ANONYMITY – COMPLETE CARDERS GUIDE

In this article, I will tell you about how you can be found, and how to resist this, along the way describing the algorithms for the operation of proxies, VPNs, and other means of anonymization in the most simple language possible. This is necessary for understanding, so as not to burden anyone with professional slang and complex terms that can be omitted or replaced with simple analogs.

1. How VPN and SSH tunnels work

VPN and SSH tunnels are very similar things in the algorithm of work. The tunnels are even called VPNs for the poor. It all works like this: when you connect to a VPN, an encrypted communication channel is created, and all data on the VPN is transmitted encrypted using the SSL 1/2/3 version. Maybe you can even find a VPN with TLS encryption on the Internet.

And every time you press Enter in the address bar of your browser, the request is sent not to the site you entered in the address bar but encrypted to the VPN. There it is decrypted and executed, and the result (the page in the browser, the VPN works for all requests to the network from all applications on the computer) is sent to you. Similar to the proxy principle. This is it. VPN acts as an encrypted proxy server between you and all internet connections on your PC

2. Dedik, VPN is not a means of anonymity.

A lot of people think that by connecting to hide.me’s VPN, they are becoming wild anonymous. Well, it is not clever to ruin their wet fantasies, but this is unlikely to save them from the zone. The fact is that almost all VPNs on the Internet keep logs, which they will happily give out to their comrade major. Simply because providing VPN services is a business. And when you have citizens in uniform, you have to fulfill their requirements in order to keep the opportunity to continue doing business.

For example, are you sure that the person who provides VPN services, his company, and he himself are located in another country? Are you sure that the power structures of your country do not have power over the VPN chief? And now the same thing, but about the moderator, or the technical worker of this VPN?

But what about the option when the special services and the police themselves open such a site for the provision of VPN services in the course of operational search or preventive measures? I do not even mention the possibility that the server with the VPN has a vulnerability, or the admin of this service is generally so stupid that he sends logs not just by an official decree, but even by email or phone call. Yes, it happens. Actually, all the same, apply to dediks, so I mentioned them in the subtitle.

3. VPN without logs and cleaning logs on Dedicated Server.

It’s no secret that different VPN services are being promoted in different illegal forums, which promise no logs. First, you can check this only if you have the server IP and password from the root user. But even here there is a problem that the VPN provider keeps the logs, and so does your Internet provider. By law it is necessary.

With Dediks, in fact, the same persimmon. Only there the factor is added that you will never know the exact number of places where logs are written on your specific server, whether there is some hidden pool there, and whether logs are written above the Dedicated Server itself. And no software that “cleans the logs after you exit” will help you.

4. How the police will find you hiding behind a VPN or VDS.

To begin with, when they establish the IP from which the alleged crime was, they look from which country this IP is. If not from yours, then during COPM they find out the IP address that, in a given period of time, sent packets (the same encrypted ones that I talked about in the VPN subheading) to the IP address from which there was a violation.

So, if the offense was committed by an inexperienced user, then almost direct evidence appears against him at this moment. Then the matter is small – ask the provider’s logs regarding the suspect, study them, and conduct the arrest.

5. Hacking SSL.

SSL encryption, which is used by almost all VPNs and tunnels, has been cracked. This means that the traffic that you drive through the VPN can no longer be considered encrypted at all, and anonymity is lost.

6. TOR.

Many are trying to solve all the problems of TOP. And there are a number of problems here. I would say diagnoses. And the name of this diagnosis is illiteracy. Firstly, you will never hide from the site that you are sitting through the TOP, the bulbous network is open, and the browser settings are also scorching you.

The second is that the TOP output nodes are often logged by the holders of these same nodes. I just want to say that using the TOP all your authorization data (from a bitcoin wallet, for example) I can easily steal. Or blackmail you with the content of your requests that you sent from TOP. You didn’t enter funny pictures through an onion browser, right?

ALSO,

The principle of operation of the TOP is similar to an onion, which is why there is not a hammer on the logo, but a bow. Requests through the TOP browser are transmitted from 1 relay (the principle of relaying to the TOP is similar to the principle of cellular towers for GSM operators, these are ordinary computers of activists that allowed TOP to use their computer as an intermediate or even an endpoint in multilayer TOP requests. Such computers are called nodes, or repeaters).

From your computer, it flew to node number 21323, from it to 284, then to 3289, then to 9819, then to 13981, and so on, a lot of layers, different countries of the world. In the end, your request for Comrade Major is lost somewhere among these nodes and countries, and he no longer has the authority and desire to unravel it further.

The principle of the bulb. Have you caught up? And of course, in this network of onion layers, there is a layer that is the last one. That is, a layer that sends a request to the Internet and returns it to you. This “layer” is called an output repeater. And he receives already decrypted data, that is, your logins and passwords in clear text. Well, or at least your cookies. All this is very often collected and people make money from it.

