π¦[ SSL tunelling ]
What is SSL?
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. The ?Secure? implies an encryption, while Socket Layer denotes an addition to the Window Socket system, Winsock. For those that don?t know, a Socket is an attachment to a port on a system. You can have many sockets on one port, providing they are non-blocking (allowing control to pass through to another socket aware application which wishes to connect to that port).
A Secure Socket Layer means that any sockets under it, are both secure and safe. The idea behind SSL was to provide an encrypted, and thus, secure route for traffic along a socket based system, such as TCP/IP (the internet protocol). Doing this allows security in credit card transactions on the Internet, encrypted and protected communiquΓ© along a data line, and overall peace of mind.
π¦The SSL uses an encryption standard developed by RSA. RSA are a world respected American organisation that specializes in encryption and data security. Initially, they developed a cipher length of only 40 bits, for use with the Secure Socket Layer, this was considered weak and therefore a longer much more complicated encryption cipher was created, 128 bits. The reasoning behind it was simple: it needs to be secure.
The RSA site puts the advantage of a longer encryption length pretty clearly: because 40-bit encryption is considered to be relatively weak. 128-bits is about 309 septillion times ( 309,485,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ) larger than 40-bits. This would mean it would take that many times longer to crack or break 128-bit encryption than it would 40-bit.
If you want more information on the technicalities or RSA?s SSL encryption engine, visit their site: http://www.rsasecurity.com/standards/ssl.
π¦But what does all this encryption and security have to do with you?
Well, that?s a simple question. No matter how hard you try, at times your privacy will need to be knowingly invaded so you can make use of the product offered for doing so. If you think about food, for example, one cannot eat without swallowing. When we wish to make a transaction or view a site on the internet, where we have to give enough information away so that it happens, we also want to be assured no one else along the line gathers that data. An encrypted session would mean our data is not at the hands of any privacy perpetrators unless they knew how to decode it ? and the only ones in the know, are those you specifically wish. SSL uses public key encryption as explained in the PGP section.
π¦To put this at a head: if you use an encrypted connection or session, you can be relatively assured that there are no prying eyes along the way.
And how do I implement SSL with SSL Tunnelling?
We know that a Secure Socket Layer is safe, but what we don?t know is what a Tunnel is. In the most simplistic form, a tunnel is a proxy. Like proxy voting in general elections, a tunnel will relay your data back and forth for you. You may be aware though, that there are already ?proxies? out there, and yes, that is true. Tunnelling is done via proxies, but it is not considered to be the same as a standard proxy relaying simply because it isn?t.
Tunnelling is very special kind of proxy relay, in that it can, and does relay data without interfering. It does this transparently and without grievance or any care for what is passing its way.
π¦Now, if we add this ability to ?tunnel? data, any data, in a pipe, to the Secure Sockets Layer, we have a closed connection that is independent of the software carrying it; and something that is also encrypted. For those of you wanting to know a little more about the technicalities, the SSL layer is also classless in the sense it does not interferer with the data passed back and forth ? after all, it is encrypted and impossible to tamper with. That attribute means an SSL capable proxy is able to transfer data out of its ?proxied? connection to the destination required.
What is SSL?
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. The ?Secure? implies an encryption, while Socket Layer denotes an addition to the Window Socket system, Winsock. For those that don?t know, a Socket is an attachment to a port on a system. You can have many sockets on one port, providing they are non-blocking (allowing control to pass through to another socket aware application which wishes to connect to that port).
A Secure Socket Layer means that any sockets under it, are both secure and safe. The idea behind SSL was to provide an encrypted, and thus, secure route for traffic along a socket based system, such as TCP/IP (the internet protocol). Doing this allows security in credit card transactions on the Internet, encrypted and protected communiquΓ© along a data line, and overall peace of mind.
π¦The SSL uses an encryption standard developed by RSA. RSA are a world respected American organisation that specializes in encryption and data security. Initially, they developed a cipher length of only 40 bits, for use with the Secure Socket Layer, this was considered weak and therefore a longer much more complicated encryption cipher was created, 128 bits. The reasoning behind it was simple: it needs to be secure.
The RSA site puts the advantage of a longer encryption length pretty clearly: because 40-bit encryption is considered to be relatively weak. 128-bits is about 309 septillion times ( 309,485,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ) larger than 40-bits. This would mean it would take that many times longer to crack or break 128-bit encryption than it would 40-bit.
If you want more information on the technicalities or RSA?s SSL encryption engine, visit their site: http://www.rsasecurity.com/standards/ssl.
π¦But what does all this encryption and security have to do with you?
Well, that?s a simple question. No matter how hard you try, at times your privacy will need to be knowingly invaded so you can make use of the product offered for doing so. If you think about food, for example, one cannot eat without swallowing. When we wish to make a transaction or view a site on the internet, where we have to give enough information away so that it happens, we also want to be assured no one else along the line gathers that data. An encrypted session would mean our data is not at the hands of any privacy perpetrators unless they knew how to decode it ? and the only ones in the know, are those you specifically wish. SSL uses public key encryption as explained in the PGP section.
π¦To put this at a head: if you use an encrypted connection or session, you can be relatively assured that there are no prying eyes along the way.
And how do I implement SSL with SSL Tunnelling?
We know that a Secure Socket Layer is safe, but what we don?t know is what a Tunnel is. In the most simplistic form, a tunnel is a proxy. Like proxy voting in general elections, a tunnel will relay your data back and forth for you. You may be aware though, that there are already ?proxies? out there, and yes, that is true. Tunnelling is done via proxies, but it is not considered to be the same as a standard proxy relaying simply because it isn?t.
Tunnelling is very special kind of proxy relay, in that it can, and does relay data without interfering. It does this transparently and without grievance or any care for what is passing its way.
π¦Now, if we add this ability to ?tunnel? data, any data, in a pipe, to the Secure Sockets Layer, we have a closed connection that is independent of the software carrying it; and something that is also encrypted. For those of you wanting to know a little more about the technicalities, the SSL layer is also classless in the sense it does not interferer with the data passed back and forth ? after all, it is encrypted and impossible to tamper with. That attribute means an SSL capable proxy is able to transfer data out of its ?proxied? connection to the destination required.
π¦Proxies:
Secure proxies are alike standard proxies. We can either use an HTTP base SSL equipped proxy - one specifically designed for security HTTP traffic, but because of the ignorant nature of SSL communication, it can be bent to any needs ? or we can use a proper SSL service designed for our connection ? like you would use a secure NNTP (news) program with a secure proxy on port 563 instead of taking our long way - which would probably work as well.
