Hello guise, I wanna be anonymoose :DD
how2private?
Kidding aside, I'd like some input to optimize my PSA-level.
I know that absolute PSA online is impossible, which is why I'm doing whatever I can offline/analog. Without becoming a total Teddy Kaczynski style outcast, there's some things I just can't get rid of. Anyways:
- I don't share anything online (this post is an exception)
- I mostly use the internet passively, i.e. reading articles etc, - over tor
- I have a protonmail email for personal use (with my real name, for things that connect to my identity anyways - amazon, paypal, RL communications ...) - which I use over a normal browser (Brave atm)
- I don't have any other accounts (anonymous/pseudonymous)
- I use Signal messenger (or SMS/Call for some people - suboptimal, I know) to communicate
- I have lineageos on my phone and use it for nothing other than the above, sometimes web-browsing using orbot/orfox
- I have strong passwords and my Drives are encrypted
- I use mpsyt for youtube
Now a few questions:
>Is my reasoning sound?
- Anonymity over tor, i.e. disconnecting my online activity from my identity.
- Privacy for things that are connected to my identity anyways (end-2-end encryption, HTTPS, ...)
- Security for my data (encryption, passwords, backups)
How do I best disconnect my anon and ID'able internet use? Just 2 different browsers (tor and FF/...)? Or should I consider something like Whonix for another layer of security?
Also, using my personal email over tor? - I know it's recommended to not use the same accounts over tor as directly, but as I only have one "set" of accounts - what's the risk other than identifying me as a tor user?
see: Anonymity Modes: whonix.org/wiki/DoNot#Do_not_Mix_Anonymity_Modes
If I log into something, I'm in Mode 3, as it's my real name (What I do after that is protected by encryption). Otherwise I'm just browsing passively, and I'm some anonymous person somewhere that opened website XYZ. Right?
>How do I best go about downloading/torrenting?
Torrent over tor is a no-no, I know. What about direct downloads? Let's say I want to download an .iso of some GNU/Linux distro. Fine over tor or rather not?
I guess a trusted VPN is the best/only way to "safely" torrent... Using a normal BT client allows "everyone" to see that *I* (my IP) am downloading file *xyz*. So there's no way to really be PSA with torrent without a trusted VPN/Proxy, right?
Same for youtube/other video platforms - There's not really a way to avoid connecting my IP to the videos I watch without a VPN. (Or tor which is slow as fuck and uses bandwidth)
>Email
What's more secure, using the web-interface or a client like Thunderbird? - (Protonmail only works over the browser anyways)
Also, tell me which distro I should use.
>preferably an option of a minimal install, I don't want hundreds of programs I don't use.
>compatible with macbook hardware
>reasonably private/secure
>rolling release
>not too much work to install (i.e. don't give me Arch or Gentoo)
>Is there really something wrong with system d or is that just UNIX and FLOSS purity autism?
>I am considering Debian testing, Manjaro, openSuse tumbleweed. I'll be trying all in a VM, but I'd like to hear some opinions.