Crake
Member
Hi all. Thanks for adding to the discussion. You've brought up some very good points that I neglected to mention, such as MAC address and using virtualized instances of operating systems.
I just wanted to take a moment to reassure you that Tor (and most other proxies) will indeed mask your MAC address. As your packet is forwarded through each node in the proxy, its header information is replaced with that of the node's.
golden, I don't think it's necessary to delete your posts. You've added some valuable discussion. I'm gad you brought up Linux and other operating systems since I didn't mention them out of the original post. I'm glad you are expanding your horizons in regards to operating systems.
There are certainly merits to using a lightweight *nix distro such as Knoppix or a virtualized instance of windows--namely the fact that they leave very little behind (though it's worth mentioning that they still have their vulnerabilities, such as cold boot attacks). However, one's choice of operating system is of little relevance. The user's umbilical to the outside world has very few variables. A TCP/IP packet header (especially IPv6) only contains enough information to get the packet from point A to point B validly.
What is important is one's adeptness with their choice operating system. This means knowing:
-which processes are running on your machine so that nothing is occurring without your awareness,
-there are no processes broadcasting logged keystrokes to an outside source,
-there are no processes listening for an incoming packet on an arbitrary port to instantiate some malicious code,
-exactly what your operating system is doing with its knowledge of your usage.
To be honest, I feel safest on a Windows machine. The reason for this is that it is not open source. Microsoft's reputation depends on providing a safe environment for its clients. I'm not talking about the average joe. I'm talking about which operating system big business operations like the NSA will choose. Microsoft doesn't want to lose its big spenders. What this means is that I know the kernel I'm running has no malicious code embedded in it. The likelihood of malicious code running on closed-source code in a competitive market is lower because businesses have their reputations at stake. Vulnerabilities do arise, of course, but should you follow any system administration websites, you'll find that far fewer arise on Windows machines than they do on Linux machines. Also, I know that no one is able to insert a windows CD and change my root password, like one can on a Linux machine.
I'm glad you brought up the topic of Wireless networks, which is also a certainly a potential area of vulnerability. A WPA method of encryption with a 26 byte passkey of varying numbers, symbols, and cased alphas should suffice for any home network. But of course, to eliminate the threat of man-in-the-middle or other wireless attacks, simply stay hardwired.
I just wanted to take a moment to reassure you that Tor (and most other proxies) will indeed mask your MAC address. As your packet is forwarded through each node in the proxy, its header information is replaced with that of the node's.
golden, I don't think it's necessary to delete your posts. You've added some valuable discussion. I'm gad you brought up Linux and other operating systems since I didn't mention them out of the original post. I'm glad you are expanding your horizons in regards to operating systems.
There are certainly merits to using a lightweight *nix distro such as Knoppix or a virtualized instance of windows--namely the fact that they leave very little behind (though it's worth mentioning that they still have their vulnerabilities, such as cold boot attacks). However, one's choice of operating system is of little relevance. The user's umbilical to the outside world has very few variables. A TCP/IP packet header (especially IPv6) only contains enough information to get the packet from point A to point B validly.
What is important is one's adeptness with their choice operating system. This means knowing:
-which processes are running on your machine so that nothing is occurring without your awareness,
-there are no processes broadcasting logged keystrokes to an outside source,
-there are no processes listening for an incoming packet on an arbitrary port to instantiate some malicious code,
-exactly what your operating system is doing with its knowledge of your usage.
To be honest, I feel safest on a Windows machine. The reason for this is that it is not open source. Microsoft's reputation depends on providing a safe environment for its clients. I'm not talking about the average joe. I'm talking about which operating system big business operations like the NSA will choose. Microsoft doesn't want to lose its big spenders. What this means is that I know the kernel I'm running has no malicious code embedded in it. The likelihood of malicious code running on closed-source code in a competitive market is lower because businesses have their reputations at stake. Vulnerabilities do arise, of course, but should you follow any system administration websites, you'll find that far fewer arise on Windows machines than they do on Linux machines. Also, I know that no one is able to insert a windows CD and change my root password, like one can on a Linux machine.
I'm glad you brought up the topic of Wireless networks, which is also a certainly a potential area of vulnerability. A WPA method of encryption with a 26 byte passkey of varying numbers, symbols, and cased alphas should suffice for any home network. But of course, to eliminate the threat of man-in-the-middle or other wireless attacks, simply stay hardwired.
