How can I hide my online activities from my ISP?

[Minterator]

1984 is here, we live in a global police state and the enemy has the advantage. In EU you have better protection, in the US you live in a corporate police state. The NSA gets all your stuff, unless your name is Edward Snowden. And if you full-proof your computer, your smart phone will get you. Safeguarding democracy is the only defense.

[lmintnewb2]

Funny random thought about this:

ie: Google Inc 20+ billion per year, M$ 90+ billion/yr. Buys A LOT of influence and friends in high places too.

Amusing hypothetical scenario, not that'd it'd ever happen, as M$ probably pays more out annually to xyz-politician(s) than they get from the citizens and wouldn't be surprised if by a far stretch and/or the amount of money they dump into buying or running politicians and compromising decision makers themselves. Imagine politico puppet coming on the tube and announcing to it's citizens. "You can no longer use M$ window$, such software will no longer be available in the country because they have violated our privacy rights and we are trying to sue them in international court for 13gazillion dollars. From hence forth, M$ software will not be allowed to be sold on computers in our country until they stop violating our citizens privacy and pay all due fines and damages to our govt."

Would like to see the look on the faces of that country's citizens in this and likely the politico's involved would be assassinated or lynched by the populace, knowing no other way other than M$ to make their computers work.

M$ actually has paid some hefty fines for shenanaghans in the past but sheesh to them, sure it mostly constitutes pocket change, shrugs. ie: Make 20million doing something craptastic, have to pay a 2mil dollar fine (nobody gets incarcerated or criminally charged), ouch, that really hurt ! A mere measily 18million in profit ! Get on with life.

Again the world as most people see it or think it is and the actual world as it is and how it operates, totally different things. Ok ... gonna shut it now, OP for one thing make sure you change your dns from the ISP to something more privacy conscious if you don't want them logging your online activities. If you're UBER paranoid, even setup a local dns server, that updates periodically on your local network. Supposed to be not overly hard to do. Never bothered just read up on it.

[idle]

A paid for/private VPN would be sufficient? Privacy is the reason I switched to Linux Mint from Windows. When Windows 10 was released and information about its activities came to light, I was lucky enough to find an article that suggested Linux as an alternative. Did some looking around and it seemed pretty obvious coming from Windows that Linux Mint would be the best road to take according to the advice I'd found. I'm no expert, but a private VPN for a small fee is a start. I don't know how much protection that offers, I'm certain there are people here that could expand on that. I tried TOR and for me, its just way too slow.

[lmintnewb2]

^ Thanks for the 1st hand feedback on TOR, is what I'd assumed it would be. If I bounce my web browser off 10 proxy servers in an attempt to get anonymity, common sense dictates it's going to have an impact on speed and performance. As to small fee for VPN, my opinion ... there's no way to know. Who's really running the service ? Some of the free one's might take the Google Inc approach and be ad supported or something to generate revenue. Sheesh some or a buncha of them might be outright owned/operated by Google Inc themselves. Majority of users would be clueless only since they're using a VPN would think they're doing something more to protect their privacy.

Corporate law is also a massively murky pool of drek. Silent partners ( which could be the full owner and/or majority stockholder), thus controlling party and owner of the enterprise. Foreign incorporation and front subsidiaries same. Even a person fairly well versed and backed by some impressive governmental authority could have real serious problems even ascertaining who owns and operates a given business entity. Forensic accounting and such fields. Much less in the case of my Govt (US), where the very people supposedly empowered to police corporate malfeasance and enforce anti-trust and similar laws are very clearly bought and paid for by the very people they're supposed to be policing.

Aka: If you google it, many high level people in the US Sec = Security exchange commission, were busted sitting around watching net-p0rn all day on the clock instead of investigating any type of Corp crime. So really no telling what enhancement to privacy a provider is going to give you, at any price point. Again it makes me wonder why people even bother going through all these measures if they aren't even doing anything wrong. Do I care if google knows I like basket weaving, or clog dancing or the color black, no I don't. Trying to hide these things and as mentioned possibly even attracting additional high power attention to my online activities as a consequence just seems silly to me.

If I need to cover my tracks or hide, yeah I'll do my best to do it as required. I don't need to hide if I like xyz-band and their songs though, puppies or whatever other innocent thing(s) ... shrugs.

[Citizen229]

The Equifax hack, should be an eye opener. No matter how hard you try and be a good steward of your identity, some other organization will drop the ball. Online activities are no different. Someone, somewhere is logging. And that data can be hacked or seized. The state of the internet is such that, if you do not want to be tracked, do not connect to the internet.

