Hiding IP Address

snberk103 · Feb 13, 2013

CylonGlitch said:
...
With the way I modify the waivers, they look almost identical to the originals. No cross outs, no marks anywhere, I make an effort to keep the lines and justification to be similar. Thus at first glance it looks identical to the original. If they are hiding this working inside a liability waiver, it's fair that I hide the fact that I removed the wording.

I'm not sure that would hold up in court.... it would be interesting to find out, though. There is an element of acting in bad-faith here perhaps. It also may be possible that hiding the advertizing use in the liability clause may not hold up either. Another question ....

Personally I like crossing it off in front of them and initialling it. It makes them have deal with the issue, and makes a point. Which will hopefully lead to changes in the wording from their end.

CylonGlitch · Feb 13, 2013

snberk103 said:
Personally I like crossing it off in front of them and initialling it. It makes them have deal with the issue, and makes a point. Which will hopefully lead to changes in the wording from their end.

Depending on what you're doing. Some place like Chuck-e-cheese (they don't do this but just using as an example) is populated with people who know nothing more than you gotta sign the form. Even the managers don't know anything about the legalize of them. And thus crossing anything out will only cause problems and often get you ejected (or refused service). When you kid wants to join his friend's birthday party, it's a pain in the ass.

Legally most of those liability waivers wouldn't hold up in court anyway. But if they abused their rights with my kid, at least they a) don't have a VALID signed waiver, and b) I have something, that may not be legally binding but clearly states I didn't give them permission, and without (a) they would be in a bad spot.

svenr · Feb 13, 2013

CylonGlitch said:
With the way I modify the waivers, they look almost identical to the originals. No cross outs, no marks anywhere, I make an effort to keep the lines and justification to be similar. Thus at first glance it looks identical to the original. ...

I did something similar with a mandatory binding arbitration clause (bad!) on an insurance policy and although I never had to invoke it, I was wondering at the time whether courts would accept such altered document as valid contract. I posted on some other forums but couldn't get a clear answer. One line of reasoning goes that if you sign their document, you have both parties consent and therefore a valid contract. If you alter it, it becomes your document and you will now need their signature for it to be valid.

Some say that the company has a reasonable expectation to get the form back with the same wording they gave it to you, without any "sneaky" alterations. Such undeclared alterations would therefore be invalid.

Of course their hiding what's essentially a model release inside a liability waiver may be equally hard to enforce. And in fact, I heard that such lengthy waivers often aren't enforceable in court to begin with, more a scare tactic to prevent you from suing than a legally binding document.

If worst comes to the worst, it'll depend much more on how good your lawyer is. In any case, I think you'd be better off to at least mark your alterations and initial them on the margin. That's what I did and the insurance still accepted it without comment.

snberk103 · Feb 13, 2013

CylonGlitch said:
... And thus crossing anything out will only cause problems and often get you ejected (or refused service). When you kid wants to join his friend's birthday party, it's a pain in the ass.

Depends on your level of commitment to the cause. We were once declined for a mortgage because we refused to sign a contract with certain clauses included that allowed them to sell our names to ... well, anybody technically. Nothing to do with the actual lending of the money, just the clauses that allowed them to share our personal details to 3rd parties for purposes of letting us know about offers that may interest us. We pushed it hard, and it went to head office - but they refused to budge so we took our business elsewhere. And we made sure the 1st institution knew that they had lost the business. We were prepared to pay more on the mortgage at the 2nd institution.. but when we explained why we were there the agent called someone and they matched the 1st rate. So it worked out for us... but we were prepared to pay the little bit extra.

Ironically, it was this 2nd institution where I unilaterally altered a signature card for the non-profit I'm connected with. Same crap - they got to market my details around. The agent in this case told me I couldn't do that, and I told them that looks like I did... I haven't heard back, so I assume I am still a signing officer.

I suspect there is a file on us at the financial institution with our photos in it labeled... "Trouble Makers - But mostly harmless... "

monokakata · Feb 13, 2013

In my too-lengthy career as a landlord I had a pair of troublesome month-to-month tenants who wrote on the memo line of a rent check "1 year lease starts mm/dd/yy" and then claimed that by endorsing and depositing that instrument, I had given them a one year lease.

No. Good try, though.

Now on to waivers.

I've always been told that what sven says is about right: the waiver you sign isn't worth much if the vendor/organizer/whatever can be shown to have behaved negligently.

To use a running race example, if the event fails to provide traffic control, or sufficient fluids on a hot day, or medical services, or the finish or start line structure falls down, or they send the field out into a thunderstorm with lightning, then if you're injured your suit will most likely be successful, waiver or no waiver.

But if, for example, at a crowded start (take another look at that picture I posted . . . 12,000 runners there) you tangle up with someone else's legs and fall and hurt yourself, your suit isn't likely to succeed. The waiver will hold there, because you signed off as being aware of the normal risks involved in running a road race, risks that can't be traced to the event's negligence.

I was the timer for a race once in which a guy trying to beat 40 minutes for 10k, on a very hot day, sprinted to the finish line, fell, hit his head on a curb, passed out, and was taken the hospital, where he died. The EMTs at the finish line got to him quickly, treated him for his head injury but did not recognize that he was in heat stroke, nor did the hospital they transported him to, where he died from heat stroke, not the head injury.

