecttoTOR?



Letmesayfirstofall,thatwhenyouarebrowsingtheinternetwithoutTOR,youshouldprobablybe

usingaVPNregardlessofwhetherornotyouareusingTOR.AndmakesurethattheVPNusessome

formofencryptionaswell.Forthoseofyouwhoareverybeginner,thinkaboutwhenyouconnecttoa

publicwifinetworkatacoffeeshop,oranairportandyougetallthesewarningsthatyourrequests

sentoverthisnetworkarevulernable.



Allnetworks,butespeciallypublicwifinetworksarevulnerabletotrafficanalysis.Putthistogether

withthefactthatsomeinternetserviceprovidersmonitoryouractivitytosomelevel,andyoucansee

whyitmightbeagoodideatoalwaysuseanencryptedmethodofusingtheinternet.Attheveryleast

toprotectyourpersonalinformationwhenyouareenteringcreditcards,usernamesandpasswords,as

wellasotherpersonaldataonline.Again,especiallyifyouareusingapublicwifinetwork.



ChoosingaVPNthatusesatleast128bitencryptionlikeTORisgoodpractice,andwillstopthe

majorityofeavesdroppers.Butifyoucanget256bitencryption,youareevensafer.Beforewegetinto

whetherornotweshouldbeusingaVPNtogetherwithTOR,Iwanttogiveyouafewwarnings

regardinghowyoushouldbeusinga VPN.



IfyouaregoingtobeusingaVPNforanytypeoffreedomfighting,makedamnsurethatyourVPN

doesnotkeeplogs.Thisisactuallyalotharderthanyoumightthink.ManyVPNproviderswillclaimto

notkeeplogsofyouractivityinordertogainyouasacustomer,becausetheyhavetocompetewith

theotherprovidersoutthere.Customersaregoingtotrendtowardsproviderswhooffernoidentifying

dataretention.Unfortunately,thisclaimoftheirsisnotalwaystherealcaseandIwillgiveyouan

example.



ThereisawellknownVPNprovidernamedHideMyAssthatpreviouslyclaimednottokeeplogsofits

users.Unfortunately,whenmetwithacourtorderfromtheirgovernmentintheUK,theyhandedover

evidenceofasuspectedhackerfromaninternetgroupLulzSecwhichhelpedleadtohisarrest.The

storycanbefoundbelow.



http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/26/hidemyass_lulzsec_controversy/



Oneofthetakehomequotesfromthisarticleisthefollowing.

Quote

WearenotintimidatedbytheUSgovernmentassomeareclaiming,wearesimplycomplyingwithour

countrieslegalsystemtoavoidbeingpotentiallyshutdownandprosecutedourselves.



AverysmartmanthatgoesbytheonlinehandleTheGrugq,saidwhendoingyourfreedomfighting

onlinethatnobodyisgoingtogotojailforyou,andheis100%correct.Whenitcomesdowntoit,no

VPNproviderisgoingtoriskjailtoprotecta$20amonthsubscriber.Nomatterhowtoughtheysound,

nomatterhowmuchtheyclaimtocareaboutprotectingtheircustomers,whenfacedwithachoiceto

giveyouuporgotojail,theywillalwayschoosefreedom.



Anotherthingtoconsiderhowever,isusingaVPNdoeshideyourinternetactivityfromyourinternet

serviceprovider.ItcanalsohidethefactthatyouareusingTOR,whichmayflagsomesuspicionwhen

thefedsstartaskingISPstoprovidedataabouttheirusers.Thismayormaynotberelevant,since

manypeopleuseTORandyoucanarguetherearemanylegitimatereasonstouseTORandnothing

suspiciousaboutTOR.Butitisjustanotherfactortoarousesuspicionthatmayormaynotcomeinto

playandshouldbeconsidered.



Ifyouchoose touseTORoveraVPN,thebenefitsarethatyouwouldbeagain,hidingfromyourISP

thefactthatyouareusingTOR.Also,yourVPNwouldonlybeabletoseethatyouareconnectingto

TORnodesandthatyouaresendingencrypteddata.TheVPNwouldnotbeabletoseewhatdatayou

aresendingoverTORunlesstheydecryptedit,becauseremember,allinformationrelayedoverTORis

encrypted.



Thedownsidesofcourse,asmentionedarethatVPNprovidersmayormaynotlogeverythingthat

youdointheformofmetadataorevencontentiftheyhavethestoragecapacity,andkeepthoselogs

onhandforalongtime.Inthiscase,itisnobetterthanconnectingtoTORthroughanISP.Another

thingtomentiontothosewhowilluseVPNswhennotusingTOR,butalsouseVPNswhenusingTORis

remember whenyouare, andare notconnected toyour VPN. SometimesVPNscanunexpectedlydrop

connectionsandyoumaynotevenbeawareofit.IfthereasonyouareusingaVPNistohideTOR

activityfromyourISP,thenifyourVPNdrops,yourISPwillstartseeingyourTORtrafficinstead.



Or,maybeyouforgetthatyouareconnectedtoyourVPNandenduppunchinginyouraddresson

GoogleMapstofinddirectionssomewhere.WellguesswhatGoogledoeswithalldataenteredinto

theirsystem?Theykeepit.Andtheylikelykeepitindefinitely.SoifonedaytheNSAidentifiesyouon

theTORnetworkbyoccupyingalargenumberofnodesandusingtrafficanalysistoidentifyyoubased

onstatisticalanalysis,itwilllinkthemtoyourVPNIPaddress.



Atthispoint,theywilllikelyasktheVPNtoturnoverdataontheirusers,butiftheVPNrefusesto

complybecausetheyarenotsubjecttoUSlaw,orthelawsofothercountries,theymaychecksomeof

thebigsurveillancewebsitesouttheretoseeifyouslippedupandusedthatIPaddressforanything

elseonline.TheywillchecklogsfromGoogle,Yahoo,Facebook,Twitter,Netflixandotherbigdata

collectioncompaniestoseewhohasbeenusingthatIPaddresstoconnecttotheirservers.



IfyouaccidentallypunchedinyouraddressonGooglewhenconnectedtothatVPN,youarenowa

suspect.Soalwayskeepthingslikethisinmind.JustbecauseyouarecoveredbehindaVPNdoesnot

meanyouarenottraceablebyhumanerror.ThebenefitsofTOR,arethatyougetanewidentityevery

timeyouconnect.ThismayormaynotbethecasewithyourVPN,sopleasecheckandmake sure.



NextpostwewilltalkabouttheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofusingTORtoconnecttoaVPN.

[/quote]

COMBINING TOR WITH A VPN CONTINUED

Ok,nowletustalkaboutwhyyoumaywanttoconnecttoaVPNoverTOR.



Thedataflowwouldlooklikethis.You>Tor>VPN>Internet



Thebenefitsofdoingthatareasfollows.YouaremoreanonymoustoyourVPNincasetheyhappen

tokeeplogs,orifyoudosomethingusingtheVPNthatyouarenotsupposedtoandawebsiteor

servergrabsyourVPNIPaddress.Inthecaseofthishappening,eveniftheVPNmanagestokeeplogs

ofeverythingyoudo,theycanonlyidentifyyouasananonymousTORuseraslongasyoudidnot

purchasetheservicelikeanidiotwithyourcreditcardorPaypalaccount.IfyouuseBitcoin,andmade

surethetheBitcointrailisnoteasilytraceableyoushouldbeokay.SomewebsitesblockTORusers

fromconnectingtotheirwebsitesorservers,byusingyourVPNtoappearastheexitnode,youare

hidingyourTORactivityfromthewebsiteyouarevisitingandhopefullybypassingtheirfilters.



Anotheradvantage,isthatifyourVPNconnectiondoesdrop,yourfallbackwillbeyourTORIP

addressinsteadofyourrealIPaddress.Andfinally,ifyouarepassingthroughacompromisedTORexit

node,yourinformationwillremainencryptedthroughtheVPN'sencryptionprotocoluntilitreaches

theexitnodeoftheVPN.Thisisagoodthingifyouarepassingthroughacompromisedexitnode,but

donotforgetthattheVPNcouldbeloggingeverythingyouaredoinganyways.Donottrustanybody

whohasaccesstoyourunecrypteddata!

Afewofthedownsidesofdoingthingsthisway,asmentionedinthepreviouspostarethatyourISP

knowsyouareusingTOR,whenandforhowlong.Thismayormaynotmattertoyou,butitisjust

somethingtoconsider.Second,youwillbeunabletovisithiddenserviceswebsites.Remember

those.onionsiteswetalkedaboutinthebeginning?YouneedtobeconnectedtotheTORnetworkto

visitthosehiddenservicewebsites.



ButIamconnectedtoTORaren'tI?Yesyouare,butyourfinalmethodofcommunicatingwiththe

internetdoesnotcomefromtheTORnetwork,itcomesfromyourVPN.AndyourVPNislikelynot

configuredforTOR.Inorderforyoutobeabletoconnecttoahiddenservices,youmusteitherbe

connecteddirectlytoTOR,oruseaVPNtoconnecttoTOR.TORmustbeyourfinalnodeof

connectivityinordertovisitonionwebsites.



Thechoiceisultimatelyuptoyou,andeverypersonineverystate,provinceandcountrywillhave

differentreasonsforwantingtodoVPNtoTORorTORtoVPN,orjustTOR,orjustVPN.Whatever

choiceyoumake,pleasekeepallthethingsmentionedinthispostandthepreviouspostinmind.None

ofthesemethodswillsaveyouifyouenteranythingidentifyingaboutyourselfonline.Donotloginto

yourFacebookaccountusingyourVPN.DonotcheckyouremailorsearchanearbyaddressonGoogle

usingyourVPN.Infact,stayawayfromGooglealtogetherunlessabsolutelynecessary.



Therearetwoothersearchenginesoutnowthatdonotstoreinformationabouttheirusers.



#1DuckDuckGo.TheyhavebothaclearnetURLandahiddenservicesURLforbothtypesofusers.

https://www.duckduckgo.com

http://3g2upl4pq6kufc4m.onion/PleasenotethehiddenservicesmirrorisnotHTTPS



#2StartPage.Thisserveralsodoesnotstoreanyinformationaboutitsusers.

https://www.startpage.com



Beforewe moveon,IwanttogobacktohowtochooseagoodVPN.WhenlookingforaVPN

provider,youwillmostlikelycomeacrosstwoprotocolstochoosefrom.FindoutwhichoneyourVPN

providerisusingbeforeyousignupwiththem.PPTPandOpenVPN.Atthistime,Iamgoingtohighly

recommendthatyouavoidPPTPandstickwithOpenVPNproviders.Checkoutthissitefor aquick

comparison.



http://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn/openvpnvspptp



Asyoucansee,PPTPusesaweakerencryption,128bitversus160bitto256bitforOpenVPN.It

offersbasicsecurityversusahighlevelofsecurityusingsomethingcalleddigitalcertificates.Thisis

basicallyawaytomakesuretheydatacominginissentfromyourVPNproviderandnotinjectedby

somemaliciousthirdpartybecausetheincomingandoutgoingdataaresignedusingspeciallyobtained

certificates,similartoshowingyourIDtogetintoaarestrictedarea.



TheonlydownsideisthatsettingupOpenVPNcanbealittlechallengingforthelesstechnicalusers,

butthereareplentyofgreattutorialsonlinetosetupOpenVPNprovidersandyourVPNprovideritself

willlikelyhelpyougetsetupas well. PPTPhas beenabandonedbythose whodemandthehighest

levelofsecurity,soIwouldrecommendtoavoidit.AthirdoptionforVPNprovidersisL2TP/IPsec,but

manyusersnowbelieveithasalsobeencompromisedbytheNSAduetoitsweakerlevelsof

encryptionandshouldbeavoidedaswell.StickwithOpenVPN.



Lastly,ifyouwanttoknowhowtoconnecttoTORoveraVPN.IfyouareusingOpenVPNlikeI

recommended,thenyouitisreallyquitesimple.MakesureyouareconnectedtoyourVPN,checkyour

IPaddresstoonanywebsitesuchasWhatIsMyIpAddress.comtomakesureithaschanged.Then,open

TORoropenTAILSandstartusingTORandyouarenowconnectedtoTORoveraVPN.



ConnectingtoaVPNoverTORisamoretrickyandcurrentlyabovemyskillsetsinceOpenVPN

reconfiguresyournetworkroutessoTorcan'tberunningonthesamehost.AssoonasIfigureitout,I

willpostatutorial,andifanybodycanshareaneasywaytoconnectaVPNoverTOR,thenpleaseshare

itwiththisthread.



UPDATE



AmethodofconnectingtoaVPNoverTORhasbeenaddedtothisthreadbutiscurrentlyonlyableto

beusedbyWindowsusers.Youcanreaditaboutitatthelinkbelow.

CONNECTINGTOR>VPNFORWINDOWSUSERS



Afteralongsearch,IhavefoundawayyoucanconnectTOR>VPN.Itisnotperfect,andsomemight

notagreewithdoingthingsthisway,butitworksandIamgivingittoyouasanoption,butitonly

worksforWindowsusersatthistime.



IfyoulookbackatmypreviouspostsregardingcombiningVPNandTORthenyouwillfindthe

reasonswhyyouwouldwanttodoso,andsomeofthereasonswhyyoumightnotwanttodoit.ButI

wasunabletoprovideyouwithawaytoconnecttoaVPNusingTORsothattheVPNdoesnotknow

whoyouare.WhenitcomestoTOR>VPN,ifyoucannottrustyourVPN,whichyourarelyshould,

thenkeepingyouridentityanonymousfromyourVPNisagoodidea.Also,withmoreandmorepeople

usingTOR,butwithonlyaround4000TORexitnodes,manyoftheexitnodeIPaddressesarebeing

flaggedasspammersonpopularwebsitesandlimitingtheusageofwellmeaningTORuserstoposton

messageboardslikeStackExchangeandsoforth.



ThewaythatIfoundyoucandoTOR>VPNisbyusingavirtualmachine,preferrablyVirtualBoxand

runninganotherinstanceofWindows,preferrablyonethatuseslessmemorythanyourcurrent

version.YoualsowanttorunTORExpertandTortillaonyourhostOS.Italkabouthowtodothisin

previousposts.NextsetyourVirtualBoxtorouteallit'snetworktrafficthroughTortilla(bridge

adapter),whichroutesitallthroughTOR.CurrentlyTortillaisonlysupportedbyWindows,whichiswhy

thisoptionisonlyavailabletoWindowsusersatthistime.Doingthisalsomakesiteasiertodothings

likewatchvideosonYouTube.



NowthatyouhaveyourWindowsVirtualMachinerunningonTOR,youcaninstallaVPNofyour

choice,preferrablyoneusingOpenVPNonyourWindowsGuestOSandconnecttoit. CheckyourIP

address before connectingandafter andyoushouldsee adifferentIPaddress. Ifall wentwell, younow

haveavirtualmachinerunningTOR>VPN.Thenifyouwanttoaddanotherlayer,youcandownload

TORbrowserbundleontoyourvirtualmachineandrunthataswellgivingyouTOR>VPN>TORfor

anotherlayerofsecurity.AlsoyouhavetheoptionusingthismethodtouseaVPNonyourhostOS,

thenTorExpertwithTortilla,thenanotherVPNonyour guestOS,thenTORbrowser,givingyouVPN>

TOR>VPN>TOR.



Iamnotadvocatinganywhcihmethod,youneedtomakethatdecisiononyourown,Iamjustgiving

youtheknowledgenecesarytomakeaninformeddecisonandyoucanultimatelychoosewhich

methodyoufeelmostcomfortablewith.SometimesdoingTOR>VPNisnecessarybecauseofthe

spamfilterreasonsImentionedaboveandothertimeshavingTORasyourlastnodetotheinternetis

necessarylikewhenaccessingtheonionnetwork.ItiscompletelyuptoyouandIknowthatweare

tryingtoshyawayfromWindowsusagebecauseofalltheexploitsandotherreasonsspokenaboutin

thepreviousposts,butifyouhavenootherwayofstayinganonymousfromyourVPNthanthis,thenI

thinkitisagoodcompromiseuntilwehavesomethinglikeTortillathatiscompatiblewithLinux

distributions.

TRACKING COOKIES



NexttimeIwanttotalkaboutissomethingthatmostpeoplecompletelyforgetabout.Tracking

Cookies.



ArecentarticleexplainshowtheNSAusesthingslikeGoogleAdsandothertrackingcookiestoidentify

usersoverTORwhendoingsobyothermeansisnotpossible.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/theswitch/wp/2013/12/10/nsausesgooglecookiesto

pinpointtargetsforhacking/



ForthoseofyouwhodonotknowwhatIamtalkingabout,letmeaskyouthis.Haveyouever

noticedthatcertainadsseemtofollowyouaroundfromwebsitetowebsite?Perhapssomethingyou

searchedforonGoogleorYahooisnowshowingupinadsonotherpages?Thiswasoriginallydesigned

tomarketthingstoyoubasedonyourpreferencesbyinstallingtrackingcookiesintoyourbrowser.



LuckilyTORclearsitscookieseverytimeyourestartthebrowser,andyesTailsdoestoo,butthat

doesnotmeanyouarenotvulernablewithinthesameTORsession.WhatImeanbythisis,letussay

youwentanddidsomefreedomfightingonaforumsomewhereandthenafter,usingthesameTor

session,visitedanotherwebsitewithGoogleAdsonit.Thenyouwenttoanothersitewithmore

GoogleAdsonit.YouwouldbesurprisedhowmanysitesnowhaveGoogleAdsonthem,bytheway.



Googlecanusethesetrackingcookiestolearnaboutyourbrowsingbehavior.Yoursearchterms,

yourpreferredsites,andsoforth.SomepeopleareevenstupidenoughtousethesameTORIP

addressandgochecktheirFacebooknewsfeedortheiremail.Guesswhoisinbedwiththefeds?

Google,Yahoo,Facebook,MSN,andalloftheiremailprovidersaswell.Remember,whenyoustart

leavingpatternsbehind,theywillstartlookingforsimilaritiesthatstartwithjustasuspicion.



Perhapsthey correlatedthefreedomfightingforumpostswith youbecause youloggedintoyour

email,andnowtheystartnoticingthatyoualwaysmisspellthesamewords,makethesamegrammar

mistakes,thesameslangterms.Perhapsyouvisitedawebsitebelongingtosomebodylocaltoyouwith

GoogleAdsonit.Itisnotentirelysurehowtheyareabletousethesetrackingcookiestoidentifyyou,

butthepointis,theykeepeverything.AndifyouhappentodosomethingstupidlikeGooglealocal

restaurantorwhatmoviesareplayinginyourlocalareaonthesameIPaddressthatyoudidsomething

youshouldnothaveearlieron,thenGooglecanput2and2together.



Oncetheyareonyourtrail,youarescrewed.Sodonotgivethemanythingtocorrelatetoyou,ever!

Sothenyoumightask,cannotIjustdisablecookiesalltogether?Yesyoucould,but,cookiesare

requiredforthingslikeloginsessions.Withoutcookies,youareunabletomaintainastateofbeing

loggedinoncertainwebsites,becausetheyusethatcookieIDtoidentifythesessionontheserver.

Again,youcancertainlydisablecookies,butyouwillnotbeabletomaintainaloginanywhere.

LEARNING FROM OTHERS' MISTAKES. LIBERTAS, DPR, SABU, LULZSEC

Alittlechangeofpaceforthisnextpost.IwanttotalkaboutoneofourfallenmoderatorsLibertas.



Ithasfinallybeenconfirmed,whatweallwerehopingforthatLibertas,oneofthe3arrested

moderatorswasreleasedonbailrecentlyaccordingtoanarticle.



http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/07/thesilkroadslibertasisfreetotheannoyanceofusauthorities/

Quote

TheSilkRoadmoderatorGaryDavis,akaLibertas,isofficiallyfreeonbailandawaitinganextradition

hearingonFebruary13.



TheFBIflewtoIrelandthatnightfortheexpresspurposeoftakingDavisintocustodyandinterrogating

himinIreland,withregardtohispositionandfunctions“beingamoderatoronawebsiteallowing

transactionstofacilitatethesaleofdrugsonline.”



Soasyoucansee,justbecauseLibertaswasamoderatoronthesite,heisbeingchargedwith

allowingtransactionstofaciliatesalesofdrugs.Heisbasicallybeingchargedasadrugdealer.

Quote

However,Daviswasfoundinpossessionofillicitsubstanceswhichcouldresultinaminimumsentence.



Heunfortunatelywasfoundwithdrugsonhimatthetimeofhisarrest,whichmadethingsmuch

easiertokeephimincustody.AnditturnsoutthattheallegedformerownerofSilkRoad,RossUlbricht

isfullycomplyingwithlawenforcementtoattempttoidentifyseniorvendorsonSilkRoad.According

tothearticle,Rosscommunicatedwiththevendorsfrequentlyandlikelyinplaintext(ismyguess).



ThereasonIbringthisup,isthatweneedtoremindeveryuseronhereofthemistakesthatwere

made byRoss, andtheother three moderatorssothatwe can hopefullylearnfromthem. We needto

avoidthesetypesofmistakes,nevereverEVERgiveanybodyanypersonalinformationaboutyourself

online.Thestorygoes,thatRossrequiredmoderatorstogivehimcopiesoftheirIDsinorderto

becomemoderatorsofSilkRoad,andhelikelykeptarecordoftheseonhiscomputer.Unfortunately,

thesearenowinthehandsoftheFBIand3moderatorshavebeenarrestedasaresultsince.Andnow,

accordingtothearticle,theyareafterseniorvendorsaswell.



Afewtakehomesare;AlwaysusePGPencryptioninallyourcommunications,whichunfortunatelyin

thiscasewouldnothavematteredbecauseRossendedupgivinguphisprivatekeystothefeds.Butit

isstillanotherhurdleintheirwaytoprotectyoufromthemtakingawayyourfreedom.Nevergiveout

anypersonalinformationtoanybodyonlineaboutyourself.Neverputyourtrustinsomebodyelse's

hands,becauseattheendoftheday,nobodyisgoingtogotojailforyou.Rossfoundanopportunity

topossiblyreducehissentenceandheisfullytakingadvantageoftheopportunity.



ThisexactsamescenariohappenedwithSabufromLulzSecwasthreatenedwith112yearsinprison,

hequicklyturnedonallhisfriendsandworkedwiththefedstogetthemalllockeduptohelpreduce

hissentence.Sabuhas2kidsandobviouslydecidedhewouldrathersnitchouthisfriendsandhavea

chanceatbeingafatherratherthanspendtherestofhislifelockedupinjail.Again,nobodyisgoingto

gotojailforyou.

HOW FAR WILL LAW ENFORCEMENT GO?



Todaywearegoingtotalkaboutthelengthsthatlawenforcement(LE)willgototryandcatchyou

slipping.



ThethreadthatinspiredthispostwasthefollowingSRthread.



http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=8788.0



Thefirstquestionis,canLEshipdrugstobuyerstotryandsetthemupfordrugcharges?Letusjust

say,thattheyhavedoneittoaSilkRoaduserbeforewhowentbythenameofFlushakaChronicpain

akaCurtisGreen



http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/07/vendoradministratorpleadguiltyinsilk

roadcase/3469751/

Quote

InApril2012,aDEAundercoveragentinMarylandposingasadrugsmugglerbegancommunicating

with"DreadPirateRoberts"onSilkRoadaboutsellingalargeamountofillegaldrugs."DreadPirate

Roberts"instructed[Curtis]Greentohelpthesmugglerfindadrugdealerwhocouldbuyalarge

amountofdrugs,courtpaperssay.Greenfoundabuyerandagreedtoactasthemiddlemanfora

$27,000saleofakilogramofcocaine.GreengavetheDEAagenthisaddress.



AnundercoverU.S.PostalServiceinspectordeliveredthecocainetoGreen'shouseinUtahonJan.17.

Soasyoucansee,whetheryouviewitasentrapmentornot,oncetheyhaveevidenceagainstyou,

they willeventuallyfigureoutawaytogetsomethingonyouandbustyouforitliketheydidtoCurtis

Green.



TheSecretServiceposedasavendorforfakeIDsonlinefor5yearsandactuallyshippedfakeIDsthat

they madetobuyersonanonlineRussianforum.



http://www.tested.com/tech/456882howsecretservicesoldfakeidscatchidentitycrooks/

Quote

TheUSGovernment's"OperationOpenMarket"resultedinindictmentsagainst55defendants.

AccordingtoWired,SpecialAgentMikeAdamsshippedoutmorethan125fakeIDsoveraboutfive

yearsofactivitywhilegoingbytheusernameCeltic.Amazingly,theentireschemestartedwhenthe

governmentarrestedtherealCeltic,aNevadamanwhogotcaughtshoppingataWholeFoodswhere

he'dpreviouslyusedafakecreditcard.



Lawenforcementdiscoveredcounterfeitingequipmentamonghispossessionsandlearnedabouthis

onlineactivities.AdamsassumedhisonlineidentityandevenimprovedCeltic'scred,shippingnear

flawlessIDsandbecomingatrustedselleronCarder.ru.



Asyoucanseeinthisarticle,theSecretServiceagainsoldillegalitemstopeopleonlineinorderto

bustthem.Severalofthebuyersusedtheirrealaddressesandsentrealphotosofthemselvestothis

officertohavetheirIDsmade,resultinginbeingarrestedbythefeds.



Andinthisparticularcase,thefedschargedallthedefendantsundersomethingcalledtheRICOact.

Quote

"Themainindictmentisnoteworthybecause,inadditiontotheusualmixofcreditcardfraudandfalse

identificationcharges,the39defendantshavebeenchargedunderthemobbustingRICOact–afirst

foracybercrimeprosecution.



Enactedin1970tohelptheFBIcrackdownonthemafia,theRacketeerInfluencedandCorrupt

OrganizationsActletsthefedsholdeverymemberofacriminalorganizationindividuallyresponsiblefor

theactionsofthegroupasawhole.ThelossescollectivelyinflictedbytheCarder.sumembersareeasily

enoughtogiveeveryRICOdefendant20yearsinprison."



Whenyoucommitcrimesonline,especiallyinanonlinecommunity,thefedsmaybeabletoholdyou

accountablefortheactionsofotherusersonthatsamecommunity.Somakesurewhenyoudoyour

freedomfighting,orwhateveryouchoosetodo,thatyoutakethisintoconsidering.Alwaysweighout

theworstcasescenario,shouldyougetbusted,becausetheLEwilltryandsetyouup.



OnelastexampleofhowLEwilltryandsetyouup,butnotrelatingtoonlinecommunitiesiswhen

they puttogetherafakesweepstakesinLosAngeles.



http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/LaMiradaInspiredbytheSimpsonstoCatchCriminals

78093912.html

Quote

Sheriff'sdeputiesinLaMiradaattemptedaropeadopeonsomeallegedcriminalsbyofferingthema

fakesweepstakesprize.Outofthe960letterssenttothese"peopleofinterest"onlyeightshowedup

attheLaMiradaHolidayInntocollecttheirprize,accordingtotheWhittierDailyNews.



Posingasthe"PelicanMarketingGroup,"deputiessentletterslastweektopeoplethroughoutthe

countywantedinconnectionwithcrimesrangingfrommisdemeanorwarrantstomurder.



Accordingtothereport,thesuspectswereadvisedtobringtheirletterandidentificationtothe

HolidayInn,andtoldthattheywereguaranteedaprizeworthatleast$100,andwouldbeoneof200

peoplewithachancetowina2010BMW238isedan.



Theywereallsmileswhentheyshoweduptocollecttheirprizes,DeputyJanetRamireztoldthe

newspaper."Oncetheytellthemthey'reunderarrest,thesmilefadesquickly,"shesaid.



SothereasonImadethispost,wasforthoseofyouwhothinkthatLEwillnotgotocertainlengthsto

tryandsetyouupforcharges.Theywilldoitiftheywantyoubadenough,andifyoufallforit,they

mightgetyouonsometoughcharges.CurtisGreenisfacingupto40yearsforthestingoperationby

theDEAonhimandtheuserswhopurchasedfakeIDsontheRussianforumcouldfaceupto20years

eachsincetheycanbechargedundertheRICOact.Alwayskeepthesethingsinmindwhenconducting

activitiesonlineandalwaystaketheworstcasescenariointoaccount.



Itonlytakesonemistaketogetcaughtandthegovernmenthasunlimitedresourcesandsuper

computerstotryandcatchyouslipping.Youmayonlyhaveafewlaptops,desktops,servers,but

nothingcomparedtothewhattheyhave.Becarefuleveryone.

FRAUDULENT PRIVATE MESSAGES



Becarefulwithprivatemessages(PM)online,becauseonethingthatcomeswithanonymity,isplenty

ofscammers.



SilkRoadusershavebeenreportingsupsiciousandoutrightfraudulentmessagesfromusersposing

asModeratorsaskingthemtodownloadfilestotheircomputers.Hereisanactualmessagereceived

byanothermember.

Quote

ThismessageistoinformyouthattheversionofTorBundleyouareusingmaybevulnerabletoa

remoteexecutionattackthroughaflawinJavascript'sonreadystatechangeevent.Thisvulnerability

maydiscloseausersactualidentityandothersensitiveinformationtransmittedoverthetornetwork.



AsofJanurary2nd2014thefollowingvulnerabilitywasfound



Title: Executionofunmappedmemorythroughonreadystatechange event

Impact:Critical



AnattackthatexploitsaFirefoxvulnerabilityinJavaScripthasbeenobservedinthewild.Specifically,

WindowsusersusingtheTorBrowserBundle(whichincludesFirefoxplusprivacypatches)appearto

havebeentargeted.



Pleasenote:IfyouareusingLinuxorTails(bootable)thisvulnerabilitydoesnotapplytoyou,please

disregardthismessage.



WeareadvisingallofourcommunitymemberstoupgradetothepatchedversionTorBundle(3.5)



http://www34.zippyshare.com/v/xxxxxxxx/file.html(LatestTorBundle3.5)



Mirror:http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.onion/files/torbrowserinstall3.5_enUS.zip



Note:YoudonotneedtoremoveyourcurrentTorBundlebeforeinstalling.Thiswilloverwritethe

previousinstallationandupgradeyoutothelatest3.5version.



Ifyouareunsureofwhichversionyouhaveitisbesttoupgradeanyways,itwillpreserveyour

bookmarksandpreferencesduringtheupgrade.



Also...Don'tForgettoClickthe"ForbidScriptsGlobally"afterclickingontheS.....

Therest....DoNotmesswith....thisisarelativelysimplethingtodo....youmustdothisallbefore

accessinganyDarkWebSite.Point...Blank&Period....



ThisisyourSafetyandSecuritythatyou'reDealingwithhere....TAKETHISSERIOUSLY!!



Idon'tmeantosoundharshoranasshole...ibelievewe'reallFamilyhere....andfromhereonoutifyou

cannotdoastoldtoensurethatyoursecurityandsafetyisnotcompromised.....wellthenyoudon't

needtobehere....Period....

Anyquestions?PleasefeelfreetomessageanymodandwewilldoourbesttoreplyAsap



HappyNewYear&Staysafein2014!



SRStaff



Theythenprovidealinkforyoutodownloadan"updated"versionofTOR,whichhasbeenremoved

forsecuritypurposes.ButthismessageisnotcomingfromanySilkRoadstaff,itiscomingfroma

randomaccountandthefilesarelikelytobevirusesorpossiblyevenfromlawenforcement.



IfyougetanysuspiciousmessagesfromanybodyclaimingtobeaSilkRoadmoderatoraskingyouto

downloadsoftware toyour computer, reportittoamoderator immediatelysothatthey canban the

accounts.Donotunderanycircumstancesdownloadanysoftwaretoyourcomputerunlessitcomes

fromanofficialwebsitesuchas;



https://torproject.org

https://tails.boum.org/



Again,staysafeeveryone!

LEARNING FROM OTHERS' MISTAKES. HOW THEY BUSTED SABU

ThisnextpostIwanttofocusonmoremistakesthatotherhacktivistsandfreedomfightershavemade

whichultimatelyledtotheirarrests.Thisismoreproofthatyouonlyneedtoscrewuponce.



YouhaveprobablyheardmetalkaboutsomebodynamedSabumultipletimesandmaybeyouare

newtotheonlinecommunitiesandyouhavenoideawhoIamtalkingabout.Sabuwastheleaderofa

selfproclaimedhacktivistgroupcalledLulzSec.Theywereresponsiblefortakingadvantageofsecurity

exploitsinonlineserversandpostingtheinformationonlineonawebsitecalledPasteBin.Theyhad

donethismanytimes.



https://www.informationweek.com/attacks/lulzsecleadersabuunmaskedaidsfbihackersweep/d/d

id/1103214?

Quote

ThemenhavebeenchargedwithhackingFoxBroadcastingCompany,SonyPicturesEntertainment,

andthePublicBroadcastingService(akaPBS).



Duringthetimeallthiswashappening,themembersofthisgroupmaintainedanonlineInternet

RelayChat(IRC)channelinwhichtheyregularlydiscussedandtookcreditfortheirattacksandexploits.

Theagreeduponringleaderfortheseattacks,andthisgroupwentbytheonlinehandleSabu.Sabu

hadalsobeenlinkedtosellingstolencreditcardsonFacebookthroughhisonlinehandle,nothisreal

one,whichcarriesachargeofaggravatedidentitytheft.



Thegrouphadleakedidentitiesoflawenforcement,Sonyusers,andallwreakedalltypesofhavoc

onlineincludingDDosattacksontheCIA.TheFBIwantedSabu,theywantedtheringleader,who

wouldeventuallybefacingchargesthatcouldleadto112yearsinprison.ButasImentionedin

previousthreads,itonlytakesonemistaketogetcaught.Thatisalltheyneed.



http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/03/06/exclusiveunmaskingworldsmostwantedhacker/

Quote

Sabuhadalwaysbeencautious,hidinghisInternetprotocoladdressthroughproxyservers.Butthen

justonceheslipped.HeloggedintoanInternetrelaychatroomfromhisownIPaddresswithout

maskingit.Allittookwasonce.Thefedshadafixonhim.

However,thiswasnothisfirstactualslipup,butitwashisfirstslipupwherethefedsactually

discoveredhismistake.Hisidentitywasactuallydiscovered,or"doxed"previouslybyanotheronline

hackinggroupcalledBacktracewhopostedhisidentityandgenerallocationonlineweekspriortothis

inanattempttodoxmembersofLulzSec.



http://arstechnica.com/techpolicy/2012/03/doxedhowsabuwasoutedbyformeranonslong

beforehisarrest/

Quote

Sabuoccasionallymentionedownershipofadomaincalledprvt.orginhischats,includingthosein

Backtrace's"consequences"document.Everydomainregistrationisassociatedwithcorresponding

informationintheWHOISdatabase.Thisinformationissupposedtoincludethenameandaddressof

thedomain'sowner.



Oftenthisinformationisincorrect(mostdomainregistrarsdonothingtovalidateit)oranonymized

(manyfirmsoffer"proxy"domainregistration,sotheWHOISdatabasecontainsthedetailsoftheproxy

registrar,ratherthanthepersonusingthedomain).Monsegurappearedtouseoneofthese

anonymizingservices,GoDaddysubsidiaryDomainsByProxy,forregisteringtheprvt.orgdomain.



TheregistrationforthedomainwasduetoexpireonJune25,2011,requiringMonsegurtorenewit.

Butforsomereason—erroronMonsegur'spartperhaps,orscrewupbytheregistrar—therenewal

wasprocessednotbyDomainsByProxybutbyitsparent,GoDaddy.UnlikeDomainsByProxy,Go

DaddyusesrealinformationwhenitupdatestheWHOISdatabase,soon24thJune(thedaybeforeit

wasduetoexpire),Monsegur'sname,address,andtelephonenumberwereallpubliclyattachedtohis

domainname.



Monsegurquicklyremediedthemistake,changingtheWHOISregistrationtousevariousother

identities—firsttothatofAdrianLamo(whoreportedBradleyManningtoauthorities)andthento

"RafaelLima"andsubsequentlyto"ChristianBiermann".Thisattempttomisleadthoserelyingonthe

WHOISinformationsuccessfullymisledsomewouldbedoxers.Butnotall:byAugusttherewere

extensivedossiersonSabu'strueidentity.



Twomistakesthatweknowof,isallthatittooktobringdownatonetime,theWorld'sMostWanted

Hacker.IfyouarefamiliarwiththestoryofLulzSec,therewasatimetheywerereceivingmainstream

newscoverageandSabuhadgainedareputationofbeingthismysticaluntouchablehacker.

Unfortunatelyforhim,hemadetwosmallyetverycostlymistakeswhichendedupputtinghimaway.

ButwearenotdoneyetonthisstoryaboutSabu.



Sabuhadaweakness,thatthefedsusedasleverageagainsthimwhenhegotbusted.

Quote

Anunemployedcomputerprogrammer,welfarerecipientandlegalguardianoftwoyoungchildren.



“Itwasbecauseofhiskids,”oneofthetwoagentsrecalled.“He’ddoanythingforhiskids.Hedidn’t

wanttogoaway toprisonandleave them. That’showwe gothim.”



Monsegurwasquietlyarrestedonaggravatedidentitytheftchargesandreleasedonbail.OnAug.15

hepleadedguiltytoadozencountsofhackingrelatedchargesandagreedtocooperatewiththeFBI.



Sowhenyouaredoingyourfreedomfightingonline,youneedtoaskyourself.WhatdoIhaveto

lose?DoIhaveawife?Children?WhatwouldhappenifIweretoloseeverythingandbethrownaway

for10to20years,couldIhandlethat?Ifyoudecidethatyouarewillingtoriskallthat,thenyouagain

needtolearnfromthemistakesofthosewhohavefallenbeforeyou.Askyourself,ifputinahard

place,whereyouhadtochoosebetweenlifeinprison,andcooperation,inordertoseeyourown

family,youmaythinkyouwillnottalknow,butyoumaystarttalkingwhenthefedsarethreateningto

takethemawayfromyouforever.



OncetheFBIhadtheleaderofthegroupLulzSecworkingforthem,theywastedlittletimegettingthe

formerhackertoturnonhisfriendsandaidintheirarrests.



Continuednextpost.

LEARNING FROM OTHERS' MISTAKES. SABU BECAME FBI INFORMANT

AND BETRAYED JEREMY HAMMOND



WearecontinuingthesubjectofhowothersweretakendownafterSabuwascompromisedand

startedcooperatingwiththeFBI.Accordingtothisarticle.



http://arstechnica.com/techpolicy/2012/03/stakeouthowthefbitrackedandbustedachicago

anon/

Quote

ThedayafterChristmas,sup_ghadanotheronlinechatabouttheStratforhackandaboutsome30,000

creditcardnumbersthathadbeentakenfromthecompany.Hisinterlocutor,CW1,engagedinabitof

gallowshumoraboutwhatmighthappenshouldtheyallgetcaught.



Buttheraidhad,infact,alreadyhappened.CW1was"Sabu,"atopAnon/LulzSechackerwhowasin

reallifeanunemployed28yearoldlivinginNewYorkCitypublichousing.Hissixthfloorapartment

hadbeenvisitedbytheFBIinJune2011,andSabuhadbeenarrestedand"turned."Formonths,he

hadbeenanFBIinformant,watched24hoursadaybyanagentandusingagovernmentissuedlaptop

thatloggedeverythinghedid.



SoweseehereSabuischattingwithausersup_gtotryandengagehimaboutthehacksthattook

place.

Quote

Sabusuddenlyaddressessup_gbyanewname,"anarchaos."Itwouldturnoutthatsup_gwentby

manynames,including"anarchaos,""burn,""yohoho,""POW,""tylerknowsthis,"and"crediblethreat."



