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One comment and two questions: I wish I had something important enough to say to be able to put this advice to use! How important is the physical location you

One comment and two questions: I wish I had something important enough to say to be able to put this advice to use! How important is the physical location you work from? Should you religiously avoid working out of a place that is associated with you, such as your home or office? Should you avoid places that are near where you live, and if so, how far should you go? Or is Tor sufficient for masking your physical location in all cases? I'm very interested in how the grugq is able to have had such a public persona for so long and remain anonymous—including speaking at conferences in person, I understand. Obviously, he is an expert, but that doesn't really explain _how_. He writes prolifically on Twitter and sometimes other mediums. How is this large body of content not subject to stylistic analysis? Information is known about him, such as where he lives and what he does for a living. That seems extremely revealing. How has he been able to speak at conferences, quite literally tying his physical identity to this anonymous persona, let alone traveling to the conference in the first place?

StavrosK 10y ago
For the former, yes, I believe Tor is enough to hide your physical location. The times you tweet/write would be more worrisome, but maybe that can be automated. As for the second, I didn't know he's anonymous. I'd imagine it would be very difficult to maintain anonymity when you need to board a plane. You're definitely not anonymous to someone who cares enough to follow you, I'd bet.
grugq 10y ago
1) physical location It depends a lot on how intense you expect the investigation to be. Strong protection comes from using a network connection that is not linked to you, in addition to using technology that masks your IP address. If there are CCTV, then that increases the risk exposure, as does bringing a mobile phone with you. It is a lot of trade offs based on the threat model. In the case of a resistance twitter account, I suspect that simply using Tor Browser Bundle will be sufficient, but it is hard to make a blanket statement. 2) anonymous I'm not anonymous, I'm pseudonymous. There are hundreds, or thousands, of people that know my "real" name. It isn't important, I don't use it for anything. The only people who do use it are my mother and my bank. I've been using the same handle "grugq" for over two decades. Everything I have done is under my handle. I don't maintain two identities, I have only one -- the grugq. You can't link my handle with another identity because there isn't one. Over a decade ago I was at a small art college where +Fravia was giving a talk. After his speech, we went for a walk and a chat. He lamented that all the hackers were dropping their handles and going by their real names for commercial reasons (so they could get jobs, basically.) He said to me, "you and I are the only ones left still using our handles." A few years later he died of cancer. So, now I am the only one left. People who know my name, know where I live and know that it would increase my risk profile to expose me. They respect my wishes to use my handle, and they respect my privacy. It is no great secret, it is simply the choice I have made, an obligation to an old dead friend, and also one that could have very real security implications. It always puzzles me why people care so much. A name is a name. (also, you have no idea what I do for a living. lol)
- Perceptes 10y ago
  Thanks for responding directly in so much detail. This was super interesting! I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.
  - grugq 10y ago
    He lived a full life, taught a lot of people, was great fun to hang out with. He greatest sadness was that the cancer robbed him of his pleasure of food and wine in his last years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fravia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fravia
- jlgaddis 10y ago
  By chance, is this the same Fravia whose "guides" I studied 20-ish years ago to learn how to "crack" old software applications?
  - grugq 10y ago
    Yes.
viraptor 10y ago
Do you remember _why the lucky stiff? It's probably really hard to keep anonymous, but if you start with just the persona and don't intend to ever get your own name involved, it seems to be doable.
mysticmarvel 10y ago
> I wish I had something important enough to say to be able to put this advice to use! Do you disagree with the way things are? Do you face persecution of any sort if you publicly express that opinion? You have something important to say and should use this advice to say it. Those who remain silent are complicit in the success of those who they oppose.

StavrosK 10y ago

For the former, yes, I believe Tor is enough to hide your physical location. The times you tweet/write would be more worrisome, but maybe that can be automated. As for the second, I didn't know he's anonymous. I'd imagine it would be very difficult to maintain anonymity when you need to board a plane. You're definitely not anonymous to someone who cares enough to follow you, I'd bet.

grugq 10y ago

1) physical location It depends a lot on how intense you expect the investigation to be. Strong protection comes from using a network connection that is not linked to you, in addition to using technology that masks your IP address. If there are CCTV, then that increases the risk exposure, as does bringing a mobile phone with you. It is a lot of trade offs based on the threat model. In the case of a resistance twitter account, I suspect that simply using Tor Browser Bundle will be sufficient, but it is hard to make a blanket statement. 2) anonymous I'm not anonymous, I'm pseudonymous. There are hundreds, or thousands, of people that know my "real" name. It isn't important, I don't use it for anything. The only people who do use it are my mother and my bank. I've been using the same handle "grugq" for over two decades. Everything I have done is under my handle. I don't maintain two identities, I have only one -- the grugq. You can't link my handle with another identity because there isn't one. Over a decade ago I was at a small art college where +Fravia was giving a talk. After his speech, we went for a walk and a chat. He lamented that all the hackers were dropping their handles and going by their real names for commercial reasons (so they could get jobs, basically.) He said to me, "you and I are the only ones left still using our handles." A few years later he died of cancer. So, now I am the only one left. People who know my name, know where I live and know that it would increase my risk profile to expose me. They respect my wishes to use my handle, and they respect my privacy. It is no great secret, it is simply the choice I have made, an obligation to an old dead friend, and also one that could have very real security implications. It always puzzles me why people care so much. A name is a name. (also, you have no idea what I do for a living. lol)

Perceptes 10y ago
Thanks for responding directly in so much detail. This was super interesting! I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.
- grugq 10y ago
  He lived a full life, taught a lot of people, was great fun to hang out with. He greatest sadness was that the cancer robbed him of his pleasure of food and wine in his last years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fravia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fravia
jlgaddis 10y ago
By chance, is this the same Fravia whose "guides" I studied 20-ish years ago to learn how to "crack" old software applications?
- grugq 10y ago
  Yes.

viraptor 10y ago

Do you remember _why the lucky stiff? It's probably really hard to keep anonymous, but if you start with just the persona and don't intend to ever get your own name involved, it seems to be doable.

mysticmarvel 10y ago

> I wish I had something important enough to say to be able to put this advice to use! Do you disagree with the way things are? Do you face persecution of any sort if you publicly express that opinion? You have something important to say and should use this advice to say it. Those who remain silent are complicit in the success of those who they oppose.