Anonymity online

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Many people believe that most of what they do online is anonymous - they are wrong - these days it is all but impossible to do anything anonymously online. There are many things which can be done to make the job of 'tracking you down' much more difficult. I shall start with the simpler things.

Connect to the internet anonymously - this is perhaps the best thing you can do - either connect at a cybercafe where you can just turn up (i.e. you do not have to register to use) or connect to an unsecured wireless network (in the UK people have been arrested for this - I am unsure whether it is actually illegal - the law says it is illegal to use a computer system without permission - it is arguable (and correct in my opinion - but i am not a judge) that when you try to connect to a wireless network your computer requests permission - and if it unsecured that permission is granted). Check your local law to find out where you stand on this issue. Please DO NOT connect to a secured wireless network (by whatever means) unless you have permission (which would usually defeat the anonymity point) as in almost all places this IS illegal.
Lying - Arguably the most used human tool after speech itself - and much needed on the internet. It usually goes without saying - anything you fill in online - lie. Name, dob, sex, email anything - just make it up - unless you are buying something online nobody has any reason to know who you are. Unless you want somebody to know who you are - dont tell them - it really is that simple.
Anonymous e-mail - the only problem with the above is - sometimes - you need to receive an email from the sign-up process. There are a few simple ways around this - firstly (and more complexly) you could have a series of online identities - each with an email (such as hotmail) which is not associated with the 'real' you. More simply you could use a disposable email - there are many options available - but i personally like slopsbox - operated by the TPB).
Anonymous web-browsing - there are a few alternatives here - but unless they are combined with number 1 they are not totally secure. There use lies in hiding your identity from the website you are visiting - they can NEVER hide your identity from your own ISP. The first option available is to use an anonymous proxy server - this can be useful but all your trust must be placed on the company running the anonymous proxy - and if this company is in the USA - it is covered by the 'patriot act' - all in all you might as well not be using it. The best proxy you could use is to set up your own on a server hired in Russia or eastern Europe/middle east - but this can be expensive - and technically difficult. Another option is to use TOR (the onion router) - this is somewhat easier to set-up and use - but is still NOT secure - you have to trust the nodes through which you connect - i would only recommend this option to break out of a government firewall (such as 'the great firewall of china') - but this brings up many legal issues. For the average person connecting anonymously is much preferred to any of the methods mentioned here.