CW1:if I getraidedanarchaos your jobistocause havok inmyhonor

CW1:<3

CW1:sup_g:

@sup_g:itshallbeso



Normally,theattempttolinkhisvariousnameswouldhaveraisedthehacker'sguard;asheconfided

toSabu,someoneelsehadoncetriedtolinkthenames"yohoho"and"burn,"butthehacker"never

answered...IthinkhepickedupsomelanguagesimilaritiesI'veworkedwith[REDACTED]onotherops

inthepast."ButthiswasSabu,asortofhackerdemigodintheworldofAnonymous.Ifyoucouldn't

trusthim,whocouldyoutrust?SabuhadevenprovidedaservertostorethestolenStatfordata,sohe

couldn'tbeafed(inreality,hehaddonesoattheFBI'sdirection).



Andmoredetailsonhowtheylookedthroughcopiousamountsoflogstocorrelatethisusersup_gto

hisrealidentity.

Quote

Toidentifysup_g,theBureaufirstturnedtothevoluminouschatlogsstoredonSabu'scomputer.They

wentthrougheverycommentthatcouldbeplausiblylinkedtosup_goroneofhisaliases.Thegoalwas

toseeifthehackerhadslippedupatanypointandrevealedsomepersonalinformation.



Hehad.OnAugust29,2011at8:37AM,"burn"saidinanIRCchannelthat"somecomradesofmine

werearrestedinSt.Louisafewweeksago...formidwestrisingtarsandswork."Ifaccurate,thismight

place"burn"intheMidwest.FBIChicagoagentswereabletoconfirmthataneventcalledMidwest

RisingwasattendedbyChicagoresidentJeremyHammond'stwinbrother.(Hammondhadahistory

withanarchismandviolentprotest.)



"Anarchaos"onceletslipthathehadbeenarrestedin2004forprotestingattheRepublicanNational

ConventioninNewYorkCity.Muchlater,"yohoho"notedthathehadn'tbeentoNewYork"sincethe

RNC,"nicelytyingbothonlinehandlestothesame person.TheFBIwenttoNewYorkCitypoliceand

obtainedalistofeveryindividualdetainedatthe2004convention;theylearnedthatJeremy

Hammondhadinfactbeendetained,thoughhehadnotbeenarrested.Thepieceswerestartingtofit.



"Sup_g"and"burn"bothindicatedlaterthattheyhadspenttimeinprison,with“burn”indicatingthat

hehadbeenatafederalpenitentiary.AsearchofHammond'scriminalrecordsrevealedthathehad

beenarrestedinMarch2005bytheChicagoFBIandhadpledguiltytohackingintoa“politically

conservativewebsiteandstealingitscomputerdatabase,includingcreditcardinformation,”according

toanFBIaffidavit.Hammondwassentencedtotwoyearsinprisonfortheaction.



Inyetanotherchat,"Anarchaos"toldSabuthathehadoncespentafewweeksinacountyjailfor

possessionofmarijuana.HealsoaskedSabunottotellanybody,“causeitcouldcompromisemy

identity,"andhenotedthathewasonprobation.BothmatchedHammond,whowasplacedon

probationinNovember2010afteraviolentprotestagainsttheOlympicscomingtoChicago.Whenthe

FBIranacriminalhistorycheckonHammond,italsorevealedtwoarrestsformarijuanapossession.



TheFBIwassothoroughthatitevenfollowedupona"POW"commentsaying"dumpsterdivingisall

goodi'mafreegangoddess."("Freegans"scavengeunspoiled, wasted foodfromthe trashofgrocery

storesandrestaurants.)TheFBIwenttoChicagoauthorities,whohadputHammondunder

surveillancewhentheywereinvestigatinghimbackin2005.Aspartofthatearliersurveillance,“agents

haveseenHammondgoingintodumpsterstogetfood.”



Nowthattheyhadasuspect,itwastimetoputhimundersurveillance.



Thisiswhyyouallneedtobeextraparanoidwitheverysinglethingyousayaboutyourselvesonthis

forum.Ihaveseenpeopletalkingaboutwhatcountrytheylivein,someeventalkingaboutwhichstate

they livein.IfyouthinkthattheFBIwillneverputthepiecestogether,youmaybesadlymistakenas

JeremyHammondfoundout.

Quote

WatchingtheWiFinetworkrevealedtheMediaAccess Control(MAC)addressesofeachdevice

connectedtothenetwork.Mostofthetimetherewasonlyone,anAppleComputer—andsup_ghad

toldSabuthatheusedaMacbook.



OnMarch1,theagentsobtainedacourtorderallowingthemtousea"penregister/trapandtrace"

devicethatcouldrevealonly"addressinginformation"andnotcontent.Inotherwords,ifitworked,

agentscouldseewhatIPaddressesHammondwasvisiting,buttheywouldseenothingelse.



HisMacbook'sMACaddresswassoonseenconnectingtoIPaddressesknowntobepartoftheTor

anonymizingnetwork.



Andwhilethisdefinitelysoundedliketheirman,theBureauwenttoevengreaterlengthstodouble

checktheirtarget.ThemaintechniquewastoobservewhenHammondlefthishome,thentocallSabu

inNewYorkandaskifanyofHammond'ssuspectedaliaseshadjustleftIRCortheJabberinstant

messagingsystem.



Ifthisdoesnotopenyoureyestosomeofthemistakesmanyofyouhavebeenmakingonline,then

youneedtoreevaluatehowyouhandleyourselvesonline.Readtheentirearticletogetabetter

picture,butremember,Idonotcareifitisyourbestfriendfromelementaryschool,donot,underany

circumstanceseveradmitanythingonlinetoanybody.Neverunderanycircumstancestakecreditfor

anyfreedomfightingorhacktivismyouhaveparticipateditonline.Andforchrist'ssake,NEVERloginto

aserver,especiallyonethatkeepslogswithyourrealIPaddress!

WHERE YOU MIGHT CONSIDER RUNNING TO, IF YOU HAD NO OTHER

CHOICE

Inthecasethatyoumayhavetorun,herearesomethingstoconsider.



Iamnotanexpertonevadingextradition,orhowtoevadethefederalgovernment,NSAorother

superpowers,butIdohavesomerecommendationsthatyoumightwanttoconsiderifyoudecidethat

youhavenoother choicebut torun. The followingcountriesdonotcurrentlyhave anextradition

treatytotheUnitedStates.

Quote

Afghanistan,Algeria,Andorra,Angola,Armenia,Bahrain,Bangladesh,Belarus,Bosniaand



Herzegovina,Brunei,BurkinaFaso,Burma,Burundi,Cambodia,Cameroon,CapeVerde,theCentral



AfricanRepublic,Chad,China,Comoros,Congo(Kinshasa),Congo(Brazzaville),Djibouti,Equatorial



Guinea,Eritrea,Ethiopia,Gabon,Guinea,GuineaBissau,Indonesia,IvoryCoast,Kazakhstan,



Kosovo,Kuwait,Laos,Lebanon,Libya,Macedonia,Madagascar,Maldives,Mali,MarshallIslands,



Mauritania,Micronesia,Moldova,Mongolia,Montenegro,Morocco,Mozambique,Namibia,Nepal,



Niger,Oman,Qatar,Russia,Rwanda,Samoa,SãoTomé&Príncipe,SaudiArabia,Senegal,Serbia,



Somalia,Sudan,Syria,Togo,Tunisia,Uganda,Ukraine,UnitedArabEmirates,Uzbekistan,Vanuatu,



Vatican,VietnamandYemen.



Thisdoesnotmeanthatthesecountrieswillnotextraditeyou,butifyouaregoingtopickacountry

tofleeto,itwouldbefavorabletoyourchancetochoosefromthislist.Onenoteablecountryonthis

list,whichisfamousforextraditingoneoftheownersofthePirateBay,GottfridSvartholmtoSweden,

isCambodia.Althoughnotreatyexistsbetweenthetwocountries,hewasextraditedbythe

government.



WeallknowthatEdwardSnowdenfledtoRussiafromHongKongafterleavingtheUSfromHawaii

andhasremainedtheresincewithoutbeingextraditedbythegovernmentandwasgranteda1year

temporaryasylum.ItisunclearifSnowdenwillbeabletostaylongerthanhis1yeartemporaryasylum

grants,butasofrightnowheisbadlywantedbytheUSgovernment,andRussiaisrefusingtohand

himover.



AnotherpersoninvolvedinthePirateBaynamedFredrikNeijfledtoLaosinAsiafollowingbeing

convictedof"assistinginmakingcopyrightcontentavailable"andwassentencedtooneyearinprison

andorderedtopaydamagesof30millionSEK(approximately€2,740,900orUS$3,620,000).Thisisof

coursebetweenLaosandSweden,butLaoshasnotextraditedFredrik,soLaosmaybeavalidoption.



IoftenhearpeoplefromtheUSclaimthatif"shiteverpopsoff"theywouldjustfleetoCanada.Do

noteventryit,youwouldnotevenmakeitthroughtheborder.Canadaislikethebabybrotherofthe

UnitedStates.WhentheUnitedStatessaysjump,Canadasays"howhigh?".StayawayfromCanadaif

youarerunningfromtheUnitedStates.EvenapotactivistnamedMarkEmerywhowasaCanadian

citizen,livedinCanada,butsoldmarijuanaseedsovertheinternettopeopleintheUSwasextradited

totheUStoservea5yearsentence.Accordingtotheotherseedvendorsinthearea,thosewhoonly

soldwithinCanadahadnever beenarrested, butbecauseEmerysoldtothe US, he was arrestedand

extradited.Andofcourse,weknowthatIrelandandAustraliawilllikelybeextraditingtwoofthe

moderatorsfromSilkRoadtotheUnitedStatessoonenough.



Althoughnotonthelistabove,awoman,wantedintheUSforparentalkidnapping,namedChereLyn

TomaykowasgrantedasyluminCostaRica.



http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/200807253841863361_x.htm

Quote

Tomayko'sclaimsthatheractionswerejustifiedbydomesticviolenceshesufferedweretakeninto

accountbytheCostaRicanauthorities.



AssataShakurwaschargedwithmurder,attemptedmurder,armedrobbery,bankrobbery,and

kidnappingbytheUSandfledtoCuba.CubaactuallyhasanextraditiontreatywiththeUS,butthe

relationsbetweenthetwocountrieshavenotbeengoodsincethecoldwarbetweentheUSandthe

SovietUnionandthustherequestswerenothonored,evenforsomeonewithsuchseriouscharges.

Cubamaybeanoptionforyou,butagainthisisonlysomethingtoconsiderasIamnoexpertinany

way.



AndfinallyaccordingtoapreviouspostofmineexplaininghowtheSecretServicesoldfakeIDsonline

topeopleonaforum,severalofthemembersofthatforumwereabletoevadecaptureduetobeing

inEasternEuropeancountries,althoughnotspecifiedbythefedsforobviousreasons,andremainat

largetothisday.



http://www.tested.com/tech/456882howsecretservicesoldfakeidscatchidentitycrooks/

Quote

Thegovernmentmadeitsmovein2012,arrestingdozensoffraudstersintheUSandincountries

whereextraditioniseasy.Butmanymore,includingthefounderofCards.ru,remainatlarge.Thosein

EasternEuropeancountries,especially,arelargelyoutofthegovernment'sreach.

SECURING YOUR ACCOUNT FROM FBI MONITORING

Ijusthadanotherrealizationthatyoumaywanttoconsider.



InoticedthatcertainsomepeopleontheforumwerenevershownasOnline,evenwhentheyclearly

were,andotherswereshownasonlineattimes.Ithenrealizedtomyselftheremustbeawaytonever

showyourstatusasOnline.



ThewayyoudothisistoopenupAccountSettingsandunselecttheboxthatsaysShowothersmy

onlinestatus.

Sowhywouldyouwanttodothisanyways?Forreasonswespokeaboutearlier,youdonotwantto

giveanylawenforcementtheabilitytoseewhenyoulogonandlogoff.Itisbadpractice,itcanleavea

trail,leaveapattern,andifyouareapersonofinterestandtheyareabletoconnectthetimeyousign

offontheforumwiththetimeyouleaveyourhouse,orgotosleep,itgivesthemmorereasontobe

suspiciousandmoreevidencetobeusedagainstyouincourt.



Considerdisablingthisoption.

INVINCIBILITYMINDSET,FEDERALGOVERNMENTBULLYINGTACTICS



Somepeoplehaveaninvincibilitymindsetthatnothingwilleverbeabletobetiedtothemorderived

fromtheironlinecommunications.



Wellguesswhat?Theydonothavetouseyouronlinecommunicationstofindoutwhoyouare.All

thatneedstohappen,isforyoutodosomethingstupidandbecomeapersonofinterestandtheywill

bemonitoringyouractivitiesonlinetothebestoftheirabilities.Rememberyouonlyneedtoscrewup

once.



Forexample,maybeyoubecomeapersonofinterestandtheFBIgainsasubpoenatoyourFacebook

accountwhereyoustupidlybraggedtoafriendofyoursaboutparticipatingincertainonlineactivities.

ThishappenedtooneofthemembersofLulzSecwhotransferredadatadumpthatheobtained

throughSQLinjectionexploitstoafriendofhisusinghisownFacebookinhisownname.Sodonot

evertalkaboutSilkRoadoranyofyouronlineactivitiesonanysocialmediaplatform.



Evenifacompanydoesnotcurrentlykeeplogs,acourtordermayperhapsbeusedtoforcea

companytostartkeepinglogs.HushMailwasforcedtohandover12CDsworthofemailsfromthree

Hushmailaccounts,followingacourtorderobtainedthroughamutualassistancetreatybetweenthe

U.S.andCanada.Accordingtothefollowingarticle.



http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2007/11/encryptedemai/



Whenitcomestobeingthreatenedbyacourtorderfromthefederalgovernment,99.99%ofall

companieswillcomplytoavoideitherprosecutionthemselves,orshuttingdowntheirbusinessaswe

sawpreviouslywithHideMyAss.



Butonecompanydecidedtostanduptothistypeofbullyingthatyoumayhaveheardofcalled

LavaBitasseeninthefollowingarticle.



http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/03/lavabitladarlevisonfbiencryptionkeyssnowden

Quote

TheemailserviceusedbywhistleblowerEdwardSnowdenrefusedFBIrequeststo"defeatitsown

system,"accordingtonewlyunsealedcourtdocuments.



ThefounderofLavabit,LadarLevison,repeatedlypushedbackagainstdemandsbytheauthoritiesto

handovertheencryptionkeystohissystem,frustratingfederalinvestigatorswhoweretryingtotrack

Snowden'scommunications, thedocuments show.



Levisonisnowsubjecttoagovernmentgagorderandhasappealedagainstthesearchwarrantsand

subpoenasdemandingaccesstohisservice.HeclosedLavabitinAugustsayinghedidnotwanttobe

"complicitincrimesagainsttheAmericanpeople".



InJuly,theauthoritiesobtainedasearchwarrantdemandingLavabithandoveranyencryptionkeys

andSSLkeysthatprotectedthesite.Levisonwasthreatenedwithcriminalcontempt–whichcould

havepotentiallyputhiminjail–ifhedidnotcomply.Suchamovewouldhavegiventhegovernment

accesstoallofLavabitusers'information.



ThecourtorderedLevisontobefined$5,000adaybeginning6Augustuntilhehandedoverelectronic

copiesofthekeys.TwodayslaterLevisonhandedoverthekeyshoursafterheshutteredLavabit.



YouseewhatIamtalkingabout?Thefederalgovernmentorderedthismantohandoverallhis

encryptionkeysandSSLkeyswhichcompromisedtheprivacyof400,000usersjustsotheycouldgain

moredataononeman,EdwardSnowden.Andtheyusedbullyingtacticsandattemptedtobankrupt

theownerofLavabitbyfininghim$5,000perdayuntilhehandedoverthekeys.UnfortunatelyLevison

hadnochoicebuttohandoverthekeysorloseeverything.



AninterviewonRedditwithLevisonrevealedwhatheclaimedthatothersecureemailproviderswho

threatenedtoshutdownwereforcedtostayup.



http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/19/lavabit_analysis/

Quote

Lavabit'sfounderhasclaimedothersecurewebmailproviderswhothreatenedtoshutthemselves

downinthewakeoftheNSAspyingrevelationshadreceivedcourtordersforcingthemtostayup.



Thereyouhaveit.Anyonewhotriestostanduptothegovernment,especiallyintheUnitedStates

willbemetwithswiftjustice,courtordersandoutrageousfinesunlesstheycomplyandontopofit,

slappedwithgagorderssotheycannottellanybodyaboutwhatthegovernmentisdoing.

HOW TO CONNECT TO TOR OVER TOP OF TOR

Hereisanotherfuntipthatmayormaynotinterestyou,butIfiguredIwouldthrowitinforyou

anyways.



IfiguredthisoutwhiletryingtofigureoutaneffectivewaytodoaTOR>VPNconnection.Youcan

doTOR>TORconnectionwithTailsbyusingaprogramcalledTortilla,thusaddinganotherlayerfor

youradversariestocrack.Whetherornotthisisworthit,iscompletelyuptoyou,butIamsharingin

caseitissomethingyouwanttodo.ThishowevercurrentlyonlyworksforthoseusingWindows

becauseitwasdesignedtobeusedbyWindowsusers.Pleasenoteaswellthatthiswillnoticeablyslow

downyourconnectionsinceyouaregoingthroughTORtwice.HereistheofficialhomepageofTortilla.

https://github.com/CrowdStrike/Tortilla



Andtheofficialdownloadpagefortheprebuiltstandaloneexebelow.Thereisalinktoitonthe

homepageifyoudonottrustme.



http://www.crowdstrike.com/communitytools/



Thewayyoudothisisverysimpleactually.YouneedtofirstdownloadTORExpertBundlefromthe

TORProjectdownloadpageandinstallitonyourcomputerorbetteryetyourUSBdrive.



https://www.torproject.org/download/download.html.en



Nextopenthetor.exeandjustletitrununtilitsaysBootstrapped100%Done.Nextyouwanttorun

thetortilla.exefileandmakesureyourunitwithAdministratorprivileges.Also,ifyouarerunning

WindowsVistaorlater,youwilllikelygetanerrorthatthisprogramdoesnothaveavalidcertificate,

becauseitisactuallysignedwithsomethingcalledatestsignedceritifcate.Inthiscaseyouneedto

allowtestsigneddriverstorunonyourcomputer.



Todothis,simplygotoyourStartMenuandtypeinthesearchbox"command".Whencommand

comesup,yourightclickit,andclickrunasAdministratoranditwillopenupacommandprompt.Next

type inthefollowingcommand.Bcdedit.exesetTESTSIGNINGONandthiswillallowWindowstoinstall

testsigneddrivers.Restartyourcomputerandyouwillseeinthebottomrighthandcornerafteryou

restartTestModeWindows.NowyoucanrunTortilla.AndletitconnecttoTOR.Remembertohave

tor.exefromTORExpertBundleopenfirst.



Finally,youopenupVirtualBoxorwhateverVirtualMachinesoftwareyouareusingandclickSettings

ontheTailsvirtualmachine.ClickontheNetworktabandchangethedropdownmenuwhereitsays

AttachedTo:toBridgedAdapterandinthedropdownmenubelowitcalledName:SelectTortilla

Adapter.NowyourVirtualMachine,inthiscaseTails,willalwaysconnecttotheinternetthrough

Tortilla,whichconnectsthroughTOR.AndsinceTailsestablishesitsownconnectiontoTOR,youwillbe

runningTORovertopofTOR.Again,youmayormaynotwanttodothis,butIamgivingyoutheoption

shouldyouwantto.



IfanyoneisinterestedinlearningmoreaboutthecreatorofTortilla,hedidaPowerPoint

presentationatthe2013BlackHatUSAconference.FeelfreetowatchhistalkattheYouTubelink

below.PleasenotehoweverthatYouTubeisownedbyGoogleandthereareonlyabout57viewson

thevideo,sothegovernmentwilllikelycorrelateuserswhowatchthatvideowithusersfromthis

forum.MakesureyoudonotwatchthevideoonYouTubewithyourrealIPaddress.Attheveryleast

useaVPNorfindanothersitethathasithosted.Alwaysbeextraparanoid.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_jDPQU8YQ

100

HOW TO VERIFY YOUR DOWNLOADED FILES ARE AUTHENTIC

IjusthadarealizationaboutsomethingthatisprettyimportantandIwantedtoshareitwithyou,

regardingsecurity.Verifyingyourdownloads



Asageneralruleofthumb,youshouldalwaysdownloadfilesfromthehomepagesoftheirrespective

developers.



TOR:https://www.torproject.org

Tails:https://www.tails.boum.org

VirtualBox:https://www.virtualbox.org/



Thereasonthisissoimportant,isthattherearepeoplewhohostmaliciouslymodifiedversionsof

theseprogramsandwillhostlegitimatelookingsitestotryandgetyoutodownloadtheirversion,

whichcaninstallthingslikebackdoorsintoyourcomputers,keyloggers,andalltypesofnastysurprises.

Sometimesdeveloperswilloffermirrorsfortheirprojects,whicharesimplyjustalternativelinksto

downloadfromincasethemainserveristooslow,ordown.Sometimesthesemirrorscanbecome

compromisedwithouttheknowledgeofthedevelopers.



MaybeyoudonothaveTORorTailsonyourlaptopandyouaretravelingoutofthecountryandthe

hotelthatyouarestayingathasTOR'shomepageblocked.Therearetimeswhenyoumayneedtofind

analternativemirrortodownloadcertainthings.Thenofcoursethereistheinfamousmaninthe

middleattackwhereanattackercaninjectmaliciouscodeintoyournetworktrafficandalterthefile

youaredownloading.TheTORdevelopershaveevenreportedthatattackershavethecapabilityof

trickingyourbrowserintothinkingyouarevisitingtheTORhomepagewheninfactyouarenot.



Sowhatdoyoudoaboutit?Youcanverifythatthefileyoudownloadedisinfactlegitimate.Thebest

toolforthisisGnuPG.TheTORdevelopersrecommendyougetitfromthefollowingpage(Windows

Users).



http://www.gpg4win.org/download.html



YoucaninstallthisprogramonyourUSBdriveoronyouractualcomputer,youwillhearyouractual

computer'soperationsystemreferredtoasyourHostOS.Sodownloadit,runit,installitandwewill

startshowingyouhowtouseGnuPG.



IfyouremainontheGnuPGdownloadpageyouwillseesomethingunderthebiggreenboxthatis

calledOpenPGPsignature.DownloadthatintothesamefolderastheGnuPGfile,thisisthefilethatthe

downloadwassignedwith.Basicallysomeone'ssignaturesaying,Imadethisfile.Andyoualsoneeda

PGPpublickeytoverifythesignature.Sotosumitupsofar,thesignatureiscreatedfromthePGP

privatekey,andcanbeverifiedbythePGPpublickey.Thesignaturefileisusedtoverifytheprogram

itself.SoletusgrabthePGPpublickeyforGnuPGaswell.



Ifyoulookonthesamedownloadpage,undertheheadingInstallation,youwillseealinkwhereit

saysverifytheintegrityofthefile.Itwillleadtoyouthefollowingpage.

101

http://gpg4win.org/packageintegrity.html



Notewhereitsaysthefollowingstatement.Thesignatureshavebeencreatedwiththefollowing

OpenPGPcertificateIntevationFileDistributionKey(KeyID:EC70B1B8).Thisisthelinktothepagethat

hoststhePGPpublickeyfilethatyouneedtodownload,gothere.Onthepagewejustnavgiatedto,go

tothebottomrightwhereitsaysIntevationDistributionKey(publicOpenPGPkeyforsigningfiles)and

downloadthatfile.ThisisthePGPpublickeyfile,saveittothesameplaceasyoursignaturefilefor

easeofuse.



Okay,nowthatwehaveboththesignaturefileandthePGPpublickey,letusnowverifyour

download.FirstthingyouneedtodoisnavigatetothePGPpublickeyfile,calledIntervation

DistributionKey.asc,rightclickitandgotoMoreGpgEXOptionsanddowntoImportKeys.Thiswill

importthePGPpublickeyintoyourkeyring,andnowyoucanverifythefilewiththesignature.



Rightclickyouractualfileyouwanttoverify,inthiscasegpg4win2.2.1.exeandgotoMoreGpgEX

OptionsanddowntoVerifyanditshouldautomaticallydetectthesignaturefilewhereitsaysInputFile,

butifitdoesnot,navigatetothesignaturefileandmakesuretheboxbelowitwhereitsaysInputfileis

adetachedsignatureischecked.LookatthebottomandclickDecrypt/Verifyandyouwilllikelygetthe

followingmessage.



Notenoughinformationtochecksignaturevalidity. Checkdetails.



Believeitornot,thisiscompletelyfine.Clickonshowdetails,youarelookingforaspecificresult.



Signedon2013100708:31bydistributionkey@intervation.de(KeyID:0xEC70B1B8).Thevalidityofthe

signaturecannotbeverified.



IfyounavigatebacktothepagefromGpg4WinthatsaysCheckIntegritywhereyoufoundthelinkto

thepagethatcontainedthePGPpublickeyyouwillseeonthatpage.



IntevationFileDistributionKey(KeyID:EC70B1B8)



NotethekeyIDfromyourdecryptresultandthekeyIDfromtheCheckIntegritypageandnotethe

emailaddressendinginthesameURLthatwedownloadedthePGPpublickeyfrom.Wehaveamatch!

Iwillexplainthereasonforthiswarningmessagelater.



Nowthatweverifiedthatourverificationprogramislegit.LetustryandverifyourTailsISOfile,since

ifwehaveacompromisedTailsOS,thennothingwedowillbeanonymous.LetusgetrighttotheTails

downloadpage.



https://tails.boum.org/download/index.en.html



ScrolldowntowhereitsaysTails0.22signatureanddownloadthattoyourTailsfolderwhereyou

havetheISOfilethatwealreadydownloaded.NextscrolldowntowhereitsaysTailssigningkey,thisis

102

our PGPpublic key. Exact same procedure, importthekey, thenclickVerifyandspecifythesignature

fileifithasnotalreadybeenspecifiedforyou, exactsamesettingsandyouwillgetthesamewarning

message.AsexplainedbyTails

Quote

Ifyouseethefollowingwarning:



Notenoughinformationtocheckthesignaturevalidity.

Signedon...bytails@boum.org(KeyID:0xBE2CD9C1

Thevalidityofthesignaturecannotbeverified.



ThentheISOimageisstillcorrect,andvalidaccordingtotheTailssigningkeythatyoudownloaded.

ThiswarningisrelatedtothetrustthatyouputintheTailssigningkey.See,TrustingTailssigningkey.

ToremovethiswarningyouwouldhavetopersonallysigntheTailssigningkeywithyourownkey.



Inotherwords,youneedtobasicallypromisethatthePGPpublickeyyoudownloadedissafeby

signingthePGPpublickeywithyourownprivatekey,butwedonotreallyneedtodothatandIwill

notbeincludingatutorialonhowtodothat.Tailsexplainsthatifyouareworriedabouta

compromisedPGPpublickey,justdownloadthekeyfrommultiplesourcesandcomparethem,ifthey

allmatch,itisagoodchanceyouareusingalegitPGPkey.NowletusfinallymoveontoTORbecause

thisonewillbealittlelessstraightforward,butonceyoudothisone,youshouldbeabletofigureout

howtoverifyanything.Navigatetotheirdownloadpageandfindthepackagethatyouwant.



https://www.torproject.org/download/download.html.en



TokeepthingssimpleletuschooseTorBrowserBundle3.5,andundertheorangeboxyouwillseea

link(sig).Thisisthelinkforthesignaturefile,Ihopebynowyouknowwhattodowithit.Nextweneed

thePGPpublickeyright?WellitturnsoutthatwithsomanydevelopersworkingonTOR,thereare

multiplePGPpublickeys,andcertainbundlesweresignedwithdifferentkeysthanotherbundles.So

weneedtofindthePGPpublickeythatbelongstoourTorBrowserBundle.Checkoutthispage.



https://www.torproject.org/docs/signingkeys.html.en



IthasalistofallthesigningkeysthattheyuseandyoucancertainlyusethesekeyIDstogetwhatwe

wantbysimplyrightclickingonthesignaturefileandclickverify.Youwillgetawarning.



Notenoughinformationtochecksignaturevalidity. ShowDetails



Andindetailsitwillsaythefollowingwarning.



Signedon2013121908:34withunknowncertificate0x416F061063FEE659



Keepthisentirenumberinmindforlater,itiscalledafingerprint.Butfornowifyoujustcomparethe

last8digitstoErinnClark'skeyID(0x63FEE659)providedontheabovepage,andsincesheisthe

personwhosignstheTorBrowserBundlesyouwillseetheymatch.Butwewanttobeabitmore

103

thorough, never settle for mediocrity.



GotoyourtaskbarinWindows,andfindtheprogramcalledKleopatra,itlookslikearedcirclewitha

smallwhitesquareinit.RightclickitandgotoOpenCertificateManager.Wearegoingtoimportthe

fullkeysusingthismanager.Alsonote,ifyougotothetabthatsaysOtherCeriticatesyouwillfindthe

TailsandIntevation(GnuPG)keysweusedearlierstoredforthefuturewhenyouneedtodownloada

newversionofthoseprogramsandverifythemagain.



WearegoingtobefollowingtheinstructionsfromtheverifyingsignaturespageontheTORProject

website.FeelfreetofollowalongfromthatpagesoyouknowwhatIamtalkingaboutandwhereIam

gettingmyURLandnumbersfrom.



https://www.torproject.org/docs/verifyingsignatures.html.en



Inordertoimportkeys,weneedtofirstaddanonlinedirectorywheretheyarestored.Soletusfirst

addtheonlinedirectorywherethePGPpublickeysarestoredaccordingtotheTORwebsite.Click

SettingsthenConfigureKleopatra.Next,clickNewandwearegoingtoenterthefollowingURLwhichI

tookrightfromthepageabove.pool.skskeyservers.net,andleaveeverythingelseasdefaultandclick

OK.



Finally,clickthebuttonthatsaysLookupCertificatesOnServerandwewillbesearchingforErrin

Clark'sPGPpublickeybysearchingforherfingerprintprovidedontheTORwebsitepagecalled

VerifyingSignaturesabove,remember,sheisthedeveloperwhosignstheTorBrowserBundle.The

fingerprintweareenteringis0x416F061063FEE659,doesthisnumberlookfamiliar?Itshould,itisthe

numberwegotbackthefirsttimewetriedverifyingbutwithouttheactualPGPpublickey.ifyouget

anywarningsthatpopupwhensearchingjustclickOKanditshouldbringupErrinClark'skey,selectit

andclickImport.YoushouldnowhaveherkeylistedunderImportedCertificates.



Nowletusgobackandverifythatsignatureonemoretimeandseewhathappens.Youshouldget

somethinglikethefollowing.



Notenoughinformationtochecksignaturevalidity.



Signedon201121712:41byerrin@torproject.org(KeyID:0x63FEE659).

Thevalidityofthesignaturecannotbeverified.



TORalsoexplainsthiswarningmessageintheirwordsincaseyouarestillnothappywiththewarning

message.

Quote

Noticethatthereisawarningbecauseyouhaven'tassignedatrustindextothisperson.Thismeans

thatGnuPGverifiedthatthekeymadethatsignature,butit'suptoyoutodecideifthatkeyreally

belongstothedeveloper.Thebestmethodistomeetthedeveloperinpersonandexchangekey

fingerprints.

104

Idonotknowaboutyou,butIamhappywiththeresulthere,andIamcertainlynotgoingtotrack

downErinnClarktogetherkeyfingerprint,anditlookslikeourTORBrowserBundleislegitimateas

well!NowyouknowwhattodowhenthePGPpublickeyfileisnotdirectlyhostedonthesiteitself,

youhavenomoreexcusestonotverifyyourdownloads.

VERIFYING SIGNED MESSAGES WITH SIGNATURES AND SIGNING YOUR

OWN MESSAGES

Sincewejustfinishedasectiononverifyingdownloadswithsignaturesandpublickeys,Ifiguredwe

shoulddoaquickpostonverifyingmessagesbyusingthesametwothings,signaturesandpublickeys.



NowforthoseofyouwhoaremembersoftheSilkRoadForums,youwillnoticethatsomepeople,

mainlyModeratorsliketosigntheirmessageswithsignatures.Letuslookatanexampleofasigned

messagefromDreadPirateRoberts.Thelastmessageheleftbeforegoingonhisleaveofabsence.

Quote

BEGINPGPSIGNEDMESSAGE

Hash:SHA512



SilkRoadhasnotbeencompromisedeveniftheallegationsaretrue.Neitherhadaccesstosensitive

material.Iwillmakeanannouncementlatertoaddresstheconcernsthishasraised.

BEGINPGPSIGNATURE



iQIcBAEBCgAGBQJStEgqAAoJEMyyOOR8/t+867AP/RpjCq1B3WSYgnscbZU+UZOy

K0AGMM7tmu1DV1pr2S379YjVxQeUWeTbwDYhaYcWkDBDshnlpSd97fwAL1YVrBQx

jWE08tyo1sd1v5F/HajCx0DC2L5NeqD4UTDd6Dl2AOeBI4pZ+Ah/Q4VoB9cOBQGw

lSbjBY2U4redqBeRd1mFR8N+f3XmxYXzmB4Mf8ddvQkl62HmkwRwA27uUExt73uj

f3/EYVc/XjPgKG345S8yUwcGxLQcfoRM7UosbSGeEaDvvWjfZ6qQw4p7CbqIimHu

IOT6dhFcPmoVdiZGDvjtM3jXfF2sTi5mclGp/4axsrvOWZlCbrobE9EuJnGvscU4

ekU90vtcviES9XEJAr9XGOGgzY/OBf1xpj0iRY7rBDHUqA/FjfSULxqanZYhh0Wn

webHldrjylBRKM0PsnQdPn1CVGj8ThwB6SLfd0WEN1FEQt0hXP3uK1zDOri/fIcJ

Pnvf3jxYNcw9Q+2OW6QpZ/7t+S2E0yiifbNCobAMI18mrynuw3pk/xumg6t2WF/j

YHRpbTfFCCsbiPwR8P9CcUNQ5Iqcc2ewq4GOPx053aL/Vo/nfPdu/9hrRpfF3U5E

J7rFvAStaejxH7/vNxZRrTTiwrrc6njsFJHXWVAJjd+fHLI1efptbc8Kzwms9Yl0

0nzLjAJPFZOv6y7gP8tG

=lDZd

ENDPGPSIGNATURE



Sowhyshouldyoucareaboutthis?Whatisthesignificanceofsigningamessage?Thereasonis,in

casesomebodyweretocompromiseDPR'saccount,duetohavingaweakpasswordorpossiblyan

exploitintheforum'scoding,thenthepersonwouldnotbeabletosignthemessageswithoutaccess

toDPR'sprivatekey.SoletuslookathowwecanverifythismessageleftbyDPR.Firstofallyouneed

tovisitDreadPirateRoberts'profilepageandgrabhisPGPpublickey.Iamnotgoingtopostthekey

hereforspacereasons,butjustvisithispageatthefollowingURLandimportthatkeyintoyour

105

keyring.



http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?action=profile;u=1



Next,highlighttheentirePGPsignedmessagefromtoptobottomandcopyittoyourclipboard

(Rightclick,Copy).YouwillseeyourlittleClipboardiconinthetoprightofTailsturnred.Clickonthat

clipboardandselectDecrypt/Verify.Youshouldgetthefollowingresults.Oneinthewindowontopand

theotheronthebottom.

Quote

SilkRoadhasnotbeencompromisedeveniftheallegationsaretrue.Neitherhadaccesstosensitive

material.Iwillmakeanannouncementlatertoaddresstheconcernsthishasraised.



gpg:SignaturemadeFri20Dec201301:37:46PMUTCusingRSAkeyID7CFEDFBC

gpg:Goodsignaturefrom"DreadPirateRoberts<silkroad6ownowfk.onion>"

gpg:WARNING:Thiskeyisnotcertifiedwithatrustedsignature!

gpg:Thereisnoindicationthatthesignaturebelongstotheowner.

Primarykeyfingerprint:5A48F5D050E9905262B4799DCCB238E47CFEDFBC



Againwegetthesamewarningwedidwhenverifyingourdownloads,sayingwehavenotverified

thatthePGPpublickeyisauthentic.WecanseethesignaturenamewasmadebyDreadPirateRoberts

andthecommentsectionhastheSilkRoadURL,sofarsogood.NowrememberwhenweverifiedTOR?

Wewantedtocheckoutthefingerprintstoseeiftheymatched.Wedothisbygoingtoourkeyring

(ManageKeys),andselectingDPR'skey,rightclickingitandgoingtoproperties.Nowmovetothetab

DetailsandlookunderwhereitsaysFingerprint:andcomparethenumbersintheretothenumberswe

gotwhenweverifiedthesignature.Theyshouldbethefollowing.



5A48F5D050E9905262B4

799DCCB238E47CFEDFBC



Wehaveourselvesamatch!SounlessDPR'sprivatekeywascompromised,weknowthathehimself

wastheonewhowrotethatmessage.Sonowyouseewhysomepeopledecidetosigntheirmessages.

Itisawayofverifyingthattheiraccounthasnotbeencompromisedbyverifyingthatthepersonin

controloftheaccountisthesamepersonthatisincontrolofthePGPprivatekey.



Doyouwanttolearnhowtosignamessage?Itisveryeasy.OpenupgeditTextEditorandtypeina

message.Next,selectthemessageandcopyittoyourclipboard(RightClickCopy)andthenclickon

yourclipboardiconuptopandchooseSign/EncryptClipboardwithPublicKeys.Donotchooseakey

fromyourlistofPGPpublickeysunlessyouwanttoencryptthemessage.Ifyouwanttoencryptthe

messagetosendtosomebody'sinboxorsothatonlyonepersoncanviewit,thenselecttheirname

anditwillencryptitwiththeirPGPpublickey.Inourcase,wejustwanttosignthemessagewithout

encryptingit,butyoucancertainlydobothatthesame timeifyouwantedto.



IfyoulookdownnearthebottomyouwillseewhereitsaysSignmessageas:clickonthisandselect

yourpersonalkey.Itwillaskyouforyourpassphrasebecauserememberyouaresigningthiswithyour

106

private key. Once youenter itcorrectly, thePGPsignedmessage willbecopiedtoyour clipboardand

youcanpasteitanywhere(RightClickPaste)thatyouwantto.Hereitwhatminelookedlike.



BEGINPGPSIGNEDMESSAGE

Hash:SHA512



ThisismyPGPsignedmessagefordemonstrationpurposes.