I was told to get ready to be sued (I always carried $1M in liability) because even though I had nothing to do with what happened except to be in charge of the timing and thus the finish line, I might be sued as well. The family settled with the hospital and EMTs, which is where the negligence really lay. We did nothing wrong.

Another time, another hot day, a guy had a heart attack and the race director had not replaced the ambulance service that had cancelled on him. So he had no medical people onsite, nor any communications . . . we used my UHF radios to call my staff, who had phone service, for help (this was before everybody had cell phones). The guy died and to this day I cannot understand why the family didn't sue the race. To me, the director was totally negligent and there was no way a waiver could have saved him. The story that was put out was that the runner died instantly and could not have been saved by anybody.

JustMartin · Feb 14, 2013

CylonGlitch said:
...
With the way I modify the waivers, they look almost identical to the originals. No cross outs, no marks anywhere, I make an effort to keep the lines and justification to be similar. Thus at first glance it looks identical to the original. If they are hiding this working inside a liability waiver, it's fair that I hide the fact that I removed the wording.

I'm puzzled. Is your goal here to keep pictures of your kids off advertisements or to be able to sue the companies involved after the fact? If you cross out the clause concerned or make your changes obvious (DO NOT) then the company knows in advance that you have not agreed. By making it look identical it's almost as if you're inviting them to make that mistake and by the time they realise it, the damage is done.

doubledee · Feb 14, 2013

Hi there, been busy the last few days getting ready to travel again?!

snberk103 said:
Paranoia doesn't really get you very far. You have nothing to fear, etc... Be cautious of course.... but, I guess my question is... Why are so worried? There are over 300 million people in the US. Why would someone go to the trouble to pick on you? It could happen, of course... but what the chances?

Well, to re-cap, a few realistic scenarios...

1.) I have had people stalk me in the past. Also, I once had the boyfriend of a girl I was arguing with online - and who I never knew in real life - suddenly appear one day at my door after we had a fight on the phone. (After that, I realized how easy it was to find people.)

If it where possible to track my physical laptop - think LoJack - and know exactly where I connect to the Internet, then I suppose someone could track me down...

2.) Bigger concern is that some database somewhere is logging EVERY thing I do online and tying it back to my Physical Laptop and ultimately Physically to Me.

Why I do not do bad things online, I don't want people knowing if I Googled "Yeast Infection" or my favorite political party's website, or secretly did Google Justin Bieber's image under Google Images, or tracked all of my e-mails or knew all of the sites I frequent, or knew where I bank, or go ahold of the music I listen too, or knew that I stumbled across a porn site when searching for stories on an Australian Girl who Sailed the Globe "Solo", or whatever.

Right or wrong, it DISTURBS me to no end to think that my every keystroke online is being logged, or even that every time I connect to the Internet it is being logged for all time?!

I want to believe it should be relatively easy to take steps to mask things so that I can't be tracked back to my physical laptop - unless the Russian Mafia is after me again?!

I don't need or want 100% anonymity, but I also don't want a dossier of my soul on display for all to judge.

And since the jackasses at my ISP, and bank, and the U.S. Gov't will likely be horribly hacked by Anonymous and China in the next 5 years, I want to do my best to make sure I don't give Anonymous or China every little detail about me.

I feel this is different than how you describe my "paranoia", but that's just me...

You take a risk every time you get into a car.... so you try to make those risks manageable and then you get into a car and navigate the risks. Same thing goes for the internet.

Except MOST mistakes I make driving (e.g. Curb Shot, Running a "Pink" Light, Speeding, Cutting Someone Off) are not held against me forever...

By contrast, I could post something on a website, and it would be there forever, even if I asked the website owner to remove it.

Or, I could surf to a porn website (accidentally), or download a song (illegally), or watch some embarassing video on YouTube (intentionally) and my ISP or the Federal Gov't could keep that in the "Debbie Files" for the rest of my life.

Do you know who Joseph McCarthy was?

Why? Machine IDs and MAC addresses are spoofed everyday. There is a likelihood that someone is using your router's MAC address somewhere else in the world. MAC addresses can be typed into a router, and therefore you can type anybody's MAC address you want. In fact, routers even make it easy to copy your computer's MAC address to themselves so that they can spoof your computer. MAC addresses are useless for tracking somebody simply because they are so easily spoofed. It's like a bouncer asking an 18 year old how old they are at the door of the bar, but never checking the ID.
I don't know that there is. All of those parts can be taken out and replaced by a new one. Which is why tracking a computer is useless. Plus, give it to your niece and the trackers end up tracking the wrong person for a year before they figure out that you haven't suddenly developed a crush on Justin Bieber. The effort just doesn't warrant the gain in most cases, unless you work in very specific industries. like the CIA.

So when I am at home, does my ISP log my MAC address every time I log in?

And when I log in to a free Wi-Fi at Panera, does there ISP also log my MAC address even it it is not entirely unique?

(I'm not as concerned about my IP address when I am away from home, as it isn't very unique...)

Why do you delete them all? Do you really care that that NY Times knows you have been there before

I manually Accept/Reject all cookies.

After maybe a month, I delete all cookies because some may have tracking devices in them that I don't know.

