I have a question concerning internet security, anonymity and pay VPN services.
Asked by
Sarah90 (
373
)
March 18th, 2013
{To make a long story short}
My mother and I have not been able to open a Facebook, Twitter account nor the like, in years due to my estranged stepfather always finding us.
He is an ex-policeman and whenever we open an internet account, he asks his friends still on the force to pull some strings for him and supply him with our IP address and location.
My question is: How can I open a social media account and fully protect my privacy so it would require a warrant stating a legitimate reason for law enforcement to obtain my IP address/location and for it not to be supplied as professional courtesy to cops doing a favor for a friend.
I have been told so many things…... to use pay VPN service but not a proxy to protect my privacy as it would do not release any information without a valid warrant and it would be accepted by Facebook and email services to open new accounts.
* Please,I need helpful advice not smart-aleck comments.
Yes,I am well aware that it is impossible to remain anonymous from Big Brother so spare me the speech.
No,I am not planning on committing any illegal activities and I know that if I did, it would take the government micro-seconds to find me.
Also,I don’t need advice of how to deal with my stepfather.
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6 Answers
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At a guess, a VPN might work if the service is based outside the US. I’m trying to understand your problem clearly, though – you say he’s using your social media accounts to track down your location, not the other way around? How is he finding your accounts to begin with? Are you friending specific people whose accounts he’s watching? It might be safer to simply avoid on social media anyone whose activity he can monitor. Keep in touch with those people by other means.
I’d say that using real names is probably (I can’t say for sure; I don’t know your practices) the way the he’s tracking you down. If you’re sure that it’s by going through ISPs and the like (you should know that the ISPs are probably breaking the law giving out personally identifying information without a warrant, but yeah), you should consider other options.
What he’s doing is harassment.
A VPN service could anonymise your IP address in the way you wish, particularly if the provider were offshore: it’s probably more difficult to get a “professional courtesy” from a company in Australia, for example.
Are you sure about Twitter – they’re actually very pro-user in such regards; I’m frankly sceptical that they would dish out such information at the drop of a hat for reasons of “professional courtesy”. Re-examine how you use social media. Make changes. Consider that some of the “friends” you have on those platforms might not be as loyal as you think they are.
Actually a U.S. based one might be a better idea as they would know how the court works. A foreign VPN might just want to help the police. Who is your internet provider? And it also seems to me that its somebody you know that is helping him.
The problem with using an offshore VPN provider is that when your stepfather contacts facebook about your account, facebook is going to find it strange that a U.S. account has a foreign IP address and his story would be more believable, hence they will be more likely to assist.
If you know the police department, file a freedom of information act request towards the police department on your name and maybe mother using your old address. The federal inquiry would likely make his friends less helpful.
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