Paranoid guide to security:
1) No internet
2) no Cellular Phone( more laws protecting land lines)
3) no "smart" appliances
4) off grid electric, smart meters can transmit all kinds of data. Especially with ethernet over electrical wiring.
5) cash,cash,cash

[lmintnewb2]

Dang it one more, this thread is bringing to mind stuff that makes me paranoid !!

The state of the internet is such that, if you do not want to be tracked, do not connect to the internet.

+1 with some exceptions of course as I tend to be an overthinker who believes anything is possible depending. Lmao. and this

2) no Cellular Phone( more laws protecting land lines)

Nope, though seems reasonable enough on the surface, things like voiceprints and yeah am 110% sure they've been widely deployed in many places for a LONG time too. Means knucklehead of interest never uses same phone twice. Sneaks up to pay phone, feverishly dials, talks ... some govt box somewhere, says hey, that's dork 198828, starts recording anyway.

Plus even the walmarts in my location supposedly use facial recognition software now, to recognize and detect known thieves. Ala: Used to mostly be international airports, watching out for suspected terrorists and etc. Just think overall people are fighting a pointless stupid battle for online privacy, who da heck cares if google knows you like wind-surfing !?!?!? Now if you're actually doing something that's not scumtastic = kid-p0rn. Yeah still plenty of common sense ways to evade online tracking and detection imo. Of course depending upon exact circumstances. For everyday computing just seems pointless to me. As mentioned with TOR, likely to degrade the quality of the experience too.

I bounce my connection off a satelite, then a maze of 4 proxy servers and 4 other connections. WHAM finally arrive at my destination. How to cook good bbq chicken.com !!!! Yeah ... totally untracked ! That'll show you Google ( and you still don't know I like the color, though not technically a color BLACK ! ) Give me a break, you folks make me paranoid, might start having to watch you more closely.

[Citizen229]

What i mean by land lines are more protected is...

I have posted before on a few threads a link to a US federal court ruling. This ruling stated that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy from the government on the web. This ruling leaves a large gray area for smart phones. They are computers connected to the internet, that have phone capability. The device can apply to wiretap laws, but at the same time a this ruling. Which ever law shall apply will be at the judges discretion now. LEO/big brother can now use case law to override a century of wiretapping laws. And the judge will be reduced to deciding if the information was obtained legally or not. Instead of evidence being presented BEFORE he makes that decision and then the data collected.

[Moem]

Just think overall people are fighting a pointless stupid battle for online privacy, who da heck cares if google knows you like wind-surfing !?!?!?

Okay, but what if you do something that's legal now, and then the law changes? Or it's legal where you live, and then you move?
What if you are unaware that something you are doing is illegal? Nobody knows all the laws. There are simply too many.
What if you are doing something that is legal, but frowned upon in some circles, and it influences your chances to get a job later?
What if you do online research into suicide or anorexia, because you are worried about a friend, and your health care premium goes up?

'I have nothing to hide' is a popular argument, but it's a fallacy. Privacy is a basic human need, and should be seen as a right. If you are interested, here are some articles about that.
https://www.wired.com/2013/06/why-i-hav ... veillance/
https://falkvinge.net/2012/07/19/debunk ... g-to-fear/
https://www.amnesty.ca/blog/7-reasons-w ... rveillance

[lmintnewb2]

^ No worries Citizen229, mostly just being a dork here but really don't get innocent netizens obsessing with online privacy. Am sure I've made that clear by now, if you aren't doing anything, why such a compulsion to want to hide it ? Should've just kept digital pie-hole shut as this really is always just a subject that ends up aggravating me. Again ... see people board up and booby-trap front door, leave every other access to their house unlocked and think they're accomplishing something. It just grates on my nerves.

Also yeah, things like TOR, the writing was forever on the wall about such a service. It's a no-brainer to say it's going to attract the attention of some HIGHLY resourced and thus able to apply many HIGHLY qualified techies to crack it situation. Not to mention the originator of the thing, apparently he supplied the US FBI a TOR hack himself and who knows how many others before then. All these people browsing via TOR feeling safe and protected as can be. Aka: Living in a fantasy world ... but at least they felt better about it I guess. Ok now shutting it.