7. Fingerprints.

Different good and not-so-good sites have a bunch of ways to identify your computer, even when you clear all cookies, reinstall your browser 20 times, and generally enter through a virtual machine. All of these things are called fingerprints. For example, the unique number of your processor. This is the simplest. And then there are font-based fingerprints, and I’ve even seen a fingerprint somewhere that identifies users by a computer mouse.

They all have different reaction rates and other parameters. I don’t remember all the details, but if you’re interested, google it. Besides all these things, there is also such an unpleasant thing as the LSO Cookie. These are the cookies of your Flash plugin in your browser.

The fact is that the sites you visit are recorded not only in your history, but also in the online bank with such cookies, and you can also be identified by them. And then there is the Ever cookie, these are the “eternal” cookies that hide in more places on your computer and are quite difficult to delete.

8. Double VPN.

A VPN chain may not consist of one VPN server to which you are connected, but of two, three, or four (these are Double, Triple, Quadro – respectively) connections. They are more stable, and they are no longer affected by the trick described in paragraph 4 when the police simply looked at the IP from which the IP VPN was entered and figured out who was hiding behind it.

Want to get away from the Internet? Then there are tougher methods that need to be applied in particularly critical situations. While some people are tempted by online fame, it can be a burden for others. It is not always possible to completely remove yourself from the Internet, but by following this instruction,

you can definitely be close to it.

1. Think carefully about your decision before continuing.

Much of what is suggested below cannot be undone. This means that you will lose all information and traces of your online presence, and in some cases, you will not even be able to restore your account using the same name and email address. These are drastic measures, they must be applied in essence.

Think about what made you come to this decision? Was it because of individuals haunting you online? Was it a single unpleasant experience? Or do you feel an excess of it in your life? Make sure you have a complete understanding of the problem before proceeding with the solution.
Are there other aspects related to this issue, such as using a different mailbox than the main one?

For example, if your current email address creates unpleasant associations on the Internet, could you create a separate inbox for purely business use, such as sending a resume, creating professional accounts, etc.?
In fact, you may not even remember all the sites that you once registered with.

2. Delete your accounts.

As mentioned, you may not remember all the sites you registered with. The more popular a site is, the more effective it is to remove your personal information from it if you are trying to disappear from the Internet. It doesn’t necessarily clear the deep web’s memory of you, but it’s a good start. The following list should help you identify your priorities:

Remove yourself from VK, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.
Delete your google account
Delete your eBay account and any other online auction site.
Remove yourself from Avito, Yula, and any other “flea market”.
Delete your account on the school, college, or university website, but only if you are not already studying there.
Remove information about yourself from all gaming sites. Yes, this includes all the virtual assets that you have won and accumulated over the years. Give all your belongings to the people who need them, if this is provided by the site rules.

3. Look for workarounds in cases where the account cannot be deleted.

The rules of some sites do not allow you to completely delete your account, suggesting instead simply “deactivate” (while all your data remains in the system) or abandon it. If there is a real reason for deletion (for example, witness protection), contact the site creator or its administrators; as a last resort, you should be able to change your first and last name to hide your identity. If there is no one to stand up for you, there is another way:

Remove any truthful information about yourself from your account. If it is impossible to leave the fields empty (or you suspect that your data is still saved somewhere), replace them with frankly dummy (Vasily Oppenheimer, Jr.) or hopelessly trite (Vasya Pupkin) options. You should not associate your abandoned page with some poor fellow whose name matches the one you specified.

Please note that if you enter a non-existent email address, the system will send a confirmation request there, so this option will not work. This pushes us to the next step.
Create a new email account on the free site. The less the login looks like your real name, the better (for example: (hidden) Also, do not provide true information. Do not close this page; if the email address is really that awkward, you may not remember it later.

Link the account you are not deleting with the new mailbox. Confirm the request to change your email address. When the data is changed, make sure that your primary email address is no longer displayed anywhere in this account.

Delete your new box. Your non-deletion account is now linked to a non-existent email address. There is always a chance that someone will choose this particular login (hidden) for email and want to create an account on the same site. Confusion will then begin, but this most likely will not worry you much.

4. Close your personal pages.

If you have created sites on the network, you will have to delete them completely. This includes:

Blogs. If you had a popular blog, remember that snippets from it may already have been scattered across the Internet. There is nothing you can do about it.
Blogs on social networks. Many sites offer blogging as an additional registration option; do not forget about this if you have once created such a blog.
Groups like Ning, Gro.ups, Yahoo Groups, etc. How well you manage to leave these groups depends on the rest of the members.
Forum publications. This may be nearly impossible on some sites, but try your best.
Articles that you have added to specialized sites. Success will depend on the terms and conditions of those sites.

