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Online Security

UR20Z said:
Bad news: Using TOR and VPN together can (not "will", but can) trigger a couple of conditions that effectively destroys ALL protection from EITHER. VPN folks won't tell you this, but TOR folks will. I don't pretend to understand the "how" of it, but peopel I have reason to believe have said many times that VPN+TOR=serious (and easily exploited) potential for your supposedly "private" data to leak to even casual attackers. Against a government entity with (effectively) unlimited funding, using a VPN into TOR is slightly less secure than the screen door on your front porch - Yeah, it'll keep the flies and skeeters outside, but it ain't gonna do a damned thing to stop the rottie that decides to jump through it, or the crook who wants to rob you...
Click to expand...
VPN and TOR only hide your IP. IF they are really determined they will leverage other tracking tech like browser fingerprinting or browser exploits that make it give up your real IP. Usually involves tricking their target to visit another site that is loaded with a payload and tech to do so. Then they swoop in , grab your device, and prove that only your browser in all the world with its unique fingerprint visited the illegal site in question. Even so, there are a lot of defenses to use. For instance it is not illegal to talk about bestiality, or say how you like it , and how much you want to do it. AFAIK even viewing images of it isn't illegal in many places even with "crimes against nature" laws. What they really want to get people on is them creating the content and disseminating it, selling it, or soliciting for it usually for favors or money. It is the act of fucking the animal is that is the big whammy illegal in many places. This is why content security measures is imperative. The FAQ on this site covers a lot of the easy basic steps to take. Also ensure your personal library of content that you create, even if you don't share, is well hidden and protected (encrypted with plausible deniability measures) like Veracrypt offers. It has a feature to encrypt files with two passwords, one that actually decrypts your content, and another that you give under legal duress that just decrypts some innocent files. And they can't prove you gave the wrong key because everything is scrambled.
 
UR20Z said:
TL;DNR:
While DNS lookups CAN leave tracks, the reality (to anyone who has even the most basic understanding of how TCP/IP (AKA "The Internet") and HTTP/HTTPS (AKA "The Web") works) is that, although it's rarely encrypted, almost nobody except the most desperate will even TRY to make the case that because a DNS lookup for "www.howtomurderyourneighbor.com" exists on your machine, you're guilty of killing your next door neighbor. Or at least, they won't make such an attempt without a metric fuck-ton of other evidence - evidence that would likely be way more than enough to get a warrant/make an arrest even without the DNS info.
Click to expand...

I agree up to a point, but I have heard of cops doing very retarded shit when desperate. There was a case in which some Motorola radio equipment was stolen from a cop, and they asked Google for search queries regarding that radio model in the area - the idea being that if you steal a radio you are likely going to search for how much you can get for it. The mere idea that cops think that information would be useful at all tells you how they think. Any information provided by Google would be considered circumstantial evidence at court at best but cops don't care for such things.
 
bcraw33 said:
Is Duck Duck Go a decent level of security?
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I mean... it's part of a decent security strategy. You don't want to rely on any one thing to protect yourself. Multi-layer security is the key. Non-logging VPN, non-tracking search engine, privacy-focused browser... those are must-haves. Me, I kinda go overboard... I do all my questionable activities within a Linux virtual machine, because I do not trust any non-open-source operating system to not report back to the mother-ship, and it's pretty easy to nuke a virtual machine, since the virtual hard drive is just another file on your system... delete the file, empty Recycle Bin, and wipe the free space on the HD. Then again, what I do for a living... I kinda know some of the tricks of the trade ;)
 
Also if you carry contents on your mobile device, please have a lock on it, no matter how inconvenient it may be. So many have gotten into legal issues because of it.
 
Windows 11 with the Recall feature becomes a nightmare.
www.wired.com

This Hacker Tool Extracts All the Data Collected by Windowsâ New Recall AI

Windows Recall takes a screenshot every five seconds. Cybersecurity researchers say the system is simple to abuse—and one ethical hacker has already built a tool to show how easy it really is.
www.wired.com www.wired.com
It logs your browser history, screenshots, command line, documents, filenames, emails, personal conversations...
Even if you are not hacked, this information is available to anyone with physical access to your computer unencrypted.
 
Last edited:
pes said:
Windows 11 with the Recall feature becomes a nightmare.
www.wired.com

This Hacker Tool Extracts All the Data Collected by Windowsâ New Recall AI

Windows Recall takes a screenshot every five seconds. Cybersecurity researchers say the system is simple to abuse—and one ethical hacker has already built a tool to show how easy it really is.
www.wired.com www.wired.com
It logs your browser history, screenshots, command line, documents, filenames, emails, personal conversations...
Even if you are not hacked, this information is available to anyone with physical access to your computer unencrypted.
Click to expand...
Gotta love them obligatory "improvements" that keep getting foisted on us, huh? Thankfully, I don't do Windows, but even here in Mac-land, we've got a few things that I'd dearly love to slap the shit out of somebody over. Nothing (that I know of yet, anyway...) approaching this level of incompetence, but still changes purely for the sake of change that do absolutely nothing to enhance the user experience, and in a couple of cases, actively make things more difficult.
 