BEGINPGPSIGNATURE



iQIcBAEBCgAGBQJS0GiWAAoJEPuh6tSg81nyqXAP/2mEqvk9RP0FEHZi3edH9faV

OmDoOostmzm90nGMGOOu4cuG0M6jgl7R3hfUZBE6zCh59MG8a9EDuUzpIT3U5nfd

zS0GWtzUQKGXPXfJ1OvWlsA6Sm7TsEsviBBz5DJxyVLcJGNU6OLUVm7onxBLwfTq

D1jAATIB43WJbDrq3XY9MF9GCoOLlcLeKNVa4m0JF582IvQJ05mSZXeXCueImvol

FaflpLW5MKyJJ92a8uheB0pLHUQTLr6jZn6TcfKY9dK8puOam5k2TGut/Sm47uqc

aMA1trXw4xntww/8X4QyL5SbSN7QVOFsy/g0b3Grp5OrConsfnsUoeRH5ArnxY0W

ijPl92aTbZazvXspW2REkJ3yq+fWjuGrYHw8m7/YVBig+OSMuBUXhSE5Pjq95fyM

bA1P7rF2fi7eRsl1z0qyETV3Bs1RltwvBUVIwj3SZNeVVoG5cHgpiPgGFq4S9Qke

unIFeHy3YpBk90kLA1n8n61VnkKAUy0Dt9AoTJloeOqPtcgeKHVsFzxdPCBcSwqd

XYnIx4lNeaw4OvHYgZsCMvFlUItSBGnFWLN9foQ8UybAUPGI9Z4sK2WmtyWK4fLl

cXnYY9zt56Ji4DiVsQrEUamNTQEDGxpvBL/kQKRMKN6HviEXW+qr57LAo6t6sTQw

KTV4uJkH1JxuOOhN9tIe

=Nkox

ENDPGPSIGNATURE



Andifyouwanttoverifyit,checkoutmyPGPpublickeyinmyprofileandverifymyPGPsignature

againstmykey!Itisreallythatsimple.Butyoumightbeasking,cannotsomebodyjustchangethe

messageandcopythesignature?No,changingthemessagewillchangethesignaturebecausethe

signaturedependsonboththemessageandthePGPprivatekey.Soifyouchangeonesinglecharacter

ofmysignedmessageyouwillgetthefollowingerror.



gpg:SignaturemadeFri10Jan2014 09:39:34PMUTCusingRSAkeyIDA0F359F2

gpg:BADsignaturefrom"JollyRoger(Theywouldliveanddieunderit)"



Sowhenshouldyousignamessage?Andwhenshouldyounotsignamessage?Greatquestion.The

majorityofusersshouldprobablynotsignmessagesunlesstheyhavetobecauseitgivesyouplausible

deniability.Itiseasiertodenypostingcertainthingsorcertaincommunicationsyoumayhavehadwith

vendorsorotherpeopleincludinglawenforcementifyoudonotsignyourmessages,becauseyoucan

alwaysclaimsomebodyelsegainedaccesstoyouraccount.Itishardertodothisifyousignedthe

messagewithyourPGPprivatekey.Ifyouaredealingwithsomebodywhowantstoverifyyouridentity

andmakesurethatyourcurrentsignaturematchesthepublickeytheyhadonfileforyoufrom6

monthsago,thenmaybetheymightgetyoutosendasignedmessage. Butagain,alltheyreallyneed

todoissendyouanencryptedmessagewithyourPGPpublickeytheyhadonfile,andifyoucannot

decryptit,youarenotwhoyousayyouare.



Inrealworldapplication,developerscanusePGPsignedmessagesinNewsAnnouncementsor

107

perhapsnewreleasesoftheir programsprovidingadownloadURLsothatuserscanbe sure the

developeristheonepostingtheURLandnotsomemaliciousattackerwhocompromisedtheforum

accountofthedeveloperandsoforth.SofortheaverageSilkRoadforumusertherereallyisnotalot

oftimeswhenyoushouldbesigningmessagesunlessyouareamoderatorormakingapublic

announcementandsoforth,butitisanoptionyounowhaveinyourarsenal,andnowyoucanstart

verifyingthesignaturesoftheAdministratorsandModeratorsincaseyoubelievetheiraccountsmay

havebeencompromised.

AN EXAMPLE OF REALLY BAD OPSEC - SMARTEN UP!

Guys,Iamnotgoingtopostexactlywhostartedthisthreadquotedbelow,butitbelongstosomebody

whoisaseniormemberwith375posts.Andhepostedsomeverypersonaldetailsandprobablydid

notrealizehowveryrevealingthesedetailsare.

Quote

TrackMeIfYouCan...



AwesomebitIjustwatchedonNetflix.Thisisnotterriblynew,donein2010,butheisquitethorough

inhisdemonstratinghowtodisappearinmodernUSculture.



Idohavetoaddthatsomeofthetechheintroducedfromtheothersideisquitealarming.



Thealphabetcopshavewaaaytoomuchdiscretionaryincome.Timetostartdefundingthem.



Sowhyisthisrevealing?Whyisthisbadyoumightbeasking.Well,Netflixcollectsmetadataonits

usersjustlikeeveryotherbigdatacorporation.IfyouareaNetflixuser,youlikelyhaveaprofilewhich

keepstrackofeverymovieyouhaveeverwatchedandwhatyourateditandsoforth.



http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/12/17/obamabidenappleamazontwitternetflix

yahoofacebookmicrosoftgoogle/4049305/

Quote

ElectronicsurveillanceandthenewhealthcarelawareontheagendaasObamaandVicePresident

BidenmeetwithagroupthatincludesexecutivesfromApple,Amazon,Twitter,Netflix,Yahoo,

Facebook,Microsoft,andGoogle.



Thisuserstated,thathejustwatchedaspecificmovie,thathenamed.Andalsostatedthatthis

moviehasbeenupsince2010.Sohowmanypeopledoyouthinkwatchedthisexactmovieinthetime

framethatthisguystatedhewatchedit?Probablynottoomany.Under100forsuresincethemovie

hasbeenupforalmost3years.Well,nowthefederalgovernmenthasalistof100orlesssuspects,

one ofwhichisthisparticularuseronSilkRoad.



ButmaybehewasusingaVPNtoconnecttoNetflix?Great....doesheusethatVPNforanything

else?Loggingintohisemail,surfingtheweb,etc...EvenifheusedaVPN,maybetheykeeplogs?

MaybetheyareUSbasedandareeasilysubjecttosubpoenas,maybetheywillspilleverythingjustlike

108

HideMyAss did. We justdonotknow, butthisis exactlythetypeofinformationyouallshouldNOT be

revealingaboutyourselves.ThisisextremelybadOpSecpeople.Smartenup!



ButthenIlookedevenfurtherthroughthisuser'sprofileandlookedathisposts.Iknowwhich

countryhelivesin,IknowwhichdrugshehasimportedintohiscountryandIknowwhichcountrieshe

hasimportedthosedrugsfrom.Thisguyhasspokenaboutcookingdrugs,hetalksaboutbeinginacold

partofhiscountry,whichnotallpartsofthatparticularcountryeverevengetcoldwhichhelpslaw

enforcementnarrowdownthatlistofsuspectstheygotfromNetflix.



Ifyouthinkthatlawenforcementisnotinterestedinbuyersyouaresadlymistaken.Sometimesif

they establishthatabuyerhasbeenpurchasingfromavendorthattheyareafter,thenbustingthe

buyercanhelpthemgettothevendor.Theymaytakeovertheuser'sonlineidentityandstartordering

thingsfromvendorssincehealreadyhasestablishedatrustwiththeseparticularvendors.Ifthe

vendorslipsupbecauseofthetrustbuiltupwiththebuyer,thevendorisintrouble.



Iwantyoualltolearnalessonfromthis!Ifyouaregoingtotalkaboutwhichvendorsyoubuyoffof,

whichcountryyouliveinandwhichcountriesyouhaveimporteddrugsfrom,thenyoubettermake

DAMNSUREyoudonotstartgivingawaydetailslikewhichmovie youwatchedlastnightonNetflix.

ThatisalmostasbadasloggingontoaserverwithyourrealIPaddress.Keepyourmouthsshutabout

yourpersonallives!

[/quote]

TOR CHAT

Bynowifyouhavebeenfollowingthisthread,youshouldknowthatanytypeofmessagingsystemis

likelycompromisedorstoringyourdataforanunknownperiodoftime,andifyoueverbecomea

personofinterestcanbelookedbackuponfor 5+years.



ThismeansthingslikeGmail,Hotmail,YahooMail,SkypeMessaging,FacebookInstant/Private

Message,TextMessages,andotherformsofcommunicationarealllikelybeingmonitoredtosome

degree,attheveryleastloggingthemetadata.Butyoushouldalwaystreateverythingasifthosewho

aremonitoringitcanreadthecontentoftheemailaswell.



WehavetalkedaboutcommunicatingwithPGP,wehavetalkedaboutusingTORandhidden

services,andwehavetalkedaboutgoodpracticesofOpSec.Butsomeofuswanttobeabletoinstant

messagesomebodyelse.Thegoodnewsis,youcandothiswithsomethingcalledTorChat.



TorChatisadecentralizedanonymousinstantmessengerthatusesTorhiddenservicesasits

underlyingNetwork,inotherwordsitcommunicatesovertheTornetworkthroughthe.onionURL

protocol.Thisprovidesendtoendencryptionthatwetalkedaboutinpreviousposts.Itprovides

cryptographicallysecuretextmessagingandfiletransfersforbusinessdealings,andconfidential

communicationbetweentwopeople.Thebestnews,isthatyoucanuseTorChatonyourWindows,

Linuxandyoursmartphones.AFrenchdeveloperreleasedaversionforMACusers,butitstillinbeta

andshouldbeusedatyourownrisk.YoucangetTorChatfortheiPhoneintheApplestore,youcanget

109

TorChatinthe AndroidMarketaswell, soyoucanevenuse itasa meansoftextmessagingsomebody

elsewhoalsohasTorChat.



InTorChat,everyuserhasauniquealphanumericIDconsistingof16characters.ThisIDwillbe

randomlycreatedbyTorwhentheclientisstartedthefirsttime,itisbasicallythe.onionaddressofa

hiddenservice.TorChatclientscommunicatewitheachotherbyusingTortocontacttheother's

hiddenservice.Forexample,thefirsttimeyouopenTorChatyourcomputermightgenerate

d0dj309jfj94jfgf.onionandfromhereonout,d0dj309jfj94jfgfwillbeyourTorChatIDthatyougiveout

topeoplethatyouwanttobeabletomessageyou.HereisthehomepageofTorChat.



https://github.com/prof7bit/TorChat

http://www.sourcemac.com/?page=torchatMACusers



Unfortunatelyatthistime,TorChatdoesnotrunproperlyinTails,soyouwilleitherneedtoruniton

yourWindows,LinuxorMACsystem.Itisprettystraightforward,downloadit,unpackitandrunitand

everythingelseshouldhappenautomaticallyforyou.OncetheavatarbesideyourTorChatIDturns

green,youareonlineandsamewithyourcontacts.Youcanaddcontainsbyrightclickingandchoosing

AddContactandjustentertheirTorChatID.



AtthistimethereissomepeopledebateastowhetherornotTorChatiscompletelysafe,andIwould

saythatTorChatisaboutassafeasToris,justmakesureyoupracticethesamegoodpracticesyouare

usedto.Donotgiveoutpersonalinformation,ifyouaresendingsensitiveinformationusePGP

encryptionandsoforth.



HereisanotherarticleonhowTorChatworksgoingintoalittlebitmoredetail.Youcanaccessitover

theonionnetwork.



http://kpvz7ki2v5agwt35.onion/wiki/index.php/Hacking_TorChat



UPDATE

Another userhadsomeadditionalinputthatIoverlookedwhenwritingthispostthatyoushouldbe

awareof.

Quotefrom:ldopaonJanuary13,2014,08:43:25am



Torchat'ssecurityisunknown.Ithasnotundergoneapropersecurityaudit,professionalorotherwise,

thatIknowof.Itcreatesahiddenserviceonyourcomputerleavingyouvulnerabletodeanonymization

attacksthatapplytoallhiddenservices.Italsoseemstobeaverybasicprotocolthatlookslikenetcat

overTor.Thereisnowaytodeclineafiletransfer.Itautomaticallystartsthetransfer,writingthefileto

/tmpwhichisaRAMmountedtmpfsonLinux.Thenyouaresupposedtosavethefilesomewhere.

Theoreticallyanattackercouldtransfer/dev/urandomwhileyouareawayfromyourcomputeruntilit

fillsupyourRAMandcrashesyourcomputer.Thiswouldbegreatforinducingintersectionattacks.Not

surethough.Ifthekernelismanagingthesystemcorrectly, itmayjuststopthetransferwhenyourun

outofRAM.



Another thingisthatoncesomeonelearnsyourTorchatIDthereisnowaytopreventthemfrom

110

knowingyouare online, evenifyouremove them fromyour buddylist. The reasonisbecauseyour

Torchatinstanceisahiddenservicethatpublishesanormalhiddenservicedescriptorwhichanyone

candownload.There'snowaytostopthat.Ifyouwanttocutoffcontactwithsomeone,youhaveto

getanewTorchatID.SoyoushouldbeveryconservativeabouthandingoutyourTorchatIDandonly

giveittoextremelytrustedassociates.

OBTAINING, SENDING AND RECEIVING BITCOINS ANONYMOUSLY

ThispostwasinspiredbyauserwhopostedthefollowingontheSilkRoadforums.

Quotefrom:dusttodustonJanuary12,2014,07:39:43pm

BESTWAYTOOBTAINBTC'S?ANDHOWDOYOUPROTECTIDENTIYDONIGSO?ijustwouldliketo

knowsoicangetoverthisbumpibeenlearningallthisstufftodoshitonthesesitesforamonthnow

andthisismylastobsticleithink?!!



Wehavetalkedaboutalargeamountofwaystomaintainyoursecurity,butwehavenotreallytalked

abouthowtoactuallyexchangecurrency.FirstthingIwanttosayasadisclaimer,isthatIamnot

advocatingthatyoudoanythingillegal.Thisisforeducationalpurposesonlyandmyrecommendations

aremadeassumingyouareexchangingcurrenciesanonymouslyasameanstoprotectyourown

privacy.



Soyouhavefoundsomethingonlinethatyouwanttobuy,andtheyareaskingforBitcoinsas

payment.HowdoyougettheBitcoins,andhowdoyougettheBitcoinstothem?Wearegoingto

exploretheseoptionstoadegreeandhopefullybythenyoucanmakeaneducateddecisiononwhich

methodisbestforyoursituation.



TheoptionsofbuyingBitcoinsareasfollows.



1.Signupatanexchangeonline.SomepopularexchangesareMTGox,BTCE,BitStampandCoinbase

ThedownsideofpurchasingBitcoinsattheseexchanges,arethatyouneedtoverifyyouridentitywith

thembymeansofsubmittingdocumentssuchasadriver'slicenseorpassportandautilitybill.Ifyou

areabletogetpastthisfirstobstacle,thenyouneedtofindawaytogetmoneyintotheaccount.

Exchangesgenerallyonlyacceptwiretransfersasawaytofundyouraccount,butsomeofthemoffera

wayoftransferringmoneydirectlyfromyourbankaccount.Youcanobviouslyseethatbydoingthis

youareexposingyourtrueidentitytotheexchangesinonewayoranother,ifnotattheveryleastyour

location.



2.LocalBitcoins.com

LocalBitcoinsoffersawayforyoutofindapersoninyourlocalarea,orifyouwanttogotoanother

stateorprovincetomeetupwithsomeonefurtherawayfromyou,youcanchoosewheretolookfor

peopleinthatareasellingBitcoinseitheronline(banktransferorcashdeposit)ormeetthemforcash

inperson.Tradershavereputationlists,similartoafeedbackscoreoneBayandyoucanfindatrader

whohasagoodreputationtobuyoffof.Yousendinatraderequestandoncethesellerhasreceived

themoney,hecanreleasetheBitcoinsfromLocalBitcoinsandtheyaresenttoyourwallet.Some

peoplehaveexpressedconcernthatlawenforcementmayactasbuyersandsellersonLocalBitCoins,

butitdoesnotmatterifthisisthecaseinmyopinionaslongasyouarenotlookingtobuylarge

111

amounts. Youcanalso, if youwant,communicate withthebuyer over email, arrive frompublic

transportation,wearahat,andallsortsofsecretagenttypetrickstotryandconcealyouridentity.

Wearawigifyouaresuperparanoid.



3.UseaBitcoinATM

CurrentlythereisonlyoneATMintheworldthatIamawareof,anditislocatedinCanada.Ifyoudo

notliveinCanadathenthisdoesnothelpyou.Luckilyaccordingtotheanarticle,thecompanywhois

rollingouttheseATMscalledRobocoinislaunchingATMsinothercountriesaswellcomingsoon.



http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/02/robocointhebitcoinatmisheadingtohongkongandtaiwan/

Quote

ThefirstshippingbitcoinATM,Robocoin,islandinginHongKongandTaiwanasthecompanyexpands

itsreachthisJanuary.TheyareplanningfurtherreleasesinEurope,Canada,andtheUSbut,given

Asia’scloutintheBTCmarkets,thisisdefinitelyaninterestingdevelopment.



Therewilllikelybesomewaytotryandcutdownonmoneylaunderingbygettingyoutoverifyyour

identification,butfromwhatIunderstand,theycurrentlyonlydothisifyouaresellingBitcoinsforcash

usingtheATM,andnotbuyingthemforcash.The waythatitworks,isyouchoosetheamountofBTC

youwanttobuy,andyoufeedyourcashintotheATMmachine.Youcanatthatpointeitherprintouta

generatedpaperwallet,orchooseawalletofyourowntosendtheBitcoinsto.Thismethodmaybe

anothergoodwaybecauseittakesdealingwithanotherhumanoutofthetransaction.Somethingyou

mayneedtobeawareofissurveillancecameras,somaybewearahood,hat,wig,sunglasses,andso

forthtodisguiseyourselfifyouareworriedaboutyouridentity.



4.Craigslist

Believeitornot,thereareadecentamountofpeopleonCraigslistthatyoucanmeetupwithinperson

andbuyBitcoinsoffofwithcash.Yourlocalareamaynothavealargenumberoflistings,butyoucan

alwayssearchinothernearbymetropolitanareasandmakeadaytripoutofitifyouwant.Thesame

considerationsaboutprotectingyouridentityapplyhereasabove.



5.MineyourownBitcoins

IamnotgoingtogetintohowtomineBitcoins,orwhetherornotyoushould,butifyouwanttoget

Bitcoinswithoutdealingwithotherpeople,thisisoneofthewaysyoucandoit.Runyourminersover

Tor,stayanonymousandyouwillhaveyourselfsomeuntaintedBitcoins.



Okay,sonowyouhaveyourselfsomeBitcoins,howcanyougetthemtosomebodyelsethatyou

wanttobuysomethingoffofortradewith?Asyouprobablyknowbynow,everysingletransactionis

trackedonBlockChain.info.MywalletaddressthatIhavesetupfordonationsforthehoursIhave

spentworkingonthisthreadis1PkJ928QWC5BuQAsHoNQzRV5wfnveJSRCp.Youcancheckoutthe

transactionsrelatedtoitbygoingtothefollowingaddress.



http://blockchain.info/address/1PkJ928QWC5BuQAsHoNQzRV5wfnveJSRCp



SoyouhaveBitcoinssittinginyourwallet,andifyousendthemtosomebodyelse,itwillshowupon

112

BlockcChainexactlywhere yousentthem. A couple ofthings to keepinmind.



1.YoupurchasedyourBitcoinsfromsomebodyorsomething.Theymayhavekeptarecordofthe

walletthosecoinsweresentto.

2.Ifyoudealtwithalawenforcementorsomebodytryingtotrackyou,thentheycantrackwherethe

coinsaresentafteryouforwardthemtosomebodyelse.



Rightnowthebestmethodoftryingtolosethistrailisusingsomethingcalledamixeroratumbler.

YoucanthinkofthislikethrowingyourBitcoinsintoagiantpileofcoinswithotherusersandthen

withdrawingthematalatertimefromthemixer.Ifyouthrewin1Bitcoinandpulledout1Bitcoin,

thinkofalltheotherpeoplewhodidtheexactsamething.Possiblythousandsofotherswithdrawing1

Bitcoinfromtheexactsamepileofcoins.Ithasnowbecomemuchharderforyoutobelinkedtothose

coins.Thenontopofthat,maybeyoudonotwithdraw1Bitcoin,maybeyouonlywithdraw0.5Bitcoin

rightnowandleavetheother0.5Bitcoininthepile.ItbecomesevenhardertolinkthoseBitcoinsto

you.



OnewebsitethatdoesthisiscalledBitcoinFogandcanbefoundonaclearnetURLandahidden

servicesURL.



http://www.bitcoinfog.com/

http://fogcore5n3ov3tui.onion/



BitcoinFoghasbeenaroundforawhilenowandmostpeopleseemhappywiththeservicethey

provide,soIwouldcometothinkthattheyareatrustworthyservice.ThewaytheyworkisasI

mentionedabove,andontopofthattheservicetakes1%3%(randomizedforobscurity)feeoneach

deposit.Soyoumayputin1.0Bitcoinsandtakeout0.97Bitcoinafterfeesanditmixesthingsup.You

canalsodecidewhenyoumightwanttowithdrawit,whetheritisinamonth,week,days,andsoforth.

Thisisagoodservicetouseanddefinitelymixesthingsupforyou.Theonlythingyouneedtokeepin

mind,isthatthereisatrailofyousendingyourcoinsintoBitcoinFog,whichsomepeoplemayormay

notfindsuspicious.ButwhatyoudowithyourcoinsafterBitcoinFogisgoingtobeextremelydifficult

totrack,ifnotimpossibleduetothevastnumberoftransactionsthatareoccuringinandoutof

BitcoinFog.



WhenyouwithdrawyourcoinsfromBitcoinFog,pleasemakesureyousendthemtoanewwallet,

andnotthesamewalletthatyouusedtodepositthemintoBitcoinFog.Anotheroptionyoucanhave

whenwithdrawingthecoinsfromBitcoinFog,istogetBitcoinFogtowithdrawthecoinsdirectlytothe

personyouwanttobuysomethingfrom.Thistakesthestepofcreatinganewwalletandthenhaving

toforwarditonandwillkeepthingsagainextremelyhardtotrack.Justkeeptheirtransactionfeesin

mindtomakesureyourdesiredsellerisgoingtoreceivethecorrectamountofBitcoinsneededforthe

purchaseorexchange.



TwootheroptionsyoucanuseareprovidedbyBlockchain.infoandcanbeaccessedbycreatinga

walletandloggingintoit.SendSharedandSharedCoin.SendSharedisanotherwayofmixingup

coins,thewaythatitworksis,yousendyourmoneyintothegiantpotanditgetsmatchedupwith

somebodyelsewhoissendingthesameamount.Anexampleofthisisletussaywehave4people.A,B

113

andX, Y. PersonA issending1BitcointopersonB andpersonXissending 1 Bitcoin topersonY. Send

Sharedwillmatchtheseamountstogether,anditwillmixthemsothatpersonAsendstheir1Bitcoin

topersonYandpersonXsendstheirBitcointopersonB.Thiswayyouarebreakingthechainthatlinks

personAtopersonBbecausethereisnorecordofpersonAeversendinganythingtopersonB.Thisis

averygoodoptiontouse,andonethatmanypeople prefer.Ofcourse,therearemanypeopleusing

SendShared,sothelikelihoodoftherejustbeing4peoplemixinguptransactionisgoingtobemore

like10,000ormore,makingitprettymuchimpossibletotrack.



Sharedcoinusesadifferentmethodcalledcoinjoin.Sharedcoinhostsacoinjoinserverwhichactsas

ameetingpointformultiplepeopletojointogetherinasingletransaction.Havingmultiplepeopleina

transactionimprovesprivacybymakingtransactionsmoredifficulttoanalyse.Theimportant

distinctionbetweentraditionalmixingservicesistheservercannotconfiscateorstealyourcoins.A

sharedcointransactionwilllooksomethinglikethefollowing.



https://blockchain.info/tx/e4abb15310348edc606e597effc81697bfce4b6de7598347f17c2befd4febf3

b



Asyoucanseemultipleinputsandoutputsmakethedeterminingtheactualsenderandreceiver

moredifficult.Basicallyitsendsthecoinsinandoutofmanydifferentwalletsthatareparticipatingin

Sharedcoinatthetimeanditdoesthistothrowhundredsorthousandsoftransactionsinallthe

walletsparticipatingmakingitextremelydifficulttotrack.Thedownsidethoughisthatcoinjoincan

never completelyseverthelinkbetweentheinputanddestinationaddress,therewillalwaysbea

connectionbetweenthem,itisjustmoredifficulttoanalyse.ThebenefittoSharedCoinisthatwhile

thisprocessingishappening,youcanhitcancelandgetyourcoinsback.Whenyousendyourcoinsinto

atraditionalmixingservice,anuntrustworthymixingservicecouldpotentiallystealyourcoins.



Nowthatyouhavetheknowledgetomakeaneducateddecisiononhowtomixupyourcoinsen

routetoyourintendeddestination,Ifeelthatyoucannowputyourmindateasewhenlookingtobuy

somethingwithBitcoins.Itshouldbenotedthatyoucanreversetheprocessifyouwanttocashout

yourBitcoinsaswell.

CLEARNET VS HIDDEN SERVICES - WHY YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL

Someofyoumayhaveseenlinkstodifferentwebsitesontheseforums.Infactmythreadisfullof

them.



Asyouprobablyknowbynow,ahiddenserviceisawebsitethatusesa.onionaddressandaclearnet

siteusestheregularinternet.YoumustbeonTORtoaccesstheonionnetwork,whereasclearnetsites

canbeaccessedfromanybrowser.Sowhyshouldyoubecarefulwhenvisitingclearnetsites?



Whenyouseeanarticle,linkorvideopostedontheSilkRoadforums,pleasenote,thatyoushould

onlybeviewingthosevideosoverTORorpossiblybutasalastresortuseaVPNandhereiswhy.Letus

useYouTubeforexample.YouTubeisownedbyGoogle,Googletrackseverything.YouTubekeepstrack

ofwhichIPaddressessearchforwhatvideos,andtonsofmetadataaboutit'susers.



114

Whenalink toaYouTube videois postedonthe SR forums, we likelyhave touse our regular

browserstowatchitbecauseTorbrowserisnotgoodforwatchingflashvideos.Buttheproblemis,ifa

postonSRwaswrittenonJanuary10,2014recommendingavideo,andthisvideoonlyhas500views,

perhapsthisvideohasbeenupforafewmonthsanddidnotendupbeingverypopular.Andthen

withinthefewdaysthatthisarticlewasposted,50peopleviewingtheSilkRoadforumwatchthis

video.Thenumberofviewsjustwentupinashortperiodoftime.



Itisprettyeasytocorrelatethatitispossible,thatthepeoplewhowatchedthatYouTubevideo,

especiallysinceitisnotapopularvideocamefromSilkRoad,andifyoumadethemistakeofusing

yourrealIPaddress,youhavenowbeenaddedtoalistofpeopleofinterest.Andifyoudothis

multipletimeswithdifferentYouTubevideos,thentheystarttoseeapatternandbeforeyouknowit,

they areconfidentthatyouarecomingtowatchthesevideosfromSilkRoadbecauseeverytimea

videoispostedonSilkRoadforums,yourIPaddresscomesuptowatchthisvideo.



ButifyouuseaVPN,thismakesthingsalittleharderinthattheyarenotaseasilygoingtobeableto

linkthevideotoyouyet.ButoncetheyseeaVPNaddressconstantlypoppinguponthosevideosbeing

linkedfromtheforums,theymightsubmitacourtordertomonitortheactivitiesoftheusersofthe

VPN.HideMyAsswasoneofthemostwellknownexamplesofVPNsbeingorderedtohandover

informationontheirusers.



Thesamethinggoeswithallclearnetsites.Youneverknowwhoismonitoringtheiractivity,andifit

isanoldarticle,morethanacoupleofyears,thenyoucanalmostbetthatthenumberofpeople

viewingthatarticlearedown.Sowhensomebodypostsaclearnetlinkontheforumsandpeoplevisit

thatlinkusinganunprotectedIPaddress,thentheLEcanstarttocorrelatepatternsagainstyou.Of

course,thesearticlesandlinksarenotaslikelytobevisitedwithoutTORfromtheSRforumsbecause

youneedTORtoviewtheforums,butespeciallythingslikeYouTubevideossinceTORdoesnotwork

wellwithYouTubecanbeproblematic.



Sowhatcanyoudotoprotectyourself?Askyourselffirst,doIreallyneedtowatchthatYouTube

video?IsitsomethingimportantthatIneedtosee?Ifitis,youmightconsideranoptionthatIspoke

aboutearliercalledTortilla,butitisonlyavailabletoWindowsusers.Italkitaboutitatthefollowing

article.



http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=14555.msg304569#msg304569



YouwillrunaVirtualMachinesuchasDebian,butdonotconnecttoTORusingtheVirtualMachine.

TheVMusesabridgedapapterandroutesalltrafficthroughTortillawhichroutesalltrafficthrough

TORonyourWindowshostOSwithouthavingtousetheTORbrowseronyourVM.MACusersand

LinuxusersmayjustwanttoviewtheYouTubevideoinaonetimeuseproxythatdoesnotkeepany

logsormaybeapublicwifinetworkthathaslotsofusersonitdaily.



Thereisaninfamouscaseofamurdererwhocalledthesisterofhisvictimfromhisvictim'scell

phone.HewouldcallfromherTimeSquareinNewYorkandtauntherandtalkabouthowshewas

torturinghersisterandthepoliceputatraceonthephone.UnfortunatelybecauseTimeSquareissuch

acrowdedplace,evenwithallthecameras,theywereunabletopinpointexactlywhichpersonwas

115

makingthecall onthatphone andthey never endedupcatchingtheguy. He endedupditchingthe

phoneafterhefinallykilledhisvictim.TheyknewhewasaguywalkingaroundTimeSquareonacell

phonebutifyouhaveeverbeentoTimeSquare,youknowthattherearemillionsofpeopledoingthe

exactsamething,hejustblendedrightin.



Soyoumaywanttouseapublicwifiinacrowdedareathathasmanyusersalldaylongtowatcha

videoandkeepyourIPaddresssafe.Ifyoucannotwatchvideossafelywithoutidentifyingyourself,

thendonotwatchthem.Itisassimpleasthis.YesIknowitisannoyingthatTordoesnotworkwell

withflashvideos,butitisbetterthanbeingthrowninjailwhereyouwillneverbeabletowatchany

YouTubevideos.



ThemainreasonIwrotethispostwastoremindyouthatcorrelatingtwouserstogetheronthe

internetiseasierthanyouthink.Onceyoustartdevelopingpatternsandleavingyourfootprints

behind, theLEhaveanunlimitedstoragespaceavailabletothemtokeeptrackofeverythingyoudo.

RememberhowSabugotcaught?HejustloggedontoIRCwithhisrealIPaddress,onetime.Onetime

isallittakesforthemtotakeyoudown.Alwaysthinkbeforeopeningalink,whatwillthiswebsite

identifyaboutme?

THEY ARE WATCHING YOU - VIRUSES, MALWARE, VULNERABILITIES



Yourcomputerwillalwaysbevulnerabletosomesortofattackfromthosewhowanttoharmyouin

someway.Whetheritisharmyourprivacy,stealyourinformationorthrowyouinjail.



ItshouldcometonosurprisetousthattheUSgovernmentisactuallythelargestpurchaserof

malware.

Quote

Accordingtoanewreport,theUnitedStatesgovernmentisnowinfactthesinglelargestbuyerof

malwareintheworldthankstotheshiftto“offensive”cybersecurityandisleavingusallvulnerablein

theprocess.



Inorderforthegovernmenttoexploitvulnerabilitiesdiscoveredinmajorsoftware,theycannot

disclosethosevulnerabilitiestothemanufacturersorthepublic,lesttheexploitbefixed.



“Myjobwastohave25zerodaysonaUSBstick,readytogo,”oneformerexecutiveatadefense

contractortoldReuters.Thedefensecontractorwouldpurchasevulnerabilitiesfromindependent

hackersandthenturnthemintoexploitsforthegovernmenttouseasanoffensivecyberweapon.



http://endthelie.com/2013/05/10/reportusgovernmentnowbuysmoremalwarethananyoneelse

intheworld/#axzz2qIjeZ32e



Afterreviewingthesourcesinthearticleandotherarticles,someofthesedefensecontractors

expressedconcernthatthegovernmentwasessentiallyfundingcriminalactivity.Theyarepaying

independenthackers,insomecasesblackhatstofindzerodayexploits(onesthathavenotbeen

116

publiclyannouncedyet)andbuythese exploitsoffofthem for huge sumsupmoney, upwards of

$100,000.



Ifyouareusingalaptopwithabuiltinmicrophoneandcamera,youareextremelyvulnerabletoan

attackasJohnMcAffee,themanwhostartedMcAffeeAntiVirusexplains.

Quote

"Wedon'thavemuch[security]anymore,andcertainlynotintheonlineworld,"hesaidatSaturday's

talk."Ifyoucangivemejustanysmallamountofinformationaboutyourself,Ipromiseyou,within

threedays,Icanturnonthecameraonyourcomputerathomeandwatchwhateveryou'redoing."



http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/johnmcafeesproductaimsmakeinternetusers

virtually/story?id=20424182



Sothefirstthingyoushoulddorightnowisgograbsomeopaquetapeandputitoveryourcamera.If

youareonadesktopandyouhaveawebcampluggedin,unplugitunlessyouareusingit.Thereisno

reasontogiveanattackeranopenwindowintoyourhome.Nextisyourmicrophone,againdesktops

usuallydonothavebuiltinmicrophones,butmostlaptopsdo.Amicrophonecanbeactivatedtolisten

toyoutalkingandyouneedtofindawaytophysicallydisableit.Thebestwayofcourseistophysically

removeit,butIamnotwritingatutorialonhowtodothat.



TheFBIdevelopedakeystrokeloggingsoftwarecalledMagicLantern.MagicLanterncanreportedly

beinstalledremotely,viaanemailattachmentorbyexploitingcommonoperatingsystem

vulnerabilities,unlikepreviouskeystrokeloggerprogramsusedbytheFBI.Ithasbeenvariously

describedasavirusandaTrojanhorse.Itisnotknownhowtheprogrammightstoreorcommunicate

therecordedkeystrokes.

Quote

TheFBIintendstodeployMagicLanternintheformofanemailattachment.Whentheattachment

isopened,itinstallsatrojanhorseonthesuspect'scomputer.Thetrojanhorseisactivatedwhenthe

suspectusesPGPencryption,oftenusedtoincreasethesecurityofsentemailmessages.When

activated,thetrojanhorsewilllogthePGPpassword,whichallowstheFBI todecryptuser

communications.



SpokesmenfortheFBIsoonconfirmedtheexistenceofaprogramcalledMagicLantern.Theydenied

thatithadbeendeployed,andtheydeclinedtocommentfurther



Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_%28software%29



Thenofcoursewehavecellphoneswhichcanbeactivatedremotelyaswell.

Quote

Mobilephone(cellphone)microphonescanbeactivatedremotely,withoutanyneedforphysical

access.This"rovingbug"featurehasbeenusedbylawenforcementagenciesandintelligenceservices

tolisteninonnearbyconversations

117

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_listening_device#Remotely_activated_mobile_phone_microphon



AccordingtoafewofthesourcesintheWikipediaarticle,thecellphonecanbeactivatedtolistento

youevenwhenitisoff.Pullingthebatterywilllikelydothejob,butthereisnoguarantee.Somake

surethephoneisnotinthesameroomasyouifyouaretalkingaboutanythingsensitive.Asalways,be

superparanoid.Turnontheshowerandputthephoneinthebathroomifyouhaveto,orbetteryetif

youaregoingsomewhereandyoudonotneedyourcellphone,leaveitathome.Sincemostpeople

never leavehomewithouttheircellphones,ifsomebodyissnoopingonyou,theymightthinkyouare

stillathome.ThefirstgroupofpeoplethatwenttovisitSnowdeninRussiaweretoldnottobringany

laptopsorcellphoneswiththemforthosereasons.



Soweknowthegovernmentisactivelytryingtogainremoteaccesstoyourcomputer,theycanlisten

toyourphones,whatshouldyoudoaboutit?



Youneedtodothebestyoucantomakesurethecomputersthatyouusearenotexposedtothe

elementsofrisk.AlwaysdisableJavascriptwhenvisitinganywebsitesunlessthewebsiteis100%

trusted.StartphasingouttheuseofMicrosoftWindowsandMACOSXbecausetheseclosedsource

proprietaryoperatingsystemsarenotopentoscrutinyandauditingthewayopensourceLinux

distributionsare.TherearemoreWindowsusersandthusmoreexploitsavailableforWindows.



RunningyouroperatingsysteminaVirtualMachine,evenifyourhostOSisLinux(rememberVirtual

BoxcanrunonLinux)willhelpcutdownontheretentionofanymalwareyoumightpickupwhenon

theinternet.Donotgotoanypotentiallyharmfulsitesonyourfreedomfightingcomputers.Donot

openanyemailsfromanyonethatyoudonottrust100%.Regularlyformatyourharddrivestokeep

themcleanofanyhiddenviruses.



Ifyouareunsureifsomethingissafe,testitonacomputeronlymeantfortestingandonethatisnot

connectedtotheinternet.Ifyoucanresetyourbootsectoronyourharddrivefromtimetotimethat

wouldbeagoodideaaswell,becauseyoucangetmasterbootsectorvirusesthatwouldbootupa

virusbeforeyourcomputerevenbootsintotheOS.



FlashyourBIOS,theBIOSisthefirstthingthatrunswhenyouturnonyourcomputer,ifyouhavea

virusinyourBIOS,thereisnoantivirusthatcanremoveit,youwouldneedtoflashyourBIOSand

installanewfirmware.Makesurethefirmwareis100%trustworthyasinfectedfirmwareisthemost

commonwaytogetaBIOSvirus.



IntheinterestofsavingspaceIwillnotgointodetailonhowtodoallofthesevirusremovals

becausetherearenumeroustutorialsonlineandIamcertainlynotanexpertinthisfield.Iamsure

therearemanyotherthingsIhavenotcoveredinthispostandifsomebodyelsewantstochimein,

pleasefeelfreetodosoaslongasyoucanprovidesourcesfortheclaimsyouaremaking.Idonot

wanttoturnthisthreadintoabunchofunsubstantiatedclaimsandparanoidconspiracytheories.But

ifyouhavesomethingvaluabletoaddtothis,Iamopentoyourinput.

118

MONITORING YOU WITH AN ANTENNA

FirstthingIwantyoutodoisfindasecurewayofwatchingthisvideo.Remembertheylogeveryone

whowatchesthesevideosandsinceIamlinkingyoutothemfromSilkRoad,theywillbewatchedeven

closer.



http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x74iq0_compromisingelectromagneticemanat_tech



Thisvideoshowshowusingastrongantenna,sittinginavanoutsideyourhome,theFBIcouldbe

pickinguponyourkeystrokesonawiredkeyboard.Infactmanypeoplespeculatethatthenewsmart

metersinstalledinmanyhomesalreadyhavethistechnologytodetermineeverythingyouaredoingin

yourhomeelectronically.Wiredandwirelesskeyboardsemitelectromagneticwaves,becausethey

containelectroniccomponents.Thiselectromagneticradiationcouldrevealsensitiveinformationsuch

askeystrokesasshowninthevideo.Everyelectrmagneticwaveisuniquetothedeviceusingit,which

givesapersonspyingonyoutheabilitytotellthedifferencebetweenyouusingyourcomputerversus

thedishwasher.



Accordingtothepeoplewhodidthisexperiment,theywereabletoextendtherangeupto20meters

usingrelativelycheaptechnology.Thiswasforwiredkeyboardsbytheway,andtheygoontoexplain

thatwirelesskeyboardsandmousesareeveneasier.Whichbringsustoanotherareaofinterest,

wirelesstransmissions.Thingslikewirelesskeyboardsandwirelessmice(ormouses?)arevulnerable to

eavesdroppingaswell.Iftheyarenotusingastrongenoughencryptiontosenddatatothereceiver,

anyonecanbelisteninginonyourkeystrokesandmouseactivity.Probablysomethingmostpeople

never thoughtabouteither,thisisontopoftheelectromagneticwavesthatcanalsobepickedup.

Quote

Microsofthasupgradedtheweakencryptionfoundontoday’smassmarketwirelesskeyboardswitha

newdesignthatuses128bitAEStosecurecommunicationtoandfromthePC.



