Tag: technology

Staying Anonymous Online: A Practical Guide for Political Bloggers

~ John ~ 2 Comments

Disclaimer:
The mentions of private services and products, such as Proton VPN, in this blog post are for informational purposes only. I am not receiving any compensation, remuneration, or other benefits for these mentions, nor do I have any official affiliation or partnership with these companies. The content reflects my independent opinions and personal experiences.

Expressing critical opinions online—especially about politics—can carry real risks. Government surveillance, corporate data collection, and digital footprints can expose your identity. However, with the right tools, careful habits, and operational security, you can maintain a high degree of anonymity. This guide walks through practical steps to safely run a political blog without revealing your real identity.

1. Why a VPN Matters

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a remote server, masking your real IP address. This means:

  • Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) cannot see which websites you visit.
  • Local network observers cannot see your activity.
  • Websites only see the VPN server’s IP, not your true location.

Why Proton VPN is a strong choice:

  • Verified “no-logs” policy confirmed by independent audits.
  • No browsing history or connection timestamps are stored.
  • No DNS or WebRTC leaks with proper configuration.

Using a VPN alone, like Proton VPN, prevents most casual monitoring and makes tracing your online activity extremely difficult.

2. Browser Tools for Privacy

Even with a VPN, your browser can leak information through trackers, ads, and fingerprints.

Recommended setup:

  • uBlock Origin: Blocks trackers, scripts, and ads. Set to “Strict” mode.
  • Privacy Badger: Optional. If uBlock Origin is properly configured, additional tracker blockers are often unnecessary.
  • Private browsing mode: Prevents storing cookies, history, or cache between sessions.
  • Optional: Firefox with strict privacy settings or Tor Browser for extra anonymity.

3. Use Pseudonymous Accounts

Your accounts can link you to your activity even if your network is anonymous.

  • Pseudonymous email: Use a privacy-focused provider like Proton Mail. Avoid linking personal phone numbers.
  • Unique usernames: Do not reuse usernames from other platforms.
  • Strong, unique passwords: Consider using a password manager.

This ensures your online identity is not tied to personal information.

4. Metadata & Content Hygiene

Even technical privacy measures can fail if your content leaks personal information.

  • Images: Strip EXIF metadata (GPS, device info) before posting. Tools: ExifTool or online scrubbing services.
  • Writing style: Avoid unique phrasing that could identify you.
  • Personal references: Do not mention locations, events, or personal details that could link posts to you.
  • Timing: Vary your posting schedule to prevent predictable patterns.

5. Operational Security (OpSec)

Behavioral practices are just as important as technical tools.

  • Separate devices or user profiles: Keep blogging separate from personal browsing.
  • Avoid logging into personal accounts while posting.
  • Be aware of correlation attacks: Sophisticated observers may try to match VPN traffic timing with blog activity. Using Tor over VPN mitigates this risk.

6. Test and Verify

Before posting, confirm that your setup is secure:

  • Check your visible IP on the blog site while connected to the VPN.
  • Verify that no DNS or WebRTC leaks are present using testing sites like ipleak.net.
  • Periodically review browser and VPN configurations to ensure privacy settings remain effective.

7. Summary: Best Practices

Combining technical tools and disciplined behavior is the key to maintaining anonymity:

  1. Use a verified no-logs VPN (Proton VPN).
  2. Protect your browser with uBlock Origin and strict privacy settings. Consider Tor for sensitive work.
  3. Create pseudonymous accounts and emails to separate identity from activity.
  4. Remove metadata from images and monitor your writing style.
  5. Follow strong operational security habits: device separation, avoiding personal logins, and varying posting times.
  6. Test your setup regularly to confirm no leaks or exposures.

By following these steps, even sophisticated observers will find it extremely difficult to link your real identity to your blog. Online anonymity is about making the connection practically impossible—not about being completely invisible.

✅ Actionable Takeaways

  • Always connect to your VPN first.
  • Post in private browsing mode.
  • Use pseudonymous email and unique usernames.
  • Scrub images of metadata.
  • Vary posting times and monitor content for identifying details.

With diligence and the right setup, you can confidently maintain your online anonymity while expressing your political views.

Something New

~ John ~ 2 Comments

I guess the year was 1955 when my Grandfather bought me my first typewriter. I placed it on the desk that my Dad had bought for me to do my school work on and began to learn how to type with one finger at a time.

I loved that old typewriter but I wasn’t allowed to do my school homework assignments on it because my teacher had demanded that all homework assignments be done in pen (Not a ballpoint pen either because she always said, “It is impossible to write with a pen.” She was talking cursive writing of course because we weren’t allowed to print our assignments either.)

But I did find uses for my typewriter. I used it to write love notes to my girlfriend. I even thought about writing a book. But the problem was that it took me about an hour and a half to finish and entire 8-1/2 x 11-inch sheet of typing paper.

But within a few months of getting the typewriter, I happened to notice an old mimeograph printing machine in the basement of a local grocery store owned by a friend of mine and he told me that I could play with it.

I learned to type on stencils that the mimeograph machine used and did a mock up of a one sides, one page newspaper.

The store owner was impressed and told me, “If you will put the advertisement for my store on one side of that newspaper of yours, I will buy the paper, the ink and the stencils for the mimeograph machine and I will put one of them into each bag of groceries i sell. People will enjoy reading the little news articles.

I offered my friend a better deal. I told him, “If you will do all that and pay me a penny apiece for walking all over town putting these papers into door handles, I will distribute them for you to every house in this town once a week.”

My friend bought the deal and before you know it, i was printing the paper on Wednesday evenings after school and on Saturday myself and a few friends walked all over the town putting a newspaper into the doors of each one of the 800 houses in the town.

For the later part of this story, the local Business men’s Association picked up the idea and began to finance me and it finally led to the first newspaper in our town in a Hundred years.

So I ended up being a Teen-aged High School student with a newspaper and once the Businessmen bought me a mailing permit at the post office, I had taken on the neighboring community and we had a weekly circulation of 1,400 copies. The story expands from there into a real enterprise but that is for another story another time.