pes said:
Windows 11 with the Recall feature becomes a nightmare.
www.wired.com

This Hacker Tool Extracts All the Data Collected by Windowsâ New Recall AI

Windows Recall takes a screenshot every five seconds. Cybersecurity researchers say the system is simple to abuse—and one ethical hacker has already built a tool to show how easy it really is.
www.wired.com www.wired.com
It logs your browser history, screenshots, command line, documents, filenames, emails, personal conversations...
Even if you are not hacked, this information is available to anyone with physical access to your computer unencrypted.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'd heard of that "feature" and no thank you. I avoided Win11 like the plague because they took away the "never combine windows" option for the taskbar, at least until the 23H2 update. Even now I won't switch over until Windows 10 goes EOL, because I've just gotten 10 neutered enough to be acceptable from a security and privacy standpoint (at least for normal daily non-sensitive tasks, like gaming or email, not this forum level of sensitive). I really don't want to have to re-STIG everything, I do enough of that shit in my professional life.
 
pes said:
It logs your browser history, screenshots, command line, documents, filenames, emails, personal conversations...
Even if you are not hacked, this information is available to anyone with physical access to your computer unencrypted.
Click to expand...
Hasn't all that always been available for anyone who knows where to look in your computer, even if you keep history, etc. cleaned out? Or is Windows 11 worse than that?
 
nastybastard666 said:
Even now I won't switch over until Windows 10 goes EOL
Click to expand...

Personally, if I were a regular computer user I would not switch over to such an intrusive piece of software when my current one became EOLed. Specially because nowadays you have so many alternatives. It is not the 90s anymore.
 
UR20Z said:
Bad news: Using TOR and VPN together can (not "will", but can) trigger a couple of conditions that effectively destroys ALL protection from EITHER. VPN folks won't tell you this, but TOR folks will. I don't pretend to understand the "how" of it, but peopel I have reason to believe have said many times that VPN+TOR=serious (and easily exploited) potential for your supposedly "private" data to leak to even casual attackers. Against a government entity with (effectively) unlimited funding, using a VPN into TOR is slightly less secure than the screen door on your front porch - Yeah, it'll keep the flies and skeeters outside, but it ain't gonna do a damned thing to stop the rottie that decides to jump through it, or the crook who wants to rob you...
Click to expand...
I've heard that many times. It's good advice for anyone thinking multiple layers will be better.
 
pes said:
This feature is worse.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I make sure I read what is contained in every Windows update before allowing it. Windows 11 has been sent a time or two, and I will keep refusing it. 10 is working fine. I don't need their perceived improvements in 11. In addition, there are also the problems you mentioned.
 
foalmaker said:
Personally, if I were a regular computer user I would not switch over to such an intrusive piece of software when my current one became EOLed. Specially because nowadays you have so many alternatives. It is not the 90s anymore.
Click to expand...
"So many alternatives" to Windows for an operating system? Other than Apple and Linux, what are they? And don't try to tell me your phone is an alternative.
 
Kristy said:
"So many alternatives" to Windows for an operating system? Other than Apple and Linux, what are they? And don't try to tell me your phone is an alternative.
Click to expand...

There are three major BSD Operating Systems (FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD). Notice they are independent Operating Systems by their own merits and rights - whereas Linux distributions are technically different builds of the same Operating System.

I mean, seriously, if you want to use a non Microsoft Operating System on domestic computer hardware, you have:

* 160+ Linux distributions confirmed active, tailored for desktop ussage.
* Apple.
* 3 BSD Operating Systems ( and that is without including the smaller BSDs, such as DragonflyBSD, nor the spinoffs).

This does not include the real exotic stuff such as OpenIndiana (which is a de facto continuation of Solaris). It is not like we are starved of choices.

And yes, I have seen people link a smartphone to a monitor and use it as a general computing platform, or execute mobile Operating Systems on regular tabletop computers. Not that I recommend that.
 
Wolf_Moon said:
When I was younger and dumber I would just straight up google horse dicks with no VPN/encryption lol.

I use TOR browser for anything Zoo related now but I don't have dedicated VPN like Nord. Will I be fine for the most part just using an encrypted browser like TOR for browsing ZV?.

Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this tip, I have Nord VPN but never thought to use the TOR browser...now I am so thank you!
 
Kristy said:
I've heard that many times. It's good advice for anyone thinking multiple layers will be better.
Click to expand...
Normally I am in favor of a layered defense. Tor + VPN is not one of them. Honestly the best, most unattributable system is to use a chain of VPNs, all purchased via Bitcoin or other unattributable means (e.g., gift cards), and that chain then discarded once you are done. But that's beyond the reach of most of us unwashed poors.
 
foalmaker said:
I mean, seriously, if you want to use a non Microsoft Operating System on domestic computer hardware, you have:

* 160+ Linux distributions confirmed active, tailored for desktop ussage.
* Apple.
* 3 BSD Operating Systems ( and that is without including the smaller BSDs, such as DragonflyBSD, nor the spinoffs).
Click to expand...
Yeah but Apple is basically, in a nutshell, BSD with the serial numbers filed off, the odometer rolled back, and a fresh coat of paint slapped on.
 
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