Hitherto,keyboardencryptionhasbeenweak,withkeyschosenfromasmallpaletteofpossibilities,

withonehackinggroupclaimingin2009thatithaddevelopedatoolspecificallytosniffkeystrokesfrom

Microsoftkeyboardsatarangeup toa10metres.



http://news.techworld.com/security/3284218/newmicrosoftwirelesskeyboardgets128bit

encryption/



Areyouusingwirelesstechnology?Howoldisit?Mightbetimetoupgradeyourequipment.10

metersisabout33feet,butrememberthetechnologyavailabletothegovernmentcouldpotentially

reachbeyondthat.Thenthereareotherthingspeopleforgetsuchaswirelessmonitorswhich

broadcastyourscreentoareceiverthatcanbepickedup.Justthinkabouttheoldantennaspeople

usedtohaveontopoftheirhomes,andhowfarawaythosecouldpickupsignalsfromTVstations,if

youhadoneofthosepointedatyouinavanacrossthestreet,thereisnodoubttheycouldbe

eavesdroppingonyouractivitiesinside.



Oneresearcherwasabletouseawirelesssignalsentbyasmartmeterfromupto300metersaway

119

(900feet)tofindout whichhouseit was comingfromandwhatthecurrentpower consumptionwas in

plaintext.Shewasthenabletousethisinformationtodeterminewhenpeoplewereandwerenot

homebasedonaveragespikesinconsumptionsincethemeterspulseevery30seconds.

Quote

Thedatasentwasinplaintextandcarriedtheidentificationnumberofthemeteranditsreading.The

nameofthehomeownerortheaddressaren'tincluded,butanyonemotivatedenoughcouldquickly

figureoutthesource.



"ThemeterIDwasprintedonthefrontofthemeterwelookedat,sotheoreticallyyoucouldreadthe

ID[offatargetmeter]andtrytosniffpackets,"Xusaid.



Inhertests,Xufoundshewasabletopullpacketsoutoftheairfromtargetmetersbetweenonce

every2to10minutes.That'sfastenoughtobeabletoworkouttheaveragepowerconsumptionofa

houseandnoticestarttodeducewhensomeoneisathome.



https://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/110512smartmetersnotsoclever263977.html



Thingslikeautomatictimersthatflipswitchesmightbeworthinvestingintoalwaysmakeitlooklike

someoneishomeuntilsecurityresearchersstartlookingintowaystoavoidthewideopendoorweare

givingtoanyonewhowantstofinddataaboutus.



Whatcanyoudoaboutthesetypesofeavesdropping?Notawholelotunlessyouwanttostart

turningintoatinfoilhattypeofperson.Therearesomefunthingsyoucandoifyouwanttogocrazy

withitthoughasrecommendedbythefollowingsite.



http://www.lessemf.com/smart.html

Quote

YSHIELD



YShieldHighFrequencyShieldingPaint



Easytoapplywaterbasedpaintforwalls,ceilings,doorsandotherinteriorORexteriorsurfaces.Very

effectiveforblockingcellphonesignals,CB,TV,AM,FMsignals,radiofrequencyradiationand

microwaves.Testedhighlyeffectiveupto18GHz!



http://www.lessemf.com/paint.html#290



Therearelotsofotherthingsonthereaswelllikedrapes,curtains,garments,fabricsandsoforth

whichdisruptthetransmissionofthesesignals.Itiscompletelyuptoyouwhatyouwanttodo,Iam

justgivingyoutheoptionsandtheeducationsoyoucanmakeaneducateddecisionofhowfaryou

wanttogotoprotectyourprivacy.

120

COOKIES & JAVASCRIPT REVISITED, PLUS FLASH COOKIES AND

OTHER BROWSER TRACKING

Yourbrowsercanrevealanalarmingamountofinformationaboutyou.



Surprisinglyenough,ornottoosurprising,whenyouvisitawebsitethereisasurprisinglylarge

amountofidentifyingdatabeingsenttothewebsiteyouarecommunicatingwith.



Cookies



Cookiesarepiecesofinformationthatawebsitecansendtoyourbrowser.Ifyourbrowser"accepts"

them,theywillbesentbacktothesiteeverytimethebrowseracceptsapage,imageorscriptfromthe

site.Acookiesetbythepage/siteyou'revisitingisa"secondparty"cookie.Acookiesetbyanothersite

that'sjustprovidinganimageorscript(anadvertiser,forinstance),iscalleda"thirdparty"cookie.



Cookiesarethemostcommonmechanismsusedtorecordthefactthataparticularvisitorhaslogged

intoanaccountonasite,andtotrackthestateofamultisteptransactionsuchasareservationor

shoppingcartpurchase.Asaresult,itisnotpossibletoblockallcookieswithoutlosingtheabilitytolog

intomanysitesandperformtransactionswithothers.



Unfortunately,cookiesarealsousedforotherpurposesthatarelessclearlyinusers'interests,such

asrecordingtheirusageofasiteoveralongperiodoftime,oreventrackingandcorrelatingtheirvisits

tomanyseparatesites(viacookiesassociatedwithadvertisements,forinstance).



Withrecentbrowsers,thecookiesettingthatoffersusersthemostpragmatictradeoffbetween

cookiedependentfunctionalityandprivacyistoonlyallowcookiestopersistuntiltheuserquitsthe

browser(alsoknownasonlyallowing"sessioncookies").Tailsdoesthisautomaticallybythewaywith

Iceweasel.



RecentCookieLike"Features"inWebBrowsers



Inadditiontotheregularcookiesthatwebbrowserssendandreceive,andwhichusershavebegun

tobeawareofandmanageforprivacy,companieshavecontinuedtoimplementnew"features"which

behavelikecookiesbutwhicharenotmanagedinthesameway.Adobehascreated"LocalStored

Objects"(alsoknownas"FlashCookies")asapartofitsFlashplugins;Mozillahasincorporateda

featurecalled"DOMstorage"inrecentversionsofFirefox.Websitescoulduseeitherorbothofthese

inadditiontocookiestotrackvisitors.Itisrecommendedthatuserstakestepstopreventthis.



ManagingMozilla/FirefoxDOMStoragePrivacy.IfyouuseaMozillabrowser,youcandisableDOM

Storagepseudocookiesbytypingabout:configintotheURLbar.Thatwillbringupanextensivelistof

internalbrowserconfigurationoptions.Type"storage"intothefilterbox,andpressreturn.Youshould

seeanoptioncalleddom.storage.enabled.Changeitto"false"byrightclickingandchoosingToggle.



ManagingAdobeFlashPrivacy.



121

Adobe lists advice onhowtodisable Flash cookiesontheir website.

http://helpx.adobe.com/flashplayer/kb/disablelocalsharedobjectsflash.html.Therearesome

problemswiththeoptionsAdobeoffers(forinstance,thereisno"sessiononly"option),soitis

probablybesttogloballysetLocalStoredObjectspaceto0andonlychangethatforsiteswhichyou

arewillingtohavetrackingyou.OntheLinuxversionofAdobe'sFlashplugintheredoesnotseemtobe

awaysetthelimitto0forallsitesandthereforeitsuseshouldbelimitedoravoided.LuckilyTailsdoes

nothaveflashinstalled,butincaseyouarenotusingTailsbeawareofthis.



Ifyouabsolutelyneedtowatchavideoonline,findawaytodownloadthe videotoyourcomputer

andwatchitthatway.Thistakesthebrowseroutoftheloopofprocessingavideoforyouand

eliminatesthoseFlashcookieswhichhelpidentifyyou.



Javascript



Javascriptisprobablythegranddaddyofallvulnerabilitiesininternetbrowsing.Themajorityof

exploits,malware,virusesandothercomputertakeovershappenbecauseofJavascriptcodeexecuting

inyourbrowser.Javascripthasmanyuses.Sometimesitissimplyusedtomakewebpageslookflashier

byhavingthemrespondasthemousemovesaroundorchangethemselvescontinually.Inothercases,

javascriptaddssignificantlytoapage'sfunctionality,allowingittorespondtouserinteractionswithout

theneedtoclickona"submit"buttonandwaitforthewebservertosendbackanewpagein

response.



Unfortunately,javascriptalsocontributestomanysecurityandprivacyproblemswiththeweb.Ifa

maliciouspartycanfindawaytohavetheirjavascriptincludedinapage,theycanuseitforallkindsof

evil:makinglinkschangeastheuserclicksthem;sendingusernamesandpasswordstothewrong

places;reportinglotsofinformationabouttheusersbrowserbacktoasite.Javascriptisfrequentlya

partofschemestotrackpeopleacrosstheweb,orworse,toinstallmalwareonpeople'scomputers.It

isbesttodisableJavascript(about:configinURLbarsearchforJavascriptandToggleittodisabled)

unlessyouabsolutelytrustthesiteorusethebrowseraddonNoScriptsthatcomeswithTailsandis

availableinFirefoxtoatleastselectivelyblockmaliciousscripts.DisablingJavascriptoutrightisthebest

optionthough,andgumbyhasaddedasuggestionthatcanmakeiteveneasiertodothis.

Quotefrom:gumbyonJanuary14,2014,08:59:57pm

SupposedlyNoScriptdoesn'tblockallJavascriptevenwhenitisenabledandnositesareonthe

whitelist.NotsureaboutthatclaimbutI'veseenpeoplemakeit.There'saFirefoxaddon(whichalso

worksinTorBrowser)calledtoggle_jswhichletsyoutoggletheabout:configjavascript.enable

parameterthroughatoolbariconsoyoudon'thavetogointoabout:config.Ifinditquiteuseful.



JavascriptcanalsorevealanalarmingamountofinformationaboutyouevenifyouareusingTORor

aVPN,includingyourbrowserplugins,yourtimezone,whatfontsyouhaveinstalled(flashdoesthis

aswell)andofcoursemostbrowserswillsendyouruseragent,meaningtheytellthewebsitewhat

browseryouareusingandinsomecasesyouroperatingsystem!Someofthesedetailsmaynotseem

veryimportant,butcollectedasawhole,itcanmakeiteasiertoidentifywhoyouareonlinebyalmost

generatingafingerprintofyouwithyourspecific settingsrelatedtoyourbrowser.Thenasyouhop

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aroundfromsite tositewithyour finger print, correlationsandpatterns canbe drawnfromthisand

eventuallylinkedtoyouifyouarenotextremelycareful.



Luckily,TailsandWhonixoverridesthemajorityofthisidentifyinginformation,soaslongasyouuse

TailswithJavascriptdisabled,orattheveryleastwithNoScripts(Flashisdisabledautomatically)then

youcancutdownontheamountofinformationyoushare.Needlesstosay,itisnotalwayspossibleto

browsewithTails,sothesearethingsyouneedto beawareofwhenyouarebrowsingwithregular

browsersonyournativeOSwithyourbrowserofchoice.



Seewhatyourbrowserisrevealingaboutyouatthispagebelow.DonotvisititfromyourrealIP

address,sincethispagewillbelinkedtotheSilkRoadforumsfromthemomentImakethispostpartof

mythread.Asaresult,youmaywishto searchonlineforothersitesthatcheckwhatinformationyour

browserisrevealingaboutyou.IfyouareconfidentinyourOpSecabilities,usetheonebelow.



http://browserspy.dk/

A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS

Hereareafewrecommendationsthatmayslipby theaverageuserontheseforums.



1.Neverleaveyourcomputerthatyouuseforyourfreedomfightingunattended.

Thismayseemlikeanobrainer,butifyouhavekids,oraspouseorasiblingthatdoesnotunderstand

whatyoudoonthecomputerandtheydecidetohoponyouraccountandsignintotheiremail,

Facebookordoingthingsthatcouldcompromiseyourlocationwhileonthatcomputerbecausethey

simplydidnotknow,thiscouldpotentiallycauseyouproblems.



MaybeyouareconnectingthroughmultiplelayerslikethisTOR>VPN(1)>TOR>VPN(2),sothatis

4layersandVPN(2)istheIPaddressthateveryonesees.Thenyourchildorspousegoesontotheir

emailwiththatIPaddress,thensignsoffwithoutyourknowledge.ThatVPNisnowlinkedtoyou.And

werememberhowwhenunderpressure,companieswilllikelygiveoutinformationabouttheir

customerstoavoidfines,shutdownsandprosecution.



2.Donottellyourfamilymemberswhatyouaredoing,justinstructthemnottotouchyourcomputer.

Keepitpassworded.Youshouldnevertellanyonewhatyouaredoingonyourcomputerbecauseif

lawenforcementeverdidshowup,theywouldquestionyourfamilyandfriendsaboutyou.Ifthey

honestlydonotknow,thentheycannotbeheldincontemptofcourt,soitisbettertokeepthemin

thedark.Ormaybethepolicemightscarethemintogivingupallyoursecretsbecausetheytellyour

familythatiftheydonotconfessthatyourselfandthemwillbegoingtojail,possiblyforalongtime.

Justpasswordyourcomputerandneverleaveitunattendedwiththescreenunlocked.



3.Ifyouusemultiplelayerstoconnect,makesureyouregularlychecktomakesureallyourlayersarein

tact.VPNscandropsometimeswithoutwarningandwhileyoushouldneversetyourselfupsothatif

one layerdropsyouloseeverything,justkeepinmindwhenonedropsthatyoumayneedtoadjustthe

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wayyouhandle yourselfonline untilyougetthatnext layer up. Thisisone ofthereaonsI like Tortillaso

much,ifmyTORlayerdoesnotwork,itdoesnotbypassitandgotomynextlayer,insteaditjuststops

workingaltogether.WhenVPNsdrop,yourcomputerbypassesthedroppedVPNandmovesontothe

nextlayer,whichinsomecasescouldbeyourrealIPaddress.Justsomethingtokeepinmind.



4.Donotusethesamepasswordformultipleforums,marketplaces,emailsandsoforth.Expectthat

one ormoreofthewebsitesyouareregisteredwithisstoringyourpasswordinplaintext.Thismeans

thatifsomebodyfindsanexploitinthesoftwareandisabletodumptheentiredatabase,theycanfind

yourpassword.Andifyouusedthesamepasswordforothersites,andgodforbidwiththesame

usernameaswell,yourentirelistofaccountsiscompromised.Alwaysusedifferentpasswordsand

keepthemstrong.Donotletanythingaboutyourpasswordidentifyhowyouchoosepasswords,or

identifyanythingpersonalaboutyou.

COLD BOOT ATTACKS, UNENCRYPTED RAM EXTRACTION

Didyouknowthatevenifyoursystemiswholediskencrypted,yourdatacanstillbeextractedusing

somethingcalledacoldbootattack?Readon.



ThefirstthingweneedtotalkaboutisRAM.RAMstandsforrandomaccessmemory.Allyouneedto

knowaboutRAMisthatRAMistheplaceinacomputerwheretheoperatingsystem,application

programs,anddataincurrentusearekeptsothattheycanbequicklyreachedbythecomputer's

processor.RAMismuchfastertoreadfromandwritetothantheotherkindsofstorageinacomputer,

theharddisk,floppydisk,andCDROM.However,thedatainRAMstaysthereonlyaslongasyour

computerisrunning.Whenyouturnthecomputeroff,RAMlosesitsdata.



Whenyouturnyourcomputeronagain,youroperatingsystemandotherfilesareonceagainloaded

intoRAM,usuallyfromyourharddisk.RAMcanbecomparedtoaperson'sshorttermmemoryand

theharddisktothelongtermmemory.Theshorttermmemoryfocusesonworkathand,butcanonly

keepsomanyfactsinviewatonetime.Ifshorttermmemoryfillsup,yourbrainsometimesisableto

refreshitfromfactsstoredinlongtermmemory.Acomputeralsoworksthisway.IfRAMfillsup,the

processorneedstocontinuallygototheharddisktooverlayolddatainRAMwithnew,slowingdown

thecomputer'soperation.Unliketheharddiskwhichcanbecomecompletelyfullofdata,RAMnever

runsoutofmemory.



DatacanbeextractedfromtheRAMusingvarioustools.Whenyouhaveatextdocumentopenand

youareworkingonit,youareworkingfromtheRAM.Meaningthatifyouareworkingonasensitive

document,thatdocumentistemporarilystoredintheRAMandisvulnerabletobeingextractedwhile

thecomputerison.WhenRAMisbeingstored,itisbeingstoredwithoutanyformofencryption,

makingitveryeasytostealandahugesecurityrisk.



Shuttingdownacomputerthroughitsnormalshutdowncycleusuallygoesthroughaprocessof

clearingtheRAM.However,ifthecomputerlosespowerabruptlylikeinapoweroutage,thecomputer

doesnotgothroughitsnormalshutdowncycleandsomeinformationremainsontheRAMchipsfora

fewsecondsuptoafewminutes.Thisisoneofthewayscoldbootattackscanwork.

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IalsowanttoquicklyintroduceatypeofRAMtoyouwhichwillhelpyouunderstandtherestofthis

articlebetter.BelowisaresearchpaperandtheyusedatypeoframcalledDRAM.DRAMstandsfor

dynamicrandomaccessmemory.DRAMisthemostcommonkindofrandomaccessmemory(RAM)for

personalcomputersandworkstations.DRAMisdynamicinthat,unlikestaticRAM(SRAM),itneedsto

haveitsstoragecellsrefreshedorgivenanewelectronicchargeeveryfewmilliseconds.DRAMis

designedtoloseitsmemoryquicklyafterlosingpower.ThentherearesubsectionsofDRAMcalled

DDR.Thisisawayofmakingthememorymorequicklyavailable,butitisnotreallyimportanttofully

understand.WikipediacangiveyouallyouneedtoknowaboutDDR.Inthisarticlewearefocusingon

justtheconceptofDDR,DDR2andDDR3.



ThesearenewerversionsofDRAMthatkeepgettingbetter,andIbelievewearecurrentlyupto

DDR4.ButmostcomputerscirculatingaroundtodayhaveDDR2andDDR3inthemunlesstheyare

oldercomputers,thisincludeslaptops.DRAMisknownasatypeofvolatilememory,itiscomputer

memorythatrequirespowertomaintainthestoredinformation.Itretainsitscontentswhilepowered,

butwhenpowerisinterrupted,storeddataisquicklylost.Buthowquicklyisitlost?



In2008,agroupofresearcherswantedtoseethepracticalityofextractingunencrypteddatafrom

theRAMinyourcomputer.TheyarguedthatDRAMsusedinmostmoderncomputersretaintheir

contentsforsecondstominutesafterpowerislost,evenatoperatingtemperaturesandevenif

removedfromamotherboard.Andbyusingananalysistooltheywereabletosearchforkeyfiles(such

asPGPkeys)heldintheRAMthatcouldbeusedtodecryptencryptedvolumes(drives)onyour

computer.TheysuccessfullywereabletodecryptvolumesusingBitLocker,FileVault,dmcrypt,and

TrueCrypt.Belowistheabstractoftheir research.

Quote

LestWeRemember:ColdBootAttacksonEncryptionKeys



AbstractContrarytopopularassumption,DRAMsusedinmostmoderncomputersretaintheir

contentsforsecondstominutesafterpowerislost,evenatoperatingtemperaturesandevenif

removedfromamotherboard.AlthoughDRAMsbecomelessreliablewhentheyarenotrefreshed,

they arenotimmediatelyerased,andtheircontentspersistsufficientlyformalicious(orforensic)

acquisitionofusablefullsystemmemoryimages.Weshowthatthisphenomenonlimitstheabilityof

anoperatingsystemtoprotectcryptographickeymaterialfromanattackerwithphysicalaccess.We

usecoldrebootstomountattacksonpopulardiskencryptionsystems—BitLocker,FileVault,dm

crypt,andTrueCrypt—usingnospecialdevicesormaterials.Weexperimentallycharacterizethe

extentandpredictabilityofmemoryremanenceandreportthatremanencetimescanbeincreased

dramaticallywithsimpletechniques.Weoffernewalgorithmsforfindingcryptographickeysin

memoryimagesandforcorrectingerrorscausedbybitdecay.Thoughwediscussseveralstrategiesfor

partiallymitigatingtheserisks,weknowofnosimpleremedythatwouldeliminatethem.



https://citp.princeton.edu/research/memory/[Abstract]

http://citpsite.s3websiteuseast1.amazonaws.com/oldsitehtdocs/pub/coldboot.pdf[FullText]



HereisanFLVvideoyoucandownloadtowatchexactlyhowtheydidit.

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https://anonfiles.com/file/97b5737dba6b96871fd862b8a587b8f0



Thiswasverytroublingtomostpeople,andhadmanypeoplefreakingoutwhentheresearchpaper

wasreleasedbackin2008becauseeventoughencryptiontoolslikeTrueCryptcouldberendered

uselesswithanattacklikethis.Uponfurtheranalysisofthepaper,Iwantedtonotethattheyused

SDRAM,DDRandDDR2,andnotDDR3becauseitwasnotavailableatthattime.Thisprompted

TrueCrypttoreleasethefollowingstatementontheirwebsite.

Quote

UnencryptedDatainRAM



ItisimportanttonotethatTrueCryptisdiskencryptionsoftware,whichencryptsonlydisks,notRAM

(memory).



Keepinmindthatmostprogramsdonotclearthememoryarea(buffers)inwhichtheystore

unencrypted(portionsof)filestheyloadfromaTrueCryptvolume.Thismeansthatafteryouexitsuch

aprogram,unencrypteddataitworkedwithmayremaininmemory(RAM)untilthecomputeris

turnedoff(and,accordingtosomeresearchers,evenforsometimeafterthepoweristurnedoff*).

AlsonotethatifyouopenafilestoredonaTrueCryptvolume,forexample,inatexteditorandthen

forcedismountontheTrueCryptvolume,thenthefilewillremainunencryptedintheareaofmemory

(RAM)usedby(allocatedto)thetexteditor.Thisappliestoforcedautodismounttoo.



Inherently,unencryptedmasterkeyshavetobestoredinRAMtoo.WhenanonsystemTrueCrypt

volumeisdismounted,TrueCrypterasesitsmasterkeys(storedinRAM).Whenthecomputeriscleanly

restarted(orcleanlyshutdown),allnonsystemTrueCryptvolumesareautomaticallydismountedand,

thus,allmasterkeysstoredinRAMareerasedbytheTrueCryptdriver(exceptmasterkeysforsystem

partitions/drives—seebelow).However,whenpowersupplyisabruptlyinterrupted,whenthe

computerisreset(notcleanlyrestarted),orwhenthesystemcrashes,TrueCryptnaturallystops

runningandthereforecannoteraseanykeysoranyothersensitivedata.Furthermore,asMicrosoft

doesnotprovideanyappropriateAPIforhandlinghibernationandshutdown,masterkeysusedfor

systemencryptioncannotbereliably(andarenot)erasedfromRAMwhenthecomputerhibernates,is

shutdownorrestarted.**



Tosummarize,TrueCryptcannotanddoesnotensurethatRAMcontainsnosensitivedata(e.g.

passwords,masterkeys,ordecrypteddata).Therefore,aftereachsessioninwhichyouworkwitha

TrueCryptvolumeorinwhichanencryptedoperatingsystemisrunning,youmustshutdown(or,ifthe

hibernationfileisencrypted,hibernate)thecomputerandthenleaveitpoweredoffforatleastseveral

minutes(thelonger,thebetter)beforeturningitonagain.ThisisrequiredtocleartheRAM.



*Allegedly,for1.535secondsundernormaloperatingtemperatures(2644°C)anduptoseveral

126

hourswhenthememorymodulesare cooled(whenthecomputer isrunning)toverylowtemperatures

(e.g.50°C).Newtypesofmemorymodulesallegedlyexhibitamuchshorterdecaytime(e.g.1.52.5

seconds)thanoldertypes(asof2008).

**BeforeakeycanbeerasedfromRAM,thecorrespondingTrueCryptvolumemustbedismounted.

Fornonsystemvolumes,thisdoesnotcauseanyproblems.However,asMicrosoftcurrentlydoesnot

provideanyappropriateAPIforhandlingthefinalphaseofthesystemshutdownprocess,pagingfiles

locatedonencryptedsystemvolumesthataredismountedduringthesystemshutdownprocessmay

stillcontainvalidswappedoutmemorypages(includingportionsofWindowssystemfiles).Thiscould

cause'bluescreen'errors.Therefore,toprevent'bluescreen'errors,TrueCryptdoesnotdismount

encryptedsystemvolumesandconsequentlycannotclearthemasterkeysofthesystemvolumes

whenthesystemisshutdownorrestarted.



http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/unencrypteddatainram



Afewkeypointstoextractfromherearethatproperlyshuttingdownyourcomputerreduces,ifnot

completelyenliminatesthisriskexceptinthecaseofencryptedsystemdisks.Whatismeantbythisis,

forexample,ifyourmainoperatingsystemisWindowsandyouhaveencryptedthatdrive,thisisyour

systemdriveandthemasterkeyforthatdriveisnotcleareduponshutdownorrestart.Thesolutionis

simplytoneverstoreanythingsensitiveonyoursystemvolume.Whetheryouuseapartitioneddrive

oraUSBstickthatisencrypted,justmakesurethatyourmaindrivethatisbootedintodoesnot

containsensitivedata.Andifyouhavenootherchoice,thenyouneedtoseparatelyencryptthedata

insidethesystemvolumewithadifferentpassphraseandprivatekeysothateveniftheygetintoyour

systemvolume,theycannotaccesstheotherencrypteddatayouwanttoprotect.



TheycanusethesesametechniquestosniffaroundforyourPGPprivatekeyfilesintheRAM,sothis

isaveryrealthreatinthecasethatifyourcomputerisstillpoweredoniftheycometogetyou,they

canusethesetechniquestoretrievedatafromyourcomputer.However,thereisadebateabout

whetherornotthistypeofattackcanpersistevennowinto2014withnewertypesofRAM.Ipointtoa

randomblogonlineandImakenojudgementastowhetherornotthisisalegitimateclaim,butitis

interestingnonetheless.

Quote

Nowtotesttheactualcoldbootattack.Fillmemorywitharound1000taintmarkers,justtobesure

thereareenough.



Nowshutdown.Ostensibly,themarkerscouldberecognizableinRAMafterwholeminutes,butI’m

impatient,soIjustwaited10secondsforthefirsttest.Bootup,intotheminimallinuxinstallation.

Loadthekernelmodule:insmod./rmem.ko.Runhunter.



Nothing.



That’sok,though.Thereshouldbeatleastsomedatacorruption.Thedefaultmarkersizeis128bytes,

solet’ssetthehammingdistanceto128,meaningthatonebitoutofeverybyteisallowedtobe

flipped. (Statistically,that’sequivalenttoa25%corruptionrate,sinceacorruptedbithasa50%chance

127

ofremainingthesame).



Nothing.



Lookslikein10seconds,memorywascompletelycorrupted.Let’stryashorterinterval:2seconds.

Sameresults.Nothingisleftofour“encryptionkey”.



http://bytbox.net/blog/2013/01/coldbootattacksoverrated.html



TheuserclaimedtobeusinganewertypeofRAMcalledDDR3.whichisknowntoholdmemoryfora

muchshortertimethanDDR2.AndanewerresearchpaperreleasedinSeptember2013triedto

reproducethefindingsofthe2008researchbutusingcomputerswithDDR1,DDR2andDDR3andtheir

findingswereinteresting.

Quote

Eventhoughatargetmachineusesfulldiskencryption,coldbootattackscanretrieveunencrypted

datafromRAM.ColdbootattacksarebasedontheremanenceeffectofRAMwhichsaysthatmemory

contentsdonotdisappearimmediatelyafterpoweriscut,butthattheyfadegraduallyovertime.This

effectcanbeexploitedbyrebootingarunningmachine,orbytransplantingitsRAMchipsintoan

analysismachinethatreadsoutwhatisleftinmemory.Intheory,thiskindofattackisknownsincethe

1990s.However,onlyin2008,Haldermanetal.haveshownthatcoldbootattackscanbewell

deployedinpracticalscenarios.Intheworkinhand,weinvestigatethepracticabilityofcoldboot

attacks.WeverifytheclaimsbyHaldermanetal.independentlyinasystematicfashion.ForDDR1and

DDR2,weprovideresultsfromourexperimentalmeasurementsthatinlargepartagreewiththe

originalresults.However,wealsopointoutthatwecouldnotreproducecoldbootattacksagainst

modernDDR3chips.Our testsetcomprises17systemsandsystemconfigurations,fromwhich5are

basedonDDR3.



https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6657268&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.iee

e.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D6657268



Sowhatdoesshouldyoudo?Numberone,alwaysshutdownyourcomputerwhenyouarenot

arounditorputitintohibernationmode,otherwiseyoursensitivedocumentscouldbelingering

aroundinyourRAM.Simplylockingthescreenwilldoyounogood.Makesureyourcomputerisusing

aDDR3typeofRAM,ifpossible.Someofyouthismeansyouneedtoupgrade.Ifyouareunsurewhat

kindofRAMyourcomputerhas,searchonlinetofindatoolthatwilldetectitforyou.Neverstore

anythingsensitiveonanencryptedsystemvolume,becausethisattackcanbeusedtobreakintothe

volumeandanythingunencryptedcanberetrieved.Ifyouareusingalaptop,pullthebatteryoutso

thatifyouneedtoquicklypullthepower,itwillturnitoffimmediately.Ifyouhavetime,shutdown

thecomputer,otherwiseturnitoffimmediatelysothatitisnotrunning.Themoretimeyoucanwaste

areprecioussecondswheretheycannotretrieveanydata.Soimmediatelyshutthingsoffifyoudonot

haveenoughtimetodoapropershutdown.



Considerputtingalockonyourcomputercase,andifyouwanttogotakeitastepfurther,boltitto

thefloor.Thatwaytheamountoftimeitwouldtakethemtogetinsideyourcomputerwouldwaste

128

valuable minutesandmore thanlikelyrender anyrecoverable memoryuseless. Some people have

evensuggestedthatyousoldertheRAMintothemotherboardsotheycannottakeitout.Thismay

helpslowthingsdown,butrememberthatcoolingthememorydowncanpreservethingsforquitea

whileifyouareusingDDR1orDDR2. WithDDR3,youshouldbegoodtogoandIbelievewiththis

realization,manufacturerswilllikelystartlookingatwaystoencryptRAM,butuntilthattimeyoudo

needtobeawareofthisasapossiblemeansforstealingyoursensitivedataandsomethingyoushould

keepinthebackofyourmindandprepareyourselfforjustincase.

THE STRENGH OF CRYPTOGRAPHY AND ANONYMITY WHEN USED

PROPERLY

Thispostismeanttoserveasanexampleofhow,whencryptographyandanonymityisusedproperly,

youcanevadejustaboutanybodyincludingthepolice.



Bynow,everyonehaslikelyheardofsomeonegettinglockedoutoftheircomputerandbeingforced

topaybytheattackertohaveitunlocked,thisisCryptoLocker.DellSecureWorksestimatesthat

CryptoLockerhasinfected250,000victims.Theaveragepayoutis$300each,andmillionsinlaundered

Bitcoinhavebeentrackedandtracedtotheransomware'smoneyrunners.



CryptoLockerisaransomwaretrojanwhichtargetscomputersrunningMicrosoftWindows[1]and

firstsurfacedinSeptember2013.ACryptoLockerattackmaycomefromvarioussources;onesuchis

disguisedasalegitimateemailattachment.AZIPfile attachedtoanemailmessagecontainsan

executablefilewiththefilenameandtheicondisguisedasaPDFfile,takingadvantageofWindows'

defaultbehaviourofhidingtheextensionfromfilenamestodisguisethereal.EXEextension.When

activated,themalwareencryptscertaintypesoffilesstoredonlocalandmountednetworkdrives

usingRSApublickeycryptographytogeneratea2048bitRSAkeypair,withtheprivatekeystoredonly

onthemalware'scontrolservers.



Themalwarethendisplaysamessagewhichofferstodecryptthedataifapayment(througheither

Bitcoinoraprepaidvoucher)ismadebyastateddeadline,andthreatenstodeletetheprivatekeyif

thedeadlinepasses.Ifthedeadlineisnotmet,themalwareofferstodecryptdataviaanonlineservice

providedbythemalware'soperators,forasignificantlyhigherpriceinBitcoin.



DellSecureWorksestimatesthatCryptoLockerhasinfected250,000victims.Theaveragepayoutis

$300each,andmillionsinlaunderedBitcoinhavebeentrackedandtracedtotheransomware'smoney

runners.InNovember2013,theoperatorsofCryptoLockerlaunchedanonlineservicewhichclaimsto

allowuserstodecrypttheirfileswithouttheCryptoLockerprogram,andtopurchasethedecryption

keyafterthedeadlineexpires;theprocessinvolvesuploadinganencryptedfiletothesiteasasample,

andwaitingfortheservicetofindamatch,whichthesiteclaimswouldoccurwithin24hours.Oncea

matchisfound,theusercanpayforthekeyonline;ifthe72hourdeadlinehaspassed,thecost

increasesto10Bitcoin.



Todate,noonehassuccessfullydefeatedCryptoLocker.TheSwansea,Massachusettspolice

departmentwashitinNovember.TheofficerspaidCryptoLocker'sransom.PoliceLt.GregoryRyantold

129

press thathis departmentshelledoutaround$750for twoBitcoinon November 10. One ofthe

reasonsIampostingthis,isthatCryptoLockeruses2,048RSAencryption,andifyourememberinthe

PGPpostsearlierinthisthreadIrecommendedtouse4096.Evenwith2,048bitencryption,noone

hassuccessfullydefeatedCryptoLocker,andthisisthepowerofproperlyimplementedcryptography.



And,usingthepropermethodsofanonymity,thispersonorgrouphasmanagedtoacquire,

accordingtoresearchdonebyZDNet,around41,928BTC.



http://www.zdnet.com/cryptolockerscrimewaveatrailofmillionsinlaunderedbitcoin7000024579/

Quote

InresearchforthisarticleZDnettracedfourbitcoinaddressesposted(andreposted)inforumsby

multipleCryptoLockervictims,showingmovementof41,928BTCbetweenOctober15andDecember

18.



BasedonthecurrentBitcoinvalueof$661,themalwareninjashavemoved$27,780,000through

thosefouraddressesaloneifCryptoLockercashesouttoday.



IfCryptoLocker'ssupervillanscashoutwhenBitcoinsoarsbackupto$1000,likeitdidonNovember

27...Well,$41.9millionisn'tbadforthreemonthsofwork.



Asyoucansee,properlyexecutedcryptographyandanonymityallowedthisgroupofpeopleacquire

theBitcoinequivalentofalmost$42millioninjustnow4monthsatthetimeofthispost.Iamnot

recommendingoradvocatingthatyoudothis,butjustgivingyouaperfectexampleofhowpowerful

thecombinationofthesetwoveryimportantfactorsareinprotectinganybodyonlinewhenused

properly.

ANOTHER SCAM EMAIL - BEWARE

Ifyouhavebeenfollowingmythreadforawhilenow,youwillrememberthepreviousemailscam

goingaroundtryingtogetpeopletodownloadaninfectionversionoftor.WithSilkRoadatthetimeof

thispostnowboastingover25,000members,itiseasytogetthattheseoccurrencesarelikelygoingto

increaseandunfortunatelysomepeoplearegoingtofallforthem.Thisnewoneisdirectedatvendors,

butitnonethelessshouldserveasanexampleofthetypeofscamsthatpeoplearegoingtobetrying

topullonmembersofthisforumandotherforums.

Quote

DearValuedVendor,



Duetotherecentinstabilityofthesite,andourprogrammersinabilitytoremedytheproblemsina

timelymanner,wearegoingtohavetotemporarilyshutdownvendoraccounts.Sincewecan'tjust

stopoperationofthesitecompletely,weareforcedtodevelopawayforonlysomeofthevendorsto

gointoatemporaryvacationmode.Inneedofrecentserverupgrades,aswellasthisnewmethodwe

areimplementing,ithasoccuredtousthattheonlywaytopickwhichvendorsaregoingtoremainin

130

business is byhowmuchsales/profitthey are doing, aswellas how much beingavendor onour site

meanstothem.Here'showthisisgoingtowork:



Ifyouwouldliketokeepvendingonthesiteduringourupgrades/repairs,wearegoingtorequirethat

youpayanadditional.3BTCbondtous.Ifyoupaythis.3BTCbond,youraccountwillremainactiveand

youwillkeepvendingwhileweworktofixtheproblems.Ifyoudonotpaythis.3BTCbond,your

accountwillbetemporarilyputintovacationmode statusandyouwillbeunabletovenduntilwe

locateandremedytheproblem.Weareverysorryforthesechanges!



Intheeventyoudopaythebond,assoonasthevendingopensbackuptoeveryone,youwillhave

your.3BTCbondreturned,andyouwillreceiveapremiumvendoraccountstatus.Youwillhaveatitle

onyourpagethatdisplaysyouas"HardcoreVendor".Weareterriblysorrywehavetoaskthisofall

ourhardworkingvendors,butthereisreallynootherwayforustodecideWHOgetstokeepvending

andwhohastowaituntilwefixthings.



Ourteamisworkinghardattheproblem,andweestimateitwillbenolongerthanaweekforthe

changestobemadeandvendingtoopenbackuptoeveryone.



Vendorswhowillpaybond:Pleasesend.3BTCtoBTCAddress:

1NbEs2rJgreRUvjp9o7hUWo3akeLA3EfFY



Vendorswhoareunabletopaybond:Youraccountswillgointovacationmodeat12:01AMUTC

February2nd.



Letusneverforgetthisrecenthurdleinourbattleforfreedom.Butletusnotallowittostopourfight,

either–itisnowtimetosimplypickourselvesbackup,dustourselvesoff,andcontinuefightingthis

revolutionlikewe’veneverfoughtitbefore.



I’mproudtohaveyouallatmyside.



YoursLoyally



DreadPirateRoberts



TheuserwhosentoutthismessageactuallyusedthenameDreadPiratesRobert,whichissimilarbut

notcorrect.Onethingyoushouldbeawareof,isthatanytypeofannouncementlikethisfromahigh

rankingAdministratorlikeDPRwillalwaysbesignedwiththeirPGPsignature.Andremember,we

discussedhowtoverifythesesignaturesinapreviouspost.Irememberwhenamoderatornamed

Sargewasinchargeofvendorbonds,therewasauserwiththenameSarrge(twor's)thatwastryingto

scamvendorsintosendingtheirbondstohisaddressinsteadandunfortunately,severalpeoplefellfor

thisscam.



PleasealwayscheckifthereisaPGPsignature,andifthereisnot,kindlyasktheAdministratoror

Moderatortoresendthemessagetoyouusingasignature.Protectyourselfbyverifyingthenameand

makesurethisuserhasanAdministratororModeratorstatusontheforum.Besafe!

131

AN INTRODUCTION TO AN EXPERT ON OPSEC, PLUS MD5 & SHA-1

CHECKSUMS

Thispost,IwouldliketofocusonintroducingyoutoanexpertinthefieldofOpSec.



*Notethismessagecontainsadownload,thereforethismessagehasbeenPGPsignedtoensurethatif

thismessageisaltered,youwillbeawareofit.*



Thisisamanwhohasdoneseveralpublicpresentations,yet,manypeoplestilldonotknowabout

him.OpSecstandsforOperationsSecurityandinthiscontextreferstopeoplekeepingthemselves

anonymousonline.Hegoesbytheonlinehandle,"TheGrugq",andGrugqhashisownblogwhichcan

befoundatthefollowingwebpage.



http://grugq.github.io/



ItshouldbenotedthatGrugqwasatonetimeonthepayrolloftheUSgovernmentforfindingand

sellingzerodayexploits.IfyourememberthepreviouspostabouthowtheUSfederalgovernmentis

thesinglemostpurchaserofmalwareintheworld,wellGrugqwasoneofthosewhosoldmalwareto

thegovernment.Unfortunatelyforhim,whenhewentpublicaboutit,theynolongerwantedtobuy

malwarefromhimbecausetheyliketomaintaintheirownanonymitywhenpurchasingtheseexploits.