But during the month, I rely on cookies from sites like this to ease logging in.

They don't own your soul... they just think they know what motivates you to buy stuff.

Well, as my wife likes to say... if you ain't paying for the service then you're not the customer, you're the goods they're selling. But we still use FB, and Google, etc. We just be cautious about what we post. The same way I don't tell my friends everything.

Know where I log in, when I log in, using what devices, what I search, where I surf, etc, etc CAN be used against me.

In the 1950's people like Joseph McCarthy destroyed a lot of innocent people's lives because he knew too much...

Wikipedia: Joseph McCarthy

Senator McCarthys zeal to uncover subversion and espionage led to disturbing excesses. His browbeating tactics destroyed careers of people who were not involved in the infiltration of our government. His freewheeling style caused both the Senate and the Subcommittee to revise the rules governing future investigations, and prompted the courts to act to protect the Constitutional rights of witnesses at Congressional hearings ... These hearings are a part of our national past that we can neither afford to forget nor permit to reoccur.[64]

What's not to say there isn't some freak out there now doing the same thing with Internet Log Files and poor little ol Debbie's fate?!

Every year I go "Off Line" more and more, and Credit Cards and the Internet are my last two Achilles Heals...

Nah... I'm just a photographer, and a generalist. But I am pretty level headed, I think. So... take my advice. Block cookies. Encrypt your hard drive. Don't surf to your bank, or other sensitive sites, on a public WiFi.

And relax!

When I get back from my trip, I will re-read this entire thread, and thoroughly check out every awesome link you guys provided.

I am looking into the following...

1.) Getting a "Data Plan" so I can connect to the Internet securely from anywhere

2.) Doing that VPN thingy

3.) Setting up FDE

4.) Surfing Encrypted when possible (Not sure if that is VPN or TOR?!)

5.) Reading up on security

Thanks for all of your help so far!!!

Debbie

doubledee · Feb 14, 2013

Wow, if I ever wanted to be a spy, I'd choose you guys!!!!

scarred said:
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.

"Preachy" to me, or to others?

I certainly don't want any "flames" to start, but I am up to a "talking to" if I am doing or saying or thinking dumb things...

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?

I really like your analogy!!

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.

I need to do my homework to better understand what you are suggesting.=, but in the mean time, could I do this with just one computer?

Or would it be better to have a good laptop for "business", and another, cheap computer just for "social" purposes?

Ok, this was long enough... if you have any specific questions, just ask!

How did you learn all of this stuff?!

(I am so blown away by the *good* advice I am getting on a Mac forum?! Not that Mac people aren't smart, but I just feel like I am at a security website instead!!)

Sincerely,

Debbie

scarred · Feb 15, 2013

doubledee said:
I need to do my homework to better understand what you are suggesting.=, but in the mean time, could I do this with just one computer?

Or would it be better to have a good laptop for "business", and another, cheap computer just for "social" purposes?

How did you learn all of this stuff?!

Your last question is the kicker... learning this stuff before bothering with the final private and secure setup is a great idea! =) I learned by reading and trying (oh and by having my email hacked.... heh. edit: my email was hacked before I secured my digital life, was the catalyst to me doing it. being anonymous is just one thing to do here.).

TOR is a really great place to start. It is free, and basically at the top of the pack for anonymity and privacy. Their web page has a lot of documentation to help you understand what it going on... I'd read it... personally I found it super interesting. =) Even if you don't use TOR in the future, trying it out and learning about it really helps you understand the issues at play.

So download it with your existing computer setup, and just run it. It doesn't affect any of your existing apps. Even while running TOR, your safari/chrome/firefox (whatever you are using now) is left untouched. The default installation simply secures a custom web browser that is installed with TOR (the tor browser).

If you are going to jump in with TOR, the only recommendation I have is to not use your existing accounts (facebook, twitter, banks, even this site) while within the TOR browser. You can visit macrumors in the tor browser but don't log in. Until you understand what is going on, don't submit any personal information through the tor browser.

snberk103 · Feb 15, 2013

doubledee said:
Hi there, been busy the last few days getting ready to travel again?!

Well, to re-cap, a few realistic scenarios...

1.) I have had people stalk me in the past. Also, I once had the boyfriend of a girl I was arguing with online - and who I never knew in real life - suddenly appear one day at my door after we had a fight on the phone. (After that, I realized how easy it was to find people.)

If it where possible to track my physical laptop - think LoJack - and know exactly where I connect to the Internet, then I suppose someone could track me down...
...
So when I am at home, does my ISP log my MAC address every time I log in?

And when I log in to a free Wi-Fi at Panera, does there ISP also log my MAC address even it it is not entirely unique?
...
Thanks for all of your help so far!!!

Debbie

Lots to respond to...

First... sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of being paranoid. What I was trying to say is that you may not be effectively paranoid. What I mean is that I think you are concentrating on entirely eliminating one area of risk without looking at the bigger picture. Sort of like barricading the windows, but leaving the back door unlocked.

In your case, you reuse your username across social media sites. With absolutely no knowledge of how to track your laptop someone in this thread already seems to have tracked you fairly effectively.

