Any IT guys here?

[WiseOwl]

610, you mention some tech stuff from time to time. I have a question for you and any of the other IT savvy guys.

I read in this article of survival blog about TOR and IRON

http://www.survivalblog.com/2012/08/technology-today-by-kclo4.html

A buddy told me about IRON (which is what I use now as my browser over Chrome and Firefox).

Is this site a credible browser?

Also, what is this TOR about?


I would like to be as anonymous as possible without getting too in depth with programming which I know nothing about. Seems like TOR gives that option.


Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciative.

Wise Owl

[jimmycthemd]

First, I've been in IT for 36 years so, been there done that. Worked in IT in the AF for a few years with a TS clearance. TOR basically redirects your Internet connections through a bunch of systems on the way to the websites you visit, making it difficult for hackers/trackers to get back to your physical system. The TOR project basically has a bunch of volunteers that let you bounce your connection through their systems. Now, as far as OPSEC, how much to you trust these 'volunteers' versus the Internet in general. I have to admit that I don't have personal experience with the TOR project specifically, but have used this technique with folks I know when I need to 'fly under the radar' on the web. Depending upon how sophisticated your software is and how extensive your list of proxy servers is, you can configure the software to morph the routes you're taking through the servers 'randomly'. Let me be clear here and say I don't do anything illegal, immoral or unethical....just when there's info that I want to send/receive under the radar. I can't/won't give any more specifics on how I do it for obvious OPSEC reasons.

Another thing I do most of the time is use Live CD. What that entails is building an Operating System (it can be Windows or Unix) and run it from a read-only CD. That keeps anyone from modifying your system. (This works for DVDs also) We've used this in IT for web servers behind load balancers (basically balancing the system load between servers in a server farm). We've had 20 or more servers running the web site and reboot them at intervals short enough that as soon as you've tried to hack a system, it reboots.

Hope I haven't muddied the waters here too much.

[miked2345]

First, I've been in IT for 36 years so, been there done that.

Ok, 2012 - 36 years... Flash back to 1976!! My senior yr in H.S.... Our "computer" in school was a terminal that we could connect to the University of Michigan with.... AFTER we put the phone handset in the 300 bps modem cradle! In Electronics class, we were fixing TV's with vaccum tubes in them...

I.T. must have been a blast back then!!

[610Alpha]

I have not heard of IRON or TOR...sounds like jimmycthemd if more knowledgeable about them than I am. I use software from volunteer projects and I buy some as well. You might use one of those browsers AND buy a VPN subscription as well. If you have an old PC...you can turn it into a firewall fairly easily to help secure your home network.

Personally I have dabbled into to many things to be an expert on any one. Let me read and digest this article and I will get back with more detail.

I did see AVG mentioned in the article...be careful where you get it from cause some places repackage with spam :(

[jimmycthemd]

I.T. must have been a blast back then!!

The first system I worked on was the AN/FSQ-7. Look it up on Wikipedia. It's ALL vacuum tubes and the largest (physically) computer system ever built. 60,000 tubes per system, two systems per site. In operation from around 1958 to 1979. Working on it was fun, the shifts weren't. We had four crews and our schedule was: 3 days first shift, 3 days second shift, 3 days mid-shift, 3 days off. NOT fun. And I mis-quoted a little...actually 39 years. I went in in 1972 and actually started working on-site in 1973. I'm not including the time in tech school.

[Irish-Tech]

My 15 years of IT work isn't very impressive. i haven't used either of those you mentioned. personally I just don't care. If the gov wants your info they are going to get it. your ISP and credit card, and the shipping company are all weaknesses in any ordering process. i use Firefox and just turn on private browsing when i don't want the wife to see what guns I'm looking at now.

[jimmycthemd]

My 15 years of IT work isn't very impressive. i haven't used either of those you mentioned. personally I just don't care. If the gov wants your info they are going to get it. your ISP and credit card, and the shipping company are all weaknesses in any ordering process. i use Firefox and just turn on private browsing when i don't want the wife to see what guns I'm looking at now.

Since I had a TS clearance and have a GWC, the gov already has my personal info. I just use those techniques when there's specific info I don't want others to see. Plus it keeps the brain cells sharp.