Blogging and Running Your Website Anonymously – An Introduction

Contributed by AlexTheBeast  
Tagged: Internet  

Everyday people get fired because of something they said in a blog. People sue websites for random reasons. By working anonymously, you avoid these problems.

People are getting fired for running websites and blogs. By having this permanent record of your thoughts and speculations, you are putting yourself at great risk. What you believe to be safe to discuss can come back to bite you on the ass. If you are not discussing anything flammable, then you don’t need to worry. If you REALLY want to speak your mind, this is how you do it.

1. Register as a private domain.
The most common mistake I see is that people forget to hide their domain registration information. If you do this, then anybody can do a whois and see who you are. Even if you decide to make your domain private later, this original whois information can often be tracked down. If you want to be safe, register privately from the beginning. Only a few of the domain registrars now include this as an option. We have had good success with GoDaddy and Dotster.

2. Hide your tracks.
If you are using a blogging service, they likely record your personal IP address every time you connect to them. Your ISP knows exactly what IP is connected to what computer… if anybody should trace the logs, then they know who you are. If you are a computer ninja, then you may want to consider running your posts through the tor network. By joining this network, however, you are allowing other anonymous people to route through your computer as well. In theory. you may be assisting child molesters and other illegal activity. Practically, Tor is not beginner friendly either. Anonymizer 2005 is inexpensive and easy to use.

3. Use Throw-away email accounts
GMail or Yahoo mail are both good options for semi-anonymously email accounts. By routing all your blog or website related business through these, you add an extra layer of protection.

4. Don’t blog from work.
You can use all the tricks you want, but if somebody sees you building your site, then it’s no longer anonymous. Although Tor or Anonymizer might help hide your tracks, your computer administrator at work is going to get fishy see those installed. Always assume everything you do on the computer at work is being tracked… because often it is.

5. Use common sense.
Do not place information on your website or blog that identifies you. Something simple can give you away. If you are bragging about your new car, child, pet, or lover… anything specific enough can allow people to identify you. Why use your exact company’s name or location? Use pseudonyms for everything.

6. It’s forever.
Anything you say online will likely be captured by the search engine gods. People many, many years from now will have access to this information from google cache or similar services. Before you run your mouth, decide if it is something that is really worth the risks.

I blog everyday. I blog about my company. I enjoy talking about stuff that could get me fired. The hot and sexy stuff that is dangerous is what draws tons of people to my blog everyday. By using the tools listed above (and a lot of common sense), I exercise my freedom to whine and moan and groan and complain. All in the safety of my own blog.

If you have further hints, please leave them in the comments below.