To effectively track your laptop physically requires physical access to your laptop. If you have done a good job with passwords and encryption, you have prevented just about anybody but the CIA, MI6, or CSIS from tracking your laptop. But as added protection, sell your laptop and get a new one annually. On that rare occasion when someone has started to track your laptop, they will end up tracking someone else.

That, by the way, is why there is no money in tracking laptops on a large scale - except in a lojack sort of way which is a short term solution.... you don't really know who you are actually tracking. Phones are much better to track.... do you have a cell phone? Contracts tie people up for multiple years, SIM cards are unique. Phones can't connect anonymously, except in exceptional circumstances. Something like lojack requires someone to have physical and restricted access to your laptop. Like the owner. Unless you are the CIA, MI6, CSIS, etc

But I'm sidetracking myself here.

My point is this... it's not strangers you have be careful of... it's your "friends." By "friends" I mean people that you have a dialogue with, something more than just a greeting a "see ya later". We - you and I - are 'internet friends' by this definition. Maybe "acquaintance" is a better word, but it's a lot tougher to type. With the internet our circle of "friends" is immense. And you have a lot tougher job of screening them, and you have a lot tougher job of judging their character. And a nefarious internet friend has the advantage of perfect memory and clairvoyance. I can search the MacRumours site for everything you have ever said, in any thread. Since I already know you reuse your username across multiple forums I can search those as well. One poster in this thread has already tracked you even further.

This is assuming you are not using a fake online user persona. In which case I take my hat off to you....

None of this ever required knowing a thing about your laptop or your surfing habits.

And yes... it is possible that someone somewhere has compiled a large file on my surfing habits, and what I Googled, and that I looked up the photos of a topless Duchess of Cambridge when that Italian magazine published them. So what? Pretty boring reading. I've even just it made it public knowledge for the entire world to read that Googled Kate in a state of undress...... So what? I am not so important that anybody really cares.

But - if you are worried... that's fine. It is your privacy... I don't mean this facetiously... my argument is simply that you need to be looking at other areas more.

Do you have a Google account? If you do, then your Google searches are being tracked. If you aren't signed in when you Google then you are safer.

Create several different accounts on Mac, and use each account to do a different kind of browsing.

Use different and unique Usernames on each and every social media site and forum you frequent. (For privacy that is probably the biggest thing).
Every once in awhile discontinue using that username and start again as a new user. That will break the chain that leads back to you.

----

MAC addresses (which has nothing to do with Apple's Macs).... As I understand it - your computer has a unique MAC address. It is a serial number for the hardware interface card (WiFi or ethernet) in the laptop. The router between you and the internet has its own unique MAC address. However, many ISPs tie the internet account to the MAC address of the computer in the house that is authorized to access the internet. This causes problems for multiple computer households or when you get a new system. So.... the basic home router can be told to report whatever MAC address you want to the ISP. In our case we are reporting a MAC address to the ISP that belongs to computer that was recycled a year or so ago.

If someone at the recycle depot took the computer or even just the interface card, and is using it in a homebuilt computer, then that MAC address is also present somewhere else on the internet - potentially.

That is why tracking MAC addresses on a large scale is useless. You don't really know where the MAC address leads to.

However, as long as I am at home the MAC addresses are hidden behind the router and are not being broadcast to the internet at large. You would need a piece of malware on your system that read the MAC address and sent it back to "home base". If you have secured your Mac with passwords, etc etc then you only need to worry that CIA, MI6, CSIS, etc have taken a personal interest in you. In which case there is nothing you can do in any case.

re: McCarthy He was a bully, and a psychopath. He also didn't need any "secret" files - he mostly made things up. If you were ever targeted by a modern McCarthy, it wouldn't make a whit's difference if your file was clean or not... she would just create whatever was needed.

Cheers

Have a good trip.... which is information that you shouldn't be sharing... if someone on this forum is tracking you, you've just told them when they can drop by your house. I'm a lot less worried about this kind of stuff than you... but I never ever pre-announce when I'm going to be going away. I don't even use an email "away from the office" message when I travel... if I have to, I use something ambiguous...

doubledee · Feb 15, 2013

You guys make my toes all tingly?!

snberk103 said:
Lots to respond to...

First... sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of being paranoid.

I probably am.

What I was trying to say is that you may not be effectively paranoid. What I mean is that I think you are concentrating on entirely eliminating one area of risk without looking at the bigger picture. Sort of like barricading the windows, but leaving the back door unlocked.

You are likely right. But at least I am a ninja-in-training, so I can learn from my mistakes and improve over time!!!

In your case, you reuse your username across social media sites. With absolutely no knowledge of how to track your laptop someone in this thread already seems to have tracked you fairly effectively.

True.

To effectively track your laptop physically requires physical access to your laptop. If you have done a good job with passwords and encryption, you have prevented just about anybody but the CIA, MI6, or CSIS from tracking your laptop. But as added protection, sell your laptop and get a new one annually. On that rare occasion when someone has started to track your laptop, they will end up tracking someone else.

Yes, I have considered that.

