1、Anonymity on the Internet -By Jacob Palme and Mikael Berglund,Presented by Harsha Alagud,Abstract,How is anonymity used on the Internet? What are the pros and cons of anonymity on the Internet How anonymous is an Internet user? How much anonymity can one aquire? How can the identity of an anonymous
2、user be revealed?,Table of Contents,Definitions Pros of Anonymity Cons of Anonymity Ways of achieving Anonymity Ways of unveiling the Anonymous user.,Definitions,Message Any communication unit used on the Internet. E.g. email, news article, web page, a blog, a comment posted in a discussion thread e
3、tc. Anonymity The real author of a message is not shown. Psuedonymity Another name other than the real author is shown.,Defintions,Deception A person intentionally tries to give the impression that he is someone else.,Positive aspects of Anonymity,People in a country with a repressive political regi
4、me, may use anonymity to avoid persecutions for their opinions. People may openly discuss personal health problems. People may get objective evaluation of their messages, by not showing their real name. Factors like status, gender, race which could influence the evaluation of what they say will not
5、be known.,Darker side of Anonymity,Anonymity can be used for disruptive activities like terrorism. Anonymity can be used for illegal activities like distribution of computer viruses, fraud etc.,Achieving Anonymity,Anonymity can be implemented on the Internet, to make it almost impossible or very dif
6、ficult to find out who the real author is. But Anonymity is never 100%. There is always a possibility to find the perpetrator, especially if the same person uses the same way to gain anonymity multiple times.,Achieving Anonymity Case 1,A person sends email or posts an article/comment using a falsifi
7、ed name. In this case, the security of the anonymous user is not very high. The IP number of the computer is usually logged, often along with the host name (logical name) also.,Achieving Anonymity Case 1,New comment on your post #28 “My first flight“ Author : Harsha (IP: 128.111.43.205 , dinah.cs.uc
8、sb.edu) E-mail : URI : Whois : http:/ result from ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers),Search results for: 128.111.43.205 OrgName: University of California, Santa Barbara OrgID: UCSB Address: Office of Information Technology Address: North Hall 2124 City: Santa Barbara StateProv: CA Postal
9、Code: 93106-3201 Country: US,Achieving anonymity Case 1,In case of email, the email header contains a trace of the route of a message. The header can be seen from commands like show full header in your mailer. E.g:“Show orginal” in gmail reveals the header.,Achieving higher degree of anonymity Using
10、 several computers (case 2),The impostor first connects to computer A, then from this computer to computer B, then from this to computer C, etc. To find the real person, all the steps must be followed backward. It is a tedious process and includes the co-operation of all computer owners involved.,Ac
11、hieving anonymity Using Anonymity servers (case 3),An anonymity server receives messages and resends them under another identity. There are 2 types Full anonymity servers where no identifying information is forwarded. Pseudonymous servers where message is forwarded under a pseudonym.,Achieving anony
12、mity Using Anonymity servers (case 3),There are companies which provide anonymity servers for users who require them. E.g. Anon.penet.fi People who want to achieve high security against being revealed, often use several anonymity servers in sequence. To trace them, each server must assist or be pene
13、trated. Tracing becomes difficult if each anonymity servers are placed in different countries. Anon.penet.fi server was located in Finland.,Conclusion,There are different ways to achieve anonymity, making it almost impossible to know the real author However, the law enforcement agencies can always find a way to reveal the identity. All anonymity server providers and Internet Service Providers are required by law to co-operate if demanded by the Court.,Conclusion,Questions?,Conclusion,Thank You,
