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Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

sive.rs

21–30 of 329 posts

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#21
post #18

Now no one will believe my real name is Gill Bates.

Many people have a hard time believing these folks when they introduce themselves:

https://www.facebook.com/a.m.Jain.meenambakam/posts/for-othe...

Or these guys to get elected:

https://www.ranker.com/list/funny-politician-names/nathandav...

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#22
I've noticed the number of places that let you use ephemeral accounts has really dwindled. Spam, marketing, LE, and I am sure other reasons have it so persistent accounts are more common. So creating a persona is probably the easiest way to be somewhat anonymous online but it's getting harder to create unlinked accounts (using new phone numbers and unlinked to your other accounts) and when it crosses into the real world like with shipping products it gets weird. Your mailman might think a stranger is living with you.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#23
I had an idea for a funny little startup once: “Adopt an alter ego”

Essentially a marketplace where you can buy and sell prebuilt identities - complete with associated, aged, and populated social media accounts, email accounts, pictures, websites, etc.

I just like the idea of being different people online.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#24
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would it be impossible online? You can pay anonnymously for Mullvad VPN, or use Tor, or open wifi. It's online that anonymity is even attainable.

What about signing in to apps which often uses a phone # and email? Also, betting on Tor is like betting there there are no 0-day exploits in browsers or Tor's network. Not a bet I would make.

It all depends on your threat model at the end of the day. I could create a blog and social media accounts in a few hours and, unless I do something stupid, it's going to be pretty hard for Joe Random on the Internet to figure out who I am.

But if I start writing things that catch the attention of the FBI? They'll figure things out quick enough.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#25
> It’s human nature to want to know who’s speaking. If they don’t say, it creates a mystery.

Yes it's human nature to want things but, socially, one might learn to go without something if it's at odds with what someone else wants. If someone doesn't let me keep private things which I would prefer to keep private, unfortunately I will simply learn to avoid that person.

That's to say, "make a persona" is being offered as a panacea to when those around me don't allow for privacy but it is a panacea I would not choose.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#27
post #15
post #3

Anonymity is impossible, especially online. About the best one can do is to engage in clever obfuscation though there's a benefit to creating multiple personas for online activity: it makes it easier to keep your silos of interest separated. It's not for everyone but it can be handy.

I'm not convinced that a plausible pseudonym is more privacy preserving than something that's obviously just made up. But it's not bad advice in general to post personal stuff on social media and blogs under a pseudonym if you want to be controversial.

Everything I post online, controversial or not, is using a persona. I have several, each for certain areas. I've been doing this for decades.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#28
post #20
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would it be impossible online? You can pay anonnymously for Mullvad VPN, or use Tor, or open wifi. It's online that anonymity is even attainable.

As always with a security discussion, it's about threat model. Preventing a random internet person from tying a particular nym to you is easy. Fooling a bunch of people is harder, but doable. Being a top-tier youtuber would probably be effectively impossible. And if your concern is nation states, well... good luck with anything.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonelygirl15

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#29
post #19

Ah yes... I'm Skimmington Harborough, Esq., I come from a family that made its fortune in philanthropy generations ago. This seems like a pretty straightforward mechanism for covert operatives, to generate a believable (and memorizable) cover that pulls attention away and maintains coherence. That said, as someone who prizes ethical behavior, it's not possible to practice this and remain wholly honest without some so…

All of what you say is true.

But it's even worse than that.

A persona won't even confer anonymity these days. So now you're dishonest and attributable.

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