π¦A secure HTTP proxy operates on port 443. Host proxies are not public, that means they operate for, and allow only traffic from their subnet or the ISP that operates them ? but, there are many badly configured HTTP proxies and some public ones out there. The use of a program called HTTrack (available on Neworder) will aid you in scanning and searching for proxies on your network or anywhere on the Internet if your ISP does not provide you with one.
Neworder also features a number of sites dedicated to listing public proxies in the Anonymity section. While it?s often hard to find a suitable fast proxy, it?s worth the effort when you get one.
π¦So how can I secure my connections with SSL Tunnelling?
That?s a big question, and beyond the scope out this tuition as it must come to and end. I can however, point you in the right direction of two resources that will aid you in tunnelling both IRC, and most other connections via a HTTP proxy.
For Windows, the first stop would be http://www.totalrc.net?s Socks2HTTP. This is an SSL tunnelling program that turns a normal socks proxy connection into a tunnelled SSL connection.
π¦The second stop, for both Windows and Unix is stunnel. Stunnel is a GNU kit developed for SSL tunnelling any connection. It is available for compile and download as binary here: Stunnel homepage - http://mike.daewoo.com.pl/computer/stunnel
@undercodeTesting
!β β β ο½ππ»βΊπ«Δπ¬πβ β β β
Secure proxies are alike standard proxies. We can either use an HTTP base SSL equipped proxy - one specifically designed for security HTTP traffic, but because of the ignorant nature of SSL communication, it can be bent to any needs ? or we can use a proper SSL service designed for our connection ? like you would use a secure NNTP (news) program with a secure proxy on port 563 instead of taking our long way - which would probably work as well.
π¦A secure HTTP proxy operates on port 443. Host proxies are not public, that means they operate for, and allow only traffic from their subnet or the ISP that operates them ? but, there are many badly configured HTTP proxies and some public ones out there. The use of a program called HTTrack (available on Neworder) will aid you in scanning and searching for proxies on your network or anywhere on the Internet if your ISP does not provide you with one.
Neworder also features a number of sites dedicated to listing public proxies in the Anonymity section. While it?s often hard to find a suitable fast proxy, it?s worth the effort when you get one.
π¦So how can I secure my connections with SSL Tunnelling?
That?s a big question, and beyond the scope out this tuition as it must come to and end. I can however, point you in the right direction of two resources that will aid you in tunnelling both IRC, and most other connections via a HTTP proxy.
For Windows, the first stop would be http://www.totalrc.net?s Socks2HTTP. This is an SSL tunnelling program that turns a normal socks proxy connection into a tunnelled SSL connection.
π¦The second stop, for both Windows and Unix is stunnel. Stunnel is a GNU kit developed for SSL tunnelling any connection. It is available for compile and download as binary here: Stunnel homepage - http://mike.daewoo.com.pl/computer/stunnel
@undercodeTesting
!β β β ο½ππ»βΊπ«Δπ¬πβ β β β
π¦ [ anonymity on irc ]
A BNC, or a Bouncer - is used in conjunction with IRC as a way of hiding your host when people /whois you. On most IRC networks, your host isnt masked when you whois, meaning the entire IP appears, like 194.2.0.21, which can be resolved. On other networks, your host might be masked, like IRCnetwork-0.1 but it can still give valuable information, like nationality if your host is not a IP, but a DNS resolved host, like my.host.cn would be masked to IRCnetwork-host.cn but this would still tell the person who whoised you, that you are from China.
π¦To keep information such as this hidden from the other users on an IRC network, many people use a Bouncer, which is actually just a Proxy. Let us first draw a schematic of how a normal connection would look, with and without a BNC installed.
Without a BNC:
your.host.cn <<-->> irc.box.sk
With a BNC:
your.host.cn <<-->> my.shell.com <<-->> irc.box.sk
You will notice the difference between the two. When you have a BNC installed, a shell functions as a link between you and the IRC server (irc.box.sk as an example). You install a BNC on a shell, and set a port for it to listen for connections on. You then login to the shell with your IRC client, BitchX/Xchat/mIRC, and then it will login to the IRC server you specify - irc.box.sk in this case. In affect, this changes your host, in that it is my.shell.com that makes all the requests to irc.box.sk, and irc.box.sk doesn't know of your.host.cn, it has never even made contact with it.
π¦In that way, depending on what host your shell has, you can login to IRC with a host like i.rule.com, these vhosts are then actually just an alias for your own machine, your.host.cn, and it is all completely transparent to the IRC server.
Many servers have sock bots that check for socket connections. These aren't BNC connections, and BNC cannot be tested using a simple bot, unless your shell has a socket port open (normally 1080) it will let you in with no problem at all, the shell is not acting as a proxy like you would expect, but more as a simple IRC proxy, or an IRC router. In one way, the BNC just changes the packet and sends it on, like:
to: my.shell.com -> to: irc.box.sk -> to: my.shell.com from: your.host.cn <- from: my.shell.com <- from: irc.box.sk
π¦The BNC simply swaps the host of your packet, saying it comes from my.shell.com. But also be aware, that your own machine is perfectly aware that it has a connection established with my.shell.com, and that YOU know that you are connected to irc.box.sk. Some BNCs are used in IRC networks, to simulate one host. If you had a global IRC network, all linked together, you could have a local server called: cn.myircnetwork.com which Chinese users would log into. It would then Bounce them to the actual network server, in effect making all users from china have the same host - cn.myircnetwork.com, masking their hosts. Of course, you could change the host too - so it didn't reveal the nationality, but it is a nice gesture of some networks, that they mask all hosts from everyone, but it makes life hard for IRCops on the network - but its a small price to pay for privacy.
Note: Even if you do use IRC bouncer, within DCC transfers or chat, your IP will be revealed, because DCC requires direct IP to IP connection. Usual mistake of IRC user is to have DCC auto-reply turned on. For an attacker is then easy to DCC chat you or offer you a file, and when IRC clients are connected, he can find out your IP address in the list of his TCP/IP connections (netstat).
π¦How do I get IRC bouncer?
you download and install bouncer software, or get someone to install it for you (probably the most known and best bouncer available is BNC, homepage : http://gotbnc.com/)
you configure and start the software - in case it's bouncer at Unix machine, you start it on your shell account (let's say shell.somewhere.com)
you open IRC and connect to the bouncer at shell.somewhere.com on the port you told it to start on.
A BNC, or a Bouncer - is used in conjunction with IRC as a way of hiding your host when people /whois you. On most IRC networks, your host isnt masked when you whois, meaning the entire IP appears, like 194.2.0.21, which can be resolved. On other networks, your host might be masked, like IRCnetwork-0.1 but it can still give valuable information, like nationality if your host is not a IP, but a DNS resolved host, like my.host.cn would be masked to IRCnetwork-host.cn but this would still tell the person who whoised you, that you are from China.
