People have many reasons for remaining anonymous on-line. The two most common are to surf websites anonymously and to send an anonymous email, instant messaging, blogs, forums and chat rooms.
There is no doubt that internet security has become a hot topic in recent years. In fact, with more and more monitoring of electronic communication since 9/11, the likelihood that you can do anything on-line anonymously is just about nil. There are some things you can do while on-line to protect your identity such as using a proxy server to mask your IP address. However, it is important to understand that this does not mean that you are entirely anonymous while surfing on-line. Your internet service provider (ISP) tracks where you get on the information highway. So, there is still a record of you connecting to any given proxy server. Also, your ISP can track when you have left the proxy server. These events are time stamped. In essence, if you were conducting nefarious activities while connected to the proxy server you have a fairly decent chance of being tracked down.
Why? Because of several factors. Even though you may connect to another website with an IP address not tied to your modem or ISP, your MAC address, cookies, passive software running in the background and identifying information in your browser and operating system may be leaving little breadcrumbs behind. Consider this- instead of using your automobile to commit a crime you steal a car to rob a gas station. But while committing the crime your business card falls out in the stolen automobile, you leave some hair, blood or saliva at the scene of the crime. You deposit your finger prints on the car or you are seen in the stolen vehicle by somebody who knows you. Also, the car was reported stolen immediately and found just after the crime. Not only is there a ton of forensic evidence but now they know when the car was stolen, when the crime was committed and when the car was abandoned.
This is similar to to using a proxy server. Your ISP knows when you get on the proxy server, the proxy server records your activity (which could possibly be subpoenaed later by law enforcement), your ISP identifies when you leave the proxy server and that is enough for a digital forensics data recovery professional to start following the bread crumbs. With access to the right server logs, technology, patience and a handful of subpoenas- it is only a matter of time before your identity is revealed.
Now that we know it is fairly easy to track down anonymous users let’s talk about anonymous messaging. There really are two types of communicating anonymously on-line. Anonymous messaging and anonymous email. They are two very different things. Anonymous email has been around for a long time and attempts to mask the “message header” and IP address of the sender. In simple terms, the idea is to create as much “static” and digital haze as possible so the email cannot be easily tracked back to the sender. Some ways this is accomplished is by using a combination of proxy servers and “re-mailers”. A re-mailer takes the original email and re-mails it from another server. Ideally, the content of the sender’s email is transcribed into a new email first, so the original message header doesn’t come along for the ride. The email is then sent from the new server which may connect through a myriad of proxy servers and security exploits on various websites.
Ideally, the effort will effectively mask where it came from. But, as we discussed above- with the right access, expertise and court orders- there is probably enough digital forensic evidence to track down the original sender. I highly doubt that the owners of these SPAMMY looking anonymous email websites are going to go to bat for you when they are served with an order to present all their server logs.
So what’s the alternative? Anonymous messaging. Anonymous messaging in its purest form is very simple and highly effective. It doesn’t require special software, security exploits or proxy servers. In fact- you don’t even have to use your email. How is this possible? There is a website called SilentSender.com that allows you to send an anonymous message without the threat of malware or viruses and without all the cloak and dagger routine. When you go to Silent Sender you simply put in the email address you want to send a message to and then type out a short message, agree to the terms of service and hit send. Wow, easy eh?
What’s happening behind the scenes? After you hit send, Silent Sender sends your recipient a notification email that a message is waiting for them to pick-up. A unique tracking number is sent along with the notification. When the recipient opens their email and clicks on the tracking number they are returned to the same website/screen you sent the message from. They agree to the terms of service and their message is immediately displayed in a box on the Silent Sender website. Once they click off the site, the message is permanently deleted.
So what is the advantage of using this method over the archaic anonymous email methods from the past? First “you” aren’t sending any emails, ever. Secondly, Silent Sender is not relaying your original message, instead they hold onto it, like a digital bulletin board. Third, the recipient has the choice to pick-up the message or not. If they do not, it is automatically deleted in seven days. And lastly, you digital footprint is very small. You should never use anonymous email or anonymous messaging to commit a crime, engage in cyber-bullying or partake in defamatory speech. Think before you click!
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