Feasibility of Using TOR or VPNs For Anonymity

m0lt1 m0lt1wl at gmail.com
Tue Feb 22 11:25:47 PST 2011


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I've been told TOR and VPNs are heralded for their anonymizing
properties however the skeptic in me says that there are some serious
failing points.

It goes without saying that recipients of this list knows their stuff
about prying eyes and third parties surveilling activities of
"activists" or people of interest.

So, how does one engage in electronic communication whilst maintaining
anonymity from governments, business, and rambunctious infosec techies?

I've also been told that TOR exit nodes are often run by governments to
filter and collect outgoing data that can use to build a profile on a
person. How dangerous is this problem? Wouldn't the SSL'd connections
between TOR nodes mitigate the issue?

My present strategy is to employ the use of a VPN that retains IP
address logs for 24 hours before wiping for all communications. The VPN
is located outside the US, and is apparently regarded as "safe" by a few
paranoid individuals. I know there are a few pitfalls there, how dire
are they?

In short, I need to be able to disassociate my real identity with this
pseudonym effectively enough to "hide" from governments and third
parties... At least in terms of originating IP addresses to public
services like email.
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