Virtual Private Networks, Another Way To Ensure Privacy

Before we get to the interesting part, first a little bit introduction about what a VPN is -

Put simply, a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a group of computers (or discrete networks) networked together over a public network—namely, the internet. Businesses use VPNs to connect remote datacenters, and individuals can use VPNs to get access to network resources when they're not physically on the same LAN (local area network), or as a method for securing and encrypting their communications when they're using an untrusted public network. When you connect to a VPN, you usually launch a VPN client on your computer (or click a link on a special website), log in with your credentials, and your computer exchanges trusted keys with a far away server. Once both computers have verified each other as authentic, all of your internet communication is encrypted and secured from eavesdropping. (lifehacker)

 So basically, what happens here is that the data you send is protected from eavesdropping. It is encrypted in  a way that can't be decrypted easily. So, other than the two methods discussed earlier, VPN is a method to stay anonymous too.

What are the advantages of using a VPN?

1. Your data is encrypted.
2. No-one can eavesdrop your communications.
3. Your privacy is ensured.
4. You can pretend to be someone you are not (You wanna use some service which is banned in your country, VPN is the answer).
5. You can overcome browsing restrictions imposed on you.

What makes a good VPN?

1. Price - Hell yeah, it should be priced reasonably (did I forget to mention VPNs are not free of cost)
2. Free? Yeah, there are some free VPNs too. They serve you ads and are more or less useless. They dont do what they promise. They are good for beginners though, who want to learn, and privacy is not much of a problem.
3. They should use SSL. If you have no idea what this means, then, simply put, its the best protocol the VPNs use, and all others come next to SSL. (other protocols have their own pros and cons)
4. Logging- Some VPNs log your data. Not good.
5. Exit location - There must be a lot of them. That is, you can pretend to be a lot of people. Also, if there are very less exit locations, then it will affect browsing.

How VPNs work?

If you need more info, google it. I'm not going to name specific VPN service for you, all have their pros and cons. You'll have to do your homework. However, if you need reference, then lifehacker has a good article about it.

Read full post »

Staying Anonymous

Alright Guys, this is the first post of this blog. But I won't waste time with formalities. But before you become a hacker, you must know how to stay anonymous online. There are various levels in which this can be done
(Note: None of these methods are completely foolproof. If you are doing something illegal, then you'll go to jail. That's it.)

Tails OS

"Tails is a live system that aims to preserve your privacy and anonymity. It helps you to use the Internet anonymously almost anywhere you go and on any computer but leaving no trace unless you ask it to explicitly."

This is what their official website has to say about it. Actually, it is nothing but an OS that comes with all applications customized for privacy and anonymity.

Thats what tails OS looks like.

How To Use

1. Go to their official website and read the stuff there. 
2. Download the latest version of the OS.
3. Put it on a USB and boot.
4. Explore the OS, and learn more about it from their documentation.

Once you are through with the documentation and have practiced enough with the OS, your identity is safe.

Tips

1. You should have some experience with linux if you want to become a hacker. Ubuntu is good for beginners.
2. Do not assume that you are completely anonymous. You are not.

TOR BROWSER BUNDLE

"The Tor software protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location, and it lets you access sites which are blocked.

The Tor Browser Bundle lets you use Tor on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux without needing to install any software. It can run off a USB flash drive, comes with a pre-configured web browser to protect your anonymity, and is self-contained." - Official Website

If the idea of downloading a whole OS sounds boring to you, then this browser is made for you. It, however, is not as robust as tails, and its usage is limited to anonymous browsing.

How To Use

1. Go to their website and read the documentation.
2. Download the latest browser bundle.
3. Read the documentation.
4. Install and run.

Note:

Browsing is annoyingly slow, since the traffic passes through three relays.

That's all for this post. In the next post we'll talk about VPNs.

Read full post »