That, by the way, is why there is no money in tracking laptops on a large scale - except in a lojack sort of way which is a short term solution.... you don't really know who you are actually tracking. Phones are much better to track.... do you have a cell phone? Contracts tie people up for multiple years, SIM cards are unique. Phones can't connect anonymously, except in exceptional circumstances. Something like lojack requires someone to have physical and restricted access to your laptop. Like the owner. Unless you are the CIA, MI6, CSIS, etc

I have *never* owned a cell-phone.

However, I am seriously considering getting a data-plan with a wireless carrier - guess I can't say the name!

So if I get a 2-year contract on a Data Plan with ACME, then would I be stuck with a Fixed IP Address?

In the context of my concerns, would that kill my privacy?!

I want a Data Plan so I can connect to the Internet over a secure connection, and not one where a hacker could sniff me out at Panera if you follow?!

(Sounds like I gain security, but lose privacy?!)

But I'm sidetracking myself here.

My point is this... it's not strangers you have be careful of... it's your "friends." By "friends" I mean people that you have a dialogue with, something more than just a greeting a "see ya later". We - you and I - are 'internet friends' by this definition. Maybe "acquaintance" is a better word, but it's a lot tougher to type. With the internet our circle of "friends" is immense. And you have a lot tougher job of screening them, and you have a lot tougher job of judging their character. And a nefarious internet friend has the advantage of perfect memory and clairvoyance. I can search the MacRumours site for everything you have ever said, in any thread. Since I already know you reuse your username across multiple forums I can search those as well. One poster in this thread has already tracked you even further.

True again.

Then again, I feel it wouldn't get you far. In 2000, I would have also given you - my new "Internet Friend" - my mailing address and phone #. After that psycho boyfriend arrived at my door, no more!!

I will tell you my personal hopes and dreams, but not enough that you could contact me or physically find me even if you are the CIA.

This is assuming you are not using a fake online user persona. In which case I take my hat off to you....

I haven't separated my "humanity" from my online profile, but there is virtually nothing to find me in the real world, UNLESS obtaining my MAC and IP addresses - hat I am freaking out about - would help you do that...

None of this ever required knowing a thing about your laptop or your surfing habits.

I follow your points.

And yes... it is possible that someone somewhere has compiled a large file on my surfing habits, and what I Googled, and that I looked up the photos of a topless Duchess of Cambridge when that Italian magazine published them. So what? Pretty boring reading. I've even just it made it public knowledge for the entire world to read that Googled Kate in a state of undress...... So what? I am not so important that anybody really cares.

However, if you accidentally landed up on a website that had nude images of minors (e.g. 17 years old), and someone found that image on your computer's HDD, then you'd be labeled a "pedophile" and a dead man...

(It has happened to others before...)

Or you went to a website tied to jihadists, or had a friend who said Al-Qaeda one too many times in e-mails, and now you are being followed....

Ever hear of the horror-stories of non-whites with the unfortunate name of Mohammed being put on TSA "No Fly" lists?

Neither of these things apply to me - a white, Christan female who isn't into porn or terrorists, but I'm sure I've said and done and surfed in ways I could some day regret if everything is being placed in some large Data-Warehouse...

Follow me?

Let's say I get fired, and I post a long rant of how I'd like to "kill my former bosses"...

Even if it was a frustrated figure of speech, look at where that would get me in the U.S. after what has happened every week since that mass-killing in Connecticut?!

But - if you are worried... that's fine. It is your privacy...

I'm worried that computers and the Internet have made nearly EVERYTHING last FOREVER?!

I don't mean this facetiously... my argument is simply that you need to be looking at other areas more.

And you are right.

My security and privacy endeavors are like swiss cheese - which only makes me more paranoid?!

Do you have a Google account? If you do, then your Google searches are being tracked. If you aren't signed in when you Google then you are safer.

Very true.

Create several different accounts on Mac, and use each account to do a different kind of browsing.

I know this, but don't do it enough.

Use different and unique Usernames on each and every social media site and forum you frequent. (For privacy that is probably the biggest thing).
Every once in awhile discontinue using that username and start again as a new user. That will break the chain that leads back to you.

Yep.

MAC addresses (which has nothing to do with Apple's Macs)....

Right.

As I understand it - your computer has a unique MAC address. It is a serial number for the hardware interface card (WiFi or ethernet) in the laptop.

So you'd need to replace the entire laptop to "re-set" things, right?

The router between you and the internet has its own unique MAC address. However, many ISPs tie the internet account to the MAC address of the computer in the house that is authorized to access the internet. This causes problems for multiple computer households or when you get a new system. So.... the basic home router can be told to report whatever MAC address you want to the ISP. In our case we are reporting a MAC address to the ISP that belongs to computer that was recycled a year or so ago.

So you can re-program your router to report that you are accessing the Internet using a computer other than the one you are actually using?

However, as long as I am at home the MAC addresses are hidden behind the router and are not being broadcast to the internet at large. You would need a piece of malware on your system that read the MAC address and sent it back to "home base". If you have secured your Mac with passwords, etc etc then you only need to worry that CIA, MI6, CSIS, etc have taken a personal interest in you. In which case there is nothing you can do in any case.

But if I understood you above, your ISP is getting which physical computer (i.e. MAC address) is accessing your ISP account, right? (And the Feds can get that pretty easily...)

re: McCarthy He was a bully, and a psychopath. He also didn't need any "secret" files - he mostly made things up. If you were ever targeted by a modern McCarthy, it wouldn't make a whit's difference if your file was clean or not... she would just create whatever was needed.