Andhereisashortbiographyfromanonlinewebsite.

Quote

Biography:



TheGrugqisanInformationSecurityProfessionalwhohashasworkedwithdigitalforensicanalysis,

binaryreverseengineering,rootkits,VoiceoverIP,telecommunicationsandfinancialsecurity.Hehas

reportedtobeanexploitbrokerfor15%ofthesale.Lastbutnotleast,hehasalsospokenatvarious

securityconferences.



Facts



Hedeveloped"userlandexec"



HeistheauthorofHash(hackershell),atooltoenablepeopletoevadedetectionwhilepenetratinga

system.



Hehasreleasedavoipattacksoftware.



Claimstohavemademadlootonbeinganexploitbroker(middleman).



132

https://www.soldierx.com/hdb/Grugq



WhyarewetalkingabouttheGrugq?Whocares?Well,hehassomeofthebestinformationon

keepingyourselfanonymousandmaintainingprivacyonlineandheissomebodywhoyoushouldall

familiarizeyourselveswith.Hewritesblogposts,andhehasdonevideopresentationsatsecurityand

hackerconferences,withhismostfamouspresentation,atleastintheworldofSilkRoadbeingtheone

hedidonOpSec.SinceIknowitishardforTailsuserstowatchvideosonYouTube,Idecidedto

downloaditfromYouTubeanduploadittoAnonFiles.comsoyouallcanwatchit.Thepresentationis

about1hourlong,andanessentialtoeveryonewhowishestomaintaintheiranonymityonline.

Remember,youonlyhavetoscrewuponce.



https://anonfiles.com/file/b6de41da8d1fca2fabf725f79d2a90df



SHA1Sum:1a9e6c67a527b42a05111e1b18c7a037744bb51e

MD5Sum:b6de41da8d1fca2fabf725f79d2a90df



Onceyouhavedownloadedthefile,Iwantyoutochecksomethingcalledthechecksumofthefile.

Thechecksumiswherethecontentsoftheentirefilegetpluggedintoamathematicalalgorithmand

outputaspecificstring.Youcanseethetwostringsabove.Thisissomethingyoushouldallgetintothe

habitofdoingwhenpossible isverifyingthechecksumofyourfiles.Ifyourememberwhenwetalked

aboutsignaturefilesandPGP,thisisanothermethodofverifyingyourdownloadsbutnotasgoodas

thesignaturefiles.Itshouldhowever,wheneverprovidedbeperformedtoverifyyourdownloads

whenthesignaturefile+PGPcombinationisnotavailable.



OnceyouhavedownloadedthefileinTails,thefirstthingyoushoulddo,ismovethefileyou

downloadedtoyourtmpfolder.Inordertodothis,lookupatthetopandclickPlaces>Computer>

FileSystem>tmp.Thisiswhereyoumovethefileyourdownloadedto,andtokeepthingseasier,

renamethefilegrugq.zipandyouwillseewhyyouwanttodothatinasecond.



Nextwearegoingtoopenaterminalwindow(likeaDOSprompt)byclickingtheblackrectangleicon

intheupperleftcenterareaofTails.Onceyouhaveopenedyourterminalwindow,wearegoingto

performsomeLinuxcommands.



cd/tmpThiswillchangethecurrentdirectoryyouareoperatingwithintheterminaltoyourtmp

folderandallowyoutomoreeasilyaccessthefilesinthatfolder.



sha1sumgrugq.zipThiswillperformaSHA1checksumonthefileyoujustdownloaded,andyoucan

seewhyyouwantedtorenamethefile.ItshouldgiveyouthesameoutputastheSHA1sumlisted

above.



md5sumgrugq.zipThiswillperformanMD5checksumonthefileyoujustdownloaded,andis

anotherwayofcheckingthefile.SHA1isbetterbecauseitisharderproducethesameoutputtwice

withdifferentfilecontentsusingSHA1versusMD5,butnonetheless,usebothwheneverpossibleand

alwayscheckyourdownloadedfiles.

133

Ok,assumingyourdownloadedvideopassedthechecksumtest,youcanbeassuredthatthevideo

filethatIuploadedhasnotbeentamperedwith,orhadanymaliciouscodeinjectedintoit.Wheneven

asinglecharacterischangedinthesourcecodeofagivenfile,thechecksumoutputwillbecompletely

different.Mostpeoplethinkitmaybeoffbyaafewcharacters,butthedifferenceisalwaysquitelarge

andiswhyperformingchecksumsisanimportantwayofverifyingyourdownloads.



Sinceyounowhavea1hourvideopresentationthatyouallneedtowatchandrewatch(Youcando

thisinTails),Iwillendthispostandcontinuewithmynextpostfromtheassumptionthatyoucan

completedwatchingthishighlyrecommendedandendorsed(bySRadministratorsandmoderators)

videoonOpSec.WewillstartlookingmoreintotherecommendationsfromtheGrugq.Hewillbean

invaluableresourceofinformationforus,andIwillmainlybetranslatingsomeofhispostsintoamore

understandableformatforthoseofyouwhoarelesstechnicallycapableandalsokeepingthemonthe

SilkRoadforumhiddenservices.





BEGINPGPSIGNATURE



iQIcBAEBCgAGBQJS7wteAAoJEPuh6tSg81nyhyYP/0nFaWRq0GPe6/5XeMUj3yiZ

2fBaJ+7SXOMxnNXPZw9XAN5Hkpp9wPQmk8W27otuIk2N+iom8H0tJcGZi7hiMd45

Dv0NOrt/gS3bst/G37I+tPwdnWxb1pVNCS+3XnuLOo9IA7VdykU8tz6R+68kPB25

9lDguaUYVeGp2AJMezQ01LL60xQvv25TFLgiPrYD611bscVadckhSV5upXlbMW9+

WVzJG1mgY9gmUYQV6D5ErPGIvxm8cC+IVlzwgGHQPd3kq2QlmQF3XJrXqWGPXd8d

ewkD6VnrU8yO6tVMCG57K1xO9a9zPYp6yN1IOe69IsRkK7g266D+cz6Idwt97/Vr

5jgu1Ook8dfFGA3Sxg+qpoARt5diWKchvmqbxRrnFdOtCAawH1+DgNcVdepi7agk

zhIES1drHdIM1uQ9Wg3vegCLrU3HDpRwwyWoSZxH4kxruU7aByOH5ZdAZw9JV6Lk

b5JzVjrvrhayXwiHPQnnjM50RT9jPH44PhNZCN4G7Ln2Rkb7qa/kS5sA4W2dRwXf

SjtYXf+18pCp/7NL09LD+LsabZHEAa/MilWxjsAnLLIrJsnw3YbSUola/ebmnIq8

oUW20yP0fDOHdeSGVq1uLNZIadZHZtmZIGqBigPU3XAKLxYajssglAgcPxD8E4vc

rkKb3PIyz1k1/JXulymR

=zJvP



ENDPGPSIGNATURE

IT IS OBVIOUS WHEN YOU ARE USING TOR

ThisisgoingtobeashortpostaboutamistakewecanalllearnfromwhenaHarvardstudentemaileda

bombthreattohisschoolwhileusingtortoavoidafinalexam.



http://www.forbes.com/sites/runasandvik/2013/12/18/harvardstudentreceivesffortorfailure

whilesendinganonymousbombthreat/

134

Quote

...thestudent“tookstepstodisguisehisidentity”byusingTor,asoftwarewhichallowsusersto

browsethewebanonymously,andGuerrillaMail,aservicewhichallowsuserstocreatefree,

temporaryemailaddresses.



Despite20yearoldEldoKim’sgoalofanonymity,hisattemptstomaskhisidentityledauthoritiesright

tohisfrontdoor.DoesthatmeanthatTorfailedauserlookingtodelayhis“PoliticsofAmerican

Education”exam?Notintheslightest.



WhiletheHarvardstudentdidindeeduseTor,itwashisothersloppysecuritymeasuresthatledtohis

arrest.Thecomplaintsaystheuniversity“wasabletodeterminethat,intheseveralhoursleadingup

tothereceiptoftheemailmessages…EldoKimaccessedTorusingHarvard’swirelessnetwork.”



WhatKimdidn’trealizeisthatTor,whichmasksonlineactivity,doesn’thidethefactthatyouareusing

thesoftware.InanalyzingtheheadersoftheemailssentthroughtheGuerrillaMailaccount,

authoritieswereabletodeterminethattheanonymoussenderwasconnectedtotheanonymity

network.



Usingthatconclusion,theythenattemptedtodiscernwhichstudentshadbeenusingToronthe

Harvardwirelessnetworkaroundthetimeofthethreats.BeforefiringupTor,Kimhadtologontothe

school’swirelesssystem,whichrequiresuserstoauthenticatewithausernameandpassword.By

goingthroughnetworklogsandlookingforuserswhoconnectedtothepubliclyknownIPaddresses

thatarepartoftheTornetwork,theuniversitywasabletocrossreferenceusersthatwereusingboth

Toranditswirelessinternetaroundthetimethebombthreatswerereceived.



Thereisnotmuchformetoaddotherthanthefactthat,ifyouareplanningondoingsomefreedom

fighting,activismorjustusingSilkRoad,makesurethatyouareabletodosowhereusingtorisnot

goingtoraisesomeflags.Inthecaseofthisstudent,hewaslikelytheonlystudentatHarvardusingtor

atthemomentthisemailwassent,andwhentheauthoritiescametohisdormhequicklyadmittedhe

wasresponsible.



Helikelyneverwouldhavebeencaught,butrememberwhenyouusetor,otherscanbeawarethat

youareusingit.Abetterideaforhimwouldhavebeentoconnecttoanothercomputerremotelyand

havethatcomputerconnectedtotortosendtheemail.Thisway,theynevercouldhaveseenhis

computerconnectedtotor.Iwouldnotworryaboutusingtoronaregularbasisfromyourhome,

becausetherearehundredsofthousandsoftorusers,butitisagain,somethingtobeawareof.torwill

notcoveryourbadOpSecmistakeslikeinthecaseofEldoKim.

ARE YOU USING SAFE-MAIL.NET ?

ArecentarticleonForbes.comtalksaboutafalsesenseofsecurityusersmayhavewhenusingSafe

Mail.net



http://www.forbes.com/sites/runasandvik/2014/01/31/theemailservicethedarkwebisactually

using/

135

IfyouareauserofSilkRoad,youhavelikelyseenmany usersadvocatingtheuseofaservicecalled

SafeMail.net.Thiscompanydescribesitselfas"themostsecure,easytousecommunicationsystem",

andmanySilkRoadusershaveadoptedit.Buttherearesomethingsyoushouldbeawareof.

Quote

KnownusersoftheSafemailwebserviceincludeoperators,vendorsandcustomersofthedarkweb’s

manydrugmarketsites,journalistswritingabouttheinvestigationintoSilkRoad,andBTCKing,the

vendorwhorananundergroundanonymousBitcoinexchangeandallegedlyworkedwithBitInstant

CEOCharlieShremtosellmorethan$1millionworthofBitcoinstousersofSilkRoad.



WhenIreachedouttoSafemailforcomment,AmiramOfir,Safemail’sPresidentandCEO,responded

inanemailthatthecompanyanditsemployees“certainlyarenotawareofanycriminalactivity,”

addingthatthecompanydoes“followcourtordersthatareissuedinIsraelbyanIsraelicourt.Any

otherlawenforcementagencyshouldcontacttheIsraeliauthorities.”It’sworthnoting,however,that

IsraelsignedaMutualLegalAssistanceTreaty(MLAT)withtheU.S.in1998.AnMLATrequestwasused

toimagetheSilkRoadwebserver,accordingtothecriminalcomplaintofSept.27,2013.



OfirtoldmethatcommunicationsbetweenusersandthewebserviceareSSLprotected,andthat

informationstoredontheserverisencryptedwithuserspecifickeys.WhenaskedifSafemailhas

receivedcourtordersissuedbyanIsraelicourtonbehalfofanonIsraelilawenforcementagency,such

astheFBI,Ofir repliedwithashort“Yes.”Myfollowupemail,askingifSafemailhastheabilitytodecrypt

informationwithoutauser’skey,wentunanswered.



So,thefirst timetonoteisthattheFBIisalreadyawareofSafeMail.netandisalreadyreceiving

courtordersfromnonIsraelilawenforcementagencies.Andtheyarelikelygivingthemeverything

they needinordertoreadtheemails.Therefore,youshouldrememberthatnoemailserviceshouldbe

trusted.Noemailserviceisgoingtogotojailforyou.Andifyouaresendinganythingsensitiveover

emailusingplaintext,itwilllikelybereadeventuallybysomebodyotherthantheintendedrecipients.

ThisiswhythingssuchasstrongPGPencryptionareessentialtoanytypeofsensitivecommunication.



Withthis,itshouldbenotedthatSafeMailisnosaferthanGmailwhenitcomestoprotectingyour

privacywithitscentralizedemailservice.Nevertrustanycompanywithyourprivacy,alwaysencrypt.

LOCALBITCOINS PART 1 - POLICE ARE WATCHING IT!



IhaveafewstoriestosharefrompeoplewhousedLocalBitCoinstoselltheirBitcoins.

Quote

InSeptemberandOctober,Isold213BTC(gradually)tosomerandomguyonlocalbitcoins.Everything

wentfine,eachtimeIgotthemoney,Isentthebitcoins.5daysafterthelasttransaction,Igetarrested

bythepolice."Wheredoesthismoneycomefrom?"Iexplainaboutbitcoins,andtellthemallIknow

abouttherandomguy,Ivolunteermyphonetoanalysemyemailsandcheckmystory.Oncetheywere

136

sure thattheguycontactedme andnottheother wayaround, I was finally free togo. Later they told

me thatthemoneywasstolenandtheythoughtIwasdoingmoneylaundering.



Nowafteralmost3monthsandalotofbackandforthwiththepolice,theyarenowsuggestingthatI

sendbackthemoney.Iwouldgladlydothatiftheyarrestedthecriminalandfoundouthecannot

repay.RightnowifIsendbackthemoney,theinnocentpersonwhogothismoneystolengetsitback,

butthenIbecometheinnocentpersonwhogothismoneystolen,sothatmakesnosensetome.



Edit:Ijustsawalawyer.AccordingtohimIalreadywonthecase.Butit'sgoingtocostmesomeserious

moneyinlawyer'sfees...Morethanmycumulatedprofits.Itakethatasthecostofagreatlifelesson

andawakeupcall.



HealsotoldmeIcandisclosetheinfothatthepolicealreadyknows.Soherewego.I'minBrisbane,

Australia.Thereasonthepolicefrozemyaccountandnotthecriminal'saccountisthattheywantedto

knowwherethemoneywasgoing.Thepoliceareregularlycheckingmyhousetomakesurethe

criminalisnotseekingrevenge(hehasmyfulladdressandIhave2kids).



http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1to08d/arrested_by_the_police_for_localbitcoins_busine

ss/



Thisguy,likelyaBTCminer,wasarrestedandquestionedbypoliceforsellingBTCtoabuyerover

severaltransactions.Theymusthaveassumedthatthebuyerwasusingfraudulentfundsandthis

shiftedsuspicionontotheselleraswell.Idonotknowifthisstoryistrue,butIamtendingtobelieveit

is.Policearemonitoringthesetransactions,soyoubettermakesureyouhaveareasonable

explanationastowhereyouobtainedtheBitcoinsyouaretryingtosell.



Thisnext storywasremovedbytheoriginalposter(OP),butluckilysomebodyintherepliesquoted

theentirepostandthereforeIwasabletograbit.

Quote

So,asafewofyouguysknow,I'mmovingtoanothercountrysoonenough.WhenIgetoverthereI

won'thaveaccesstomybankaccount,soafewweeksagoIdecideditmightbeagoodideatosell

someofmyBTCforcash.Ihaddonethisacoupleoftimesbeforeandhadapositiveexperience,so

hadnowhimsaboutdoingitagain.



SoIreceivedarequestfromsomeonewhowantedtobuy500euroworthofBTCinaf2ftransaction.I

drovedowntomeetingspot,mettheguy,hegavemethe500euroandbasicallyranbacktohiscar

anddroveoff.Iobviouslyfoundthisstrange,butitwasanescrowtx,soIreleasedescrowfrommy

phoneandwentbacktomycar.



Onmydriveback,InoticedthattherewasaFordMondeobehindme(thekindofcarthatisusually

usedbyundercoverpoliceinmycity).Itseemedtobefollowingme,Ididn'thaveallmypaperworkon

mycarinorder,soIdecidedtotakeadetourdownsomelocalbackroadsandshakeit.



Soanyways,Ilostthecar,drovehomeandthoughtnothingofthisstrangeencounter.

137

Overthenextfewdays,Inoticedstrangeneedlemarksandtinytearsinallofmymail,Ialsonoticeda

reallystrangeparkedcaroutsidemyhouseoneday,whenIwalkedovertoittoaskthemwhatthey

weredoingthere,theydroveoffatspeed.Iprobablyshould'vebeensuspiciousthen,butIhaddone

nothingwrongandshruggeditoff.



Acoupleofdayslater,Iwakeuptothesoundofmydoorbeingsmashedin.Irundowntofind5police

officersinmyhouse.Theyshowedmeasearchwarrantunderthemisuseofdrugsact.Thenational

drugsunitwereparkedoutsidewithsnifferdogsready,theyleftafterafewminutesthoughanddidn't

comeinsidewiththedogs.ThepolicetoldmethepersonImetonlocalbitcoinswasanundercover

policeofficer,andtheyhadcopiedtheregistrationnumberoffofmycar andgotmyaddressfromit.



Theystrippedthewholehousedown,turnedeverythingupsidedownlookingfordrugs.Theyfound1

jointofweedandtheyalsoseizedaclockwhichtheythoughtwasadigitalscale(itwasn't)and

informedmethattheyweregoingtoprosecutemeforintenttosupply,eventhoughIwasn'tselling,

andIshowedthemaprescriptionfromadoctorinanothercountry(thatisn'tvalidhere)andtoldthem

thesuperintendantofthelocalpolicestationhadinformallytoldmethattheywouldn'tprosecuteme

forpossessionifitwasmedicaluseeventhoughIwastechnicallybreakingthelaw.Theyalsofound

paddedenvelopesandaccusedmeofsellingdrugsthroughthepost(acompleteliewithnoevidence).



TheythentoldmethatifIdidn'tgivethemallthemessages&phonenumbersofeveryoneIhadmet

tosellBTCthattheyweregoingtoseizeallmybitcoinminers,computersetcandhavethem

"analyzed".Iwasabouttomovecountryinthenextfewdaysanddidn'twantthehassleofhavingto

dealwiththis,soItoldthemthatIhaddeletedallthemessages(whichIdid)butthatIwouldbeable

togetthembackiftheyleftmycomputersthere,andthatIwouldcooperatefully(I'mobviouslynot

goingtocooperate).TheythenleftandIchangedmyflightdateandbasicallyfledthecountrythenext

day,luckilyIwasplanningonmovinginaweekanyways.



So,awarningtoyouguys,becarefuldoingf2ftransactionsorbuying/sellingBTCingeneral,even

thoughwe'renotbreakingthelawitdoesn'tmeanyouwon'tgetunwantedattentionfromthepolice.



https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=174918.msg1820363#msg1820363



Thisstoryabove,Idonotknowifitistrueeither,butitissomethingtothinkabout.Accordingtothe

OP,lawenforcementwantedallhismessagesandphonenumbers,obviouslytotryandfindother

peopleinvolvedinmoneylaunderingandthedrugtrade.Hewasscaredenoughtohavedeletedthe

originalpost,butasImentioned,someotherpeoplequoteditandIwasabletograbit.



Tosummarize,thepolicearelikelywatchingtheseBitcointransactions tosomedegreeandyouneed

toestablishabuyerorsellerthatyoucantrust.Onceyoufindagoodone,stickwiththem,eveniftheir

ratesgoup.Trytosearchforpeoplewithestablishedfeedback,askforIDifyouwant,andmakesure

youhavenothingincriminatingonyou,oratyourhomearoundthetimeofthesetransactions.You

never knowwhenyoucouldbetryingtooffloadyourBTCtoacop!

LOCALBITCOINS PART 2 - THIEVES, SCAMMERS AND COUNTERFEIT

138

BILLS!

Thispostisacontinuationfromthelastone.ThethreatofbeingrippedofforscammedonLocalBitcoin

isaveryrealthreat.Onethatyouneedtobeawareof.



Iwanttoshareafewstorieswithyou.

Quote

Goingtokeepitshortandsimple.Iliveinamajormetropolitancity,anddoalotofbusinessof

craigslist.Meetinperson,publiclocation,inspecttheitem,handcashandbeonmyway.I'msureI

have25+transactions,neverbeenscammed.



Today,Isawsomeoneincludejustasafootnote"Ialsoacceptbitcoins".Not"Ionlyacceptbitcoins"or

"plzsendbitcoinsimail"justalittlefootnotethattheyarefinewithit.



Contacted,mentionedpurchasingincash,thatwasfine,andattheenddecidedtodoitinbitcoins.

Broughtmylaptop,publicwifi,tookaseatataMcDonalds.InspectedtheheadphonesPerfect

condition,asdescribed,everythingwaslookinggood.



Hehandsmeapapercutoutwithawalletaddress,Ikeyitintoblockchain,heislookingattheaddress

onscreen.Iconfirmtheprice(80USD,was.8xxbtc),hesaysgood,Ihitsend,thelittleblockchainbeep

playsoverthespeakers.



Hecasuallystandsup,hastheheadphones,andwalksaway.Istandupprettyquick,andshoutafterto

him,accusinghimoftheft.Hesaysaquickcommentaroundthelinesof"Ifyoucan'tpaytheprice

don'twastemytime,Isaid$80"andwalksout.



Icontemplatechasingafterhim,callingthepolice,or fuckmaybegettingsomepublicattention,thenI

realizedIdidn'thavealegtostandon.



Cameraswouldshowaguysittingdownatatable,showingmeheadphones,meinspectingthem,then

playingonacomputerforabit,withhimwalkingoff.Iattempttoaccusehimoftheft,heprobably

didn'tevenhave$80inhiswallet,nothingwouldshowmehandinghimcash,andtheworstpart,asI

sattherewithamixtureofadrenaline,rageandfrustrationisthatItwasimpossibleformetogetthat

moneyback.



Canyouimaginetryingtotalktothepoliceaboutthis?Soyeahofficer,Isenthimbitcoins,avirtually

currencyforthiscraigslisttransaction,andthenhewalksoffSir,doyouhaveanyproofofthis?Well,

hegavemethisaddressofrandomletters,butIswearit'shis,butitisn'tthereanymore,it'sgonetoa

mixingservicewhereitgetspu



Yougetthepoint.Ihaveadecentlyhardtimeexplainingbitcoinstomyeager,willingtolearnfriends.I

can'timaginetryingtoexplainittoanofficerwhothinksIjusttriedtogivesomeoneWoWgoldfor

headphones.



139

So, isthere anysafetyprecautionoutthere I didn'ttake, or shouldyoujustkeepBTC andCraigslistas

farapartaspossible?



Thanksforreadingtherant.Sorryforthewalloftext.IguessIjustkindaneededtogetitoutthere.



http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1b89wm/i_just_got_robbed_blind_of_bitcoins_in_person

_im/



Remember,theriskofsomethingliketheabovehappeningincreaseswiththeamountofBitcoin

beingtradedforFIATcurrency(Governmentpaperorelectroniccurrency).Soifyouaretryingto

unloadafewBitcoinstoaseller,youmayfindyourselfinasimilarsituationfromtimetotimeanditis

besttoprepareyourselfincasethishappen.Bringafriendwithyou,havethemwaitatthedoorin

casethepersontriestorunaway,orbetteryet,multiplefriends.Ifyouliveinacountryorstatewhere

itislegaltocarryaconcealedweapon,thenyoumightwanttoconsiderdoingthisaswell.

Quote

Adangerousnewscammingtrend?£15,000tooclose



Soitappearsthatunfortunatelyscammershavechangedtheirtactics.Ihavebeenadvisedbypolice

nottodisclosetheusernameordetailsofthepersonconcerneduntiltheirinvestigationiscomplete

butIamoktodisclosethestoryasawarningtoothers.TodayIwenttomeetabuyerwhowaslooking

for£15,000worthofbitcoins andwantedtopayincashbutthisparticular userhadagoodbuyerhistory

soalthoughcautiousIagreedtomeethiminLondoninaplaceIknewtherewouldbeCCTVandsecurity

formyownsafety.Arrivingtheretodayinapublicplace,allwentfineinitiallyfromchattingwithhim

butwhenIpulledoutaquickformtocomplywithAML'sheseemedveryuncomfortablewhich

althoughIdidn'tshowit,itsentalarmbellsringinginmyheadashekindofcoveredhisIDwhilstin

terriblehandwritingfilledouttheformanddoneacompletelyunreadablesignaturelookingnothing

likethename.Atthispoint,Iwasverytemptedtocallthedealoffsimplybecausemygutinstinctwas

reallytellingmetobackoutofthisbuthebroughtuphehadtowithdrawanother£200fromhisbank

andsoIaskedhimwhatbankhewaswith,whichwasNationwide,whichIamtoo,soIwentwithhim

tothebranchwiththecashandformsetcinmybagandsaidIwouldjustsitinthebranchsinceithad

air conditioningandwasonly5storesaway.Inmyheadatthispoint,Iwastryingtogetintothebranch

andseeifIcouldoverhearthenamehewaswithdrawingfromandalsotoseeifheactuallyownedthe

cardhehadinhishandsoIcouldmatchthedetailsupwithwhatwasontheform.



Uponarrivalatthebranch,hehandedhiscardoverandthebanktellergaveeverythingaquickglance

andaskedhimforfurtherIDandasecuritychecksowhilsthedonethat,IthoughtIwouldaskthe

tellernexttohimwhowasfreeiftheycouldputitontheircashcountingmachineandshowedallthe

relevantdocumentation.Thecashwentbehindthecounterwhensheagreedandputitstraightonthe

machinewithoutevenlookingatthedocumentssurprisingly.Immediatelyasthishappened,themale

buyingthebitcoinssaidtome“Whatareyoudoing?”lookingterrifiedandvisiblysweatingandshaking

andIwasabsolutelycertainsomethingwasverywrongatthispointandbeforeIcouldturntothe

cashierandaskhertokeepholdofthedocuments&cashandcallsecurityandthepoliceforme(Iwas

planningtowriteitonthepieceofpaperinmyhandtobesubtle),Iheardaloudbeepingsoundfrom

behindthedeskwhichwasthecashmachine,rejectingeverynoteinthepilebecausetheywere

140

counterfeitnotes,£15,000worthofthem. Asyoucanimagine, we had3securityguards ontous in

secondsandpolicearrivedonly2minuteslaterandasmyselfandtheothermalesattherein

handcuffs,thepolicebegantoaskquestionstomeandtheothermalewastakenintoanotherroom

insidethebranch.



FortunatelythisdayIhadmyCSVdumpsofrecenttransactions,aletterfrommyHMRC

communicationsrecentlyaspermyotherpostandalsoabankstatementtoverifytherecent

transactions,pluscopiesoftheemailsIhadexchangedwiththemaleconcernedasIbringthemto

everymeetinginmybagforreferencepurposesifanythingarises. Soonenough,havingwentbackto

theoriginalplacewemetandreviewingCCTVfootageofthewholething,Iwasreleasedbuttheykept

everythinginmybag,allthemoneyofcourseandfrozenmyaccountswhilsttheyinvestigatewhichI

compliedwithvoluntarily.Themalewhopassedthecounterfeitnoteshasbeentakentothepolice

stationandwillbeincourttomorrowandIwasadvisedbytheInspectorhewillprobablybereferredto

thecrowncourtonthematterandisbeingheldincustodyuntilhistrial.



ThebankandpolicewerebothpresentforthisandthebankstronglyrecommendedIbecarefulin

futureandtransactionsthatlargecanberunthroughthebankifneedbeandtheycanbethethird

partytosignitandcheckeverythingoutfor£35,whichwillcompletelycovermefortheAML'sover

£10,000andthebuyerdoesn'tneedtogoonthebankrecordsbutthebankwillverifytheIDisrealfor

me insomebranchestoo.WhilstIwasthereIalsowasgivena10packofpenstochecknoteswithfor

futuredealsandpolicehaveaskedmetoceasetradinguntilthiscaseisresolvedandbepreparedtobe

askedtocometocourttopresenttestimonyifrequired.



AgainIcan'tnameandshametheindividualduetoapolicerequest,butforwhatitisworth,thatisthe

storyandlessonIhavelearnedfromtodayanddespitethemanybigdealsIhavedoneinthepastand

themanyshadycharacters,thisonehasreallyrattledmeup.



https://localbitcoins.com/forums/#!/regional/uk#adangerousnewscammingtr



So,anotherrecommendationifyouaredealingwithcashoftenistogetyourselfsomecurrency

detectionpensandablacklighttocheckthebillsforhiddenlogos.Aquicksearchonlinewillgiveyou

anideaofwhattolookforinthecurrencyyourcountryuses.Hereisonemorestoryaboutcounterfeit

money.

Quote

Ioccasionallytradebitcoinsvialocalbitcoins.com,toensurethatIhaveagoodfeelfortheliquidityof

themarketandtheabilitytoexitatwill.I'veneverhadanyproblemsbefore.



Lastweek,Irespondedtoarequesttobuy$500worthofbitcoin,viaalocalbuyerhereinSan

Francisco.



Nothingunusualaboutthemeet,orthebuyer,otherthanthefactthathewantedtofindacontactfor

regularandhigheramountbuys.Ithinkhewastryingtogetmetoincreasetheamount.



Anyhow,Ihadfunded$500inbitcoins,inescrowwithlocalbitcoins.comandwesatdown todothe

141

trade. He gave me 25 x$20 bills,whichI counted. The billsfeltabitstiff, like brandnewbillsfroman

ATM.Ilookedatthemcarefully(orsoIthought)andtheyseemedreal.Ipocketedthemoneyand

movedon.



Fastforwardthreedayslater,Igooutwithafriend.Justbeforeleavingthehouse,Igrabafew$20s

andputtheminmywallet.AtthefirstbarIpaidforadrink,thebartendercamrunningout5min later

intothebarareatofindme.HeshowedmethebillIhadgivenhim,said"thisisfake,itfellapartwhen

itgotwet".Trueenough,thebillhadnothelduptowaterlikeanormalbill.Ishowedhimtheother

moneyIhadonmeandheconfirmeditwasallfake,exceptforone$20Ihadfrombefore.SoIpaidfor

mydrinkwiththerealmoneyandleft.



Forthosewondering,thebillsareindistinguishablefromreal$20sunlessyouknowexactlywhatto

lookfor.Thesmellandtextureareslightlyoff.Themostimportantclueisthattheiridescent"20"on

thesidethatchangesfromredgreentoblackgreendependingontheangleyoulookatit.Onthefake

billsitdoesnotchangecolor.



Formynextbitcoinsale,IwillbecarryingaUVlightandpenandwillbemorecarefulinscrutinyofthe

bills.Asalways,IwillonlymeetinpublicandIamnever unarmed,butnowIalsohavecounterfeit

detectiongear.



SellerBewareCounterfeitmoneybeingpassedtobitcoinsellersinSanFrancisco



Edit:Iwillbewritinganarticleaboutthisforletstalkbitcoin.comandwillprovidelinkstodetectiontips

andproductstohelpwithdetection.Willalsoprovideamoredetailedstoryandpicturesofthenotes.

Standbyafewdaysforthat...



Edit2:Iwillbereviewingthefollowingproductsagainstthesecounterfeitnotes,inanupcomingarticle

forletstalkbitcoin.com:



Drimarkandsharpiebrandpens

UVlight+magnifyingcombos

Magnetictesters



http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1nj88k/i_was_given_counterfeit_20_bills_in_exchange_f

or/



Ifthisisnotenoughtomakeyoufeelabituncomfortable,thenyouneedtoreadthemagain.But

whatyoucandoissimplylearnhowtoinspectbillsforauthenticity.Again,getyourselfahandheld

blacklight,acurrencymarkerandanythingelsethatappliestoyourcountry'scurrencyandyoucan

likelyprotectyourselfagainstthis.Ifthepersonbuyingthe Bitcoinsoffofyouseemsnervous,orlike

they areinahurrytogetaway,thentakegreatercautionwiththisbuyer.Alwaystrytofindbuyers

withgoodfeedback(althoughthisisnotperfect),possiblyaskforIDifyouwouldfeelmore

comfortable,andbringafriendwithyou,butdonotmakeitobviousthatyoubroughtafriendwith

142

you. Gettingscammed, robbedor rippedoffsucks, andyouneedtodowhatever youcantoavoidit

happeningtoyou.

LOCALBITCOINS PART 3 - MORE SCAM STORIES

ThispostismorestoriesaboutpeoplebeingscammedorrobbedonLocalBitcoins.

Quote

AmbysWorld:



justgotrobbedinOklahomaCityEdmond,akidabout20yearsold,brownishblondehair,6fttall,

150160lbs



$950.00



becarefuldoingbitcointrades.Iknowit'stoughtogettrust,somyadviceisstartsmallandafteryou

havegainedtrust,makesurethemoneyisinyourpocketbeforeyoureleasethecoins!!



Iguessitisjustthepricetopaytolearnalesson.



realestone:

canyougivemoredetailswhathappenedexactly?



AmbysWorld:



Wemet,insideacoffeeshop,introducedmyself,askedhimifhehaddonetradesbefore.Hesaidhe

haddoneseveral.Iwantedtomakesurehewasfamiliarwithhowthesiteworkedandthentoseeif

hehadanyquestionsaboutbitcoinsingeneral.Ireleasedthecoins,andwestartedtoshakehandsas

hewashandingmetheenvelope.Hejerkedtheenvelopeoutofmyhandandtookoffrunning.

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EverypersonIhavemethasbeenawesomeandexcitedaboutbitcoins.SoIletmyguard

down.Showedupwearingflipflops.Istartedtopursueafterhehadalreadytaken3steps,butthen

realizedIwouldnotbeabletoruninflippersforverylongandstoppedafterabout100yards.

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TheworstpartisthatIhadmy14yearolddaughterwithme.Thereisaspecialplaceinhellforpeople

likethis!

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https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=288053.0

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HereisastoryfromagroupofpeopletryingtotestoutLocalBitcoinsforthefirsttimeandendedup

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losingtheir Bitcoins due totheir ownignorance. Butthebuyer couldhavedone therightthing, anddid

not.

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Bitcoininhand,wedecidedtotakealookatLocalbitcoinandseehoweasythesystemisforsomeone

whodoesnotknowthelingoanddoesnothavemuchexperiencewithcomputerstosee,whatthe

difficultiescouldbe.

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SowefoundabuyerandproceededtodoanexchangeofasmallamountofBitcoins.Everything

lookedgreatatfirstaswesignedup,gotverifiedandthenproceededtotransactwiththetrader.We

sentourBitcoinsandwhereconfrontedwithsomewindowswhichbegantoconfuseourtester,who

mistakenlyconfirmedthetransaction,minutesaftersendingtheBitcoins.Ourtesterwasnotsureif

they neededtoclicktheconfirmationtoadvisethetraderthatthecoinswheresent,sospentsome

timeintheFAQtofindoutwhattodonext.Noinformationwasfoundbyourtester,whothenguessed

thatsincetherewasnomentionofit,thenitmustbeatrivialissueandconfirmedthetransaction

anyway. Whathappenednextworriedouttesterasthetransactionwasmarkedasclosedandtheyhad

senttheBitcoinstothetraderwithoutknowingifthefiatmoneywouldbedepositedintothebank

account.Wewaited24hourstoconfirmacashtransactionintoadesignatedaccountandloand

behold, itsnotthere.

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Nextweproceededtocontactthetraderandasofwriting,wehavenotheardfromthem.We

contactedLocalbitcoinsupportandbeganaticket.Shortlyafterwards,wereceivedanemailfrom

Localbitcoinsupportstaffandexplainedthesituationandwheretoldthattheconfirmationdidneedto

bedoneAFTERweconfirmedthefundshadbeenplacedintoourdesignatedaccountbythetrader.

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Afterafewemailstothesupportstaff,wedidexplainthatwewheretestingthesystemuseabilityfor

theeverydaymomandpopsituation,becauseifBitcoinistobeusedproperly,itneedstohaveaneasy

(dumbeddown)systemsotheinexperiencedusercanmakeatradewithoutmakingmistakeslikeour

testerdid.

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http://mentaso.com/bitcoinnews/item/224localbitcoinsscammedonourfirsttestofthe

system.html

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Thisnext oneisanattemptataphishingscam.Aphishingscamiswhensomebodysendsyoutoa

URLthatlooksliketherealURL,butitisactuallysetupsothatwhenyoulogin,itstealsyourlogin

credentialsandtheattackertakesoveryouraccount.Inthiscase,takeovertheLocalBitcoinaccount

andstealtheBitcoin

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Userrequestednearly$2kCADworthofbitcoinsusingmylocalbitcoinsad.

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Immediatelyaskedtomovetheconversationtotextmessaging,askedme“howmanycoinsIhavein

there(localbitcoinswallet)”then(aftersomedawdlingandchitchat)askedmeto“checkoutandread

hisotherlocalbitcoinsadfirst”.

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Includedwas aURLtolocalbitcoinis.comwithan adurllongenoughI knowthis was copy/pastedand

notatypo.

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AquickWHOISrevealsadomainbyproxy,butsomegooglefuonthecontacttelephonenumber

registeredtothedomainrevealsthatdomainsrelatedtothisphonenumberhavebeeninvolvedin

otherscams.

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http://bitcoinviews.com/scamalertlocalbitcoiniscomscammercontactinglocalbitcoinscomusers/

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Luckilyfortheseller,hedidnotfallforthescam.Butanybodynotcarefulenoughcouldfallvictimto

thisscam.Alwaysmakesureyoureadtheurlclosely.

LOCALBITCOINS PART 4 - SELLERS BUSTED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING

Hereisasimplecopyandpastestoryyoushouldbeawareof.

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StateauthoritiesinFloridaonThursdayannouncedcriminalchargestargetingthreemenwhoallegedly

ranillegalbusinessesmovinglargeamountsofcashinandoutoftheBitcoinvirtualcurrency.Experts

saythisislikelythefirstcaseinwhichBitcoinvendorshavebeenprosecutedunderstateantimoney

launderinglaws,andthatprosecutionslikethesecouldshutdownoneofthelastremainingavenues

forpurchasingBitcoinsanonymously.

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WorkinginconjunctionwiththeMiamiBeachPoliceDepartmentandtheMiamiDadeStateAttorney’s

office,undercoverofficersandagentsfromtheU.S.SecretService’sMiamiElectronicCrimesTask

Forcecontactedseveralindividualswhowerefacilitatinghighdollartransactionsvialocalbitcoins.com,

asitethathelpsmatchbuyersandsellersofthevirtualcurrencysothattransactionscanbecompleted

facetoface.

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Oneofthosecontactedwasalocalbitcoins.comusernicknamed“Michelhack.”Accordingtothisuser’s

profile,Michelhackhasatleast100confirmedtradesinthepastsixmonthsinvolvingmorethan150

Bitcoins(morethan$110,000intoday’svalue),anda99percentpositive“feedback”scoreonthe

marketplace.TheundercoveragentandMichelhackallegedlyarrangedafacetofacemeetingand

exchangedasingleBitcoinfor$1,000,apricethatinvestigatorssayincludedanalmost17percent

conversionfee.

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Accordingtocourtdocuments,theagenttoldMichelhackthathewantedtousetheBitcoinsto

purchasestolencreditcardsonline.Afterthattrustbuildingtransaction,Michelhackallegedlyagreed

tohandleamuchlargerdeal:Converting$30,000incashintoBitcoins.

