Safe Download Tricks

[reisen55]

For those of us who live in an environment where loading Lena nude into quicksand can lead to physical injury, death or confinement to an asylum, here are some suggestions from a technical professional to protect privacy and fetish at the same time.

Desktops from Systernals.com - a lovely utility, free, that breaks Windows desktops into four choices. One window, another and another and another one. Each is a separate and clean Window, just as illustrated by the classic four windows logo so long ago and still used today. So you can have one Windows session open downloading Lena and instantly switch (key Alt+2) to a second CLEAN session and smile happily knowing that Lena is living well in Windows session one.

Secondly, if you can dedicate a secondary computer to quicksand storage on a network, do so. You can copy all of your files there and keep it secure. Better, you only need have a network cable and a power cable to this computer and manage it through REMOTE DESKTOP CONNECTION. If your account has a password and REMOTE is enabled. If you share the quicksand data folder too, all you need to do to access the files of dear Lena on this computer is type \\COMPUTERNAME at the START - RUN command and instantly there you are, safe and secure.

[Kookus]

I'll just leave this here:

http://www.truecrypt.org/

[kitchen_sink]

Depending on your situation, you might need to hide your network traffic too. For example, using a VPN (virtual private network) to a remote proxy in a safe location. But in some places using encryption will flag you as suspicious, attracting unwanted attention. Make sure your DNS requests go over the VPN too. Configure your computer to block all network traffic other than to the proxy (or some program might make a direct connection not using the VPN).

The usual stuff: separate systems for work and play (ideally, two physically separate systems, but if this itself might be suspicious, how about dual-boot: two (or more) operating systems on one computer, each with separate full-disk encryption. Disable Java. Manage Javascript with Noscript. Clear cache, cookies and Flash Objects (LSO) on browser exit. Otherwise Google et al can track you from play to work.

Also, how do you know that you are really connected to the proxy? Do you trust all the security certificates that are installed on your system? (Governments and others tend to have ways to print fake certificates if they want to.) Can you trust the proxy?

Could someone install a key logger on your computer (in software or hardware)? How about a tiny camera in your room looking at your screen/keyboard when you think no-one is there? It depends on who you are defending against. It would be easy for my family to bug my room if they suspected something, even if they can't hack my computer. This stuff is surprisingly small, cheap and available by mail order these days.

You are not using a secure operating system - real security holes are found all the time. Sometime later they might get fixed. What if your computer gets a virus? What if someone hacks your bank, ISP or video supplier and reveals his customer list?

Continuing security against a knowledgeable, well resourced adversary is hard. Going on line at all is risky.

Don't make mistakes - ever - just one failure to ensure privacy may mean it's gone. Internet providers keep logs. I take greater measures these days than I once did, but I have to accept that somewhere there are clear records that I visited Deepsinking.org. I don't know who might have access to that information in the next 50 years.

Be prepared that someday, someone may find out what you are trying to keep private. How will you handle it?

Take care , (or just don't care!)

KS.

[Billie Bonce]

Guys, don't be ridiculous!

From whom do you try to hide your downloads? From the wife? Well, it may work, but talking to her should work much better. From the kids? No, seriously, guys, shouldn't you respect themselves first of all?

Or, you try to hide from the professionals? Then I must assure you that none of the mentioned measures is reliable. I have to agree to the previous post.

So, if you visit fetish sites from your office (what I do regularly, for example), there is only one way - just don't care, provided you doesn't do stupid things.

[Kookus]

Well, the wife knows everything I do, and I keep my personal and professional life separate, so I'm probably just paranoid. As the old saying goes, though, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you...

I've been involved in IT security long enough to understand that everything -- everything -- can be used against you. If you accept that, then it is a logical next step to try to protect everything: from bank records to home movies to browsing history, you should make it as difficult as possible for anyone to tie anything to you. Some might suggest a more targeted security posture rather than what might be called a "nuclear" or "scorched earth" approach, and, admittedly, it is a bit excessive if you aren't a high visibility target, but I submit that it is this excessiveness which provides a comprehensive and thereby infinitely more valuable defense against espionage -- whether from theft of your computer equipment, nosy house-guests, or identity thieves looking for their next mark.

[Billie Bonce]

Well, the wife knows everything I do, and I keep my personal and professional life separate, so I'm probably just paranoid. As the old saying goes, though, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you...

That's true, but being a professional in computer security you certainly know several things.

1. Before protecting anything you should understand what you protect and what you protect it from. This stage is not so complicated in our case, but protecting anything from everything is definitely not an option.
2. Then you analyse threats, evaluate risks, and make decision from which threats you would protect your data. Also, you ought to estimate how expensive will be your protection system and compare the expenses with the risks.

That's why I asked, from whom people want to protect themselves. From family members? Possible, and may work. From FBI? Wouldn't work. They can legally get all your browsing history from Internet service providers. And not only that. So, anyone should think first from whom he wants to protect himself, and then use adequate measures.

Still, there are many tricks that may be helpful, and here I agree with you.

Some people may want to subject their systems to several tests to enhance own privacy and safety.
http://whoer.net/extended?lang=en
http://surfpatrol.ru - great thing, but only in Russian. Press big red button, it checks the configuration of your browser and plugins, and gives advices what you need to update. Obviously, red buttons means vulnerabilities, green buttons - the item is up to date.
http://panopticlick.eff.org
http://ip-check.info

Good luck, and be safe!