π¦To keep information such as this hidden from the other users on an IRC network, many people use a Bouncer, which is actually just a Proxy. Let us first draw a schematic of how a normal connection would look, with and without a BNC installed.
Without a BNC:
your.host.cn <<-->> irc.box.sk
With a BNC:
your.host.cn <<-->> my.shell.com <<-->> irc.box.sk
You will notice the difference between the two. When you have a BNC installed, a shell functions as a link between you and the IRC server (irc.box.sk as an example). You install a BNC on a shell, and set a port for it to listen for connections on. You then login to the shell with your IRC client, BitchX/Xchat/mIRC, and then it will login to the IRC server you specify - irc.box.sk in this case. In affect, this changes your host, in that it is my.shell.com that makes all the requests to irc.box.sk, and irc.box.sk doesn't know of your.host.cn, it has never even made contact with it.
π¦In that way, depending on what host your shell has, you can login to IRC with a host like i.rule.com, these vhosts are then actually just an alias for your own machine, your.host.cn, and it is all completely transparent to the IRC server.
Many servers have sock bots that check for socket connections. These aren't BNC connections, and BNC cannot be tested using a simple bot, unless your shell has a socket port open (normally 1080) it will let you in with no problem at all, the shell is not acting as a proxy like you would expect, but more as a simple IRC proxy, or an IRC router. In one way, the BNC just changes the packet and sends it on, like:
to: my.shell.com -> to: irc.box.sk -> to: my.shell.com from: your.host.cn <- from: my.shell.com <- from: irc.box.sk
π¦The BNC simply swaps the host of your packet, saying it comes from my.shell.com. But also be aware, that your own machine is perfectly aware that it has a connection established with my.shell.com, and that YOU know that you are connected to irc.box.sk. Some BNCs are used in IRC networks, to simulate one host. If you had a global IRC network, all linked together, you could have a local server called: cn.myircnetwork.com which Chinese users would log into. It would then Bounce them to the actual network server, in effect making all users from china have the same host - cn.myircnetwork.com, masking their hosts. Of course, you could change the host too - so it didn't reveal the nationality, but it is a nice gesture of some networks, that they mask all hosts from everyone, but it makes life hard for IRCops on the network - but its a small price to pay for privacy.
Note: Even if you do use IRC bouncer, within DCC transfers or chat, your IP will be revealed, because DCC requires direct IP to IP connection. Usual mistake of IRC user is to have DCC auto-reply turned on. For an attacker is then easy to DCC chat you or offer you a file, and when IRC clients are connected, he can find out your IP address in the list of his TCP/IP connections (netstat).
π¦How do I get IRC bouncer?
you download and install bouncer software, or get someone to install it for you (probably the most known and best bouncer available is BNC, homepage : http://gotbnc.com/)
you configure and start the software - in case it's bouncer at Unix machine, you start it on your shell account (let's say shell.somewhere.com)
you open IRC and connect to the bouncer at shell.somewhere.com on the port you told it to start on.
π¦all depending on the setup, you may have to tell it your password and tell it where to connect, and you're now on irc as shell.somewhere.com instead of your regular hostname
[ mail crypto ]
Usually the safest way to ensure that your e-mail won't be read by unauthorised persons is to encrypt them. To be compatible with the rest of the world I'd suggest to use free PGP software.
π¦PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is a piece of software, used to ensure that a message/file has not been changed, has not been read, and comes from the person you think it comes from. Download location: http://www.pgpi.org/
π¦How does pgp Work?
The whole idea behind PGP is that of Public and Private keys. To explain the algorithm PGP uses in order to encrypt the message would take too much time, and is beyond the scope of this, we will however look at how it ensures the integrity of the document. A user has a password, this password has to be chosen correctly, so don't choose passwords like "pop" or "iloveyou", this will make an attack more likely to succeed. The password is used to create a private key, and a public key - the algorithm ensures that you can not use the public key to make the private key. The public key is sent to a server, or to the people you send e-mails/files, and you keep the private key secret.
We will use a few terms and people in this introduction, they are: Pk - Public Key, Sk - Secret Key (private key). Adam will send an e-mail to Eve, and Rita will be a person in between, who we are trying to hide the content of the mail from. Rita will intercept the email (PGP doesn't ensure that Rita cant get her hands on the package, she can - its not a secure line like other technologies) and try to read it/modify it. Adam has a Sk1 and a Pk1, and Eve has a Sk2 and a Pk2. Both Adam, Eve, and Rita have Pk1 and Pk2, but Sk1 and Sk2 are presumed to be totally secret. First, here is a schematic of how it all looks:
PUBLIC SERVER
Pk1, Pk2
Adam <------------------------------------------> Eve Sk1 ^ Sk2
|
|
|
|
Rita
So Adam wants to send a packet to Eve, without Rite reading it, or editing it. There are three things that we need to make sure:
That Rita cant read the text without permission
That Rita cant edit it in any way, without Eve and Adam knowing
π¦That Even knows that Adam sent it
First thing is making sure Rita cant read the text. Adam does this by encrypting the message with Eves Pk2 which he has found on the server. You can only Encrypt with the Pk, not decrypt, so Rita wont be able to read the data unless Eve has revealed her Sk2.
The second thing to make sure, is that Rite cant edit the message. Adam creates a hash from the message he has created. The hash can be encrypted using Pk2, or sent as it is. When Eve gets the message, she decrypts it, and creates a hash herself, then checks if the hashes are the same - if they are, the message is the same, if its different, something has changed in the message. The Hash is very secure, and it is in theory impossible to make a change, and get the hash to remain the same.
π¦The third, and probably one of the most important things to ensure, is that Rita hasn't grabbed the mail, made a new one, and sent it in Adams name. We can ensure this by using Public key and Private key too. The Sk can be used both to encrypt and to decrypt, but Pk can only encrypt. When Adam normally sends a message M to Eve, he creates the encrypted message C by doing: C=Pk2(M). This means, Adam uses Pk2 (Eves Pk) on message M to create message C. Image this: Adam can encrypt the message with his Sk1, because it is impossible to derive Sk1 from the message, this is secure and without any danger, as long as no one knows the password used to make Sk1 with. If the message M is encrypted with Sk1, he gets a message called X, Eve can decrypt the message using Pk1 which is public. If the message decrypts to something that makes sence, then it must be from Adam, because Sk1 is considered as secret, and only Adam knows it.
[ mail crypto ]
Usually the safest way to ensure that your e-mail won't be read by unauthorised persons is to encrypt them. To be compatible with the rest of the world I'd suggest to use free PGP software.
π¦PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is a piece of software, used to ensure that a message/file has not been changed, has not been read, and comes from the person you think it comes from. Download location: http://www.pgpi.org/
π¦How does pgp Work?