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InvestigatorshadlittletroubletyingthatMichelhackidentityto30yearoldMichellAbnerEspinozaof

MiamiBeach.Espinozawasarrestedyesterdaywhenhemetwithundercoverinvestigatorstofinalize

thetransaction.EspinozaischargedwithfelonyviolationsofFlorida’slawagainstunlicensedmoney

transmitters–whichprohibits“currencyorpaymentinstrumentsexceeding$300butlessthan

$20,000inany12monthperiod”—andFlorida’santimoneylaunderingstatutes,whichprohibitthe

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trade or business incurrencyof more than$10,000.

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Policealsoconductedasearchwarrantonhisresidencewithanordertoseizecomputersystemsand

digitalmedia.AlsoarrestedThursdayandchargedwithviolatingbothFloridalawsisPascalReid,29,a

CanadiancitizenwhowaslivinginMiramar,Fla.Allegedlyoperatingasproy33onlocalbitcoins.com,

Reidwasarrestedwhilemeetingwithanundercoveragenttofinalizeadealtosell$30,000worthof

Bitcoins.

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DocumentsobtainedfromtheFloridastatecourtsystemshowthatinvestigatorsbelieveReidhad403

BitcoinsinhisonphoneBitcoinwalletalone—whichatthetimewastheequivalentofapproximately

USD$316,000.ThosesamedocumentsshowthattheundercoveragenttoldReidhewantedtousethe

BitcoinstobuycreditcardsstolenintheTargetbreach.

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NicholasWeaver,aresearcherattheInternationalComputerScienceInstitute(ICSI)andatthe

UniversityofCalifornia,BerkeleyandkeenfollowerofBitcoinrelatednews,saidheisunawareof

anothercaseinwhichstatelawhasbeenusedagainstaBitcoinvendor.AccordingtoWeaver,the

Floridacaseissignificantbecauselocalbitcoins.comisamongthelastremainingplacesthatAmericans

canusetopurchaseBitcoinsanonymously.

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“ThebiggestproblemthatBitcoinfacesisactuallyselfimposed,becauseit’salwayshardtobuy

Bitcoins,”Weaversaid.“ThereasonisthatBitcointransactionsareirreversible,andthereforeany

purchaseofBitcoinsmustbemadewithsomethingirreversible—namelycash.Andthatmeansyou

eitherhavetowaitseveraldaysforthewiretransferorbanktransfertogothrough,orifyouwantto

buythemquicklyyoupaywithcashthroughasitelikelocalbitcoins.com.”

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OneverypopularmethodofquicklypurchasingBitcoins—BitInstant—wasshutteredlastyear.Last

month,BitInstantCEOCharlieShremwasarrestedformoneylaundering,followingallegationsthathe

helpedamaninFloridaconvertmorethanamilliondollarsinBitcoinsforuseontheonlinedrug

bazaarSilkRoad.

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It’sstillunclearhowthedefendantsEspinozaandReidwereabletoobtainsomanyBitcoinsforsale,

althoughareviewofMichelhack’sprofilesuggestslittlemorethanarbitrage—thatis,buyingBitcoins

for$700apieceandsellingthemforacouplehundreddollarsmore.

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ThereisnothingthatlinkseitherdefendanttotheSilkRoadtrade.Butit’snotablethatathird

individualchargedwithmoneylaunderingaspartofthisinvestigation—28yearoldCanadiancitizen

VincenteLoyola—iscurrentlyservinga12monthsentenceataU.S.federaldetentioncenterfor

narcoticstrafficking.

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Inanycase,Weaversaidheanticipatesthatmorestateswillsoonseektocrackdownonhighdollar

Bitcoinsellersonlocalbitcoins.com.“I’dexpectmanymorestatecaseslikethisonebecauseitwillact

tostranglethelifebloodoftheonlinedarkmarkets,”suchasSilkRoad,Weaversaid.“Ifyouwanta

significantamountofanonymousBitcoins,rightnowthiscommunityisabouttheonlymechanismstill

available.”

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NewsoftheFloridaactions comeson theheelsofthearraignmentofRoss Ulbricht— the alleged

onetimeowneroftheSilkRoad.UlbrichtwasscheduledtobearraignedinNewYorktoday.



ThecourtdocumentsinthiscasealsoofferagreatexampleofthetraceabilityofBitcointransactions

—apotentialdangerforboththoseseekinganonymouspaymentsandforlawenforcementofficials

posingascriminalsaspartofanundercoverinvestigation.TheICSI’sWeavernotedthat,byexamining

thetimesandtransactionsinthecriminalcomplaint,itappearsthatthisistheBitcoinwalletassociated

withtheundercoverofficer.



https://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/02/floridatargetshighdollarbitcoinexchangers/

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Asyoucansee,thecopsarewatchingLocalBitcoins.LaunderingBitcoinsislikelaunderingrealmoney.

Youneedtohaveawaytojustifywherethemoneycamefrom.Backintheday,theMafiahadsmall

legitimate businessesitwouldrunthatitcouldclaimasanincome,andtheymightfixthenumbersa

bitandsaytheymademoremoneythantheyreallydid.Thiswouldprovideanincometheycoulduse

asareasonforhavingmoney.Ifyouaresomebodywhodoesnotwork,andonlyselldrugsonSilk

Road, andaretryingtocashoutyourcoins,thenIhopeyouhavealegitimatereasonforholdingthat

manyBitcoins,otherwiseyoucouldenduplikethesetwoguys.

HIDING TOR FROM YOUR ISP - PART 1 - BRIDGES AND PLUGGABLE

TRANSPORTS

Thispostisgoingtotalkaboutsomethingthathasbeencommonlydiscussedontheforumsrecently.

HowcanIhidemytorusagefrommyISP?



PeoplearemoreworriedabouthidingtheirtorusagefromtheirISP,thanhidingitfromaVPN.There

seemstobeabackandforthdebateaboutwhetherusingaVPNwillorwillnotprotectyou.Whether

ornottheVPNcanbeconvincedtologyourconnection,andsoforth.Afewofmypreviousposts

regardingLulzSecandtheYardBirdpedophileringshaveshownthatthosewhorelyonVPNstoprotect

themarehistoricallyknowntoendupinjail.Evenourfriendwewererecentlyintroducedto,The

Grugqsays,TOR>VPNisok,butVPN>TOR,gotojail.



InmypreviouspostsaboutVPN>TORandTOR>VPN,Itriedtoremainneutralinthatyoushould

beabletomakeyourowndecisionsabouthowyouwishtoprotectyourself.Butjustremember,atthe

endoftheday,nobodyisgoingtogotojailforyou.Ifyousimplywanttohidethefactthatyouare

usingtorfromyourISP,thenwehaveotheroptionsthanaVPN.Wehavebridges,andseveraldifferent

pluggabletransports.Whatarethese,andhowcanweusetheminTails?

Quote

Whatbridgesareandwhentousethem



WhenusingTorwithTailsinitsdefaultconfiguration,anyonewhocanobservethetrafficofyour

Internetconnection(forexampleyourInternetServiceProviderandperhapsyourgovernmentandlaw

enforcementagencies)canknowthatyouareusingTor.



147

Thismay be anissue if youare inacountrywhere thefollowingapplies:



1.UsingTorisblockedbycensorship:sinceallconnectionstotheInternetareforcedtogothrough

Tor,thiswouldrenderTailsuselessforeverythingexceptforworkingofflineondocuments,etc.



2.UsingTorisdangerousorconsideredsuspicious:inthiscasestartingTailsinitsdefault

configurationmightgetyouintoserioustrouble.



Torbridges,alsocalledTorbridgerelays,arealternativeentrypointstotheTornetworkthatarenotall

listedpublicly.Usingabridgemakesitharder,butnotimpossible,foryourInternetServiceProviderto

knowthatyouareusingTor.



https://tails.boum.org/doc/first_steps/startup_options/bridge_mode/index.en.html



Thefirstthingwearegoingtodoisgetsomebridges.LetusdothisbeforeweconfigureTailstouse

bridges,becauseonceTailsisinbridgemode,wewillnotbeabletoconnecttotorwithoutworking

bridges.Sothefirstthingwewanttodoisvisitthefollowingwebpage.



https://bridges.torproject.org/bridges



Entertheimpossiblydifficultcaptcha,andclick"Iamhuman",andyoushouldgetalistofbridgesthat

looklikethis.Theseareactualbridgespulledfromthetorbridgespage.

Quote

5.20.130.121:900163dd98cd106a95f707efe538e98e7a6f92d28f94

106.186.19.58:443649027f9ea9a8e115787425430460386e14e0ffa

69.125.172.116:44343c3a8e5594d8e62799e96dc137d695ae4bd24b2



ThesebridgesarepubliclyavailableontheTorProjectwebsite,sotheymayornotmaybethebest

choicetouse,buttheyareagoodstart.Anotheroptionistosendanemailto

bridges@bridges.torproject.orgwithamessageinthebodysaying"getbridges"withoutthequotes.

ThiswillonlyworkifsentfromaGmailaccountorYahoo,unfortunately.Ifyouwanttousethis,setup

theemailaccountusingtorandyouwillreceivealistofaround3bridgesshortlythereafter.Savethem

somewhereyoucanusethemthenexttimeyoubootupTails,orwritethemdown.



Ok,sonowwehaveourbridges.HowdoweusebridgesinTails?Thisisanoptionweneedto

activatewhenwebootupTails.Toactivatethebridgemode,wewillbeaddingthebridge bootoption

tothebootmenu.ThebootmenuisthefirstscreentoappearwhenTailsstarts.Itistheblackscreen

thatsaysBootTailsandgivesyoutwooptions.1.Live,2.Live(FailSafe).Whenyouareonthisscreen,

pressTabandalistofbootoptionswillappearintheformoftextatthebottomofthescreen.Toadda

newbootoption,addaSpacethentype"bridge"withoutthequotesandpressenter.Youhavenow

activatedbridgemode.



OnceTailsbootsupcompletely,youwillgetawarningthatyouhaveenteredbridgemodeandnotto

deletethedefaultIPaddressinthere,whichis127.0.0.1:*.Thisisadvicewewillfollow,sojustclickOK

andthesettingswindowfortorwillpopup.Atthispointyouneedtoaddyourbridges.Soyouare

148

goingtotake thethree bridgesyougot,andenterthe IPaddress andtheport. Ifwe were goingtouse

theexampleabovethisiswhatwewouldenter.

Quote

5.20.130.121:9001

106.186.19.58:443

69.125.172.116:443



Foreachbridgeyouadd,typeitintheavailabletextboxwhereitsays"AddABridge"andthenclick

thegreen+buttontoaddthatbridge.Youwillneedtoaddonebridgeatatime.Onceyouarefinished

addingyourbridges,youcanclickOK.Atthispoint,youryellowtoronioniconinthetoprightshould

turngreenshortlyafterandyouwillbeconnectedtothetornetworkusingabridge.Again,sincethese

bridgesarelesslikelytobeknownbyyourISP,theyarelesslikelytoknowthatyouareusingtorwhen

youusebridges.



Youmaywishtolookupyourbridgebeforeyouuseithowever.Maybeyouwanttofindoutwhere

yourbridgeislocated,maybeyouwanttoseewhoishostingthebridge,andyoucandothisbylooking

foraIPlookupserviceonline,bydoingasearchandtypingintheIPaddress.Thethreelistedabove

arelocatedinthefollowinglocations.

Quote

5.20.130.121Country:Lithuania

106.186.19.58:443Country:Japan

69.125.172.116:443Country:NewJersey,UnitedStates



Andwiththat,youcandecidewhichbridgewouldbeabetterchoiceforyoutouse.Isuggest

however,thatyougoandgetnewbridgesanddonotusetheonesIlistedaboveforobviousreasons

thattheyarenowlinkedtoSilkRoadusersbymepostingthemonthisforum.Ishouldnotethatthe

waybridgeshidethefactthatyouareusingtorfromyourISP,isthatyouareconnectedtoanIP

addressthatislikelynotknowntoyourISPtobeaffiliatedwithtorentrynodes.



Whilebridgesareagoodidea,unfortunatelytheymaynotbeenough.AccordingtoJacob

Applebaum,(atordeveloper)bridgetrafficisstillvulnerabletosomethingcalledDPI(deeppacket

inspection)toidentifyinternettrafficflowsbyprotocol,inotherwordstheycantellyouare usingtor

byanalyzingthetraffic.WhiletorusesbridgerelaystogetaroundacensorthatblocksbyIPaddress,

thecensorcanuseDPItorecognize andfiltertortrafficflowsevenwhentheyconnecttounexpected

IPaddresses.ThisislesslikelytobedonebyyourISP,andmorelikelytobedonebytheNSA,orother

oppresivegovernmentslikeinChinaandIran,soyoucanchooseifthisisanissueforyou.

Quote

Lately,censorshavefoundwaystoblockTorevenwhenclientsareusingbridges.Theyusuallydothis

byinstallingboxesinISPsthatpeekatnetworktrafficanddetectTor;whenTorisdetectedtheyblock

thetrafficflow.



TocircumventsuchsophisicatedcensorshipTorintroducedobfuscatedbridges.Thesebridgesuse

specialpluginscalledpluggabletransportswhichobfuscatethetrafficflowofTor,makingitsdetection

149

harder.



https://www.torproject.org/docs/bridges#PluggableTransports



Pluggabletransportsareamorenew,butlesstalkedabouttechnologybeingimplementedbytorto

disguisethefactthatyouareusingtortoyourISPandothercensors.Asmentionedabove,itattempts

totransformyourtortrafficintoinnocentlookingtrafficthatwouldhopefullybeindistinguishablefrom

normalwebbrowsingtraffic.Currentlythemostpopularpluggabletransportsareobfuscatedbridges.

Obfuscationbydefinition,isthehidingoftheintendedmeaningincommunication,making

communicationconfusing,wilfullyambiguous,andhardertointerpret.Obfuscatedbridgesactually

transformthetraffictolooklikerandompacketsofdata.Obfuscatedbridgescurrentlyhave2

protocols.



1.obfs2

2.obfs3



Obfs2(TheTwobfuscator)istalkedaboutatlengthatthefollowingofficialpage.



https://gitweb.torproject.org/pluggabletransports/obfsproxy.git/blob/HEAD:/doc/obfs2/obfs2

protocolspec.txt



Butforthelaymansoutthere,basicallyobfs2usesaprotocolthatdisguisesyourtraffictolooklike

randomdata,whereastorhasamoredistinctstructuretoit.However,itshouldbenotedinthecase

ofobfs2,thatifanattackersniffstheinitialhandshakebetweenyourcomputerandtheobfuscated

bridge,theycouldgettheencryptionkeyusedtodisguiseyourtrafficanduseittodecryptthe

disguisedtrafficwhichwouldrevealitastortraffic.Theywouldnotbeabletodecryptyourtortraffic,

buttheywouldbeabletoseeyouareusingtor.ThisisnotlikelysomethingyourISPwoulddo,butit

maybesomethinglawenforcementortheNSAwoulddo.SoifyouareonlyworriedaboutyourISP,

thenobfs2wouldlikelysuffice.



Obfs3(TheThreebfuscator)istalkedaboutatlengthatthefollowingofficialpage.



https://gitweb.torproject.org/pluggabletransports/obfsproxy.git/blob/HEAD:/doc/obfs3/obfs3

protocolspec.txt



Obfs3usesaverysimilarprotocoltodisguiseyourtrafficasobfs2,howeveritusesamoreadvanced

methodofaninitialhandshakecalledtheDiffieHellmankeyexchange.Theyhoweverfoundsome

vulnerabilitiesintheprotocolandhadtogoastepfurtherandcustomizetheDiffieHellmankey

exchangetomakeitanevenmorerobustmethodofestablishingthatinitialhandshake.Usingobfs3

wouldbeabetterbettodisguiseyourtrafficifyouradversaryistheNSAorotherlawenforcement.



Sohowdoyougettheseobfuscatedbridges?Theyarenotaseasytoget,buttheycanbeobtained

fromtorthroughemail.However,youneedtorequestthosebridgesspecificallytogetthem.Youneed

touseaGmailorYahooaccountandsendanemailtobridges@bridges.torproject.organdenterinthe

bodyoftheemail"transportobfs2"withoutthequotes,andforobfs3,simplyenter"transportobfs3".

150

Pleasenotethatyoucan only sendonerequest totor per email, every3 hours.Whichone youshould

use,isentirelyyourchoice,Iamjustgivingyoutheinformationnecessarytomakeaninformedchoice.

EntertheminthisformatsothatTailsknowswhichprotocoltouse.



obfs383.212.101.2:42782

obfs270.182.182.109:54542



toralsoprovidesafewobfuscatedbridgesontheirhomepagewhichyoucanuseaswell,andIwill

listthembelow.Ifyousendarequesttotorandgetaresponsecontainingbridgeswithoutobfs2or

obsf3atthebeginningofthelines,thenthesearenormalbridges,notobfuscated,andtheyarelikely

tobeoutofobfuscatedbridgesatthemoment.Youwillhavetotryagainanotherday.Soifyougeta

responsewithbridgesthatarewithoutobfs2or3atthebeginningofeachline,pleaseagain,beaware

thesearenormalbridges,unliketheonesbelow.



obfs383.212.101.2:42782

obfs383.212.101.2:443

obfs3169.229.59.74:31493

obfs3169.229.59.75:46328

obfs3209.141.36.236:45496

obfs3208.79.90.242:35658

obfs3109.105.109.163:38980

obfs3109.105.109.163:47779

obfs283.212.100.216:47870

obfs283.212.96.182:46602

obfs270.182.182.109:54542

obfs2128.31.0.34:1051

obfs283.212.101.2:45235



Ihaveafeelingthatsomeofyoureadingthiswillbeinclinedtogooutandgetyourselfsomeobfs3

bridgesrightaway,becauseyouthinktheyarethebestchoiceoutthereforstayinganonymous.And

rightnowtheyhavethepotentialofbeingwhatyouhopeforinthatregard,exceptforonehugeflaw.

Thenumberofobfs3bridgesissmall.LastreportIreadputitataround40bridgesrunningobfs3,and

obfs2wasaround200.Sowhileobfs3isthemostsecureoptionoutthere,itslimitednumberof

availablebridgeswouldpoolyouintoasmallergroupofpeoplemakingconnectionstothe40available

bridgesandmaynotprovideanymoreanonymityforyou.torisindepserateneedofmoreobfs2and

obfs3bridgesatthistimeandthesefactorsshouldbetakenintoaccountwhenusingobfuscated

bridges.



Oneofthesolutionstothisshortageproblem,istorunyourownobfuscatedbridge.Iamnotgoing

togointoit,butifyouareinterestedindoingthis,youshouldvisitthefollowingpagetosetupan

obfuscatedproxy,orbetteryet,purchaseafewVPSandsetthemupasobfs2orobfs3proxies.Oneof

thebestthingsaboutdoingitthisway,isthatyoucanconfigureit(withtheinstructionsprovided)to

beaprivateobfuscatedbridge,andthereforetorwillnotgiveitouttothepublic.Youcanthen

connecttoyourownprivateobfs3bridge.Youcanalsouseafriend'scomputer,oruseaserverthat

youknowissecure.Butagain,makesurethatyoutrustthecomputeryouareusing,otherwiseitisno

151

more secure thanaVPN.



Anotherpossiblesolutiontothelackofobfuscatedbridgesmaybeanotherpluggabletransport

option,somethingcalledaflashproxy.Thisisbrandnewandnotperfectlyimplementedyet,and

pleasebeawarethatthisisbasicallystillinbeta.Whenthinkingaboutaflashproxy,thinkaboutthe

characteristicsofaflash,quickandshortlived.Thisprotocolwasdevelopedbyatordeveloperwho

attendedStanfordUniversity,andtheideaisthattheIPaddressesusedarechangedfasterthana

censoringagencycandetect,track,andblockthem.Thismethodissimilartousingnormalbridges,in

that,ithidesthefactyouareconnectingtoIPaddressesknowntoberelatedtotor,includingwhenthe

bridge'sIPaddresseslistedbytorarediscoveredbyyourISPorlawenforcement.Thisdoesnot

however,hidethefactyouareusingtorifsomebodyisanalyzingyourtrafficusingDPI(deeppacket

inspection).

Themainbenefittothisoptionisthattheproxiesarerunbymanypeopleallovertheworld.Theyare

runwhenrandominternetusersvisitawebpagewithaspecificpluginthatturnstheirbrowserintoa

proxyaslongastheyareonthatpage.Youarebasicallyusingsomebodyelse'sconnectionthrough

theirbrowsertoconnecttoatorrelay.Youareonlyusing1activeconnectionatanytime,butyou

havearound5establishedconnectionstodifferentproxiesincaseyouractiveconnectiondropsoff,

thenyoucanstartusinganotherproxyinitsplace.Belowisanotherexplanationofhowthisprocess

works.

Quote

InadditiontotheTorclientandrelay,weprovidethreenewpieces.TheTorclientcontactsthe

facilitatortoadvertisethatitneedsaconnection(proxy).Thefacilitatorisresponsibleforkeepingtrack

ofclientsandproxies,andassigningonetoanother.Theflashproxypollsthefacilitatorforclient

registrations,thenbeginsaconnectiontotheclientwhenitgetsone.Thetransportpluginsonthe

clientandrelaybrokertheconnectionbetweenWebSocketsandplainTCP.(Diagrambelow)



https://crypto.stanford.edu/flashproxy/arch.png



Asamplesessionmaygolikethis:



1.TheclientstartsTorandtheclienttransportpluginprogram(flashproxyclient),andsendsa

registrationtothefacilitatorusingasecurerendezvous.Theclienttransportpluginbeginslisteningfor

aremoteconnection.

2.Aflashproxycomesonlineandpollsthefacilitator.

3.Thefacilitatorreturnsaclientregistration,informingtheflashproxywheretoconnect.

4.Theproxymakesanoutgoingconnectiontotheclient,whichisreceivedbytheclient'stransport

plugin.

5.TheproxymakesanoutgoingconnectiontothetransportpluginontheTorrelay.Theproxy

beginssendingandreceivingdatabetweentheclientandrelay.



Inotherwords,youendupgoingfromyourcomputer,totheproxy,thentheproxytothetorrelay.JR



Thewholereasonthisisnecessaryisbecausetheclientcannotcommunicatedirectlywiththerelay.

(PerhapsthecensorhasenumeratedalltherelaysandblockedthembyIPaddress.)Intheabove

diagram,therearetwoarrowsthatcrossthecensorboundary;hereiswhywethinktheyarejustified.

152

The initial connectionfromthe clienttothefacilitator (theclientregistration)isaverylowbandwidth,

writeonlycommunicationthatideallymayhappenonlyonceduringasession.A careful,slow,

specializedrendezvousprotocolcanprovidethisinitialcommunication.Theconnectionfromtheflash

proxytotheclientisfromanIPaddressthecensorhasneverseenbefore.Ifitisblockedwithinafew

minutes,that'sfine;itwasn'texpectedtorunforeveranyway,andthereareotherproxieslinedupand

waitingtoprovideservice.



Iknowthismightbeabitcomplicated,butyoureallydonotneedtounderstandhowitworksto

benefitfromit.Youalsomightbeaskingaboutsomebodyjustblockingyourabilitytoconnectwiththe

facilitator(thesupplieroftheproxies).But,thewayyouactuallyconnecttothefacilitatorisinavery

specialwaythattorhasdesigned,andthisisbuiltintotheflashproxypluggabletransport.This

explanationisjustforyourcomfort,nottohelpyoumakeitwork.

Quote

Thewaytheclientregisterswiththefacilitator,isaspecialrendezvousstepthatdoesnot

communicatedirectlywiththefacilitator,designedtobecovertandveryhardtoblock.Thewaythis

worksinpracticeisthattheflashproxyclienttransportpluginmakesaTLS(HTTPS)connectionto

Gmail,andsendsanencryptedemailfromananonymousaddress(nobody@localhost)toaspecial

facilitatorregistrationaddress.Thefacilitatorchecksthismailboxperiodically,decryptsthemessages,

andinsertstheregistrationstheycontain.TheresultisthatanyonewhocansendemailtoaGmail

addresscandorendezvous,evenifthefacilitatorisblocked.



https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/FlashProxyFAQ



Twoquestionsyoushouldbeasking.1)CanItrusttheproxies,and/orfacilitator?2)HowdoIuse

this?



Well,thefacilitatorischosenandcurrentlyonlyrunbytor,soyoucantakethatatfacevalue.Asfar

astheproxiesgo,theproxiesthemselvesmayormaynotbetrustworthy,andthisistheriskyourun

everytimeyouusetor.Yourbridgesthatyouusemaybecompromised,yourentrynodes,yourexit

nodes,everysinglepossiblehopalongyourwaytotheinternetcanbecompromisedatanygiventime.

Luckily,eveniftheproxyiscompromisedandloggingyourtraffic,theyareonlygoingtobeabletosee

encryptedtortraffic.AndasImentionedabove,anybodywhovisitsawebpagewithaspecificplugin

onit,becomesaflashproxyaslongastheyareonthatsite.Thismeans,somepeoplewillbeaflash

proxywithouttheirknowledge,andotherswillbeflashproxiesbecausetheywanttobeone.Theidea

behindthisistohavemultipleusers,tensofthousands,ifnothundredsofthousandsofflashproxies

availableatalltimestoincreasethenumberofpossibleIPaddressesyourotatebetweentokeepyour

ISPandpossiblytheNSAguessing.



Sodoyouusethis?ItactuallycurrentlyisnotsupportedinTails.ButitcanbeusedwithTorPluggable

TransportsTorBrowserBundleoutsideofTails.Youcangetitatthefollowingpageanditwillrunon

yournormaloperatingsystem,whetheritisWindows,MAC,orLinux.Getthepackageatthefollowing

page.



https://www.torproject.org/docs/pluggabletransports.html.en#download

153

Nextfollowthefollowingtutorial,whichisprettystraightforwardandhaspicturesofexactlywhat

youneedtodo,andwillprobablydoabetterjobthanIwouldatexplaininghowtosetitup.



https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/FlashProxyHowto



Essentiallyitcomesdownto,enableportforwardingforport9000,add"bridgeflashproxy0.0.1.0:1"

withoutthequotes,toyourtorrc,andleaveeverythingelsealoneunlessyouneedtouseadifferent

port,whichisunlikely.Youmayneedtomakeanexceptioninyourfirewallfortheflashproxypluginifit

asksyou.AslongasyouareusingtheTorPluggableTransportsTorBrowserBundle,itshouldbepretty

easytogetthisfeatureworking.ButuntilTailsaddssupportforit,thisistheonlyoptionyouhaveif

youwanttouseflashproxybridges.



Ok,soyouhavealotofinformationrightnowandmaybeareleftabitconfused,butreadoverthis

one afewtimesandtrytoextractasmuchoutofitaspossibleatonce.Trysettingupnormalbridges,

thentrydoingtheobfuscatedbridges,andonceyougetthoseworking,thenmaybeconsiderdoingthe

flashproxiesifyouareokaywithoutusingTails.Tailswilllikelyimplementsupportforthislater.Ask

yourselfsomequestions,doIjustwanttohidethefactthatIamusingtorfrommyISP?OramIhiding

fromsomebodymuchbiggerthanthat?



Considerwhetheritisplausibleforyoutorunaprivateobfuscatedproxy,orevenaprivatebridge.

Hopefullynowyouhaveenoughinformationtomakeaninformeddecision.



Currentlythereareotherpluggabletransportscurrentlyunderdeveloped,butnotyetdeployed.Here

isalistofupcomingprojects.

Quote

ScrambleSuitisapluggabletransportthatprotectsagainstfollowupprobingattacksandisalsocapable

ofchangingitsnetworkfingerprint(packetlengthdistribution,interarrivaltimes,etc.).It'spartofthe

Obfsproxyframework.Seeitsofficialpage.MaintainedbyPhilippWinter.

http://www.cs.kau.se/philwint/scramblesuit/

Status:Undeployed



StegoTorusisanObfsproxyforkthatextendsittoa)splitTorstreamsacrossmultipleconnectionsto

avoidpacketsizesignatures,andb)embedthetrafficflowsintracesthatlooklikehtml,javascript,or

pdf.Seeitsgitrepository.MaintainedbyZackWeinberg.

https://gitweb.torproject.org/stegotorus.git

Status:Undeployed



SkypeMorphtransformsTortrafficflowssotheylooklikeSkypeVideo.Seeitssourcecodeanddesign

paper.MaintainedbyIanGoldberg.

http://crysp.uwaterloo.ca/software/SkypeMorph0.5.1.tar.gz

http://cacr.uwaterloo.ca/techreports/2012/cacr201208.pdf

Status:Undeployed



Dustaimstoprovideapacketbased(ratherthanconnectionbased)DPIresistantprotocol.Seeitsgit

154

repository. MaintainedbyBrandonWiley.

https://github.com/blanu/Dust

Status:Undeployed



FormatTransformingEncryption(FTE)transformsTortraffictoarbitraryformatsusingtheirlanguage

descriptions.Seetheresearchpaperandwebpage.

https://eprint.iacr.org/2012/494

https://kpdyer.com/fte/

Status:Undeployed



Alsoseetheunofficialpluggabletransportswikipageformorepluggabletransportinformation.

https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/PluggableTransports



Source:https://www.torproject.org/docs/pluggabletransports.html.en

CAPABILITIES OF THE NSA



Iwantedtosharea1hourvideobyoneofthetordevelopersJacobApplebaum.



Hetalksaboutlegitmate,confirmedcapabilitiesoftheNSAfromFOIAleakeddocumentsshowingjust

howtechnicallycapabletheNSAis.Anywherefromsimplebackdoors,flyingadroneovertopofyour

housetosniffpackets,moldinjectingbackdoorchipsintoyourcomputercase,tobeamingenergyinto

yourhouse.Noneofthisisconspiracytheory,itisallconfirmedwithdocumentsshowninhis

presentation.



ThevideocanbewatchedonYouTubeusingHTML5embeddedinsteadofflashatthefollowingpage.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vILAlhwUgIU



IalsouploadeditonAnonFiles.comincaseyouwouldprefertodownloaditandwatchitinTails.



https://anonfiles.com/file/eb07bbcc15ae5aeba1e1322d2995fdde



TheSHA1checksumis801fa9c2b3f2dfe120f93e6ffa6e6a666e5aa12a

TheMD5checksumiseb07bbcc15ae5aeba1e1322d2995fdde



ForthoseofyouusingTails,justuseplacethisfileinyourtmpfolder[Places>FileSystem>tmp]

Openaterminal(blackrectangeicon)andtypethefollowingcommands.



cd/tmp

md5sum1391628603972.zip

155

sha1sum1391628603972.zip



Andcheckthattheoutputtedstringmatches.

WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DRIVES, ESPECIALLY

ENCRYPTED DRIVES

Thisisanembarrassingstoryofsomethingthathappenedtomeinthepastfewdays,anditwasa

lessonwelllearned,forsomeofthethingsIhavelostarenotrecoverable.JollyRoger



DoyouhaveyourBitcoinwalletssavedonaflashdrive?Whatwouldhappenifyoulostyourflash

drive?Doyouhaveabackup?Whatwouldhappenifyourfilesbecamecorruptedandwerenotableto

berecovered,couldyoulivewiththat?Doyouhavecertainthingsthatwouldabsolutelycauseahuge

problemifyoulostthem?Thenyoubetterstartbackingupyourdrivesregularly,betteryet,doitdaily!



Iamthetypeofpersonwhousuallybacksuphisfilesregularly,butunfortunatelydotothelarge

amountofstrangeeventsoccuringonlinelatelywithUtopiabeingbroughtdown,BMRforumsbeing

seized,SilkRoadbeingrobbedandsoforth,Ihadnotbackedupmyfilesinabout2weeks.Ihadallof

mymostrecentfiles,includingafewnewBitcoinwalletswithbalancesonthemonmymainportable

drive,andontopofit,thisdrivewasencrypted.



Then,withoutwarning,Isuddenlyreceivedanerrorthatthefilesystemwascorruptedandmydisk

couldnotberead.Nomatter,ifyouhaveanunencrypteddrive,youcansimplyrunadatarecovery

programsuchastestdisk.Openupyourterminalandtypethefollowing.MakesureyoustartedTails

withaloginatthebootupwhenitasksyou.



sudoaptgetinstalltestdisk



Usingthisprogram(followdocumentationonline)youcanlikelyrecovermostofyourfilesbecauseit

ignoresfilesystemheadersandothertypesoffileorganizationrequiredtoidentifythewaythefiles

arestored.Therearemanyotherprogramsaswell.Theprobleminmycase,wasthatallmyfileswere

encrypted.Thismeans,thatinordertodecryptthefiles,Ineededakeyfilethatisstoredonthedrive

tounlockmyfiles.Ifthiskeyfilegetsdamaged,thenevenifyouhavethepasswordforyourfiles,you

willnotberecoveringyourfiles.



Thekeyisuniquetothatparticularinstancewhenyouencryptedthedrive.MeaningthatevenifI

triedtorecreatethekeyfilewiththesamepassword,theresultwouldbeadifferentkeyfile.This

meansessentiallythatmydataisunrecoverable,becausemykeyfilewassomehowcorrupted.

Technologyisdelicate,dataisstoredintheformofmagneticfrequenciesandthereisnoguarantee

thatfileswillnotbecomecorruptedonedayforseeminglynoreason.Herearesomethingsthatcould

ruinyourdata.



Flood,hurricane,powersurge,fire,moisturedamage,accidentallysteppingonyourdrive,afamily

member(usuallyachild)breaksit,youloseit,spillwateronit,overheats,andsoforth.



156

Allofthese couldresult inyour dataor drive gettingdamagedandlosingallofyour data. Thisiswhy

youneedaminimumof2backups.Not1,but2.Andhaveoneofyourbackupspreferrablystored

outsideofyourhome.Ifyouwork,storeoneatwork,orinyourcar,orsomewhereyoucanaccess

regularly,andtrytobackupyourdataasoftenaspossible.Ifyourhouseburnsdownandyoukeptall

yourbackupsathome,thenyouloseeverything.Ifyoukeptacopyatwork,thenyoucanrecoverit.

Themorebackupsthebetter,aslongastheyareencrpypted.Anytimeyoucreateanewwalletand

transferBitcoinintoit,backitup.Anytimeyousetupanewaccountoranewemailwithaunique

password(whichshouldbeeverytime),backitup.Youneedtobebackingupeverything.



Luckilyformyselfmymainwalletwasrecoverablewiththemajorityofmycoins,butIdidlosesome

coins,whichcanneverberecovered,trustme,Itried.GettingextraUSBdrivesorSDcardsarevery

cheapandinexpensive,soyouoweittoyourselftospendafewextradollarstohavemultiplebackups

justincaseyouwindupinmysituationwhereyouhadnotbackedupyourdriveinacoupleofweeks

andenduplosingdatathatcouldcostyoualotmorethanwhatitwouldhavecostedtohaveafew

extradriveslayingaroundasbackups.



BITCOIN CLIENTS IN TAILS - BLOCKCHAIN AND ELECTRUM

Note:as ofnow,electrumisincludedinTAILS,noneedtosetupanything.Thisisobsoleteandinsecure

asthedownload isnotcheckedIdidcopyitanywayforyourinformationbutyou'dratherusethe

electrumclientthatcomeswithTAILS.



InthispostIwanttotalkabout2optionsfortradingyourBitcoins.

#1Blockchain

#2Electrum



Bynow,hopefullyyouknowhowtouseBlockChain.Ifnot,yousimplygotohttp://blockchain.info

andpressthebutton"Wallet"andyoucanopenupyourexistingwalletorcreateanewaccount.Very

straightforwardandcanbedoneallfromyourwebbrowser.



ButwhataboutElectrum?ElectrumisaneasytouseBitcoinclient.Itprotectsyoufromlosingcoins

inabackupmistakeorcomputerfailure,becauseyourwalletcanberecoveredfromasecretphrase

thatyoucanwriteonpaperorlearnbyheart.Thereisnowaitingtimewhenyoustarttheclient,

becauseitdoesnotdownloadtheBitcoinblockchain.IfyouusethenormalBitcoinclientfrom

https://bitcoin.orgthenyouwouldneedtodownloadtheentireblockchain,whichisseveralGBof

data. InTails,wearetryingnottodownloadtoomuchtoourcomputers.Downloadingtheentire

BlockChaincantakeover24hours.



SohowdowesetupElectruminTails?Firstthingweneedtodoisdownloadit.



https://download.electrum.org/Electrum1.9.7.tar.gz



Nowextractit(rightclick>Extracthere)andrenamethefoldertoelectrumtomakethingseasier.

157

(Right click > Rename). Youmightalsowant tomove thefolder tothetmp directorysoitiseasier to

find.(Places>Computer>FileSystem>tmp)



Nextopenupaterminalandtypethefollowingcommand



cd/tmp/electrum 



Youcanreplace/tmp/electrumwithwhateverdirectoryelectrumiscurrentlyin,butthisiswhywe

putitintmp,tomakethingseasierforus. Nexttypethefollowingcommand.



./electrums56ckl5obj37gypcu.onion:50001:tpsocks5:localhost:9050



ThiswillallowyourelectrumtoconnectthroughTor,tomakesureitdoesnotconnectoverclearnet.

Youwillgetawarningwhenyoudothisthatelectrumisattemptingtoconnectinanunsafemanner,

butthisisexpected,anddonotworry,itissafetodothis.ThisstepwasrecommendedontheTails

webpageatthefollowingURL.



https://tails.boum.org/forum/Report:_the_electrum_bitcoin_client_in_tails/



SinceyouarelikelygoingtowanttoreuseyourwalletthatisgeneratedinElectrum,youcanspecify

whereyourwalletiskeptbyreplacingtheabovecommandwiththefollowingcommand.



./electrums56ckl5obj37gypcu.onion:50001:tpsocks5:localhost:9050w/tmp/electrum.dat



Youwouldreplace/tmp/electrum.datwithwhateverthepathtoyourwalletis,andyoucanrename

electrum.dattowhateveryouwanttocallyourwallet,likesrwallet.datorwhateveryouwant.Orleave

itthewaythatitis.Theneachtimeyouwanttostartupelectrum,reusethesamecommand,and

makesureyoucopyelectrum.datinto/tmporwhateverdirectoryyouwishtouse.Thenwhenyouare

finished,makesuretobackupelectrum.datontoyourUSBdriveorSDcard,especiallyifyoudonot

haveTailspersistence.Thiswayyoucanreusethesamewalletandyouwillnotloseyourbalance.



ElectrumislikelygoingtobetheBitcoinclientofchoiceforTailsusers.Andyoucanreadmoreabout

howtouseElectrumbyvisitingthehomepageatthefollowinglink.



https://electrum.org

YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW STRONG CRYPTOPGRAPHY AND

PROPER OPSEC CAN PROTECT EVEN PEDOPHILES

Yes,youreadthetitlecorrectly.Usingthesametypesoftechniquestaughtinthisthread,youcanand

shouldremainanonymousnomatterwhatyouaredoing.



Pedophilesandchildpornographersaresomeofthemostwantedpeopleontheplanet.Theyareup

therewithterroristsandserialkillers.Theyarehuntedbyfederallawenforcementagencies,and

punishedveryseriously,astheyshould.Sothereasonforthispostistodemonstrate,thatifsomebody

158

whoisas wantedas muchaspedophilesandchild pornographerscanremainfree byusingproper

OpSec,thenyoucantoo.