True.

Have a good trip.... which is information that you shouldn't be sharing... if someone on this forum is tracking you, you've just told them when they can drop by your house. I'm a lot less worried about this kind of stuff than you... but I never ever pre-announce when I'm going to be going away. I don't even use an email "away from the office" message when I travel... if I have to, I use something ambiguous...

You are right again.

Whoever said it earlier was right...

Debbie is TOAST!!!!!!!

(Pardon me while I roll over and die!!!)

I'd say that I'll pick up where I left off when I return, but you all don't know that I'm going somewhere, so just pretend that I am in my bedroom crying all weekend after realizing how dead I must be...

Sincerely,

Debbie

P.S. We have unraveled like 30 separate threads in just this one?!

What is the best way to drill-down on each of them here at MacRumors?

Like if I have questions one security and privacy related to the Data Plan I want to get, where would I start a new thread?

snberk103 · Feb 15, 2013

doubledee said:
....
So if I get a 2-year contract on a Data Plan with ACME, then would I be stuck with a Fixed IP Address?

No... you get a device with globally unique identifier that is designed to tell the world where it is at all times... or at least when it is turned on. It is not just fiction when 007 pulls the battery out of the cell phone.

doubledee said:
....
Then again, I feel it wouldn't get you far. In 2000, I would have also given you - my new "Internet Friend" - my mailing address and phone #. After that psycho boyfriend arrived at my door, no more!!

I will tell you my personal hopes and dreams, but not enough that you could contact me or physically find me even if you are the CIA.

I, and anybody on MacRumours who is obsessed, already know enough about the Debbie to probably figure out how to find you. You have already told us enough to start pulling threads. Unless you have created a totally fake persona for your online activities.

doubledee said:
I haven't separated my "humanity" from my online profile, but there is virtually nothing to find me in the real world, UNLESS obtaining my MAC and IP addresses - hat I am freaking out about - would help you do that...

But you have. And Monokata says he has gone further. Did you ever follow up with him?

My wife has job that occasionally deals with missing teenage girls, and occasionally she asks me to see what I can find out - strictly through public social media sites - about a particular missing girl so she can brief her boss. It is not hard to piece together a fairly complete profile from publicly available sites... like MacRumours.

doubledee said:
...
However, if you accidentally landed up on a website that had nude images of minors (e.g. 17 years old),

I have - it is virtually impossible not to when you are photographer. We spend a lot of time searching for images or photographers, and those key terms are hijacked a lot. Luckily it is a rare occurrence I back away as fast as I can...

doubledee said:
and someone found that image on your computer's HDD, then you'd be labeled a "pedophile" and a dead man...

... and in a day the cache clears itself and it is gone. To be labeled a pedophile you need to have more than one accidental image sitting in a cache....

doubledee said:
...
Or you went to a website tied to jihadists,

I do that to...on purpose... to see what they are saying....

doubledee said:
or had a friend who said Al-Qaeda one too many times in e-mails, and now you are being followed....

They'd get pretty bored....

doubledee said:
Ever hear of the horror-stories of non-whites with the unfortunate name of Mohammed being put on TSA "No Fly" lists?

I have a nice white jewish friend with WASPish of names who is on an American No-Fly List. Go figure.

doubledee said:
Neither of these things apply to me - a white, Christan female

see above...

doubledee said:
who isn't into porn or terrorists, but I'm sure I've said and done and surfed in ways I could some day regret if everything is being placed in some large Data-Warehouse...

But there is no way to collect all of that stuff. Your Mac Address is hidden behind whatever router you are using. You IP changes dynamically at home occasionally and everytime you log into the internet from somewhere else. There are crumbs being collected here and there ... but no one is putting all of those crumbs from 3 dozen different places into one picture. Not for you...

doubledee said:
Follow me?
Let's say I get fired, and I post a long rant of how I'd like to "kill my former bosses"...

Don't do that. You shouldn't say it in person. You shouldn't write it in letter, you shouldn't write it on the internet, you shouldn't write in an email. The internet doesn't make it more stupid to say it ...it is stupid whether you say it in a 18th century way or a 21st century way. Stupid is stupid regardless of technology used.

doubledee said:
....
I'm worried that computers and the Internet have made nearly EVERYTHING last FOREVER?!

Yes. That is true. And that is a change. Now stupid is forever. But where you surfed... no one really cares...

doubledee said:
...
So you'd need to replace the entire laptop to "re-set" things, right?

Or just randomly change the MAC address in the router occasionally. Your computer is hidden behind the router.

For nefarious person to trace you computer using its MAC address makes as much sense as trying to trace you in a rain storm in Phoenix, only knowing that you have a red umbrella.

doubledee said:
So you can re-program your router to report that you are accessing the Internet using a computer other than the one you are actually using?

Yes and no. A MAC address is not specific to a computer, it is carried by everything that can access the internet. Routers, computers, web-cams, etc. It is like knowing your license plate number, but not which State or Province. And then when you tow a trailer, you get a new license number (as viewed from the back). The ISP sees the 1st device it encounters when connecting to your home, or from your perspective ... the last thing in line from your computer to the cable or telephone.

doubledee said:
But if I understood you above, your ISP is getting which physical computer (i.e. MAC address) is accessing your ISP account, right? (And the Feds can get that pretty easily...)

