

Since then, I’ve led workshops in different corners of the world and have gotten comfortable teaching a particular set of tools – Tor, WordPress and various free email accounts – which used in combination can provide a very high level of anonymity. I wrote a technical guide to anonymous blogging some months back and posted it on Global Voices, outlining several different methods for blogging anonymously. These authors include human rights activists in dozens of nations, aid workers in repressive countries as well as whistleblowers within companies and governments.

I’ve worked with a number of authors who’ve wanted to write about political or personal matters online, but who felt they couldn’t write online unless they could ensure that their writing couldn’t be traced to their identity. One of the great joys of working on Global Voices has been having the chance to work with people who are expressing themselves despite powerful forces working to keep them silent. Step 3: Register your new anonymous blog.ī) Clear your browser history, cookies and passwords from Firefox. Step 2: Generate a new, hard to trace email account.Ĭ) Make sure you’re able to log onto the mail service. Zero Install Bundle for Windows (for any portable media drive)ī) Extract the Tor Browser file in your USB keyĭ) Turn on Tor in Firefox and test it out.

Check the warning section on the Tor website for more information.By Tor Project (CC-BY-SA-3.0-us) via Wikimedia Commons If you'd like to be more anonymous online, then, Tor can help, but to get the best protection you'll need a clear idea of how the program works. (Though you can selectively restore these plugins if you don't mind potentially leaking identifiable information.) And the program disables plugins like Flash or Adobe's PDF reader to ensure they can't give away your IP address, so many websites will no longer work. You must configure Internet applications individually before they'll be able to use Tor, for instance. While this sounds good, there are many complications. And when it reaches the destination your data request will contain an IP address that leads back to the Tor network: not you. That traffic will then bounce randomly around various Tor relays, which means your request cannot be tracked. Internet traffic that leaves your PC will go first to the Tor network, so anyone spying on your connection won't see the sites you're accessing. With Tor installed, though, it's a very different story. In addition, anyone watching your internet connection will be able to record the sites that you visit. This may reveal something about your location and can be used to spot you when you return to that resource. If you access an internet resource without using Tor then you'll give away your IP address.

Tor is a free application and open network that helps to protect your anonymity online.