Quote

Ifyoursecurecommunicationsplatformisn’tbeingusedbyterroristsandpedophiles,you’reprobably

doingitwrong.



http://grugq.github.io/blog/2013/12/01/yardbirdseffectiveusenettradecraft/



Iwanttotalktoyouaboutagroupofchildpornographersthatoperatedforseveralyearsonline,

calledYardBird.Duringaperiodof15months,therewerearound400,000imagesand11,000videos

uploadedtoacentralserverrunbythegroupandsharedbythemembers.Thereasonweknowthat,is

becauseduringthat15months,theFBIperformedanundercoveroperationtoinfiltratethegroupin

hopesofapprehendingthemembers.Theysuccessfullyapprehended1in3membersofthegroup.

Oneofthosewhoremainfreetodate,wastheleaderofthegroup,whoalsowentbytheonlinename

YardBird.



HowisitpossiblethataftersomucheffortwasputinbytheAmericanFederalBureauof

Investigation(FBI),theAustralianFederalPolice(AFP)andtheAustralianQueenslandPoliceService,

thatpeoplehighuponthewantedlistswereabletoevadecapture.Theyusedstrongcryptography,

andproperOpSecrules.Letusnowtalkaboutthehistoryoftheattemptedapprehensionofthisgroup.



AccordingtotheFBI.

Quote

Therewereapproximately60membersthatwerelooselyidentified,andfromthe60,approximately20

werepositivelyidentifiedinthisgroup.



TherewerenumerouschallengespresentedduringOperationAchilles.Thegrouputilizedan

unprecedentedleveloforganizationandsophistication.Theyhadatimedtestforprospectivenew

members.TheyhadtouseencryptiontechnologyandInternetbasedanonymizers,remailingservices.

Theyalsointentionallycorruptedtheirownchildpornographyfilesandonlythenewmembersknew

howtoreconfigurethosefilestobeabletoreadthepicturesorthevideo.Theyalsohadtheuncanny

abilitytomonitorworldwidenewspertainingtolawenforcementeffortsinchildpornographymatters

inordertobettereducatethemselvestoavoidlawenforcementdetection.



https://www.fbi.gov/news/podcasts/inside/operationachilles.mp3/view



AsIsaidearlier,theallegedleaderofthisringusedtheonlinename"Yardbird".Yardbirdmadeare

appearanceonUsenetinboth2009and2010onthedatecorrespondingtothefirstandsecond

anniversariesofthebustsin2008.Hisintentwastoshowthathewasstillfree,andtoanswerpeople's

questions.



OneofthemostimportantthingsYardbirdstatedwerethateveryoneinthegroupwhousedTorand

remailersremainedfree,whilethosewhoreliedonservicessuchasPrivacy.LIwerearrestedand

159

convicted. Privacy.liis anoffshore VPN service thatpromisesanonymity. Theyclaimfromtheir website

thefollowing.

Quote

Ifyouneedcorporateand/ormilitarystrengthencryptednetworks,thenaVirtualPrivateNetworkis

thewaytogo.Allandanytrafficfromandtoyourdesktoparewithinanencryptedtunnel,andyour

originatingIPaddressiswellconcealed.



http://www.privacy.li/services.html



Andtheirprivacypolicymakesthefollowingpromise.

Quote

Yes,we101%honoryourprivacy,nologs,nosnooping,noprofiling.Nolegalmumbojumboto

disguiseanyhiddenefforts.Webelieveinindividualismandprivacy,evenanonymity.



http://www.privacy.li/privacypolicy.html



Yardbirdfurthercommentedthatseveralmembersofthegroup,includinghissecondincommand

ChristopherStubbings(Helen)andGaryLakey(Eggplant)werePrivacy.LIusersinfacthestatedthat

they useditforeverything.(Heleniscurrentlyservinga25yearsentenceintheUK,whileEggplantis

servinglifeinanArizonaprison.)



EggplantliterallybecamenotoriousbecauseofhisconstantpromotionofPrivacy.LIhecontinually

boastedthathecouldnotbecaughtbecausePrivacy.LIdidnotkeeplogs,andtheywerelocated

outsideofU.S.jurisdiction.

Quote

IpointedouttoanyonewhowouldlistenthatservicessuchasPrivacy.LI

werefor/privacy/notforanonymity.Inanidealsituation,oneneeds

bothtobeprivateaswellasanonymous.Essentially,whatPrivacy.LI

suppliedwasatypeofVPNservice,providinganencryptedtunnelfordata

totravelbetweentwoendpointsthecustomer'scomputerbeingoneendpoint,whilethePrivacy.LI

serversprovidedtheother.Whiletherewasadegreeofprivacy,therewasNOanonymityatallsoit

reallydidn'tcomeasasurprisethatPrivacy.LI'scustomerswereamongthosearrested.



http://dee.su/uploads/baal.html



Attheendoftheday,noserviceproviderisgoingtogotojailforyou.Asimplecourtordercanget

eventhetoughestVPNproviderstorolloverontheirusers,becausetheywouldratherbetraya$20

permonthuserthanbefined,shutdownandpossiblythrowninjailforinterferingwithafederal

investigation.



Whatothermistakesweremadetoleadtothearrestofsomemembersofthisgroup?TheAustralian

policearrestedamanontotallyunrelatedchildpornographycharges,andpresumablyaspartofaplea

deal,herevealedtheexistenceof'thegroup'andhandedoveraPGPpublic/privatekeypairand

160

password. Havingacquiredfromthe informer thecurrentgroupPGPpublic/private keypair, andits

passphrasemeantthatthepolicecouldassumethisgroupmember'sidentity,andfurthermore,read

alltheencryptedtrafficpostedbymembersofthegroup.

Quote

Oncethegroupwaspenetrated,thepolicewereabletotakeadvantageofa

fewfactors:



1)Theyhadtheinformant'scomputer,withallitsemail,PGPkeysandthe

like.Thisprovidedahistory,whichmadeiteasiertocontinuethe

impersonation.



2)Bythetimeitwaspenetrated,thegrouphadbeenoperatingforabout5

years.Bythistime,thegrouphadjelledintoacommunitypeoplewere

familiarwitheachother,theyoftenlettheirguardsdown,andwould

sometimesrevealtidbitsofpersonalinformation.Thisisespeciallythe

casewhentheythoughttheirmessagesweresecure,andbeyondtheability

ofthepolicetointercepttheywouldsaythingsthattheywould*never*

sayintheopen.



http://dee.su/uploads/baal.html



Soitisimportanttonoteatthistime,thatyounomatterhowcomfortableyoubecomewith

somebody,thereisalwaysachancethattheycanbecomecompromised.Infact,thegrouphasasetof

rules,thatallmembersweretoldtoabideby,andifanymemberwasfoundtobebreakingthe

followingrules,theywouldbeexpelled.

Quote

Neverrevealtrueidentitytoanothermemberofthegroup

Nevercommunicatewithanothermemberofthegroupoutsidetheusenetchannel

GroupmembershipremainsstrictlywithintheconfinesoftheInternet

Nomembercanpositivelyidentifyanother

Membersdonotrevealpersonallyidentifyinginformation

Primarycommunicationsnewsgroupismigratedregularly

Ifamemberviolatesasecurityrule,e.g.failstoencryptamessage

Periodicallytoreducechanceoflawenforcementdiscovery

Oneachnewsgroupmigration

CreatenewPGPkeypair,unlinkingfrompreviousmessages

Eachmembercreatesanewnickname

NicknamethemeselectedbyYardbird



http://grugq.github.io/blog/2013/12/01/yardbirdseffectiveusenettradecraft/



Theoneswhogotcaught,weretheoneswhodidnotfollowtherulesbyputtingtoomuchtrustintheir

online"friends".WesawthisinthearrestofSabuwhenhehelpedtheFBIbusthis"friends"inLulzSec.

161

Ifsomeone isgivenadealtocut theamountof time spentinprisoninhalf, they likelywilltake thedeal

atyourexpense.Belowisanexampleofapleaversustryingtofightthechargesinthisexactcase.

Quote

...sevenoftheU.S.subjectspleadedguiltypretrialtoa40countindictmentandreceivedfederal

sentencesrangingfrom1330yearsinprison.Theremainingsevendefendantsoptedforajoint,

simultaneoustrial.Allsevenwereconvictedbyajuryandsubsequentlysentencedtolifeinprison.



https://www.fbi.gov/news/podcasts/inside/operationachilles.mp3/view



1330yearsversuslifeinprison,mayenticeevensomeofthehardestcriminals,andifyouthinkyour

online"friend"whoyouhavenevermetinpersonisgoingtokeeptheirmouthshuttokeepyououtof

jail,youareinforabigsurprise.



So,asyoucansee,thegroupwasprettymuchanopenbooktothepolice.Theywerecompletelyand

thoroughlypenetrated.Despitethat,however,themajorityofthegroupwerestillabletoremainat

large,andwereneitherpositivelyidentifiednorarrested.Thisisduetotheprivacytools(pgp,tor,

nymservers,remailers)thatwereemployed.Evenwitheverythingelsebeinganopenbook,thoseusing

thesetoolsstillmanagedtoevadecapture.Butyoumaybesaying,Ok,IunderstandPGP,Iunderstand

tor,butwhattheheckisanymserverandaremailer?



Inanutshell,ananonymousremailerisaserverthatreceivesmessages(inthiscaseanemail)with

embeddedinstructionsonwheretosendthemnext,andthatforwardsthemwithoutrevealingwhere

they originallycamefrom.Anymserveralsoreferredtoasapseudonymousremailerassigns itsusersa

username,anditkeepsadatabaseofinstructionsonhowtoreturnmessagestotherealuser.These

instructionsusuallyinvolvetheanonymousremailernetworkitself,thusprotectingthetrueidentityof

theuser.



Someoftheadvantagesofusingtheseservicesaretoprotecttheintendedrecipientfroman

adversary,andalsoprotectthesenderofthemessage.Someoftheseservicesusewhatiscalleda

commonmailbox,inwhichallmessagesarestoredinacentralmailboxwithno"ToandFrom"

headers.ItisuptotheuserswhousetheservicetoattempttousetheirPGPkeystotryanddecryptall

ofthemessagesstoredinthecentralmessageboxandseeiftheycandecryptanyofthem.Iftheycan,

thismessageisintendedforthem.Thiswayitrulesoutagain,thesenderandreceiver.Thissystemof

remailers,canalsoformachain,inwhichthemessageisbouncedoffofmultipleremailersbefore

makingittoitsintendedreicipienttowidenthegapbetweenthesenderandreceiver.



Anothereffectiveoptionsomeservicesofferistheabilitytodelaywhenthemessagegetssentonto

thenextserverinthechain,ortherecipientitself.IfyouarefoundtobesendingoutPGPencrypted

trafficthroughsometypeofanalysisat5:00PM,andanotherpersonbeingmonitoredreceivesitat

5:01PM,itiseasiertocorrelatethatthismessagemaybefromyoutotheotherpersonbeing

monitored.AtthistimeIhavenorecommendationsforservicetouse,butIamlikelytopostabout

theminthefuture.Inthemeantime,letusgetbacktotheringofpedophilesshallwe?

Quote

162

Leavingaside mypersonalfeelingsaboutpedophiles,Ibroughtupthis case

asanexampleforseveralreasons:



1)Childpornographyisaseriouscrimeinvirtuallyeveryjurisdiction.

Asthisexampledemonstrates,policewillworktogether,evenacross

nationalboundaries,toinvestigatethesecrimes.Theyarewilling

toinvestconsiderabletime,manpowerandmoneyinpursuitofthese

suspects.Theonlyothercrimeswhichusuallymeritthistypeof

approacharedrug/gunrunningorterrorism.Thelevelofeffort

expendedinpursuingthisgroupcanbeseeninthatevenFBI

executiveassistantdirectorJ.StephenTidwellwasinvolved.



NormallyonewouldnotexpectFBIpersonnelthathighlyplaced

tobeinvolvedthisshowsthelevelofimportance placedon

thisparticularinvestigation.(Ayearorsoafterthebusts,

YardbirdhimselfexpressedastonishmentthattheFBIwould

considerhisgroupsuchapriority.)



2)ThiscaseistheonlyonethatI'mawareof,wheresuspectswere

usingsophisticatedtoolslikePGP,Tor,anonymousremailersand

nymservers.



3)Thiscaseunderscorestheeffectivenessofthesetoolsevenagainst

wellfunded,powerfulopponentsliketheFBI,Europol,andInterpol.

(N.B.:FWIW,thosewhowerecaughtusedeitherinappropriateand/or

ineffectivetoolsandtechniquestoprotectthemselves.



4)Ifullyunderstandmostpeople'sdisgustatthetypesofcrimes/

criminalsbeingdiscussedhere.Thatsaid,itisimportantto

rememberthatonesimplycannotdesignasystemthatprovides

protectionforoneclassofpeople,butdeniesitforanother.

Youcan't,forexample,deployasystemthatprovidesprivacy/

anonymityforpoliticaldissidents,orwhistleblowers,andyet

deniesittopedophileseither*everyone*issafe,orNOONE

issafe.Thismaynotbepalatable,butthesearethefacts.



http://dee.su/uploads/baal.html



Tosummarize.Wehaveseenthateventhemosthuntedcriminals,canevadecapturewhenusing

strongcryptographyandproperOpSec.Theringleaderofoneofthemostinvestigatedchild

pornographyringsstillremainsatlargetodaybecausethosewhofollowedtherules.

DENIABILITY, IDENTIFYING TAILS USERS, AND CAN YOU BE FORCED TO

GIVE UP YOUR PASSWORDS?

163

Quote from: OCDPolak

HiJR,



ForsomereasonIhaveseenalotofinformationanddiscussionaboutprivacyandanonymitybut

nothingatallaboutdeniability,whichtobehonestconcernsmethatsomepeoplemaythinkthat

becausetheNSAcan'tcracktheirpassword,everythingissafebutpeopleeasilyoverestimatetheir

abilitytostanduptosanctionsimposedbyacourtshouldtheshithitthefan...



IwaswonderingaboutthedeniabilityproblemswithusingTails(oranyofthesecuritymeasures

really).Youhavetoassumethatifyougetarrestedanditgoestocourt,youwillbecompelledtogive

anyofyourpasswordsthattheywant.It'sallwellandgoodthinkingthatyouwon'tgiveittothem,but

whentheysentenceyoutoa$1000adayorsimplyjailuntilyoutellthemyouwillprobablytellthem

yourpasswords...



Withthatinmind,isthereanydeniablewaytouseTails(oratleastdeniableinsomerespects)?Iused

toruneverythingoffahiddenvolumeinaTruecryptmemorystick(whichissupposedtobeimpossible

toproveexists),isthereanequivalentwithLUKS?



Also,canyourISPorFBIdifferentiatebetweenTorandTailsthroughyourinternetusage?



Thanksforyourtime



Herearesomethingstoconsider.

Quote

TailsmakesitclearthatyouareusingTorandprobablyTails



YourInternetServiceProvider(ISP)oryourlocalnetworkadministratorcanseethatyou'reconnecting

toaTorrelay,andnotanormalwebserverforexample.UsingTorbridgesincertainconditionscan

helpyouhidethefactthatyouareusingTor.



ThedestinationserverthatyouarecontactingthroughTorcanknowwhetheryourcommunication

comesoutfromaTorexitnodebyconsultingthepubliclyavailablelistofexitnodesthatmightcontact

it.ForexampleusingtheTorBulkExitListtooloftheTorProject.



SousingTailsdoesn'tmakeyoulooklikeanyrandomInternetuser.TheanonymityprovidedbyTorand

Tailsworksbytryingtomakealloftheiruserslookthesamesoit'snotpossibletoidentifywhoiswho

amongstthem.



https://tails.boum.org/doc/about/warning/index.en.html#index2h1



Quote

Inthiscontext,thetermfingerprintreferstowhatisspecifictoTailsinthewayitbehavesonInternet.

ThiscanbeusedtodeterminewhetheraparticularuserisusingTailsornot.



164

Asexplainedonour warningpage, whenusingTailsitis possible to knowthatyouare usingTor. But

TailstriestomakeitasdifficultaspossibletodistinguishTailsusersfromotherTorusers,especiallyTor

BrowserBundle(TBB)users.IfitispossibletodeterminewhetheryourareaTailsusersoraTBBuser,

thisprovidesmoreinformationaboutyouandinconsequence reducesyouranonymity.



ThissectionexplainssomeissuesregardingthefingerprintofTailsandhowthiscouldbeusedto

identifyyouasaTailsuser.

Forthewebsitesthatyouarevisiting



Thewebsitesthatyouarevisitingcanretrievealotofinformationaboutyourbrowser.That

informationcanincludeitsnameandversion,windowsize,listofavailableextensions,timezone,

availablefonts,etc.



TomakeitdifficulttodistinguishTailsusersfromTBBusers,theTorbrowsertriestoprovidethesame

informationastheTBBinordertohavesimilarfingerprints.



Seethefingerprintsectionofknowissuespageforalistofknowndifferencesbetweenthefingerprints

oftheTorbrowserandtheTBB.



Apartfromthat,someoftheextensionsincludedinTorbrowseraredifferentthantheonesincludedin

theTBB.MoresophisticatedattackscanusethosedifferencestodistinguishTailsuserfromTBBusers.



Forexample,TailsincludesAdblockPluswhichremovesadvertisements.Ifanattackercandetermine

thatyouarenotdownloadingtheadvertisementsthatareincludedinawebpage,thatcouldhelp

identifyyouasaTailsuser.



Forthemoment,youshouldconsiderthatnospecialcareistakenregardingthefingerprintofthe

UnsafeBrowser.

ForyourISPorlocalnetworkadministrator



TorbridgesaremostofthetimeagoodwayofhidingthefactthatyouareconnectingtoTortoa

localobserver.Ifthisisimportantforyou,readourdocumentationaboutbridgemode.



ATailssystemisalmostexclusivelygeneratingToractivityonthenetwork.UsuallyTBBusersalso

havenetworkactivityoutsideofTor,eitherfromanotherwebbrowserorotherapplications.Sothe

proportionofToractivitycouldbeusedtodeterminewhetherauserisusingTailsortheTBB.Ifyou

aresharingyourInternetconnectionwithotherusersthatarenotusingTailsitisprobablyharderfor

yourISPtodeterminewhetherasingleuserisgeneratingonlyTortrafficandsomaybeusingTails.



TailsdonotusetheentryguardsmechanismofTor.Withtheentryguardmechanism,aToruser

alwaysusesthesamefewrelaysasfirsthops.AsTailsdoesnotstoreanyTorinformationbetween

separateworkingsessions,itdoesnotstoretheentryguardsinformationeither.Thisbehaviourcould

beusedtodistinguishTailsusersfromTBBusersacrossseveralworkingsessions.



Whenstarting,Tailssynchronizesthesystemclocktomakesureitisaccurate.Whiledoingthis,ifthe

165

time issettoomuchinthe past or inthe future, Tor isshutdown andstarted again. Thisbehavior

couldbeusedtodistinguishTailsfromTBBusers,especiallythishappenseverytimeTailsstarts.



https://tails.boum.org/doc/about/fingerprint/index.en.html



Readthosepagesdirectlyastheyhavelinkstoother articlesonthemaswell.



HereisanotherlittletrickIknowof.Neverkeepapasswordyoucanremember.Youcannotgiveupa

passwordyoudonotknow.Perhapsyouhavealittlepieceofpaperwithyourpasswordonitthatyou

swallowthesecondthecopscomein.Alongpasswordthatyoucouldneverremember.



Another thingyoucansayis,Iwrotedownmypasswordonapieceofpaperbutthepolicemusthave

destroyedthepieceofpaperwhentheyraidedmyhome.Checkoutthebelowquotefromanarticle.

Quote

Duboissaidthat,inaddition,hisclientmaynotbeabletodecryptthelaptopforanynumberof

reasons."Ifthat'sthecase,thenwe'llreportthatfacttothecourt,andthelawisfairlyclearthatpeople

cannotbepunishedforfailuretodothingstheyareunabletodo,"hesaid.



http://news.cnet.com/830131921_357364330281/judgeamericanscanbeforcedtodecrypttheir

laptops/



Andinthecaseofwhetherornotyoucanbeforcedtogiveupapasswordisamatterofdebatethat

hasgonebackandforthincourtcasestodate.

Quote

Manyinthelegalarenasaytheissueisatrickyandlargelyunsettledone.



Asmallnumberofcourtshavepermittedit,butonlywhenprosecutorscanpointtospecificallywhat

filestheyneedandwheretheyarelocated.



Inthemotionfiledearlierthisweek,AssistantCountyProsecutorMatthewMeyerstatedthelawisnot

clear.



http://www.cleveland.com/courtjustice/index.ssf/2014/03/bedford_judge_case_highlights.html



Andwhataboutthechargesforfailingtodoso?

Quote

disobeyingajudge'sordertohandoverapasswordcouldresultincontemptofcourtchargesorbeing

jailed.



http://www.cleveland.com/courtjustice/index.ssf/2014/03/bedford_judge_case_highlights.html

166

AndintheUS,sincemostpeoplebustedwillbeextraditedthereanyways,treatscontemptinthe

followingway.

Quote

Ifapersonistobepunishedcriminally,thenthecontemptmustbeprovenbeyondareasonabledoubt,

butoncethechargeisproven,thenpunishment(suchasafineor,inmoreseriouscases,

imprisonment)isimposedunconditionally.



Acourtcannotmaintainanorderofcontemptwheretheimposedpartydoesnothavetheabilityto

complywiththeunderlyingorder.Thisclaimwhenmadebytheimposedpartyisknownasthe

"impossibilitydefense".



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_court#United_States



Furthermore.

Quote

“thegovernmentmustprovetheexistenceandlocationofthesubpoenaeddocumentsandpossess

independentevidence,otherthancompliancewiththecourtorder,forauthenticatingthem”[1,p.

581].Inotherwords,lawenforcementcannotsimplygoonafishingexpedition,hopingtoturnupdata

thatwillbeevidentiary[8].Theymustbeabletodemonstratetheexistenceandlikelylocationof

specificdocuments.



http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec13/DecJan14_Oltmann.html



Inregardstotwocasesinwhichdefendantswerenotforcedtogiveuptheirpasswords

Quote



UnitedStatesv.Kirschner(2010):Kirschnerwasindictedforchildpornographycharges,andthe

governmentsubpoenaedhisencryptionkeytogainfurtherevidencefromhisencrypteddrive.Inthis

case,thejudgedeterminedthatrequiringadefendanttosupplyhispasswordwouldviolatehisright

againstselfincrimination.



UnitedStatesv.Doe(2012):Doewaschargedwithchildpornography.Herefusedtosupplyhis

decryptionkeyandwasfoundincontemptofcourt,thenjailed. Ajudgethenruledthatsupplyinghis

decryptionkeywouldbetantamounttoselfincrimination,soDoedidnothavetosupplyit.



http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec13/DecJan14_Oltmann.html



Theanalysisofwhytheywerenotforcedtogivethemupisbelow.

Quote



167

Incontrast, lawenforcementinthe Kirschner and Doe cases did nothave prior evidence thatillegal

contentwasontheircomputers.Inthesecases,officershadsuspicionofwrongdoingandwererelying

on therevelationofdecryption keystoinvestigateanduncoverevidence.ThecourtinKirschner

determinedthatsharingthekey“wouldbetestimonialbecauseitwoulddemonstrateknowledgeof

thepasswordandaccesstotheunderlyingcomputerfiles…providingthepasswordwouldrevealthe

contentsofanarrestee’smindbyrecallingthepassword”[5,pp.11711172],[6].Simplyput,because

thepasswordwasnotwrittendown(oralreadyknowntolawenforcement)inKirschnerandDoe,and

itexistedonlyintheirminds,compellingadefendanttorevealitwouldbeselfincriminatingtestimony.



Iflawenforcementcandescribetheexistenceandlocationofevidence,theyhaveastrongercasefor

requiringaccess;however,iftheycannotdemonstratepriorknowledgeofthelikelydata,separate

fromacompelledrevelationfromadefendant,thenlawenforcementhasaweakerposition.



http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec13/DecJan14_Oltmann.html



Butwhenlawenforcmentwasabletoprovideproofofexistingevidenceonanencrypteddrive,courts

weremuchmorelikelytodemanddecryption,suchasinthefollowingcases.

Quote



InreBoucher(2009):BoucherenteredtheUnitedStatesfromCanada.Aborderagentexamined

Boucher’scomputerandfoundchildpornographyafterBoucher suppliedthepassword.Theagent

thenshutdownthecomputerandarrestedBoucher.Shuttingdownthecomputertriggeredthe

encryptionagain,andprosecutorscouldnolongerseeorfindtheillegalimages.Boucherwasordered

bythecourtstosupplythepassword,butheinvokedhisFifthAmendmentprivilege.Thecourts

subsequentlyruledhehadtosupplyadecryptedcopyofthedrive’scontents.



Commonwealthv.Hurst(2011):Hurstwaschargedwithoffensesrelatedtoinappropriatesexual

relationswithaminor.PolicesuspectedincriminatingevidencewasonHurst’scellphone,buthe

refusedtosupplythepassword.Beforethiscasereachedthecourtsystem,Hurst’swifesuppliedthe

password,andHursthimselfpledguilty.



UnitedStatesv.Fricosu(2012):Fricosuwasindictedformortgageandrealestatefraud.Sherefusedto

surrenderthepassword(atonepointsayingsheforgotthepassword)toencryptedfilesthat,the

governmentbelieved,wouldincriminateher.Thecourtorderedhertosupplyadecryptedversionof

theharddrive,ratherthanherpassword.Subsequently,acodefendantsuppliedtheneeded

passwords.



Andtheanalysisofthecasesbelow.

Quote



LawenforcementsawevidenceofcriminalwrongdoinginthePearson,Boucher,HurstandFricosu

cases.



168

BothPearsonandBoucher voluntarily agreedtoletlawenforcementsearchtheir computers;during

thosesearches,theofficerssawevidence.Itwasonlyaftertheinitialsearchthatthequestionof

encryptionbecamerelevant.Inthesecases,becausethedefendantshad“permittedinvestigatorsto

seeatleastsome”oftheevidence,this“sufficedtorendertheexistenceofalltheillegalfilesa

‘foregoneconclusion’”ratherthantestimonialevidence[8,p.544].Hursthadsentinappropriate

messagestoaminor,whichwerevisibleontheminor’sphone.Whilethepolicesoughtconfirmationof

thetransmissionbysearchingHurst’sphone,theyhadsufficientevidencewithoutthatstep.Inthe

Fricosucase,policehadrecordedconversationsbetweenthedefendantandherhusband(aco

defendant)thatrevealedtheexistenceandcontentofthesoughtafterdocuments.



http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec13/DecJan14_Oltmann.html

1) Itmaybepossible,toidentifyyouasaTailsuser, butitwouldtakealotofanalysistodoso,and

Tailsisgettingbetteratblendinginwitheveryupdate.



2)Thinkaboutwhatyoucouldpossiblybechargedwith,andthinkaboutwhetherornotitis

moreseriousthanacontemptcharge.Thelongestsentencetodateforcontemptwas14years,

andthisisalmostunheardof.Youarenotlikelytogetthiskindofchargeagainstyou,butifyou

do,woulditbebetterthanlifeinprisonforwhateverelseyoumightbechargedwith?



RememberSabutoLulzSechacker?beingchargedwith112yearsinprisonforhacking?Ithink

hewouldtrade14yearsinprisonforcontemptover112yearsanyday.IknowIwould.



3)Withouttheknowledgeofincriminatingevidenceexistingonyourdrives,youarelesslikely

tobeforcedtodecryptyourdrives,andthisevenappliesinchildpornographycasesas

demonstratedabove.



4)Maintainyourrighttoremainsilent,neverkeepanythingonyourcomputersthatyoudonot

haveto.



5)Donothaveapasswordyoucanremember.Orifyoudo,tellthemyouhaditwrittendown

butitwasmisplacedorpossiblydamagedduringtheraidandyouareunabletorecallthe

password.Perhapsyouaretootraumatizedfromtheevenofhavingyourfaceshovedintothe

floortorememberwhathappenedduringthose2minutes?



Anyways,thisisalotofdatatogothrough,soIwillleaveitatthatandwecangofromthere.

Youjustneedtoalwaysfollowbestpractices.Turnoffyourcomputerwhenyouarenotusingit,

encrypteverything,nevertellanybodyyourpasswords,neverleaveanyevidenceofthe

contents ofyourdriveslyingaround(likenotesordiaryentries),andneveradmithaving

anythingonyourdrivestoanyoneonline,evenunderyourpseudonymasthatcanbeused

againstyouincourt.



Denydenydenydenydeny.



Hopethishelps.

169

Security Culture: A Handbook for Activists

This handbook is the first edition of what we hope will be an evolving and growing document dealing

with security issues and canadian activism. A lot of this information is general and can be applied to

any locality - other information is easily adapted to fit other situations. For more information or to

make contributions to this document – please email securitysite@tao.ca

Second edition - prepared August 2000

Introduction:

Resistance has been on the rise for the past few years, with activists adopting more and more

effective tactics for fighting back. Now, more than ever, we pose some threat to the status quo. Our

increased activity and effectiveness has meant that the RCMP, FBI, and local police have continued to

escalate their activities against us. If we want our direct action movement to continue, it is imperative

we start tightening our security and taking ourselves more seriously. Now is the time to adopt a security

culture. Good security is certainly the strongest defense we have. This is a handbook for the Canadian

(and even US) activist who is interested in creating and maintaining security awareness and culture in

the radical movements. It is not nearly complete - but is what we have got finished at the moment. We

are always looking for contributions - so please feel free to email securitysite@tao.ca with any images

or text you think belong in a handbook such as this. If this material appears familiar to you - its because

this is the second edition of this zine that we have put out... mostly to correct spelling errors and other

small things. The three articles in this pamphlet have been mostly cobbled together from other writings

170

that already exist on this subject out there so we don’t claim any of this to be 100% original material -

though we have included quite a bit of fresh info on the Canadian state and its operation (mostly

because we have found the majority of info out there to be very focused on US law enforcement). We

hope that you will put the material contained within to good use!

Security What it is, why we need it and how we implement it...

A gitators; liberationists; abolitionists; union organizers; revolutionaries... From large uprisings

challenging the entire political structure, to isolated environmental and social struggles, people have

always worked to create a better world. For government the response has usually been to jail activists

and revolutionaries through use of the courts and police forces. As direct action movements become

more effective, government surveillance and harassment will increase. To minimize the destructiveness

of this political repression, it is imperative that we create a security culture within our movements. This

pamphlet is essential reading for anyone who is associated with groups that advocate and/or utilize

sabotage, theft, arson and more militant tactics. The advice herein also applies to anyone who is

associated with groups that practice civil disobedience, especially since membership often overlaps and

gossip travels freely between groups.

Even if you have never picked up a monkeywrench or been arrested for civil disobedience, even if

you think you have nothing to hide, these guidelines will enhance your personal safety as well as the

movement’s overall effectiveness. Surveillance has been set up on all sections of political movements

in the past. Governments in the western industrialized world have targeted groups that have advocated

sabotage and groups that have not, movements that have been militant and movements that have been

markedly pacifist. The government’s security machinery serves political and economic objectives, and

there are over 250 political prisoners in Canada and the US that can testify to this from firsthand

experience. By adopting a security culture, we can defeat various counterintelligence operations that

would otherwise disrupt both mainstream organizing and underground resistance.

SO WHAT IS A SECURITY CULTURE?

It’s a culture where the people know their rights and, more importantly, assert them. Those who

belong to a security culture also know what behavior compromises security and they are quick to

educate those people who, out of ignorance, forgetfulness, or personal weakness, partake in insecure

behavior. This security consciousness becomes a culture when the group as a whole makes security

violations socially unacceptable in the group.

WHAT NOT TO SAY

To begin with, there are certain things that are inappropriate to discuss. These things include:

 your involvement or someone else’s involvement with an underground group

 someone else’s desire to get involved with such a group

 asking others if they are a member of an underground group

 your participation or someone else’s participating in any action that was illegal

 someone else’s advocacy for such actions

 your plans or someone else’s plans for a future action

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Essentially, it is wrong to speak about a specific individual's involvement (past, present or

future) with illegal activities. These are unacceptable topics of discussion regardless of whether it is

rumor, speculation or personal knowledge.

Please note: this is not to say that it is wrong to speak about direct action in general terms. It is

perfectly legal, secure and desirable that people speak out in support of mokeywrenching

and all forms of resistance. The danger lies in linking individual activists to specific actions or

groups.

THREE EXCEPTIONS

There are only three times that it is acceptable to speak specifically about actions and

involvements. The first situation would be if you were planning an action with other members of your

small group (your “cell” or “affinity group”). However, you should never discuss these things over the

Internet (email), phone line, through the mail, or in an activist's home or car, as these places and forms

of communication are frequently monitored. The only people who should hear this discussion would

include those who are actively participating in the action. Anyone who is not involved does not need to

know and, therefore, should not know. The second exception occur es after an activist has been arrested

and brought to trial. If she is found guilty, this activist can freely speak of the actions for which she was

convicted. However, she must never give information that would help the authorities determine who

else participated in illegal activities. The third exception is for anonymous letters and interviews with

the media. This must be done very carefully and without compromising security. Advice on secure

communication techniques can be found in other publications. These are the only situations when it is

appropriate to speak about your own or someone else's involvement or intent to commit illegal direct

action.

SECURITY MEASURES

Veteran activists only allow a select few to know about their involvement with direct action

groups. Those few consist of the cell members who they do the actions with AND NO ONE ELSE!

The reason for these security precautions is quite obvious: if people don't know anything, they can't talk

about it. It also means that only the people who know the secret can also face jail time if the secret gets

out. When activists who do not share the same serious consequences know who did an illegal direct

action, they are far more likely to talk after being harassed and intimidated by the authorities, because

they are not the ones who will go to jail. Even those people who are trustworthy can often be tricked by

the authorities into revealing damaging and incriminating information. It is safest for all cell members

to keep their involvement in the group amongst themselves. The fewer people who know, the less

evidence there is in the long run.

SECURITY VIOLATING BEHAVIOURS

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In an attempt to impress others, activists may behave in ways that compromise security. Some

people do this frequently – they are habitually gossiping and bragging. Some activists say inappropriate

things only when they consume alcohol. Many activists make occasional breeches of security because

there was a momentary temptation to say something or hint at something that shouldn’t have been said

or implied. In most every situation, the desire to be accepted is the root cause. Those people who tend

to be the greatest security risks are those activists who have low self-esteem and strongly desire the

approval of their peers. Certainly it is natural to seek friendship and recognition for our efforts, but it is

imperative that we keep these selfish desires in-check so we do not jeopardize the safety of other

activists or ourselves. People who place their desire for friendship over the importance of the cause can

do serious damage to our security. The following are examples of security-violating behaviors:

Lying: To impress others, liars claim to have done illegal actions. Such lies not only compromise the

person's security--as cops will not take what is said as a lie--but also hinders movement solidarity and

trust.

Gossiping: Some weak characters think they can win friends because they are privy to special

information. These gossips will tell others about who did what action or, if they don't know who did it,

guess at who they think did what actions or just spread rumors about who did it. This sort of talk is very

damaging. People need to remember that rumors are all that are needed to instigate a grand jury or

other investigation.

Bragging: Some people who partake in illegal direct action might be tempted to brag about it to their

friends. This not only jeopardizes the bragger's security, but also that of the other people involved with

the action (as they may be suspected by association), as well as the people who he told (they can

become accessories after the fact). An activist who brags also sets a horrible example to other activists.

Indirect-Bragging: Indirect- braggers are people who make a big production on how they want to

remain anonymous, avoid protests, and stay "underground." They might not come out and say that they

do illegal direct action, but they make sure everyone within ear- shot knows they are up to

something. They are no better than braggers, but they try to be more sophisticated about it by

pretending to maintain security. However, if they were serious about security, they would just

make up a good excuse as to why they are not as active, or why they can't make it to the protest (that

kind of lying is acceptable).

EDUCATE TO LIBERATE

It is fairly easy to spot those activists who compromise our movement’s security. So what do we

do with people who exhibit these behaviors? Do we excommunicate them from our movement?

Actually, no—at least, not for a first offense.

The unfortunate truth is there are numerous security-ignorant people in the movement and others

who have possibly been raised in a "scene" that thrives on bragging and gossiping. It doesn't mean

these people are bad, but it does mean they need to be educated. Even seasoned activists can make

mistakes when there is a general lack of security consciousness in our groups. And that’s where those

of you who are reading this can help. We must NEVER let a breach in security occur without acting to

correct it. If an acquaintance of yours is bragging about doing an action or spreading security-

compromising gossip, it is your responsibility to explain to her or him why that sort of talk violates

security and is inappropriate.

173

You should strive to educate this person in a manner that en- courages him to listen and to change

his behavior. It should be done without damaging his pride. You should be humble and sincerely

interested in helping him to become a better person and a more effective activists. Do not maintain a

"holier than-thou" attitude. This will inevitably raise his defenses and prevent him from absorbing or

using any of the advice you offer. Remember, the goal of educating people is to change their behavior,

not boost your ego by showing them how much more security-conscious you are.

If possible the educational session should be done in private, so the person does not have to

contend with the potential ‘pride’ issues. The educational reprimand should also be done as soon as

possible after the mistake to increase its effectiveness. If each of us takes on the responsibility of

educating those who slip up, we can dramatically improve movement security. Once people recognize

lying, gossiping, bragging, and indirect-bragging as the damaging behaviors that they are, they will

soon end. When we develop a culture where all breaches of security result in an immediate reprimand,

all sincere activists will quickly get with the program.

DEALING WITH CHRONIC SECURITY PROBLEMS

So what do we do with activists who repeatedly violate security precautions even after multiple

educational sessions? It's unfortunate, but the best thing to do with these people is cut them loose and

kick them out of our meetings, base camps and organizations. With law enforcement budgets on the

increase and with courts handing down long sentences for political “crimes”, the stakes are too high to

allow chronic security-offenders to work among us.

By creating a security culture, we have an effective defense against informers and agents who try

to infiltrate groups. Imagine an informer who, every time she asked another activist about that person’s

activity, received a reprimand and an education on security. That informer would get frustrated really

easily. Once the activists discovered she continued to violate security precautions after being repeatedly

educated, they would have grounds for her dismissal. And that would be one less informer for us to

deal with!

A Brief Primer on the Canadian State Security Apparatus

Recent repression against activists in British Columbia illuminates the need for grassroots people

to understand and practice movement security. Police monitoring, infiltration and agent provocateurs

are all techniques used by the state routinely against activists to turn up information about the activities

of our movements and ourselves.

Although many activists have trouble believing that state security agencies have that much interest

in their affairs, a few key court cases and hearings have helped activists to gain access to information

that proves that police spying on activists is routine in Canada.

During the APEC hearings, it was revealed that over seventy groups and individuals were

monitored before and during the APEC meetings in 1997. A paid industry informant/disruptor was

identified at a wilderness action camp in 1999, and local activists have been targeted by provocateurs

who have tried to convince them not only to disclose information but to break the law.

The Canadian security apparatus has identified a number of our movements as threatening to

national security. They have targeted people and organizations widely. Even avowed pacifists have

been included in surveillance and repressive measures. According to Canadian Security Intelligence

174

Service (CSIS) annual reports of the past five years, the Native Resistance and the

Environmental/Animal Rights movements have been primary targets.

With the rise in militant First Nations struggles, covert direct action against corporations, and the

growing focus by the media on general "anarchist" politics due to events in Seattle around the WTO

among other major increases in movement strength and militancy, we can be pretty sure that this has

been marked by a growing level of surveillance and monitoring as well.

The need for security in our movements is obvious – how- ever, it is incredibly important that we

don't fall into the trap of using our awareness of security issues to shut other people out of our growing

movements. One of the key aims of COINTEL- PRO operations against the Black Panthers and

American Indian Movement was to spread paranoia and distrust among those freedom fighters so that

they would find it hard to accept new people into their work.