The ISP only knows what the router tells them. Once upon a time in our home it pointed at a real computer. Now it is just a number. And no, the Feds can't get it pretty easily.. they still have to have a reason to ask. And if they do have it, for some reason, they need even more reason to use it.

doubledee said:
....
Debbie is TOAST!!!!!!!

Debbie is not toast... Debbie needs to get outside and worry less.

...
Life is full of risks. So what. You minimize what you can, and you go on. And guess what... despite all of those risks that people are trying to sell you stuff to protect yourself from... the statistics say that if you die before you are 70 it is a premature death. Despite all of those risks....

And you know what else. I live in a small community, and people I don't know here know more about me that any "internet entity" will ever know about you... so what? It doesn't hurt. I do my stuff, I live my live, I deal with occasional weird hiccup from people who know things that may or may not be true. Life goes on...

joeycool · Feb 16, 2013

doubledee said:
Is that website safe to use?

What is their "angle"?

That is, what is in it for them to help me "Hide My Apples"?

Debbie

Yes its safe!

doubledee said:
Well, I'm not doing anything illegal, but to your point, it bothers me that I can be tracked online, and I would like to be more anonymous if possible.

I just have this fear that "Big Brother" is collecting all of this data on my Me, My Computer, My Internet Usage, and build some large file on poor Debbie?!

I have seen websites and software that claim they can help you surf anonymously, however I fear they my actually be malware?!

Any suggestions for this Apple user?

Thanks,

Debbie

simsaladimbamba said:
Something like this perhaps?

I agree.

doubledee said:
Well, here is how I see it...

I don't mind that you know my Name (First), or Location (State), or my Profession (Business Analyst), because it helps make things more personal, when you at least know someone's First Name and some basic information about them.

More so, knowing just those things is pretty useless information for any other purpose.

However, the fact that others can log things like...

- When I access the Internet
- Where I access the Internet
- What equipment I use to access the Internet
- What I look at while on the Internet

...could totally impact my Privacy, Security, and Freedoms that I've come to expect as an American?!

It is probably due to my ignorance of Networking and Web Security, but I have this growing fear that people might be able to identify my particular computer, and once they do that, they could track me wherever I go online, just like there is a GPS unit sewn to my side?!

With each passing month, I read more and more in the news how in the U.S. and abroad, both "good" and "bad" Internet users are tracked and often persecuted and jailed because of their actions and affiliations. (Thank God I don't have to live as a female in a country like Pakistan...)

Again, I think my online activities are pretty tame, YET I don't like the idea someone, somewhere, is amassing this gigantic file on everything I've ever done online...

Think about it, just by looking at my browser's cache or my Internet activity, you could figure out...

- Where I work
- Where I shop
- Where I bank
- Groups I belong to

...and so much more?!

It seems to me that there ought to be lots of ways to not leave such an enormous bread-crumb trail of my daily activities, and that is the latest "kick" that I'm on...

Sincerely,

Debbie

you can never be to cautious online Why It Is Important To Hide Your IP Address and Surf Anonymously

Think about it, just by looking at my browser's cache or my Internet activity, you could figure out...

- Where I work
- Where I shop
- Where I bank
- Groups I belong to

...and so much more?!

Well Facebooks going down that avenue https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200156550214780 collecting your data to re-market to you.

I think if you take a few steps to have proper online AV security & firewalls plus hide your IP Address you will be OK don't stress to much... or if you want to visit sites and not leave a trace surf through a web proxy.

http://www.peerblock.com/ is also good

snberk103 · Feb 16, 2013

joeycool said:
...
you can never be to cautious online Why It Is Important To Hide Your IP Address and Surf Anonymously

That article is mostly bogus info. My computer's IP is 192.168.1.101 .... I've announced it publicly. Go ahead ... look it up... What do you find? Oh, wait... millions and millions of computers have that IP address. Someone can't tell diddly squat with my computer's IP address. Perhaps the article meant the IP address of my router? I looked up the address of my router. I found the street address of my ISP. Which, being a large and legitimate company is not exactly a secret. Nothing pointed to me, or even to the community I lived in. I think I will sleep soundly tonight. Actually, I was pleased to see that my ISP is rated highly and is not blacklisted on the spam lists.

joeycool said:
Think about it, just by looking at my browser's cache or my Internet activity, you could figure out...

To look at those I would need physical access to the machine, so I probably already know you. If you have password protected the machine - basic protection - and then encrypted the disk - better protection - then I have to know you well enough to know your passwords. It means I already know where you live, work, shop, etc if I know those passwords.

joeycool said:
- ...

Well Facebooks going down that avenue https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200156550214780 collecting your data to re-market to you.

Yes. Facebook knows as much as you tell it. Don't tell it a thing and it knows nothing.

joeycool said:
I think if you take a few steps to have proper online AV security...

There are no viruses in the wild that affect OS X. There a few pieces of other malware, most of which you have to install yourself that can infect a Mac. OS X already has a firewall. It's not set to the highest setting by default... but there are articles here on MR that talk about how to reset it if it's a concern.