The whole idea behind PGP is that of Public and Private keys. To explain the algorithm PGP uses in order to encrypt the message would take too much time, and is beyond the scope of this, we will however look at how it ensures the integrity of the document. A user has a password, this password has to be chosen correctly, so don't choose passwords like "pop" or "iloveyou", this will make an attack more likely to succeed. The password is used to create a private key, and a public key - the algorithm ensures that you can not use the public key to make the private key. The public key is sent to a server, or to the people you send e-mails/files, and you keep the private key secret.
We will use a few terms and people in this introduction, they are: Pk - Public Key, Sk - Secret Key (private key). Adam will send an e-mail to Eve, and Rita will be a person in between, who we are trying to hide the content of the mail from. Rita will intercept the email (PGP doesn't ensure that Rita cant get her hands on the package, she can - its not a secure line like other technologies) and try to read it/modify it. Adam has a Sk1 and a Pk1, and Eve has a Sk2 and a Pk2. Both Adam, Eve, and Rita have Pk1 and Pk2, but Sk1 and Sk2 are presumed to be totally secret. First, here is a schematic of how it all looks:
PUBLIC SERVER
Pk1, Pk2
Adam <------------------------------------------> Eve Sk1 ^ Sk2
|
|
|
|
Rita
So Adam wants to send a packet to Eve, without Rite reading it, or editing it. There are three things that we need to make sure:
That Rita cant read the text without permission
That Rita cant edit it in any way, without Eve and Adam knowing
π¦That Even knows that Adam sent it
First thing is making sure Rita cant read the text. Adam does this by encrypting the message with Eves Pk2 which he has found on the server. You can only Encrypt with the Pk, not decrypt, so Rita wont be able to read the data unless Eve has revealed her Sk2.
The second thing to make sure, is that Rite cant edit the message. Adam creates a hash from the message he has created. The hash can be encrypted using Pk2, or sent as it is. When Eve gets the message, she decrypts it, and creates a hash herself, then checks if the hashes are the same - if they are, the message is the same, if its different, something has changed in the message. The Hash is very secure, and it is in theory impossible to make a change, and get the hash to remain the same.
π¦The third, and probably one of the most important things to ensure, is that Rita hasn't grabbed the mail, made a new one, and sent it in Adams name. We can ensure this by using Public key and Private key too. The Sk can be used both to encrypt and to decrypt, but Pk can only encrypt. When Adam normally sends a message M to Eve, he creates the encrypted message C by doing: C=Pk2(M). This means, Adam uses Pk2 (Eves Pk) on message M to create message C. Image this: Adam can encrypt the message with his Sk1, because it is impossible to derive Sk1 from the message, this is secure and without any danger, as long as no one knows the password used to make Sk1 with. If the message M is encrypted with Sk1, he gets a message called X, Eve can decrypt the message using Pk1 which is public. If the message decrypts to something that makes sence, then it must be from Adam, because Sk1 is considered as secret, and only Adam knows it.
OpenPGP
Email encryption. For all operating systems. Standing the test of time.
π¦The entire process looks like this, when sending message C: Adam signs his digital signature on C, and hashes C: X=Sk1(C). Then Adam encrypts the message for Eve: M=Pk2(X). The message is sent, and looks all in all like this: M=Pk2(Sk1(C)). Rita can intercept M, but not decrypt, edit, or resend it. Eve receives M, and decrypts it: X=Sk2(M). Then she checks the digital signature: C=Pk1(X) and checks the Hash on the way.
π¦This way, the PGP Public/Private key system ensures integrity and security of the document e-mail, but PGP is not the only algorithm that uses the Public/Private key theory, Blowfish, and RSA are among the many other technologies that use it, PGP is just the most popular for e-mail encryption, but many don't trust it because of rumors of backdoors by the NSA (I don't know if its true though). PGP comes in a commercial, and a freeware version for Windows, and is available for Linux as well. What ever encryption you use, it will be better than none.
[ anonymous remailers ]
Remailers are programs accessible on the Internet that route email and USENET postings anonymously (i.e., the recipient cannot determine who sent the email or posted the article). This way the sender can't be traced back by routing headers included in the e-mail. There are different classes of remailers, which allow anonymous exchange of email and anonymous posting to USENET and often many other useful features.
π¦Resources:
Chain is a menu-driven remailer-chaining script:
http://www.obscura.com/crypto.html
Raph Levien's remailer availability page offers comprehensive information about the subject
http://www.sendfakemail.com/~raph/remailer-list.html
The Cypherpunks Remailers are being developed to provide a secure means of providing anonymity on the nets. Here you can find out about the available remailers, those which have been standard in existance for a long time as well as the new experimental remailers and anonymous servers.
http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/cypherpunks/remailer/
[ icq privacy ]
How can I keep my privacy at ICQ?
Send and receive messages via ICQ server, not directly. Every direct connection enables attacker to learn your IP. Encrypt your messages by dedicated software, encryption addons.
How to encrypt ICQ messages?
There are addons which enhance your ICQ with possibility to encrypt outcoming messages. The user on the other side needs to have the addon as well in order to decrypt your message.
π¦Resources:
http://www.encrsoft.com/products/tsm.html
Top Secret Messenger (TSM) - trial version has only weak 8-bit encryption
http://www.planet-express.com/sven/technical/dev/chatbuddy/default.html
Chat Buddy - a freeware Windows application for encrypting chat sessions
http://www.algonet.se/~henisak/icq/encrypt-v5.txt
how encryption works in ICQ protocol v5
π¦This way, the PGP Public/Private key system ensures integrity and security of the document e-mail, but PGP is not the only algorithm that uses the Public/Private key theory, Blowfish, and RSA are among the many other technologies that use it, PGP is just the most popular for e-mail encryption, but many don't trust it because of rumors of backdoors by the NSA (I don't know if its true though). PGP comes in a commercial, and a freeware version for Windows, and is available for Linux as well. What ever encryption you use, it will be better than none.
[ anonymous remailers ]
Remailers are programs accessible on the Internet that route email and USENET postings anonymously (i.e., the recipient cannot determine who sent the email or posted the article). This way the sender can't be traced back by routing headers included in the e-mail. There are different classes of remailers, which allow anonymous exchange of email and anonymous posting to USENET and often many other useful features.
π¦Resources:
Chain is a menu-driven remailer-chaining script:
http://www.obscura.com/crypto.html
Raph Levien's remailer availability page offers comprehensive information about the subject
http://www.sendfakemail.com/~raph/remailer-list.html
The Cypherpunks Remailers are being developed to provide a secure means of providing anonymity on the nets. Here you can find out about the available remailers, those which have been standard in existance for a long time as well as the new experimental remailers and anonymous servers.
http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/cypherpunks/remailer/
[ icq privacy ]
How can I keep my privacy at ICQ?
