(Reprinted with permission from a friend, who's blog can be found here: Dissident Priest
1) Never, ever, use your real name, location, or provide personal information to ANYONE without first qualifying their intentions, and purpose for requesting the information. Even then, unless you are trying to establish a long standing relationship with them, give them NOTHING PERSONAL. BE CAUTIOUS!
2) Every web-page that requires a login should have it's own login, and additionally, it's own password. While it is useful to create a name recognition across some sites, it is safer to vary your monikers.
3) Get away from any proprietary browsers ASAP. Explorer, Safari, and Chrome are full of trackers. I use Firefox and have added Ghostery (tracker identifier and blocker, IE: allows you to see and block the invisible web).
4) proxy, proxy, proxy
5) Once again, using Firefox, install the add-on Anonymouse. Anonymouse allows for a temporary proxy connection to allow you to open links anonymously.
6) Use wifi to your advantage. I like to think of myself as a virtual boxer: Stick and move. Sometimes, I think like a virtual soldier: Determine your field of fire and area of effect, engage, DISPLACE.
7) It is also important that computer users learn how to police their own networks, and know how to identify rigs that do not belong on their network. The easiest method is to "ping" the network. In order to do this, just identify what your LAN address is (for instance 192.168.1.xxx). Once you have that, open your Network Utility and send a ping out to the last address within the series (192.168.1.255). This ping will identify any gear on your network. Unknown gear attributed to an address will be evident, and then you can take steps to remove the gear form your network...or....take other actions against it.
8) Never, ever, use your computer to pay bills, purchase items, etc..., without wiping the browser's cookies and caches immediately after the transaction has occurred. I have my browser set-up to store the information (login names, passwords, etc....) only until I quit the browser, which I quit every hour or so. It is a bit of a hassle to have to re-enter your information the first time you are visiting the site, but better to be hassled than hacked.
Follow these basic steps, and enjoy your Internet experience.
Anyone who has additional protips, suggestions or advice is urged to share in the comments!
Updated by Lisa Lockwood at Sun Feb 20, 2011, 03:25:31 PM
~Caveat~
The posts that concern "anonymous" activities that are occurring all over the world are placed here for informational purposes. I do not advocate nor encourage anyone within the US to participate in activities that are against the laws of our country. I do not speak for anonymous, and do not wish to convey that impression. I have gathered information that is readily and freely found on the internet as a journalist would do, for informational purposes only. No one has given me any "secret" information, nor have I shared anything here that is "secret", to my knowledge. Everything posted here can be found by searching teh google, is widely available to anyone, and should be taken with a grain of salt...or a whole box of same.
Please act responsibly and let your conscience and good sense be your guide. Please be aware that participating in actions that are illegal can have serious consequences. Be aware that not everything you read on the internet is true. Be aware that everyone you speak with or share information with is not your friend.
World events are moving quickly, and there is a tendency to want to be the first to know things, but knowing things and acting upon them are two entirely different things. We live in interesting times, and information and communication occur at the speed of thought. Because of this, sometimes information is presented that is not necessarily true or factual. While I try to present stories with several sources, not all sources are reliable. So I cannot vouch for anything posted here as being 100% accurate. All I can vouch for is my own intentions, and those, should they need clarification, are to pass on information about a movement that is making news, and perhaps making history, but on one thing I wish to be crystal clear. I have no intention of breaking the law, and do not advocate that anyone else do so.
Just sayin'.