Just practice safe surfing habits... most importantly, only install programs you know you downloaded. Don't install everything that strangers tell you to install. Basically, only install stuff you need to do your work, and games from trusted vendors.

Sky Blue · Feb 16, 2013

doubledee said:
Well, here is how I see it...

I don't mind that you know my Name (First), or Location (State), or my Profession (Business Analyst), because it helps make things more personal, when you at least know someone's First Name and some basic information about them.

More so, knowing just those things is pretty useless information for any other purpose.

Not at all. Why would someone care what type of computer you have? If they know names/usernames and personal information from data you've supplied online, you can guess other usernames/passwords to other sites.

Does someone care about your personal computer if they can log into your bank account or email account? If they can get into your email using information you've supplied, they can get just about anywhere.

Do you think the hackers in this story had access to the physical computer? No, they used information supplied online, no physical access necessary.

I'm not saying physical security isn't important, it is. But for someone who seems so overzealous on security, You're leaving behind a huge footprint of personal info to be exploited.

scarred · Feb 16, 2013

snberk103 said:
That article is mostly bogus info. My computer's IP is 192.168.1.101 .... I've announced it publicly. Go ahead ... look it up... What do you find? Oh, wait... millions and millions of computers have that IP address. Someone can't tell diddly squat with my computer's IP address. Perhaps the article meant the IP address of my router? I looked up the address of my router. I found the street address of my ISP. Which, being a large and legitimate company is not exactly a secret. Nothing pointed to me, or even to the community I lived in. I think I will sleep soundly tonight. Actually, I was pleased to see that my ISP is rated highly and is not blacklisted on the spam lists.

Please stop spreading mis-information. It is getting a bit over the top now... To even suggest that someone is anonymous by being behind a router is absolutely out to lunch and totally and utterly false and pointless information. Not sure how else to word it... dead wrong... irrelevant...

Your IP address, the one that matters, is your public facing one. When you visit a web site, they don't see your internal address, they see the one your ISP has allocated to you. Your ISP also logs everything you do. There is a record of every single server you've accessed online. That single address is enough to find you, and enough to see your online activities in full and complete gory detail. The IP address is also enough to find the city you live in by everyone, without blinking an eye, which is a pretty good start at making your digital life miserable.

Your ISP "not being on any blacklists" and "rated highly" is also very irrelevant. "Sleeping soundly" because of that is delusional at the very best.

snberk103 · Feb 16, 2013

scarred said:
Please stop spreading mis-information. It is getting a bit over the top now... To even suggest that someone is anonymous by being behind a router is absolutely out to lunch and totally and utterly false and pointless information. Not sure how else to word it... dead wrong... irrelevant...

Problem is... the article I was responding to didn't make that distinction. They made it seem that your computer has this irrevocably unique number called an IP Address that follows you everywhere.

scarred said:
Your IP address, the one that matters, is your public facing one.

Yes.... too bad the article didn't really make that clear. Most people are given a dynamic IP address by their ISP... one that changes occasionally. Static IPs you generally have to pay for .... a business hosting their own website internally will pay for a static IP.

scarred said:
When you visit a web site, they don't see your internal address, they see the one your ISP has allocated to you. Your ISP also logs everything you do. There is a record of every single server you've accessed online.

Yes. Information that is protected by law. Information that is erased out if not requested by a warrant. Also, only servers you connect to when you are home, and not when you are "out". If you surf from a coffee shop or other public place the servers you visit are logged to that remote location's ISP and not to you.

scarred said:
That single address is enough to find you, and enough to see your online activities in full and complete gory detail.

My out facing IP lead to my ISP. The details of my location are held by my ISP and are not public.

scarred said:
The IP address is also enough to find the city you live in by everyone, without blinking an eye, which is a pretty good start at making your digital life miserable.

Really? When I look up my out facing IP Address the map shown was even less accurate than the clue I put in my signature.

scarred said:
Your ISP "not being on any blacklists" and "rated highly" is also very irrelevant. "Sleeping soundly" because of that is delusional at the very best.

That was said tongue in cheek...

svenr · Feb 22, 2013

CylonGlitch said:
I've now made it my mission that whenever these things are available I will first try to download it from their website (if available, otherwise I scan it in). Then I use either a PDF writer or a photo editing program and slightly modify the words. "I do NOT allow my likeness to be used." etc.. I inject the work NOT in a lot of places. Then I sign that waiver and hand it in.

Another question to you and everyone else who chimed in on this:
How do you deal with online "click-to-accept" forms? You know, the various Terms & Conditions most people never read, but where they don't let you proceed without you checking the "Agree" box?

For example, I've been using Spotify. They just auto-updated my software, the new one also has a new T&C sheet, including mandatory binding arbitration. I have no intention of suing Spotify for anything, but I hate mandatory binding arbitration. It forces you to give up rights to a fair trial if the need ever arises in favor of a rigged arbitrator hired by the same company that you oppose.

jwjsr · Feb 23, 2013

simsaladimbamba said:
Something like this perhaps?

Does HMA hide me even if I don't click HMA's "enable SSL" box?

MikeNice413 · Mar 3, 2013

Anyone use StrongVPN?

Hiding IP Address

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