Why did you delete it?
I would be very interested in hearing what you have to say. (This has turned into a fascinating thread!)
Well it came off a little preachy. There is a bit of mis-information in this thread, and I didn't want to start an argument. =) But ok, I'll try to sum up my thoughts in a neutral way.
There is nothing wrong with what you are trying to do. In real life we try to keep private all the time: from closing your blinds at night, to putting up fences, to covering up valuables in your car while shopping, we are constantly aware of keeping private. For security sure, but also for comfort and peace. You aren't being paranoid by locking your door, you are just being prudent and removing yourself as a target of opportunity.
In life we also freely give up privacy as needed. My doctor, lawyer, banker, and psychologist (if I had one
) know a lot about me. We give up our privacy to these people because they provide us with a service that would be hard to perform without it. In turn, they promise (sometimes by law) to never share what we share with others. I have nothing to hide, but I would rather not have my medical records available to anyone who wants them.
Being online "feels" private. Like visiting your psychologist...you feel comfortable in your surroundings and rarely worry about the private details you are sharing. The difference? Your psychologist keeps your private information safe, but the same isn't true for most online websites. While online, we aren't very prudent, we do make ourselves easy targets... We think we are being private, but we aren't, at all. The blinds are wide open, goods on display in the back seat and the door is unlocked. We aren't doing anything bad, but so what?
The only effective way I've managed to stay anonymous is to disrupt this general feeling of "comfort". I might be in my office (with the blinds closed), but I'm no where near private while online. It is simple in concept, very difficult in practice:
Have two completely different identities. When you are using your real identity you'll be accessing banks, support sites for products you own, email, Facebook, etc. You visit these sites freely, giving up privacy for a service. Then, for
everything else, you have your other identity. Here is how to set one up:
1. Create two accounts on your computer (if you know VMs, you can use one of these instead... but two accounts is easy enough).
2. Your second account should not have any "phone home" apps like dropbox, iCloud, email, etc. You are going to use this account for all online activities that don't need to know who you are.
3. With your new computer account, download, install and run TOR. Read up on it first. =)
4. After it is installed, visit tormoil and sign up for an email address (use a nickname). This is the start of your online identity. All paths will lead back to this. Since you signed up with it using TOR, it is a pretty decent dead end.
Now, you can keep using TOR, or sign up for a VPN. I went the latter route, it isn't too much money, and while it isn't as anonymous as TOR, it is a much more pleasant experience (TOR is great, but slow). Once you've chosen, you can get a nicer email address from yahoo or gmail or wherever.
Ok, this was long enough... if you have any specific questions, just ask!
<--- I think this is how you say "Good job" on here?! 
