"We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget.

- Anonymous Motto

Back In The Day

Blockchain never required identity verification or KYC. Things have changed over the past five years. Data leaks occur more often than we are informed. Many cryptocurrency networks promote their coins on the basis that information gathered from their customers are kept confidential. The blockchain was intended to be a decentralized network functioning independent from governments or people susceptible to corruption. Online censorship is practiced by universities, employers, and governments all over the place. Look at this biography and once you agree, we can continue.

Nowadays ad servers will contact you to inquire whether you would like to buy BTC or some other form of crypto as a result of your crypto-related browsing. Should your data be collected by Big Data Companies, they could see everything you do with your financial assets. That is a bit disturbing, given that 'you seek optimal returns that are not compromised by the fact that you belong to certain group or class of persons'.

The bad news is this happens often with AI bots trading on exchanges and other policies implemented by organisations. If you believe we look at the global network with paranoia, then secure and private trading won’t become a reality for you. These methods are only for those who understand that personal information can compromise your strategies to overcome poverty. The good news is that you will be able to trade under the radar if you implement these methods. After all, my bio states: ‘Firm believer in liberty and commercial freedom’ for a very good reason. What follows is some information on private and secure trading.

A Game of Leads

'one lead is enough'

Bitcoin ATM's

If you must pay for it with a debit/credit card linked to your identity - your trades are naturally not anonymous. This option is not recommended for private investment.

'Anonymous' Exchanges

To clear the fog, we start by saying that no exchange on the clear web is completely anonymous. Exchanges that only require a cell phone number or e-mail doesn't make them anonymous. The alternative to a handheld device cell phone number is an online cell phone that can receive an SMS or OTP. Your I.P. address can still be tracked through these websites. This is not recommended. Some of these ID-free exchanges include BitMex, BitQuick and Bisq. It is still not private. A trade only becomes private once your identity or location becomes undisclosed.

Privacy Wasn't Built in a Day

Becoming an anonymous trader is not a walk in a park. It takes a lot of patience and understanding of a few simple tricks. Let’s outline possible operating systems, VPN’s, browsers, encryption platforms and financials. If a company says: "we respect the privacy of our customers and clients" or anything of the like, you should consider the below options before continuing business.

Operating Systems

During this process you must pick your favourite operating system for this task. Windows and Android is definitely not private and you are not going to pick that. You will have to look for a Linux Distribution designed for this purpose. The safest method is to run the operating system from a bootable flash drive. This way, you won’t have to sacrifice you current OS through the risky process of partitioning your hard drive. You will be able to send and receive data without activity logs on your personal computer. Make sure you run it in a mode that only stores data on your computer’s RAM which cleans after you end the session. Here are a few secure and private distributions that are free and brought to you by a dedicated community of coders in no specific order:

Qubes OS

This OS is cited by Edward Snowden as “the best OS available today”. It can work on any desktop environment and uses minimal resources. It is built on the Fedora distribution that compartmentalizes security. Every program is run in its own virtual environment and the data surrounding a session within a program is deleted when it’s closed.

You can download Qubes OS here.

TAILS

TAILS is an abbreviation for “The Amnesic Incognito Live System”. Based on the Gnome environment, it can be run from a DVD/USB/Pen Drive. It can spoof the MAC address and force all incoming and outgoing traffic through the TOR network while blocking all traceable connections. There are rumours of security breaches, so maybe you should look at some of the others.

You can download TAILS here.

BlackArch

BlackArch Linux is an Arch Linux-based penetration testing distribution for penetration testers and security researchers. The repository contains 2474 tools. You can install tools individually or in groups. BlackArch Linux is compatible with existing Arch installs. It stands out as a reliable OS in the community of security experts. You put this one on a live DVD or a pen drive.

You can download BlackArch here.

Kodachi

Linux Kodachi is my personal favourite. It is neat and comes with an array of useful tools to make sure you are trading securely and private. It has low resource consumption and can be run from a USB. This OS is also a good option for people who have a little background with Linux but still wants a bit of a MacOS feel. With this baby you can do penetration testing and enter ‘panic room’ where everything gets fixed if you run into trouble. It has a security scoring method to rate your safety. It displays all of your known information on the network so you can tweak your methods. It features DNS encryption with VPN’s, noisy crawlers and an array of tools to, you know, see everything.

You can download Linux Kodachi here.