Send and receive messages via ICQ server, not directly. Every direct connection enables attacker to learn your IP. Encrypt your messages by dedicated software, encryption addons.
How to encrypt ICQ messages?
There are addons which enhance your ICQ with possibility to encrypt outcoming messages. The user on the other side needs to have the addon as well in order to decrypt your message.
π¦Resources:
http://www.encrsoft.com/products/tsm.html
Top Secret Messenger (TSM) - trial version has only weak 8-bit encryption
http://www.planet-express.com/sven/technical/dev/chatbuddy/default.html
Chat Buddy - a freeware Windows application for encrypting chat sessions
http://www.algonet.se/~henisak/icq/encrypt-v5.txt
how encryption works in ICQ protocol v5
π¦[ spyware ]
As we all work hard to become more savvy about protecting our personal information and keeping as anonymous as possible on the web, advertising companies are working just as hard to come up with new ways of getting our personal information. One of the ways they accomplish this is through spyware.
> Spyware are applications that are bundled along with many programs that you download for free. Their function is to gather personal information about you and relay it back to advertising firms. The information is then used either to offer you products or sold to other advertisers, so they can promote THEIR products. They claim this is all they do with this information, but the problem is nobody really knows for sure.
Spyware fits the classic definition of a trojan, as it is something that you did not bargain for+when you agreed to download the product. Not only is spyware an invasion of your privacy, but (especially if you have a few different kinds on your machine) it can also chew up bandwidth, making your internet connection slower.
> Sometimes, these spies really are harmless, merely connecting back to the home server to deliver+you more advertising. Some, like Gator for instance, send out detailed information about your surfing habits, operating system, income, age demographic et cetera.
π¦Avoiding spyware
Avoiding spyware is getting harder and harder, as more software distributors are choosing it as a method of profiting from freeware and shareware distributions. Be leery of programs with cute+little icons like Gator. Also, watch those Napster wannabes like AudioGalaxy, Limewire, and Kazaa. I've yet to find one that didn't include spyware. Before you download, check to see if the program is known to contain spyware.
For a list of most known spyware, the best I've found is here:
http://www.infoforce.qc.ca/spyware/enknownlistfrm.html
Getting rid of spyware
π¦In most cases, you can remove the spyware from your system and still use the application you downloaded. In the case of Gator and Comet Cursor, the the whole program is spyware an it must be completely removed to stop the spying.
There are several ways to get rid of spyware on your system. You can use a firewall to monitor outgoing connections. The programmers that put these things together, however, are getting sneakier and sneakier about getting them to circumvent firewalls. Comet Cursor, for instance uses an HTTP post command to connect without the intervention of a firewall. You can also install a registry monitor such as Regmon to monitor your registry for unwanted registry registry changes, but this is not foolproof either.
Probably the best method of removal is to download a spyware removal program and run it like it was a virus scanner. The best examples of these programs are:
Lavasoft's Adaware. Available at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ Or professional cybernut Steve Gibson's OptOut. Available at: http://grc.com/optout.htm Both of these programs are free and are updated regularly.
Here are some links, if you wish to learn more about spyware:
http://www.spychecker.com/
http://grc.com/optout.htm
http://www.thebee.com/bweb/iinfo200.htm
As we all work hard to become more savvy about protecting our personal information and keeping as anonymous as possible on the web, advertising companies are working just as hard to come up with new ways of getting our personal information. One of the ways they accomplish this is through spyware.
> Spyware are applications that are bundled along with many programs that you download for free. Their function is to gather personal information about you and relay it back to advertising firms. The information is then used either to offer you products or sold to other advertisers, so they can promote THEIR products. They claim this is all they do with this information, but the problem is nobody really knows for sure.
Spyware fits the classic definition of a trojan, as it is something that you did not bargain for+when you agreed to download the product. Not only is spyware an invasion of your privacy, but (especially if you have a few different kinds on your machine) it can also chew up bandwidth, making your internet connection slower.
> Sometimes, these spies really are harmless, merely connecting back to the home server to deliver+you more advertising. Some, like Gator for instance, send out detailed information about your surfing habits, operating system, income, age demographic et cetera.
π¦Avoiding spyware
Avoiding spyware is getting harder and harder, as more software distributors are choosing it as a method of profiting from freeware and shareware distributions. Be leery of programs with cute+little icons like Gator. Also, watch those Napster wannabes like AudioGalaxy, Limewire, and Kazaa. I've yet to find one that didn't include spyware. Before you download, check to see if the program is known to contain spyware.
For a list of most known spyware, the best I've found is here:
http://www.infoforce.qc.ca/spyware/enknownlistfrm.html
Getting rid of spyware
π¦In most cases, you can remove the spyware from your system and still use the application you downloaded. In the case of Gator and Comet Cursor, the the whole program is spyware an it must be completely removed to stop the spying.
There are several ways to get rid of spyware on your system. You can use a firewall to monitor outgoing connections. The programmers that put these things together, however, are getting sneakier and sneakier about getting them to circumvent firewalls. Comet Cursor, for instance uses an HTTP post command to connect without the intervention of a firewall. You can also install a registry monitor such as Regmon to monitor your registry for unwanted registry registry changes, but this is not foolproof either.
Probably the best method of removal is to download a spyware removal program and run it like it was a virus scanner. The best examples of these programs are:
Lavasoft's Adaware. Available at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ Or professional cybernut Steve Gibson's OptOut. Available at: http://grc.com/optout.htm Both of these programs are free and are updated regularly.
Here are some links, if you wish to learn more about spyware:
http://www.spychecker.com/
http://grc.com/optout.htm
http://www.thebee.com/bweb/iinfo200.htm
Adaware
Adaware: Secure your digital journey.
Adaware is the Internetβs security and privacy leader. We offer simple, worry-free solutions that enhance your online experience, Keep connected.
π¦[ cleaning tracks ]
> Resources:
Burnt Cookies - allows automatic detection and optional deletion of Cookies deposited by
> Banner Ad web-sites
http://www.andersson-design.com/bcookies/index.shtml
Surfsecret - automatically kills files like your Internet cache files, cookies, history, temporary files, recent documents, and the contents of the Recycle Bin.
http://www.surfsecret.com/
Note: One sidenote on cleaning tracks. When you delete some files on your machine, these aren't actually deleted. Only the reference to their location in the hard drive is deleted, which makes the OS think that that location on the HD is free and ready to take things.
Thus, there are ways to recover data even after you delete them.
