Sekrit

[daaacz]

Hey all,

I go to great lengths to keep my hobby persona safe, but in a recent post I saw that there are others who don't have any safeguards in place. I'd also appreciate any tips anyone else has.

Here's my setup:

I use Veracrypt to create an encrypted container on my computer.  In that encrypted container, I have installed Firefox portable. That way all of the tracks left by browsing are contained within Firefox portable and they don't leave the encrypted container.  As an added bonus, because it's in its own little hidden box, I can use tools like LastPass to keep track of my passwords and stuff without it ever encroaching into my normal life. I also keep a text document or two and a spreadsheet in there of providers I would like to see or have seen with notes so I can remember why I want to visit them or why I would (or wouldn't) return.

For my phone, I use Google Voice. I don't like it much.  It can be flaky and Google isn't known for keeping data private. Because I'm an infrequent hobbyist, though, it's good enough for me. I have a burner but I don't use it because I usually don't hobby often enough to keep the minutes up to date. The browser on my Android phone is called Frost.  It has a method in place to hide my private bookmarks and it removes all history when I exit the app.  When I had an iPhone, there was an awesome app that had a hidden browser, notepad, and image collector built into it.  I can't remember the name, though. 

What to y'all do to keep your data safe?  I'm especially interested in how providers keep data safe. I'm often uncomfortable sharing info because I have no idea how it's treated once it has left my hands.

 

[Bora Bora]

Good habits!

I prefer the old and traditional method of the burner phone. It's major disadvantage is how to explain the second phone to other people, but on the other hand google voice is linked to your real phone in more ways than we could imagine. Google's alias name is "Big Brother".

One additional layer you could have is to use a VPN service (virtual private network). That will hide your real IP Address, just in case someone is tracking your emails or your participation in forums or review websites. There are a lot of VPN services, many of them very cheap. I wouldn't use the free ones though.

And, instead of using just an encrypted volume with Veracrypt I would suggest to use a completely separated operating system with a virtual machine like free VirtualBox. It's like creating a second computer inside your computer. You can even encrypt a portion of it with your Veracrypt.