Parrot Security OS

Parrot Security OS is a Debian-based distribution with penetration testing, ethical hacking, and ensuring anonymity online. It contains a robust and portable laboratory for digital forensics experts that not only includes software for reverse engineering, cryptography, and privacy, but also for software development and surfing the Internet anonymously.

You can download Parrot Security OS here.

Alpine Linux

Resource efficient, secure and simple. It is based on libc and busybox. A container requires no more than 8 MB and a minimal installation to disk requires around 130 MB of storage. Not only do you get a fully-fledged Linux environment but a large selection of packages from the repository. All userland binaries are compiled as Position Independent Executables (PIE) with stack smashing protection. These proactive security features prevent exploitation of entire classes of zero-day and other vulnerabilities.

You can download Alpine here.

Kali Linux

Can be run from a USB as a special feature with multiple persistence stores or with LUKS Encrypted Persistence. Kali Linux is a Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at advanced Penetration Testing and Security Auditing. Kali contains several hundred tools which are geared towards various information security tasks, such as Penetration Testing, Security research, Computer Forensics and Reverse Engineering. Kali Linux is developed, funded and maintained by Offensive Security, a leading information security training company. Kali Linux was released on the 13th March, 2013 as a complete, top-to-bottom rebuild of BackTrack Linux, adhering completely to Debian development standards. There are more than 600 penetration testing tools included, multi-language support and highly customizable.

You can download Kali Linux here.

PureOS

Offers a fully auditable operating system. Whether you are a technology enthusiast, someone looking to protect the digital life of your family, or an enterprise IT/security department, you can use PureOS freely for any purpose, study and share its source code, and adapt it to your needs. PureOS builds on top of decades of technological advancements, providing cutting-edge technology.

You can download PureOS here.

VPN’s

Free secure virtual private networks are hard to come by. It is best to pay a subscription fee on a monthly or annual basis than sending internet traffic through servers that collect and sell your data. Below is a list of VPN services I would recommend in no specific order:

NordVPN

You can secure up to 6 devices with a single NordVPN account -computers, smartphones, routers and more. They feature a strict no logs policy, an automatic kill switch, DNS leak protection and Onion over VPN. There are information on some bugs and/or suspected hacks, but you will have to decide about it.

CyberGhost

Boasting with military-grade encryption, it also features a No Logs policy. They have over 7100 servers in 90+ countries, providing fast speeds and unlimited bandwidth. Enjoy less proxy errors. They offer simultaneous connections on up to 7 devices and a 45-day money back guarantee.

IPVanish

This is one of the cheapest VPN services. IPVanish owns 1,300+ anonymous servers. Like those listed above they use 256-bit AES encryption, zero traffic logs and 10 simultaneous connections on multiple devices. They also offer a 7-day money back guarantee.

You might discover a reliable and secure free VPN service as an Easter egg in one of the Linux distributions listed above.

Encryption

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the address book of the Internet. When you visit websites, your browser will ask a DNS resolver for the IP address where the website can be found. Unfortunately, these DNS queries and answers are typically unprotected. Encrypting DNS would improve user privacy and security. A DNS resolver requires a specific DNS protocol and typically a home and mobile network will make use of the resolver of your Internet Service Provider. This is especially important on public Wi-Fi networks where anyone in physical proximity can capture and decrypt wireless network traffic. Still more complex than this, but the concept is there.

Many of the Linux distros listed above have good DNS encryption to avoid others from snooping on your traffic. I have come into the habit of letting those who watch see what I want them to see, and sometimes to lure out specific social engineering opportunities to determine who is watching.

Financials

Before you trade, always remember that you should understand the consequences of not following the methods lined out above. Always trade in crypto. Secondly – never make the final investment from a wallet held by a company that required your ID or mobile number. This means you will have to use a bitcoin mixing service and send the funds from an Electrum wallet. You can download it here on the house. I am not going to recommend any mixing service. People have lost lots of money to mixing service scammers. Be aware of any scams that do not provide you with the seed phrase / mnemonic phrase of the mixer wallet. Abort process if you receive a wallet address of which you have no chance of recovering in case of theft or silence.

This guide is there for you to know where to begin, what to look for and what to do in order to trade privately and securely without anyone else sniffing where you invested funds. This is not financial advice and we are not in a position to assess your financial circumstances. Think of this as a ‘Billboard Ad’ with just a slogan on it. You should consult a professional if you are about to make any financial decisions. Privacy is not a crime. Doing illegal acts are a crime. Do not support criminals. Do not trade illegal goods. Always trade on things that make the world a better place. Respect the laws of your country.