π¦There are however, several ways to _wipe_ this information. Programs that fill hard disk locations with zeros, then with 1s, on several passes are your best bet to make sure no document goes to the wrong hands. One of such programs is PGP. PHPi now comes with a utility that does this work, and you can even select the number of passes to wipe files. For *nix, there is also the "wipe" program. Use these when you feel you have data that needs secure cleaning.
@undercodeTesting
!β β β ο½ππ»βΊπ«Δπ¬πβ β β β
> Resources:
Burnt Cookies - allows automatic detection and optional deletion of Cookies deposited by
> Banner Ad web-sites
http://www.andersson-design.com/bcookies/index.shtml
Surfsecret - automatically kills files like your Internet cache files, cookies, history, temporary files, recent documents, and the contents of the Recycle Bin.
http://www.surfsecret.com/
Note: One sidenote on cleaning tracks. When you delete some files on your machine, these aren't actually deleted. Only the reference to their location in the hard drive is deleted, which makes the OS think that that location on the HD is free and ready to take things.
Thus, there are ways to recover data even after you delete them.
π¦There are however, several ways to _wipe_ this information. Programs that fill hard disk locations with zeros, then with 1s, on several passes are your best bet to make sure no document goes to the wrong hands. One of such programs is PGP. PHPi now comes with a utility that does this work, and you can even select the number of passes to wipe files. For *nix, there is also the "wipe" program. Use these when you feel you have data that needs secure cleaning.
@undercodeTesting
!β β β ο½ππ»βΊπ«Δπ¬πβ β β β
!β β β ο½ππ»βΊπ«Δπ¬πβ β β β
π¦Anonymity
1) I can see you hiding in the shadows over there and so can the logs of all the web sites, FTP servers and other nooks and crannies you visit on the web. The sort of information gathered by these logs and which is available to the webmasters of the sites you visit include the address of the previous site you visited, your IP address, your computer's ID name, your physical location and the name of your ISP along with less personal details such as the operating system you're using and your screen resolution.
2) If someone was snooping through your dustbin to gather information on consumer trends or tracking your every move to see where it is you go everyday you wouldn't be too chuffed would you. Well the web is no different, it's still an invasion of privacy and a threat to security and you don't have to put up with it.
3) Proxy servers:
Every time you visit a web site, detailed information about your system is automatically provided to the webmaster. This information can be used by hackers to exploit your computer or can be forwarded to the market research departments of consumer corporations who by tracking your activities on the internet are better equipped to direct more relevant spam at you. Your best defence against this is to use what is known as a proxy server, which will hide revealing information from the web sites you visit, allowing you to surf the web anonymously. These work by altering the way in which your browser retrieves web pages or connects to remote servers.
4) With a proxy server set up, whenever you 'ask' IE or Netscape to look at a web page, the request is first sent through an external server which is completely independent of your ISP's servers. This third party server then does the requesting on your behalf so that it appears that the request came from them rather than you and your real IP address is never disclosed to the sites you visit. There is nothing to download and the whole process takes less than a minute.
5) There are two different ways to use proxy servers and both have their advantages and disadvantages. The first method is to use a web based service. What this involves is visiting the proxy's home page each time you want to browse a web site anonymously. The core component of such a system is the dialog box where you enter the address of the web site you want to visit. Each time you enter the URL of the site you want to browse via the proxy into this box, your personal information, IP address and so on is first encrypted before being sent to the site allowing you to maintain your anonymity. Two of the best examples of this type of web based proxy service are Code:
hxxp://www.rewebber.com/
and hxxp://www.anonymizer.com/.
6) Obviously one disadvantage of using a web based service like Rewebber or Anonymizer, however, is that you have to visit the proxies home page each time you want to surf anonymously. You could choose to select this page as your default home page, but it's still quite awkward if you're forever site hopping at the speed of light. The second main 'con' is that you often have to put up with extra adverts on the pages you visit. These are automatically inserted into the pages by the proxy - they have to pay for service somehow. More sophisticated and convenient solutions are also on offer yet they come with a price tag.
π¦Anonymity
1) I can see you hiding in the shadows over there and so can the logs of all the web sites, FTP servers and other nooks and crannies you visit on the web. The sort of information gathered by these logs and which is available to the webmasters of the sites you visit include the address of the previous site you visited, your IP address, your computer's ID name, your physical location and the name of your ISP along with less personal details such as the operating system you're using and your screen resolution.
2) If someone was snooping through your dustbin to gather information on consumer trends or tracking your every move to see where it is you go everyday you wouldn't be too chuffed would you. Well the web is no different, it's still an invasion of privacy and a threat to security and you don't have to put up with it.
3) Proxy servers:
Every time you visit a web site, detailed information about your system is automatically provided to the webmaster. This information can be used by hackers to exploit your computer or can be forwarded to the market research departments of consumer corporations who by tracking your activities on the internet are better equipped to direct more relevant spam at you. Your best defence against this is to use what is known as a proxy server, which will hide revealing information from the web sites you visit, allowing you to surf the web anonymously. These work by altering the way in which your browser retrieves web pages or connects to remote servers.
4) With a proxy server set up, whenever you 'ask' IE or Netscape to look at a web page, the request is first sent through an external server which is completely independent of your ISP's servers. This third party server then does the requesting on your behalf so that it appears that the request came from them rather than you and your real IP address is never disclosed to the sites you visit. There is nothing to download and the whole process takes less than a minute.
5) There are two different ways to use proxy servers and both have their advantages and disadvantages. The first method is to use a web based service. What this involves is visiting the proxy's home page each time you want to browse a web site anonymously. The core component of such a system is the dialog box where you enter the address of the web site you want to visit. Each time you enter the URL of the site you want to browse via the proxy into this box, your personal information, IP address and so on is first encrypted before being sent to the site allowing you to maintain your anonymity. Two of the best examples of this type of web based proxy service are Code:
hxxp://www.rewebber.com/
and hxxp://www.anonymizer.com/.
6) Obviously one disadvantage of using a web based service like Rewebber or Anonymizer, however, is that you have to visit the proxies home page each time you want to surf anonymously. You could choose to select this page as your default home page, but it's still quite awkward if you're forever site hopping at the speed of light. The second main 'con' is that you often have to put up with extra adverts on the pages you visit. These are automatically inserted into the pages by the proxy - they have to pay for service somehow. More sophisticated and convenient solutions are also on offer yet they come with a price tag.
7) The second method you can use to protect your privacy via a proxy server involves adjusting the settings of your web browser so that you can surf anonymously without having to visit the home page of your proxy each time. To do this you will first need to know the name of your proxy server and the port number it uses. This information can be gleaned from either a public proxy server list or the FAQ referring to a private subscription based service. Once you have the name of the proxy server you wish to use, select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu of your browser. Now select 'Connections' followed by 'Settings' and tick the 'use a proxy server' check box. To finish the job all you have to do now is enter the name of the server in the 'address' box, the port which it uses in the 'port' box and go forth and surf anonymously.