Some good points Moem but burnt out on this and not willing to go point by point. Yeah consider many activities online (in public) don't say/do anything you can't live with. You can hide stuff like your facebook profiles, although I'm one of the tiny minority that doesn't do the facebook thing, consider it just an added aggravation. Believe bottomline expecting privacy in public is kind of pointless overall. If you're doing something GOOD, something with a real need for it, then yes am 110% sure it can be accomplished but for vast majority that's simply not the case in my view, they're privacy obsessed ( In a public place) for the sake of privacy, w/o much reason to care.

[MintBean]

^ No worries Citizen229, mostly just being a dork here but really don't get innocent netizens obsessing with online privacy. Am sure I've made that clear by now, if you aren't doing anything, why such a compulsion to want to hide it ? Should've just kept digital pie-hole shut as this really is always just a subject that ends up aggravating me.

If the subject aggravates you, keep out of the thread. The question is perfectly reasonable and your compulsion to turn it into a joke is pulling the thread off-topic which is against forum policy. I grow tired of those who pedal the line 'why do you seek privacy if you have nothing to hide?' The implication is that anyone who does not want the state or the corporations knowing their business is a criminal. That's a very slippery slope and students of history should be aware of the dark places that attitude can lead.

[lmintnewb2]

Nothing like that ... the thing am trying to say is be realistic. I don't care if you're a cyber criminal or not (depending upon type). Just that if you want privacy, be aware of the realities of the situation and learn/act accordingly. Out of all the replies some of the random infobits I've added to this thread are in fact the most productive. That being, be aware of things like dns leaks and other considerations.

Could careless if xyz-netizen accomplishes privacy if that's their end goal. Certainly wouldn't hurt my feelings, though again, incompetent and ignorant people resorting to all manner of obviously ineffective evasive measures is silly, no matter how you (depending upon the person) interpret it. Plus yeah, really isn't even my bag or drive if I wanted to break into TONS of peoples systems, even script kiddie style ... don't doubt it'd be childs play. Upscale that to the CIA, FBI etc etc etc and the only one you're kidding about your ability to retain online privacy is yourself. Though again ... if that makes you feel better go for it.

[jimallyn]

if you aren't doing anything, why such a compulsion to want to hide it ?

“Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say. It’s a deeply anti social principle because rights are not just individual, they’re collective, and what may not have value to you today may have value to an entire population, an entire people, an entire way of life tomorrow. And if you don’t stand up for it, then who will?” - Edward Snowden

[lmintnewb2]

Ok getting doubly burnt out on this. All this chest beating and nonsense quoting, very well. Then post something of substance, something that actually informs people as to an effective means to achieve online privacy. End of day the fact is you don't have any, nor obviously any real understanding of the topic and all that's involved. If you're an idiot then you read the law and think it actually works that way, innocent until proven guilty or any of a million other realities in absolute contrast as to how things actually do work.

So have had many offer ... oh you shouldn't have to hide to have privacy, saying you should is bad and blahblahblah, of course not offering anything related to the topic that actually matters. Be aware of reality ... offer something of substance or shut-up and quit pretending you have any such understanding. If society were to fundamentally change great, until then try to dwell in reality and face the obvious facts.

The true situation is ... what it is and all armchair warrior BS offered doesn't change it one bit. Do you have online privacy, almost certainly not, can the gazillion parties better skilled and resourced break you and your system in 2secs flat ... almost certainly. Is there a realistic answer to mitigate that ... it depends imo. Other than that give me a break and learn to face facts.

[greerd]

A paid for/private VPN would be sufficient? Privacy is the reason I switched to Linux Mint from Windows. When Windows 10 was released and information about its activities came to light, I was lucky enough to find an article that suggested Linux as an alternative. Did some looking around and it seemed pretty obvious coming from Windows that Linux Mint would be the best road to take according to the advice I'd found. I'm no expert, but a private VPN for a small fee is a start. I don't know how much protection that offers, I'm certain there are people here that could expand on that. I tried TOR and for me, its just way too slow.

As far as ISP providers go, yes a VPN would hide your on-line activities as long as your DNS sever is provided by the VPN service, routed through the service or internal (Bind9).

But hiding your on-line activities from others is a different story.

1. I'm assuming a clean install (not compromised)

2. Agencies with the resources call still get your data, but not with out some extra effort, by timing your entry-node packets (VPN server) against exit-node packets. Your entry-node packets are encrypted but your exit-node are only encrypted to the level of non VPN surfing, ie. https, etc.