It is possible to build a movement large and at the same time create security culture. Arming

ourselves with knowledge about how the system works against activists is the first step to creating that

culture. The central aim of this article is to give a

brief run-down of how domestic intelligence works in Canada so that we can better understand how to

avoid its traps.

AN OVERVIEW OF DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATIONS

The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) is probably the best known of the

"security" agencies that deal with activist "threats". They were originally a special surveillance wing of

the RCMP until 1983 when they were split off into a separate agency due to protests that they were

acting as secret organization that was contravening Canadians' democratic rights to organize.

Essentially, the split from the RCMP allowed the new spy agency to do legally what the Mounties had

been doing illegally. At the operations level, the new agency was granted more freedom and more

leeway than the Mounties ever had.

Today they continue to carry out a wide range of surveillance. As they are not a law-enforcement

agency and therefore their evidence is not used in court, there is nothing stopping them from

contravening the few regulations that exist regarding privacy rights. For example, CSIS is not required

to inform people, as the RCMP does, ninety days after they have been wiretapped or bugged.

Agents working for CSIS are allowed, with "authorization", to enter people's homes to plant bugs,

wiretap phones, open mail and look into health, employment and government records without ever

having to tell a targeted individual what they are doing. The information that they gather is used to

build profiles and dossiers (files) on individuals, organizations, networks, etc. The information that

they gather is often passed on to other wings of the federal security system who are responsible for

"law enforcement", and will then obtain whatever war- rants are necessary for legal surveillance (to be

brought into court as evidence).

The National Security Investigation Service (NSIS) is the primary law-enforcement wing of

domestic security. The NSIS is a section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Most cities

across Canada have an NSIS office including Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto.

The NSIS maintains a computer database on activists, immigrants and so called "terrorists" which is

housed in Ottawa.

It is believed that the Vancouver NSIS employs between 12 and 18 members. Within NSIS there

are several sub-groups called Team 1, Team 2, Team 3 – etc. that have different investigative targets.

They employ informants, infiltrators, personal physical surveillance, electronic surveillance

including phone and room "bugs" and other means of investigation and research.

175

The RCMP/NSIS also have other resources at their disposal during counter-insurgency operations.

"Special O" is a team of surveillance specialists that may be called upon. "Special I" is a penetration

team whose specialty is to break into homes, vehicles and other properties for investigative purposes.

They are the team, which among other things, installs listening devices, photo- graphs building

interiors, etc.

In a long-running case based in Vancouver, all of these methods of surveillance were used against

several Vancouver activists. During the Vancouver investigation, house and vehicle bugs were located

by some targeted individuals. The bugs had large battery packs attached to facilitate less frequent

battery changes. The NSIS also visited several activists across Canada in an attempt to question them

regarding the individuals under investigation.

It cannot be stressed enough that no one is under any legal obligation to provide the police with

any information other than one's own name and address. That is it. Saying anything more jeopardizes

individuals' and movement security. Even answering seemingly insignificant questions can assist the

police in developing personality profiles on a range of activists which may not contain "evidence" but

may instead be used to give police “leads” on other suspects and to construct intent during legal

proceedings. The only principled response to police questioning is to say nothing more than name and

address.

The Communications Security Establishment is an agency of the defense department which

has been long clouded in secrecy. They collect and process telephone, fax and computer

communications of foreign states, corporations and individuals. The federal government uses the

intelligence gleaned from the data to sup- port troops abroad, catch “terrorists” and “further Canada's

economic goals” (and what that means is up to them).

Although the CSE is not technically allowed to collect the communications of Canadian citizens, it

is known to be a partner in the Echelon project -

a multinational monitoring operation which sees CSE and counterpart agencies in the United States,

Britain, Australia and New Zealand share intercepted communications of interest with one another,

effectively creating a global surveillance web.

The Terrorist Extremist Section (TES Unit) is British Columbia's anti-terrorist unit. A joint

Vancouver/Victoria Police Department/ RCMP unit called the Organized Crime Agency (formerly the

Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit - CLEU), it is believed that the this unit employs two or three

members only. Most activists will be intimately familiar with their local police forces. Be aware that

cops do not only show up in blue uniforms - but routinely practice crowd infiltration and carry out

surveillance and investigative activities either alone or jointly with the RCMP depending on the type of

case. Watch for them on demonstrations - as they like to come along and take photo- graphs and video

for the record - and they often appear in crowds as “fellow demonstrators”.

THE COUNTER- INSURGENCY MODEL

Most Western nation-states follow a model of counter- insurgency developed by a British intelligence

expert named Kitson who wrote, Low Intensity Operations, after much field work in the colonies. He

broke down movement development into three stages:

The Preparatory Phase: is when the movement is small, tends to focus on education, publishing and

groundwork.

The Non-Violent Phase: is when the movement takes on more of a mass character. Large

demonstrations are the norm.

176

In the Insurgency Phase: the movement has taken on a popular character. Perhaps a more assertive,

guerrilla component has emerged.

Kitson advises that the primary work of the intelligence agency should occur during the

preparatory phase. At this time the movements are most vulnerable. They have not experienced a high

degree of repression. They consider talk of security as mere paranoia. As they are not breaking laws

they believe that it is safe to organize completely openly. The intelligence agency is therefore able to

exploit these

conditions and develop detailed dossiers on a wide range of people. The information will be extremely

valuable to them later on. It is important that as a movement in we need to learn to practice security at

all points in the movement's development. Remember that the State is interested in knowing about

activists' beliefs, not just in "hard evidence". Learn and practice security to protect ourselves and our

peoples. Don't be afraid. Remember - If an agent comes knockin', do no talkin'.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Informers and Infiltrators

Informants and infiltrators operate in every radical movement. The rise of militant radicalism as

seen at the WTO protests in Seattle, and the declarations by activists to continue the struggle in the

streets and underground – mean that more and more attention will be paid to activists by law

enforcement. Part of this will mean sending more infiltrators amongst our ranks to bribe and entice

those weak individuals already involved.

Non-violent movements need to learn to identify such people and and let them know that their

actions will never be tolerated by activists in any way.

This section is intended to arm you with information on how to spot and deal with informers and

infiltrators in our ranks.

Who is an informer? There are actually two kinds of informers. The deliberate informer is

someone who infiltrates an organization with the specific intent of getting incriminating evidence

against activists or even setting them up to be arrested. These infiltrators are either on the payroll of a

government agency or may be hired by industry. The second type of informer is the activist- turned-

informant--either unwittingly or because of pressure put on them by the authorities. Make no mistake,

both kinds exist throughout our ranks and are equally dangerous.

Let's discuss the deliberate informer (infiltrator) first. They are often difficult to identify, they

come in all ages and types, but they usually have a similar modus operandi--they come out of nowhere

and all of a sudden, they are everywhere. Whether it's a meeting, a protest, or an action, this person will

be right in the thick of it.

Keep in mind however that this is also the hallmark of a new activist, whose enthusiasm and

commitment is so strong that s/ he wants to fight the power every minute of the day.

How to tell them apart? Well, a planted infiltrator will ask a lot of questions about the direct action

groups, individuals and illegal activities. S/he will suggest targets and volunteer to do reconnaissance

as well as take part in the action.

An example of infiltration tactics can be found in an incident that occurred a few years ago when

U.S. Surgical hired a security firm to infiltrate Friends of Animals in Connecticut. Their operative

convinced an activist to put a pipe bomb in the car of the president of U.S. Surgical. Needless to say,

the police were waiting for her and she ended up being charged with at- tempted murder.

177

State and industry infiltrators have been identified in operation in British Columbia over the past

few years - attempting to incite illegal activity, sowing disruption in action camps, and gathering

information on the who, what and when of our movement’s activities .

Everyone who asks a lot of questions about the direct action isn't necessarily an infiltrator, but they

ARE the ones to watch (at the very least, we should be educating them about security culture). Explain

to new activists that direct action tactics can be risky (though some risks are worth taking!) and that it

is dangerous to ask a lot of questions about it. If the person persists in asking questions,

STAY AWAY FROM THEM! Any activist who can't under- stand the need for security is someone

that should be held at arm’s length from the movement.

Placing infiltrators into social justice movements isn't anything new. It was done to the Black

Panthers and the peace movement in a big way. Unless you are only working with people you've

known for years and who have earned your trust, you should assume there is an informant in your

midst and act accordingly.

This doesn't mean that no one else should ever be allowed into the "inner circle." On the contrary,

if our movement is to continue to grow, we must always be recruiting new members; we just need to

keep security uppermost in our minds and exercise caution at all

times.

Possibly an even greater threat is the activist-turned-informer, either unwittingly or through

coercion.

The unwitting informer is the activist who can't keep his/her mouth shut. If someone brags to you

about what s/he's done, make sure this person never has any knowledge that can incriminate you,

because sooner or later, the wrong person will hear of it. These activists don't mean to do harm, but the

results of their bragging can be serious. It is your responsibility to instruct these people on security

culture and the importance of it.

The other type of activist- informer is person who cracks under pressure and starts talking to save

his/her own skin. Many activists get drawn into situations they are not able to handle, and some are so

caught up in the "excitement" that they either don't realize what the consequences can be or they just

don't think they'll ever have to face them.

We have to know the possible consequences of every action we take and be prepared to deal with

them. Someone who is easily influenced by his/her parents or dependent on them for support is not a

good candidate for actions as they can be persuaded too easily to cooper- ate with the authorities. There

is no shame in not being able to do an action because of responsibilities that make it impossible

to do jail time. If others are depending on you for support or you aren't willing to lose your job or drop

out of school, DON'T DO THE ACTION.

Make certain that others in your affinity group are not in situations which may cause them to

cooperate with the police or abandon their friends.

Two activists were recently put in jail in Canada because a third party panicked - mainly about not

being able to get his drugs in jail - and talked to free himself. (This is not to condemn those who have

drug habits or criminal records – but are certainly things to keep in mind). Don't be afraid to talk about

this. Ask hard questions, and if you aren't convinced that someone will be able to stay strong if the

worst happens, then designate that person to do support. Make sure that those who go into battle with

you are willing and able to take whatever comes, even if it means giving up their freedom for your

goals. Remember - there is no excuse for turning in action comrades to the police - and those activists

that do effectively excommunicate themselves from our movements. We must offer no legal or jail

support to those activists who turn-in others for their impact on our movement is far-reaching and can

have devastating effects. Some things to look out for in people you choose to do illegal direct action

with are lengthy

178

Crypto Anarchy and Virtual Communities

Timothy C. May

535 Monterey Drive

Aptos, CA 95003 U.S.A.

tcmay@netcom.com

December, 1994

Extended Abstract

The combination of strong, unbreakable public key cryptography and virtual network communities in

cyberspace will produce interesting and profound changes in the nature of economic and social

systems. Crypto anarchy is the cyberspatial realization of anarcho-capitalism, transcending national

boundaries and freeing individuals to make the economic arrangements they wish to make

consensually.

Strong cryptography, exemplified by RSA (a public key algorithm) and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy),

provides encryption that essentially cannot be broken with all the computing power in the universe.

This ensures security and privacy. Public key cryptography is rightly considered to be a revolution.

Digital mixes, or anonymous remailers, use crypto to create untraceable e-mail, which has many uses.

(Numerous anonymous remailers, in several countries, are now operating. Message traffic is growing

exponentially.)

179

Digital pseudonyms, the creation of persistent network personas that cannot be forged by others and yet

which are unlinkable to the "true names" of their owners, are finding major uses in ensuring free

speech, in allowing controversial opinions to be aired, and in providing for economic transactions that

cannot be blocked by local governments. The technology being deployed by the Cypherpunks and

others, means their identities, nationalities, and even which continents they are on are untraceable --

unless they choose to reveal this information. This alters the conventional "relationship topology" of

the world, allowing diverse interactions without external governmental regulation, taxation, or

interference

Digital cash, untraceable and anonymous (like real cash), is also coming, though various technical and

practical hurdles remain. "Swiss banks in cyberspace" will make economic transactions much more

liquid and much less subject to local rules and regulations. Tax avoidance is likely to be a major

attraction for many. An example of local interest to Monte Carlo might be the work underway to

develop anonymous, untraceable systems for "cyberspace casinos." While not as attractive to many as

elegant casinos, the popularity of "numbers games" and bookies in general suggests a opportunity to

pursue.

Data havens and information markets are already springing up, using the methods described to make

information retrievable anonymously and untraceably.

Governments see their powers eroded by these technologies, and are taking various well-known steps

to try to limit the use of strong crypto by their subjects. The U.S. has several well-publicized efforts,

including the Clipper chip, the Digital Telephony wiretap law, and proposals for "voluntary" escrow of

cryptographic keys. Cypherpunks and others expect these efforts to be bypassed. Technology has let

the genie out of the bottle. Crypto anarchy is liberating individuals from coercion by their physical

neighbors--who cannot know who they are on the Net--and from governments. For libertarians, strong

crypto provides the means by which government will be avoided.

The presentation will describe how several of these systems work, briefly, and will outline the likely

implications of this combination of crypto anarchy and virtual cyberspace communities.

1 Introduction

This paper describes the combination of two major technologies:

 Strong Crypto: including encryption, digital signatures, digital cash, digital mixes (remailers),

and related technologies.

 Cyberspatial Virtual Communities: including networks, anonymous communications, MUDs

and MOOs, and "Multiverse"-type virtual realities.

These areas have generally remained separate, at least in published papers. Certainly the developers of

cyberspace systems, such as MUDs, MOOs, and Habitat-like systems, appreciate the importance of

cryptography for user authentication, overall security, and certainly for (eventual) digital purchase of

services. But for the most part the combination of these two areas has been the province of the science

fiction writer, notably writers such as Vernor Vinge, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and Orson Scott

Card.

The "Cypherpunks" group, a loose, anarchic mailing list and group of hackers, was formed by several

of us in 1992 as a group to make concrete some of the abstract ideas often presented at conferences.

We've had some successes, and some failures. [1] The Cypherpunks group also appeared at a fortuitous

time, as PGP was becoming popular, as Wired magazine appeared (they featured us on the cover of

their second issue), and as the publicity (hype?) about the Information Superhighway and the World

Wide Web reached a crescendo.

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The site ftp.csua.berkeley.edu has a number of essays and files, including crypto files, in the directory

pub/cypherpunks. I have also written/ compiled a very large 1.3 MB FAQ on these issues, the

Cyphernomicon, available at various sites, including my ftp directory, ftp.netcom.com, in the directory

pub/tc/tcmay.

The Cypherpunks group is also a pretty good example of a "virtual community." Scattered around the

world, communicating electronically in matters of minutes, and seeming oblivious to local laws, the

Cypherpunks are indeed a community, and a virtual one. Many members use pseudonyms, and use

anonymous remailers to communicate with the list. The list itself thus behaves as a "message pool," a

place where information of all sort may be anonymous deposited--and anonymous received (since

everyone sees the entire list, like a newspaper, the intended recipient is anonymized).

Legal Caveat: Consult your local laws before applying any of the methods described here. In some

jurisdictions, it may be illegal to even read papers like this (seriously). In particular, I generally won't

be giving ftp site addresses for copies of PGP, remailer access, digital cash systems, etc. These are

well-covered in more current forums, e.g., sci.crypt or talk.politics.crypto, and there are some

unresolved issues about whether giving the address of such sites constitutes (or "aids and abets")

violation of various export and munitions laws (crypto is considered a munition in the U.S. and

probably elsewhere....some nations consider a laser printer to be a munitions item!).

2 Modern Cryptography

The past two decades have produced a revolution in cryptography (crypto, for short) the science of the

making of ciphers and codes. Beyond just simple ciphers, useful mainly for keeping communications

secret, modern crypto includes diverse tools for authentication of messages, for digital timestamping of

documents, for hiding messages in other documents (steganography), and even for schemes for digital

cash.

Public key cryptography, the creation of Diffie and Hellman, has dramatically altered the role of

crypto. Coming at the same time as the wholesale conversion to computer networks and worldwide

communications, it has been a key element of security, confidence, and success. The role of crypto will

only become more important over the coming decades.

Pretty Good Privacy, PGP, is a popular version of the algorithm developed by Rivest, Shamir, and

Adleman, known of course as RSA. The RSA algorithm was given a patent in the U.S., though not in

any European countries, and is licensed commercially. [2]

These tools are described in detail in various texts and Conference proceedings, and are not the subject

of this paper. [3] The focus here is on the implications of strong crypto for cyberspace, especially on

virtual communities.

Mention should be made of the role of David Chaum in defining the key concepts here. In several

seminal papers (for example, [4] [5]), Chaum introduced the ideas of using public key cryptography

methods for anonymous, untraceable electronic mail, for digital money systems in which spender

identity is not revealed, and in schemes related to these. (I make no claims of course that Chaum agrees

with my conclusions about the political and socioeconomic implications of these results.)

3 Virtual Communities

Notes: cyberspace, Habitat, VR, Vinge, etc. Crypto holds up the "walls" of these cyberspatial realities.

Access control, access rights, modification privileges.

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Virtual communities are the networks of individuals or groups which are not necessarily closely-

connected geographically. The "virtual" is meant to imply a non-physical linking, but should not be

taken to mean that these are any less community-like than are conventional physical communities.

Examples include churches, service organizations, clubs, criminal gangs, cartels, fan groups, etc. The

Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts are both examples of virtual communities which span the globe,

transcend national borders, and create a sense of allegiance, of belonging, and a sense of "community."

Likewise, the Mafia is a virtual community (with its enforcement mechanisms, its own extra-legal

rules, etc.) Lots of other examples: Masons, Triads, Red Cross, Interpol, Islam, Judaism, Mormons,

Sindero Luminoso, the IRA, drug cartels, terrorist groups, Aryan Nation, Greenpeace, the Animal

Liberation Front, and so on. There are undoubtedly many more such virtual communities than there are

nation-states, and the ties that bind them are for the most part much stronger than are the chauvinist

nationalism emotions. Any group in which the common interests of the group, be it a shared ideology

or a particular interest, are enough to create a cohesive community.

Corporations are another prime example of a virtual community, having scattered sites, private

communication channels (generally inaccessible to the outside world, including the authorities), and

their own goals and methods. In fact, many "cyberpunk" (not cypherpunk) fiction authors make a

mistake, I think, in assuming the future world will be dominated by transnational megacorporate

"states." In fact, corporations are just one example--of many--of such virtual communities which will

be effectively on a par with nation-states. (Note especially that any laws designed to limit use of crypto

cause immediate and profound problems for corporations-countries like France and the Philippines,

which have attempted to limit the use of crypto, have mostly been ignored by corporations. Any

attempts to outlaw crypto will produce a surge of sudden "incorporations," thus gaining for the new

corporate members the aegis of corporate privacy.)

In an academic setting, "invisible colleges" are the communities of researchers.

These virtual communities typically are "opaque" to outsiders. Attempts to gain access to the internals

of these communities are rarely successful. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies (such as the

NSA in the U.S., Chobetsu in Japan, SDECE in France, and so on, in every country) may infiltrate such

groups and use electronic surveillance (ELINT) to monitor these virtual communities. Not surprisingly,

these communities are early adopters of encryption technology, ranging from scrambled cellphones to

full-blown PGP encryption. [8]

The use of encryption by "evil" groups, such as child pornographers, terrorists, abortionists, abortion

protestors, etc., is cited by those who wish to limit civilian access to crypto tools. We call these the

"Four Horseman of the Infocalypse," as they are so often cited as the reason why ordinary citizen-units

of the nation-state are not to have access to crypto.

This is clearly a dangerous argument to make, for various good reasons. The basic right of free speech

is the right to speak in a language one's neighbors or governing leaders may not find comprehensible:

encrypted speech. There's not enough space here to go into the many good arguments against a limit on

access to privacy, communications tools, and crypto.

The advent of full-featured communications systems for computer-mediated virtual communities will

have even more profound implications. MUDs and MOOs (multi-user domains, etc.) and 3D virtual

realities are one avenue, and text-centric Net communications are another. (Someday, soon, they'll

merge, as described in Vernor Vinge's prophetic 1980 novella, True Names.)

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4 Observability and Surveillance

An interesting way to view issues of network visibility is in terms of the "transparency" of nodes and

links between nodes. Transparent means visible to outsiders, perhaps those in law enforcement or the

intelligence community. Opaque mean not transparent, not visible. A postcard is transparent, a sealed

letter is opaque. PGP inventor Phil Zimmermann has likened the requirement for transparency to being

ordered to use postcards for all correspondence, with encryption the equivalent of an opaque envelope

(envelopes can be opened, of course, and long have been).

Transparent links and nodes are the norm in a police state, such as the U.S.S.R., Iraq, China, and so

forth. Communications channels are tapped, and private use of computers is restricted. (This is

becoming increasingly hard to do, even for police states; many cite the spread of communications

options as a proximate cause of the collapse of communism in recent years.)

There are interesting "chemistries" or "algebras" of transparent vs. opaque links and nodes. What

happens if links must be transparent, but nodes are allowed to be opaque? (The answer: the result is as

if opaque links and nodes were allowed, i.e., full implications of strong crypto. Hence, any attempt to

ban communications crypto while still allowing private CPUs to exist....)

If Alice and Bob are free to communicate, and to choose routing paths, then Alice can use "crypto

arbitrage" (a variation on the term, "regulatory arbitrage," the term Eric Hughes uses to capture this

idea of moving transactions to other jurisdictions) to communicate with sites--perhaps in other

countries--that will perform as she wishes. This can mean remailing, mixing, etc. As an example,

Canadian citizens who are told they cannot access information on the Homolka-Teale murder case (a

controversial case in which the judge has ordered the media in Canada, and entering Canada, not to

discuss the gory details) nevertheless have a vast array of options, including using telnet, gopher, ftp,

the Web, etc., to access sites in many other countries--or even in no country in particular.

Most of the consequences described here arise from this chemistry of links and nodes: unless nearly all

node and links are forced to be transparent, including links to other nations and the nodes in those

nations, then the result is that private communication can still occur. Crypto anarchy results.

5 Crypto Anarchy

"The Net is an anarchy." This truism is the core of crypto anarchy. No central control, no ruler, no

leader (except by example, reputation), no "laws." No single nation controls the Net, no administrative

body sets policy. The Ayatollah in Iran is as powerless to stop a newsgroup--

alt.wanted.moslem.women or alt.wanted.moslem.gay come to mind-he doesn't like as the President of

France is as powerless to stop, say, the abuse of French in soc.culture.french. Likewise, the CIA can't

stop newsgroups, or sites, or Web pages, which give away their secrets. At least not in terms of the Net

itself...what non-Net steps might be taken is left as an exercise for the paranoid and the cautious.

This essential anarchy is much more common than many think. Anarchy--the absence of a ruler telling

one what to do--is common in many walks of life: choice of books to read, movies to see, friends to

socialize with, etc. Anarchy does not mean complete freedom--one can, after all, only read the books

which someone has written and had published--but it does mean freedom from external coercion.

Anarchy as a concept, though, has been tainted by other associations.

First, the "anarchy" here is not the anarchy of popular conception: lawlessness, disorder, chaos, and

"anarchy." Nor is it the bomb-throwing anarchy of the 19th century "black" anarchists, usually

associated with Russia and labor movements. Nor is it the "black flag" anarchy of anarcho-syndicalism

and writers such as Proudhon. Rather, the anarchy being spoken of here is the anarchy of "absence of

government" (literally, "an arch," without a chief or head).

183

This is the same sense of anarchy used in "anarchocapitalism," the libertarian free market ideology

which promotes voluntary, uncoerced economic transactions. [6] I devised the term crypto anarchy as a

pun on crypto, meaning "hidden," on the use of "crypto" in combination with political views (as in

Gore Vidal's famous charge to William F. Buckley: "You crypto fascist!"), and of course because the

technology of crypto makes this form of anarchy possible. The first presentation of this was in a 1988

"Manifesto," whimsically patterned after another famous manifesto. [7] Perhaps a more popularly

understandable term, such as "cyber liberty," might have some advantages, but crypto anarchy has its

own charm, I think.

And anarchy in this sense does not mean local hierarchies don't exist, nor does it mean that no rulers

exist. Groups outside the direct control of local governmental authorities may still have leaders, rulers,

club presidents, elected bodies, etc. Many will not, though.

Politically, virtual communities outside the scope of local governmental control may present problems

of law enforcement and tax collection. (Some of us like this aspect.) Avoidance of coerced transactions

can mean avoidance of taxes, avoidance of laws saying who one can sell to and who one can't, and so

forth. It is likely that many will be unhappy that some are using cryptography to avoid laws designed to

control behavior.

National borders are becoming more transparent than ever to data. A flood of bits crosses the borders of

most developed countries--phone lines, cables, fibers, satellite up/downlinks, and millions of diskettes,

tapes, CDs, etc. Stopping data at the borders is less than hopeless.

Finally, the ability to move data around the world at will, the ability to communicate to remote sites at

will, means that a kind of "regulatory arbitrage" can be used to avoid legal roadblocks. For example,

remailing into the U.S. from a site in the Netherlands...whose laws apply? (If one thinks that U.S. laws

should apply to sites in the Netherlands, does Iraqi law apply in the U.S.? And so on.)

This regulatory arbitrage is also useful for avoiding the welter of laws and regulations which operations

in one country may face, including the "deep pockets" lawsuits so many in the U.S. face. Moving

operations on the Net outside a litigious jurisdiction is one step to reduce this business liability. Like

Swiss banks, but different.

6 True Names and Anonymous Systems

Something needs to be said about the role of anonymity and digital pseudonyms. This is a topic for an

essay unto itself, of course.

Are true names really needed? Why are they asked for? Does the nation-state have any valid reason to

demand they be used?

People want to know who they are dealing with, for psychological/evolutionary reasons and to better

ensure traceability should they need to locate a person to enforce the terms of a transaction. The purely

anonymous person is perhaps justifiably viewed with suspicion.

And yet pseudonyms are successful in many cases. And we rarely know whether someone who

presents himself by some name is "actually" that person. Authors, artists, performers, etc., often use

pseudonyms. What matters is persistence, and nonforgeability. Crypto provides this.

On the Cypherpunks list, well-respected digital pseudonyms have appeared and are thought of no less

highly than their "real" colleagues are.

The whole area of digitally-authenticated reputations, and the "reputation capital" that accumulates or

is affected by the opinions of others, is an area that combines economics, game theory, psychology, and

expectations. A lot more study is needed.

184

It is unclear if governments will move to a system of demanding "Information Highway Driver's

Licenses," figuratively speaking, or how systems like this could ever be enforced. (The chemistry of

opaque nodes and links, again.)

7 Examples and Uses

It surprises many people that some of these uses are already being intensively explored. Anonymous

remailers are used by tens of thousands of persons-and perhaps abused. [13] And of course encryption,

via RSA, PGP, etc., is very common in some communities. (Hackers, Net users, freedom fighters,

white separatists, etc....I make no moral judgments here about those using these methods).

Remailers are a good example to look at in more detail. There are two current main flavors of

remailers:

1. "Cypherpunk"-style remailers, which process text messages to redirect mail to another sites,

using a command syntax that allows arbitrary nesting of remailing (as many sites as one

wishes), with PGP encryption at each level of nesting.

2. "Julf"-style remailer(s), based on the original work of Karl Kleinpaste and operated/maintained

by Julf Helsingius, in Finland. No encryption, and only one such site at present. (This system

has been used extensively for messages posted to the Usenet, and is basically successful. The

model is based on operator trustworthiness, and his location in Finland, beyond the reach of

court orders and subpoenas from most countries.)

The Cypherpunks remailers currently number about 20, with more being added every month. There is

no reason not to expect hundreds of such remailers in a few years.

One experimental "information market" is BlackNet, a system which appeared in 1993 and which

allows fully-anonymous, two-way exchanges of information of all sorts. There are reports that U.S.

authorities have investigated this because of its presence on networks at Defense Department research

labs. Not much they can do about it, of course, and more such entities are expected.

(The implications for espionage are profound, and largely unstoppable. Anyone with a home computer

and access to the Net or Web, in various forms, can use these methods to communicate securely,

anonymously or pseudonymously, and with little fear of detection. "Digital dead drops" can be used to

post information obtained, far more securely than the old physical dead drops...no more messages left

in Coke cans at the bases of trees on remote roads.)

Whistleblowing is another growing use of anonymous remailers, with folks fearing retaliation using

remailers to publicly post information. (Of course, there's a fine line between whistleblowing, revenge,

and espionage.)

Data havens, for the storage and marketing of controversial information is another area of likely future

growth. Nearly any kind of information, medical, religious, chemical, etc., is illegal or proscribed in

one or more countries, so those seeking this illegal information will turn to anonymous messaging

systems to access--and perhaps purchase, with anonymous digital cash--this information. This might

include credit data bases, deadbeat renter files, organ bank markets, etc. (These are all things which

have various restrictions on them in the U.S., for example....one cannot compile credit data bases, or

lists of deadbeat renters, without meeting various restrictions. A good reason to move them into

cyberspace, or at least outside the U.S., and then sell access through remailers.)

Matching buyers and sellers of organs is another such market. A huge demand (life and death), but

various laws tightly controlling such markets.

185

Digital cash efforts. A lot has been written about digital cash. [14] [15] David Chaum's company,

DigiCash, has the most interesting technology, and has recently begun market testing. Stefan Brands

may or may not have a competing system which gets around some of Chaum's patents. (The attitude

crypto anarchists might take about patents is another topic for discussion. Suffice it to say that patents

and other intellectual property issues continue to have relevance in the practical world, despite erosion

by technological trends.)

Credit card-based systems, such as the First Virtual system, are not exactly digital cash, in the

Chaumian sense of blinded notes, but offer some advantages the market may find useful until more

advanced systems are available.

I expect to see many more such experiments over the next several years, and some of them will likely

be market successes.

8 Commerce and Colonization of Cyberspace

How will these ideas affect the development of cyberspace?

"You can't eat cyberspace" is a criticism often levelled at argument about the role of cyberspace in

everyday life. The argument made is that money and resources "accumulated" in some future (or near-

future) cyberspatial system will not be able to be "laundered" into the real world. Even such a prescient

thinker as Neal Stephenson, in Snow Crash, had his protagonist a vastly wealthy man in "The

Multiverse," but a near-pauper in the physical world.

This is implausible for several reasons. First, we routinely see transfers of wealth from the abstract

world of stock tips, arcane consulting knowledge, etc., to the real world. "Consulting" is the operative

word. Second, a variety of means of laundering money, via phony invoices, uncollected loans, art

objects, etc., are well-known to those who launder money...these methods, and more advanced ones to

come, are likely to be used by those who wish their cyberspace profits moved into the real world.

(Doing this anonymously, untraceably, is another complication. There may be methods of doing this--

proposals have looked pretty solid, but more work is needed.)

The World Wide Web is growing at an explosive pace. Combined with cryptographically-protected

communication and digital cash of some form (and there are several being tried), this should produce

the long-awaited colonization of cyberspace.

Most Net and Web users already pay little attention to the putative laws of their local regions or

nations, apparently seeing themselves more as members of various virtual communities than as

members of locally-governed entities. This trend is accelerating.

Most importantly, information can be bought and sold (anonymously, too) and then used in the real

world. There is no reason to expect that this won't be a major reason to move into cyberspace.

9 Implications

I've touched on the implications in several places. Many thoughtful people are worried about some of

the possibilities made apparent by strong crypto and anonymous communication systems. Some are

proposing restrictions on access to crypto tools. The recent debate in the U.S. over "Clipper" and other

key escrow systems shows the strength of emotions on this issue.

Abhorrent markets may arise. For example, anonymous systems and untraceable digital cash have

some obvious implications for the arranging of contract killings and such. (The greatest risk in

arranging such hits is that physical meetings expose the buyers and sellers of such services to stings.

Crypto anarchy lessens, or even eliminates, this risk, thus lowering transaction costs. The risks to the

186

actual triggermen are not lessened, but this is a risk the buyers need not worry about. Think of

anonymous escrow services which hold the digital money until the deed is done. Lots of issues here. It

is unfortunate that this area is so little-discussed....people seem to have an aversion for exploring the

logical consequences in such areas.)

The implications for corporate and national espionage have already been touched upon. Combined with

liquid markets in information, this may make secrets much harder to keep. ((Imagine a "Digital Jane's,"

after the military weapons handbooks, anonymously compiled and sold for digital money, beyond the

reach of various governments which don't want their secrets told.)

New money-laundering approaches are of course another area to explore.

Something that is inevitable is the increased role of individuals, leading to a new kind of elitism. Those

who are comfortable with the tools described here can avoid the restrictions and taxes that others

cannot. If local laws can be bypassed technologically, the implications are pretty clear.

The implications for personal liberty are of course profound. No longer can nation-states tell their

citizen-units what they can have access to, not if these citizens can access the cyberspace world through

anonymous systems.

10 How Likely?

I am making no bold predictions that these changes will sweep the world anytime soon. Most people

are ignorant of these methods, and the methods themselves are still under development. A wholesale

conversion to "living in cyberspace" is just not in the cards, at least not in the next few decades.

But to an increasingly large group, the Net is reality. It is where friends are made, where business is

negotiated, where intellectual stimulation is found. And many of these people are using crypto anarchy

tools. Anonymous remailers, message pools, information markets. Consulting via pseudonyms has

begun to appear, and should grow. (As usual, the lack of a robust digital cash system is slowing things

down.

Can crypto anarchy be stopped? Although the future evolution in unclear, as the future almost always

is, it seems unlikely that present trends can be reversed:

 Dramatic increases in bandwidth and local, privately-owned computer power.

 Exponential increase in number of Net users.

 Explosion in "degrees of freedom" in personal choices, tastes, wishes, goals.

 Inability of central governments to control economies, cultural trends, etc. [9]

The Net is integrally tied to economic transactions, and no country can afford to "disconnect" itself

from it. (The U.S.S.R. couldn't do it, and they were light-years behind the U.S., European, and Asian

countries. And in a few more years, no hope of limiting these tools at all, something the U.S. F.B.I. has

acknowledged. [11]

Technological Inevitability: These tools are already in widespread use, and only draconian steps to

limit access to computers and communications channels could significantly impact further use.

(Scenarios for restrictions on private use of crypto.)

As John Gilmore has noted, "the Net tends to interpret censorship as damage, and routes around it."

This applies as well to attempts to legislate behavior on the Net. (The utter impossibility of regulating

the worldwide Net, with entry points in more than a hundred nations, with millions of machines, is not

yet fully recognized by most national governments. They still speak in terms of "controlling" the Net,

when in fact the laws of one nation generally have little use in other countries.)

187

Digital money in its various forms is probably the weakest link at this point. Most of the other pieces

are operational, at least in basic forms, but digital cash is (understandably) harder to deploy. Hobbyist

or "toy" experiments have been cumbersome, and the "toy" nature is painfully obvious. It is not easy to

use digital cash systems at this time ("To use Magic Money, first create a client..."), especially as

compared to the easily understood alternatives. [12] People are understandably reluctant to entrust

actual money to such systems. And it's not yet clear what can be bought with digital cash (a chicken or

egg dilemma, likely to be resolved in the next several years).

And digital cash, digital banks, etc., are a likely target for legislative moves to limit the deployment of

crypto anarchy and digital economies. Whether through banking regulation or tax laws, it is not likely

that digital money will be deployed easily. "Kids, don't try this at home!" Some of the current schemes

may also incorporate methods for reporting transactions to the tax authorities, and may include

"software key escrow" features which make transactions fully or partly visible to authorities.

11 Conclusions

Strong crypto provides new levels of personal privacy, all the more important in an era of increased

surveillance, monitoring, and the temptation to demand proofs of identity and permission slips. Some

of the "credentials without identity" work of Chaum and others may lessen this move toward a

surveillance society.

The implications are, as I see it, that the power of nation-states will be lessened, tax collection policies

will have to be changed, and economic interactions will be based more on personal calculations of

value than on societal mandates.

Is this a Good Thing? Mostly yes. Crypto anarchy has some messy aspects, of this there can be little

doubt. From relatively unimportant things like price-fixing and insider trading to more serious things

like economic espionage, the undermining of corporate knowledge ownership, to extremely dark things

like anonymous markets for killings.

But let's not forget that nation-states have, under the guise of protecting us from others, killed more

than 100 million people in this century alone. Mao, Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot, just to name the most

extreme examples. It is hard to imagine any level of digital contract killings ever coming close to

nationstate barbarism. (But I agree that this is something we cannot accurately speak about; I don't

think we have much of a choice in embracing crypto anarchy or not, so I choose to focus on the bright

side.)

It is hard to argue that the risks of anonymous markets and tax evasion are justification for worldwide

suppression of communications and encryption tools. People have always killed each other, and

governments have not stopped this (arguably, they make the problem much worse, as the wars of this

century have shown).

Also, there are various steps that can be taken to lessen the risks of crypto anarchy impinging on

personal safety. [10]

Strong crypto provides a technological means of ensuring the practical freedom to read and write what

one wishes to. (Albeit perhaps not in one's true name, as the nation-state-democracy will likely still try

to control behavior through majority votes on what can be said, not said, read, not read, etc.) And of

course if speech is free, so are many classes of economic interaction that are essentially tied to free

speech.

A phase change is coming. Virtual communities are in their ascendancy, displacing conventional

notions of nationhood. Geographic proximity is no longer as important as it once was.

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A lot of work remains. Technical cryptography still hasn't solved all problems, the role of reputations

(both positive and negative) needs further study, and the practical issues surrounding many of these

areas have barely been explored.

We will be the colonizers of cyberspace.

12 Acknowledgments

My thanks to my colleagues in the Cypherpunks group, all 700 of them, past or present. Well over 100

megabytes of list traffic has passed through he Cypherpunks mailing list, so there have been a lot of

stimulating ideas. But especially my appreciation goes to Eric Hughes, Sandy Sandfort, Duncan

Frissell, Hal Finney, Perry Metzger, Nick Szabo, John Gilmore, Whit Diffie, Carl Ellison, Bill Stewart,

and Harry Bartholomew. Thanks as well to Robin Hanson, Ted Kaehler, Keith Henson, Chip

Morningstar, Eric Dean Tribble, Mark Miller, Bob Fleming, Cherie Kushner, Michael Korns, George

Gottlieb, Jim Bennett, Dave Ross, Gayle Pergamit, and--especially--the late Phil Salin. Finally, thanks

for valuable discussions, sometimes brief, sometimes long, with Vernor Vinge, David Friedman, Rudy

Rucker, David Chaum, Kevin Kelly, and Steven Levy.

13 References and Notes

1 The Cypherpunks group was mainly formed by Eric Hughes, Tim May, and John Gilmore. It began

both physical meetings, in the Bay Area and elsewhere, and virtual meetings on an unmoderated

mailing list. The name was provided by Judith Milhon, as a play on the "cyberpunk" genre and the

British spelling of cipher. The mailing list can be subscribed to by sending the single message

subscribe cypherpunks in the body of a message to majordomo@toad.com. Expect at least 50 messages

a day. About 600 subscribers in many countries are presently on the list. Some are pseudonyms.

2 RSA Data Security Inc., Redwood Shores, California, is the license administrator. Contact them for

details.

3 Many crypto texts exist. A good introduction is Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography, John Wiley

and Sons, 1994. This text includes pointers to many other sources. The "Crypto" Proceedings

(Advances in Cryptology, Springer-Verlag, annually) are essential references. The annual Crypto

conference in Santa Barbara, and the Eurocrypt and Auscrypt conferences, are where most crypto

results are presented.

4 David Chaum, "Untraceable Electronic Mail, Return Addresses, and Digital Pseudonyms," Comm.

ACM 24, 2, February 1981, pp. 84-88. Cypherpunks-style remailers are a form of Chaum's "digital

mixes," albeit far from ideal.

5 David Chaum, "Security without Identification: Transaction Systems to make Big Brother Obsolete,"

Comm. ACM 28, 10, October 1985. This is an early paper on digital cash...be sure to consult more

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