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Dissidents Seeking Anonymous Web Solutions?
DocMurphy asks: "I'm working with some dissidents who are looking for ways to use the Internet from within repressive regimes. Many have in-home Internet access, but think it too risky to participate in pro-freedom activities on home PCs. Internet cafés are also available, but although fairly anonymous, every machine may be infected with keystroke loggers that give governments access to and knowledge of 'banned' sites. Dissidents not only want to remain anonymous themselves, but also wish to not compromise the sites they access. Any suggestions for products/procedures/systems out there making anonymous access & publishing a reality under repressive regime run Internet access?"
Connected to what when the government tracks everything and owns/controls all of the nations connectivity?
You may as well have suggested FDDI or gigabit ethernet would solve the problem.
Once you're inside of a 'repressive regime', it's a lot more difficult to circumvent than just pick a new network layer.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
If you've gotten to the point where you're really worried about being caught and persecuted, perhaps the internet is not your safest bet, due to every reason being posted here, ie: keyloggers, etc. As much as you'd like to change your world, the "system" isn't going to make things easy for you to overthrow it. And the internet is very much a part of the "system." Unless you're ready to string up your own network and create a rebellion intranet, you're out of luck.
Just do what they do on the Sopranos: keep it low tech, use payphones, meet in person. If your cause it that important and you need to spread information, may I suggest a major leaflet campaign?
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
Beacuse:
A. Repressive regimes may not have a lot of unsecured open hotspots.
B. Repressive regimes may not have an abundance of wireless enabled laptops, and possessing one would draw attention.
C. Going from "inside the internet cafe" to "within 150' of the internet cafe" doesn't get you that much. Repressive regimes are pretty good with triangulation.
"Best not to risk your life if a regime is that oppressive."
That's an excellent time to risk your life. Rolling over and "playing nice" is exactly what lets oppressive regimes exist.
The only issue I see with that is that it is possible to detect (though not decode) encryption. If a repressive government sees a particular pattern coming from a particular cybercafe, they'll start watching more and someone could still be in trouble under the "well why would you encrypt it? You must be a dissident!" assumption. That could be just as bad as if they were leaving it unencrypted....
...in bed
You would connect to the proxy via SSL and hope that it is not noticed and then blocked.
You pretty much have hit on the problem.
Even if they can not read your data they will know it is encrypted. That could cause them to notice you.
If you are in a totalitarian country you can not be safe and a dissident. I do wish them luck.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Spoken like a true Westerner I'm thinking.
In countries where you can stand up and say your government is a bunch of idiots, there is no harm in not being anonymous.
But if this can lead to prison, death, torture, disappearance, or all sorts of ahem inconvenience cough, then anonymity is what you want.
What good is saying "if you have anything of value to say, be public about it" if everyone is eventually dead and too afraid to say anything?
Sometimes just making sure someone hears the words is important. As is making sure those who need to say 'em are alive to keep saying 'em. Deciding that anything that can't be said out in the open isn't worth saying is probably a real disservice to peoples who absolutely cannot do that.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
to add to that wonderful list... use different cybercafes in a random manner... don't use the same machine at any cybercafe.
also, try using one of those secure usb key's (lexar has one). and always do boring, mundane stuff while you're at the cafes, even when you go for the main purpose, start up a normal browsing session before you upload anything and flip back to it during the transfer.
please me, have no regrets.
A: Only your point of view.
I think the difference is bomb/no bomb, and choice of target.
RAM isn't completely recovery proof.
Now... as for the original question, isn't this what freenet was supposed to be for?
In other words, the site is published by you, but hosted on some other freenet member(s) box.That was the entire point of freenet, to allow for truly anonymous publishing of material.
Oh yea, and don't forget to check the "Post Anonymously" box
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Do not confuse authentication, confidentiality, and tracability.
authentication: third parties cannot alter your communication; the party you are talking to is who you expect.
confidentiality: third parties cannot read your communication
tracability: third parties cannot determine who you are and/or with whom you are communicating (i.e. they can't map to meatspace)
The most critical factor for dissidents is tracability.
While ssh provides authentication and encryption, it does NOT, on its own, decrease tracability. Most governments (and in the US, corporations) can easily trace a basic IP connection, even if they can't read or write the traffic on it. Just follow the wire.
Remember: who you talk to can be at least as sensitive as what you say.