Yep Mr Anonymous, that seems to be becoming my nickname, why do I need to remain anonymous? Well to be honest, probably quite a lot of the time I don’t but I travel, use my laptop all over the place. So much of my life’s arrangements happen online now – digital theft is more worrying than the physical stuff.
People used to say – ‘what have you got to hide?’ as if anyone wanting a little privacy is some sort of criminal mastermind or cyber terrorist. The reality is how much do we trust the people who have access to our data and personal details. Do you want your government to have detailed knowledge of everything you do online, do you trust Amazon completely not to profit from your information.
Let’s just get one thing clear – if you use the Internet – the majority of your browsing happens via HTTP. This is hypertext transport protocol – and it has made the internet such a fantastic place, its role is to transfer information quickly. A role it has performed amazingly well, but alas it all happens in clear text.
It’s difficult to be Mr Anonymous using clear text to pay your bills, extend your gym membership (although being unfit and overweight might be a cunning distraction). But think like a criminal – why risk a 20-year term holding up an off licence for £300 when you can swipe a few thousand identities and make millions by recording information via a wireless link in a nearby car park. Sitting in a cafe or hotel lobby with a fake wireless access point can bring in more money than robbing a bank.
Well, I do strive to be Mr Anonymous probably because I know what the hackers are doing and to be honest, they’re generally a lot smarter than the people who are looking after our information. But there’s an added bonus, because I am an anonymous online, I have my say in forums without fear of being banned or blocked, when the BBC iPlayer says I can’t watch the BBC news because I happen to be in Italy, I can bypass their block by simply using a proxy in the UK or even when I want to say hello to my sister on Facebook at a client site, no proxy stops me.
Intrigued on being anonymous and the benefits – just check out a couple of these pages Watch UK TV, and BBC Iplayer abroad
Handy tip – if you have a local ISP go and visit them and ask to see who is looking after their security, backup logs – these places have the personal records of thousands – see what high powered security systems they have in place.
Mr Anonymous – I wish!
