Browsing the internet as privately as possible

[James]

We're researching this topic and would like your help brainstorming! 

 

So far we've come up with:
Using a VPN like PIA 
Using a Secure Browser: Epic, Brave, or TOR
Switching DNS Servers: Quad9, DNSWatch, or OpenNIC
Using a search provider other than Google: DuckDuckGo or Search Encrypt
Browser extensions (for when you don’t want to use a secure browser) like Ghostery, Privacy Badger, or DisConnect
 
Is there anything else that we can do to increase our anonymity while surfing the web? 

 

Thanks!!

[KING OF THE DIRTY DANS]

6 hours ago, James said:

We're researching this topic and would like your help brainstorming! 

 

So far we've come up with:
Using a VPN like PIA 
Using a Secure Browser: Epic, Brave, or TOR
Switching DNS Servers: Quad9, DNSWatch, or OpenNIC
Using a search provider other than Google: DuckDuckGo or Search Encrypt
Browser extensions (for when you don’t want to use a secure browser) like Ghostery, Privacy Badger, or DisConnect
 
Is there anything else that we can do to increase our anonymity while surfing the web? 

 

Thanks!!

I would use adblockers, and use an os Like Linux or Mac OS, so your Tor browsing will be safer on the Deep Web

[star_pilot475]

10 minutes ago, James said:

Is there anything else that we can do to increase our anonymity while surfing the web? 

Hmm....other than using incognito mode?  

 

Using a virtual machine to browse?

[Sauron]

34 minutes ago, James said:

TOR

I thought I'd point out that TOR goes far beyond being a safe browser - it's a protocol more than any specific piece of software and using it renders a VPN or DNS switching superfluous.

 

Other anonymization tactics include:

• Using an open wifi hotspot, preferably not too close to your home (normally this would be a security issue but not if you use encrypted protocols like a VPN or Tor)
• Spoofing your MAC address so your machine can't be traced
• Using something like Canvas Defender to scramble your canvas footprint
• Using a virtual machine to hide what operating system you're using
• Using a live image in said virtual machine to make sure even the VM cannot be consistently tracked
• Blocking javascript
• Avoiding logging in to anything (seems obvious but some people think using Tor gives them privacy and then proceed to log in to facebook)
• Using something that isn't Windows since we know Microsoft collects quite a bit of telemetry from your machine and we can't really know how far it goes
• Using a machine that supports Coreboot to disable the Intel ME and ensure it's not calling home

Some of these are excessively paranoid but I hope this is helpful

 

-edit-

This video also goes quite in depth on some common pitfalls of people trying to use the web anonymously through Tor but committing some fatal mistakes that eventually lead to their deanonymization by the police or what have you.

 

 

[Zando_]

6 minutes ago, comander said:

If the CIA is after you

then you've got bigger problems. 

[RoseLuck462]

Leave your phone and any other electronic with LTE or WiFi at home.

 

Drive a few states over and to a public library.

 

Enter fake info as you make accounts.

 

Be mindful of whoever passes behind you.

[RejZoR]

Helpful list of privacy focused services:

https://rejzor.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/bring-privacy-under-your-control-again/

 

Other would be terminating and blocking ALL or as much as possible of data hoarding services. Facebook, Twitter, sack that, stop using most of Google stuff and replace it with alternatives.

 

Make sure to clean Google data using this:

https://rejzor.wordpress.com/2018/10/14/control-google-privacy/

 

Continue to avoid their sister companies:

https://rejzor.wordpress.com/2019/07/21/big-tech-owned-companies-and-subsidiaries/

 

And some reality check here:

https://rejzor.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/big-tech-privacy-controls-are-dust-in-the-eyes-of-users/

 

Bottom line is, when you start going with all this privacy thing, you realize how terrifyingly clustered everything is around few mega corporations that have their squid arms in almost every pore of the internet. It's so bad that most webpages parse freaking fonts from Google instead of hosting them on own site. LinusTechTips included!

 

I've wanted to block everything with Google in the URL name and found out webpages load unusually long. Just to find out fonts.googleapis.com is the culprit and here on LTT, it even breaks post control buttons. It's a pretty crappy situation we currently live in and most people don't even know how bad it really is.

 

Note: Might look like I'm shilling my blog, it's just easier to point people to always up to date resources than rewriting them by hand every time.

[Isvvc]

You're sponsored by them so I know you're not going to get away with recommending someone else, but, especially if you're American, you don't want to use an American-based VPN service like PIA. The US Government can audit them and get your information and share it with other Five Eyes countries.

 

W10Privacy is very useful if you need to use Windows.

 

Brave is nice out-of-the-box, but Firefox with manual Web RTC disabled and plugins like NoScript, Cookie AutoDelete, Decentraleyes, uMatrix, Privacy Badger, and uBlock Origin can be just as good or better.

[DOspital]

Do all of the above but most of all do not do the same stuff you do while your not protected. Your a data point with a meta and as the most recent article points out they can easily find out who you are if you decide to function the same while protected and not protected.

You need to digitally at packet level be two or more different people. 

USB boot only! Tails or other Linux OS, which ever you are comfortable with... 

In the end if you are truly a target |they| will identify you. There are no rules in this game for some.

[Harvs]

Most of these protocols still send DNS requests in plain text at some point in the chain. So I would look at encrypted DNS protocols like DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS. This is especially important as some governments (e.g UK) are using DNS logging widely.