3. Browser data. Its really hard to mask all of your browser details like time zone, canvas, flash, etc. (Analytics is a powerful beast)

4. Firejail (sandbox) your browsers for sure and possibly other apps too. This doesn't help hide you directly but possibly indirectly.

5. Using anything Google, expect to be harvested, thats what they do.

There has to be a circle of trust with your VPN provider, so when shopping for one, search their forums, don't listen to sites that advertise 'The 10 Best VPN's' or what ever because they are almost certainly being paid by at least one of them (which will be linked with hi recommendations)

VPN's are also a good layer of security and privacy when using hot-spots, especially with these new zero-day exploits that keep coming out. I've been using VPN's for 2 or 3 years now and along with some browsers add-ons and I haven't received any targeted adds since I started.

So I assume I'm partially cloaked!

[MintBean]

Ok getting doubly burnt out on this. All this chest beating and nonsense quoting, very well. Then post something of substance, something that actually informs people as to an effective means to achieve online privacy.

What chest beating? You're continually trying to belittle anyone who wants some privacy. Why should they if they have nothing to hide? Quotes regarding privacy are 'nonsense.' They are chest-beating. They are 'armchair warriors.' They are obsessing. They grate on your nerves. The MO is always the same with your ilk - spam and belittle anyone who values privacy.

You're not posting anything of substance, and when anyone disagrees with the trash you are posting you accuse them of not posting anything of substance.

Do you have online privacy, almost certainly not.......other than that give me a break and learn to face facts.

True if you're a person of interest it's almost impossible to obtain complete privacy online. For the average joe, there are a lot of steps you can take and why shouldn't you. Take your own advice and give us a break. You seem determined to interject as much noise into this conversation as possible. This is 'newbie questions' not 'open chat' and again you are off-topic. We're forced off-topic calling you out on it.

[lmintnewb2]

Discussing the realities associated with the subject is not off-topic. Making people aware of those realities the same, not saying everyone who wants online privacy makes them a criminal or bad person, just that in my view for majority ... they're being unrealistic. By all means strive for it, if that makes you happy, just be aware that actually attaining it isn't overall practical. Using things like TOR, likely to degrade your browsing experience in addition to likely drawing more interest and attention to what you're doing online, thus ... increase the chances your online activities are tracked.

Cause when it comes to govt's and law enforcement, they don't have to be right and it is somewhat logical and reasonable that they'd show more interest in people who are attempting to hide their online activities, even if that person isn't doing anything wrong. Natural and logical for them to assume if you're trying to hide, you may be trying to hide something criminal. Cause yes ... whenever someone attempts to hide something, it's reasonably inferred, what are they trying to hide ? Would assume that for innocent netizens using TOR, they're monitored for awhile, if it's determined they are just some online privacy fanatic not engaged in anything nefarious ... that eventually monitoring efforts pertaining to them are reduced. That depending upon which party is doing the watching. ie: US FBI or etc, whereas someone like China or other may go ahead and continuously monitor x-user indefinitely.

OP ... one other thing is READ, A LOT about the topic, attempt to stay current on developments related to the subject. The software you use, the networks etc etc while trying for online anonymity. Kept informed and current has to give you better odds of online privacy and minimizing any performance impact it has on your online experience. Overall just saying, it's an entire field and subject of study, like any tech-field continually developing and changing.

[lmintnewb2]

Btw: Not trying to turn this into any type of argument. Have nothing against people doing whatever they feel is best in an effort to have online privacy. Certainly doesn't make them a bad person or wrong in any event. Don't consider bringing up some of the obvious realities associated with it to be belittling either. Knowing such and having more information related to the topic would have to be considered empowering. At least it's definitely not my intention to insult anyone.

Certainly steps someone can take to at least screen out some of the parties watching them online and/or make it more difficult for their internet travels to be tracked. Personally and as others noted, really doubt it's possible to prevent all the major entities engaging in such activities from logging and monitoring whatever they wish online.

[MintBean]

Discussing the realities associated with the subject is not off-topic.

That's clearly not the aspect of your posts I was talking about.

Don't consider bringing up some of the obvious realities associated with it to be belittling either.

Again, not the aspects of your posts I was talking about. See previous comments.

[Moem]

Mod note:
Gentlefolks, as your friendly neighbourhood mod I must ask everyone in this discussion to keep it friendly and not make it too personal. If the conversation causes you stress, please bow out. Thanks!

[MintBean]

I'll stay on topic now, Moem... where's the halo icon?