8) Free, manual proxy servers as advertised on anonymity sites, if you can find one at all, are likely to be highly oversubscribed, and as a result the speed at which they retrieve web pages can deteriorate. In which case you can go in pursuit of a public proxy server list and select an alternative from it, which can then be set up manually. To locate such a list you can investigate sites such as Code:
hxxp://www.proxys4all.com/
9) however, this method isn't problem free either, so before you get too carried away and go jumping on the anonymity bandwagon there are a few things you should be aware of. It's very easy to use proxies to protect your privacy, but often the disadvantages of using them far out weigh the benefits. You see, the problem is that, like the proxy servers provided Rewebber et al, free, public proxies are nearly all over subscribed and so they can slow down web browsing considerably.
> Digging out fast reliable proxy servers is an art form in itself and is a skill which takes considerable practice. You could find a list of public proxy servers and then experiment with each one until you find one that runs at a reasonable speed, but this can be very time consuming and frustrating. Instead, your search would be much more efficient if you got a dedicated program to carry out this task for you. There are literally dozens of proxy seeking programs around which can do just that, and many of them are available as freeware. What these do is scan the internet for public proxy servers. These servers are then tested for speed and anonymity (not all of them are truly anonymous, even if they claim to be!) and once you find one which suits your requirements you can select it as your default proxy with the click of a button.
10) One of the most significant advantages of using an automated tool to locate proxy servers is that you do not have to keep editing your proxy settings manually each time you wish to try out a new one. Instead, what you do is enter 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' into the 'address' box and '8088' into the 'port' box of your browser's proxy settings menu and then forget about it. All future proxy switching is then orchestrated from within your proxy seeking software, which subsequently relays the information to your browser or whatever type of application you are attempting to make anonymous. For those of you who are curious 'localhost' and the IP address '127.0.0.1' are the names by which every computer on the internet refers to itself.
π¦Here's a good selection of links, which should help you to get started - Code:
hxxp://www.a4proxy.com/ Anonymity 4 Proxy
hxxp://www.helgasoft.com/hiproxy/ Hi Proxy
hxxp://www.proxy-verifier.com/ Proxy Verifier
hxxp://www.photono-software.de/ Stealther.
8) Free, manual proxy servers as advertised on anonymity sites, if you can find one at all, are likely to be highly oversubscribed, and as a result the speed at which they retrieve web pages can deteriorate. In which case you can go in pursuit of a public proxy server list and select an alternative from it, which can then be set up manually. To locate such a list you can investigate sites such as Code:
hxxp://www.proxys4all.com/
9) however, this method isn't problem free either, so before you get too carried away and go jumping on the anonymity bandwagon there are a few things you should be aware of. It's very easy to use proxies to protect your privacy, but often the disadvantages of using them far out weigh the benefits. You see, the problem is that, like the proxy servers provided Rewebber et al, free, public proxies are nearly all over subscribed and so they can slow down web browsing considerably.
> Digging out fast reliable proxy servers is an art form in itself and is a skill which takes considerable practice. You could find a list of public proxy servers and then experiment with each one until you find one that runs at a reasonable speed, but this can be very time consuming and frustrating. Instead, your search would be much more efficient if you got a dedicated program to carry out this task for you. There are literally dozens of proxy seeking programs around which can do just that, and many of them are available as freeware. What these do is scan the internet for public proxy servers. These servers are then tested for speed and anonymity (not all of them are truly anonymous, even if they claim to be!) and once you find one which suits your requirements you can select it as your default proxy with the click of a button.
10) One of the most significant advantages of using an automated tool to locate proxy servers is that you do not have to keep editing your proxy settings manually each time you wish to try out a new one. Instead, what you do is enter 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' into the 'address' box and '8088' into the 'port' box of your browser's proxy settings menu and then forget about it. All future proxy switching is then orchestrated from within your proxy seeking software, which subsequently relays the information to your browser or whatever type of application you are attempting to make anonymous. For those of you who are curious 'localhost' and the IP address '127.0.0.1' are the names by which every computer on the internet refers to itself.
π¦Here's a good selection of links, which should help you to get started - Code:
hxxp://www.a4proxy.com/ Anonymity 4 Proxy
hxxp://www.helgasoft.com/hiproxy/ Hi Proxy
hxxp://www.proxy-verifier.com/ Proxy Verifier
hxxp://www.photono-software.de/ Stealther.
You may find that even when using these programs you have difficulty finding good proxy servers. It is for this reason that many people choose only to use proxy servers temporarily whilst doing something which may land them in trouble with their ISP, or in a worst case scenario with the law. The most obvious example of a situation in which you would want to cover your tracks is when scanning for public FTP servers and subsequently uploading to them. Most other net activities are unlikely to incur serious consequences so under these circumstances you can safely surf the web without a proxy. If you're really serious about protecting your privacy, however, your best bet is probably to invest in a dedicated, stable proxy such as the ones offered by Code:
hxxp://www.ultimate-anonymity.com/ Ultimate Anonymity
11) These aren't free, but may be worth the expense if you aren't keen on continuously switching proxy servers.
12) Before splashing out though it may be worth checking if your current ISP has a proxy server of its own which you can use. These aren't there to help you to commit cyber crimes and get away with it, they actually have a legitimate purpose as well - otherwise they wouldn't exist. You see, proxy servers were originally designed to help speed up web page loading times.
13) Proxy servers contain a cache of all the web pages which have been requested via the browsers of the people using the proxy. When someone surfs the web using a proxy, the proxy first checks to see if it already has a copy of the web page stored in its cache. If this version of the page is bang up to date, it is sent to your computer and appears in your browser.
14) If the page found in the cache of the proxy server is older than the one stored on the server hosting the page, a new request to the web server is made and the page is updated in the cache of the proxy before being sent to you. Because these servers use very fast internet connections they can retrieve web pages at much greater speeds than you can via your modest home setup. If these servers are located physically nearer to your home than the web host servers you wish to retrieve web pages from, the speed at which you browse the web will be accelerated.
hxxp://www.ultimate-anonymity.com/ Ultimate Anonymity
11) These aren't free, but may be worth the expense if you aren't keen on continuously switching proxy servers.
12) Before splashing out though it may be worth checking if your current ISP has a proxy server of its own which you can use. These aren't there to help you to commit cyber crimes and get away with it, they actually have a legitimate purpose as well - otherwise they wouldn't exist. You see, proxy servers were originally designed to help speed up web page loading times.
13) Proxy servers contain a cache of all the web pages which have been requested via the browsers of the people using the proxy. When someone surfs the web using a proxy, the proxy first checks to see if it already has a copy of the web page stored in its cache. If this version of the page is bang up to date, it is sent to your computer and appears in your browser.