5. Check to see if you are listed on the telephone company customer list.

If so, ask them to completely delete your data. Do the same for other customer databases on the network that may contain your name and other information.

6. Cancel all mailings to your email.

This should be fairly simple and can be done by clicking on the direct link provided in the body of the email. Follow individual instructions. If you cannot find such instructions, contact the site administrators directly.

7. Delete Internet search results related to you.

Search for different variations of your name or nickname to find anything you might have forgotten, and manually delete it. Remember that search engines display cached data (including mentions of you) from old pages that have already been changed or deleted; it is not in the interests of the search engine to display expired information in the results, so over time they will disappear. In some cases, however, you will have to contact the search engine administrators directly for expedited removal.

Be prepared that removing yourself from the search engine results may require more thorough work, including paperwork in the real world (for example, faxes, etc. to verify your identity).

Top search engines and people finder you should check out:

Google
Yandex
Search Mail.ru
Yahoo
Bing
White Pages
Intelius
Yahoo People Search
Acxiom
People Finder
Zaba Search

8. Be polite.

Even if you are driven by anger, fear, or annoyance, do not let this affect the tone of your communication with website managers. They are the same people and will respond to a reasonable request for good reasons. If you want to remove the mention of your name because you are looking for work, say so; so they will at least know that you have a real reason.

Avoid high-pitched conversations, legal threats (unless they refuse to cooperate, and you are actually willing to do so) or other hard-hitting ways of doing business.

9. Consider using the services of a company that specializes in removing information from the network.

If you do not want to go through this entire process yourself, you could use the services of a service that will do all the work for you. You will have to pay, of course, but that makes sense if the problem requires immediate attention. Look for a service that:

Able to remove information about you from the deep web, not just the main sites.
(Preferable) has agreements with data providers

10. Delete your email account.

The removal method will depend on whether you are using a paid or free service. If you decide to take such extreme measures, wait until you complete all the other steps described in this article, as you may still need your email while performing them.

Also, If the service is free (for example, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.), delete the mail, following the instructions on the site.
If the service is paid, contact the appropriate company for instructions. Even fully electronic organizations must be run by living people who can be contacted.
Some free e-mail boxes are automatically deleted after a certain period of non-use.
Before deleting your email, always check for important information that is worth keeping. Transfer all the necessary materials to a USB flash drive or use another method of storing information.

11. Clean your computer.

Delete all browsing history, cookies, cache, etc.
Delete your internet browser if you are so categorical.
Get rid of your computer if you’re willing to go to these extreme measures.

12. Accept that you cannot delete everything.

There may be some things that you can’t do anything about. In such cases, it is best to accept everything as it is. If the echoes of your virtual life haunt you, you can always pretend it’s not you (especially if you have a very common name).

You should be aware that in the following cases, deleting mentions of yourself will be extremely difficult to accomplish:

Mentioning you in news, blogs, audio files, etc.
Comments left by you anywhere.
Your photos are uploaded by other users to their albums.
Photos were taken by you and ended up on other people’s websites or in someone’s blogs.
Information from government sources that provide for the lawful provision of public data (unless there is a court order to remove such information).

Advice :

There are special programs that will help you remove information about yourself from various sites. Find them online.
Using a “whois” service or a domain search engine, you can determine who owns a particular website, so you know who to contact when needed. This is especially useful when the site does not include the owner’s email address. Look for “admin email” and “database server” in the above information.

If your desire to remove yourself from the web is based on addiction, you might be better off trying to get rid of it than the Internet. Check out the following articles: Get Rid of Internet Addiction

How to overcome addiction

If you are really bothered by spreading your name and personal information online, and you are not sure what to do, seek help and advice from a private rights organization such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
If the problem is that there is false or libelous information about you online, seek the advice of a legal practitioner.
Contact the Google webmasters to remove certain pages and sites from search results. Be prepared to explain the reason.
Change your name. The advantage is that someone who recognizes you under the new name will not seek information about you using the old one. But everyone you knew before knows you by your old name. Moreover, changing the first or last name will entail difficulties with the execution of business, legal and other official documents. This is not a perfect solution

Warnings:

Expect some developers to grumble and insist on their “right” to keep public information free for general access. Some of them simply do not want to look at the issue from a different angle and take it as a personal insult. Be persistent and seek legal advice if necessary.

Some sites use mailing lists to try to push you emotionally and make you stay. Phrases such as “all your friends will lose sight of you” are aimed at making you think twice; after all, the site doesn’t want to lose a customer in you. If you hesitate, take out the photos of your real friends, lay them out in front of you on the table, click on the “Delete” button on the site and call your friends, invite them to have a drink and chat. So you will deal with all doubts. Remember the rule “what once gets into the network will stay there forever.” Be careful in choosing the information you are going to share on the Internet. The best treatment is prevention.