14) If the page found in the cache of the proxy server is older than the one stored on the server hosting the page, a new request to the web server is made and the page is updated in the cache of the proxy before being sent to you. Because these servers use very fast internet connections they can retrieve web pages at much greater speeds than you can via your modest home setup. If these servers are located physically nearer to your home than the web host servers you wish to retrieve web pages from, the speed at which you browse the web will be accelerated.
π¦Anonymity - Cookies :
1) One last important point you need to be aware of before jumping in with both feet is that different programs have to be setup in different ways before being able to make external connections via a proxy server. For example, you can surf the web anonymously by modifying the settings in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator as explained earlier in this tutorial, but this will only affect your browser.
2) If you then used Flash FXP to copy a batch of 0-day releases from one FTP server to another, this isn't going to protect you in the slightest. What you have to do is enter the name of the proxy server into each application you wish to make anonymous before making any external connections. This can usually be done by browsing through the preferences of your program to see if there is a 'use proxy server' option available. If there is, make sure you use it!
π¦Cookies:
1) You have little to fear from the edible variety, but the digital ones can be a major threat to your security and privacy. A cookie is a tiny text file (usually less than 1kb in size), which is created and stored on your hard drive whenever you visit a dynamic (or an interactive if you like) web site. These are used to log your personal details so that you can access members only areas of web sites without having to type in a password every time, or to retain your customised settings so that they are available the next time you visit. If you're using a shared computer, anyone who visits the same site that you have previously logged in to can access your accounts.
2) This is particularly worrying if you have entered your credit card details into a form on an e-commerce site. If your browser is set to automatically fill in these details whenever you
return to a previously visited site, this information could be clearly visible - you don't need me to explain the problems this could entail.
3) The solution to this problem is to delete any cookies which contain sensitive data once you have completed your transactions. Your cookies will be stored in a different place depending on which operating system you are using so you will have to use your detective skills to find them.
> As an example, in Windows XP they are located in your 'c:\Documents and Settings\Kylie Minogue\Cookies' directory (that is if your name is Kylie Minogue. Mine isn't in case you're wondering!). If you look in this directory, in some cases it is easy to identify which cookie is associated with which web site, but in other cases it's not so obvious. The cookie which was created when you visited Yahoo.com to check your email may be called kylie minogue@yahoo.txt for example. Unfortunately some cookies refer to the IP address of the site you visited and so look more like kylie minogue@145.147.25.21. These cookies can be selectively deleted one at a time if it's obvious which ones are causing a threat to your security, or you can just wipe out the whole lot in one fell swoop and have them recreated as and when they are required. However, if
you're really struggling to find your cookie jar, you could delete your cookies via your browser's tool bar instead. In Internet Explorer this can be done through the 'Tools' > 'Internet Options' menu items.
4) If all this sounds like too much hassle, you can always find a labour saving program which will be happy to take the job off your hands. These 'cookie crunching' programs allow you to be more selective when editing, viewing and deleting cookies from your system, and some of them will even prevent cookies from being created in the first place. Yes, I know you're hungry for links so I won't deprive you. Have a look here - Code:
> hxxp://www.rbaworld.com/Programs/CookieCruncher/ Cookie
Cruncher
hxxp://www.thelimitsoft.com/ Cookie Crusher
hxxp://www.angove.com/ Cookie Killer
hxxp://www.kburra.com/ Cookie Pal
and
hxxp://www.cookiecentral.com/ Cookie Web Kit.
@UNDERCODEtESTING
β β β ο½ππ»βΊπ«Δπ¬πβ β β β
1) One last important point you need to be aware of before jumping in with both feet is that different programs have to be setup in different ways before being able to make external connections via a proxy server. For example, you can surf the web anonymously by modifying the settings in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator as explained earlier in this tutorial, but this will only affect your browser.
2) If you then used Flash FXP to copy a batch of 0-day releases from one FTP server to another, this isn't going to protect you in the slightest. What you have to do is enter the name of the proxy server into each application you wish to make anonymous before making any external connections. This can usually be done by browsing through the preferences of your program to see if there is a 'use proxy server' option available. If there is, make sure you use it!
π¦Cookies:
1) You have little to fear from the edible variety, but the digital ones can be a major threat to your security and privacy. A cookie is a tiny text file (usually less than 1kb in size), which is created and stored on your hard drive whenever you visit a dynamic (or an interactive if you like) web site. These are used to log your personal details so that you can access members only areas of web sites without having to type in a password every time, or to retain your customised settings so that they are available the next time you visit. If you're using a shared computer, anyone who visits the same site that you have previously logged in to can access your accounts.
2) This is particularly worrying if you have entered your credit card details into a form on an e-commerce site. If your browser is set to automatically fill in these details whenever you
return to a previously visited site, this information could be clearly visible - you don't need me to explain the problems this could entail.
3) The solution to this problem is to delete any cookies which contain sensitive data once you have completed your transactions. Your cookies will be stored in a different place depending on which operating system you are using so you will have to use your detective skills to find them.
> As an example, in Windows XP they are located in your 'c:\Documents and Settings\Kylie Minogue\Cookies' directory (that is if your name is Kylie Minogue. Mine isn't in case you're wondering!). If you look in this directory, in some cases it is easy to identify which cookie is associated with which web site, but in other cases it's not so obvious. The cookie which was created when you visited Yahoo.com to check your email may be called kylie minogue@yahoo.txt for example. Unfortunately some cookies refer to the IP address of the site you visited and so look more like kylie minogue@145.147.25.21. These cookies can be selectively deleted one at a time if it's obvious which ones are causing a threat to your security, or you can just wipe out the whole lot in one fell swoop and have them recreated as and when they are required. However, if
you're really struggling to find your cookie jar, you could delete your cookies via your browser's tool bar instead. In Internet Explorer this can be done through the 'Tools' > 'Internet Options' menu items.
4) If all this sounds like too much hassle, you can always find a labour saving program which will be happy to take the job off your hands. These 'cookie crunching' programs allow you to be more selective when editing, viewing and deleting cookies from your system, and some of them will even prevent cookies from being created in the first place. Yes, I know you're hungry for links so I won't deprive you. Have a look here - Code:
> hxxp://www.rbaworld.com/Programs/CookieCruncher/ Cookie
Cruncher
hxxp://www.thelimitsoft.com/ Cookie Crusher
hxxp://www.angove.com/ Cookie Killer
hxxp://www.kburra.com/ Cookie Pal
and
hxxp://www.cookiecentral.com/ Cookie Web Kit.
@UNDERCODEtESTING
β β β ο½ππ»βΊπ«Δπ¬πβ β β β