Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Marwood on April 15, 2013, 12:17 pm

Title: Using a mobile phone as a WiFi access point for SR
Post by: Marwood on April 15, 2013, 12:17 pm
On most modern Android phones [fuck Apple :) ] you can turn on WiFi tethering, which allows your phone's data connection to be shared to your laptop/wireless PC etc..

If you use a non-contract pay as you go SIM in the phone then the network provider have minimal information about you.

So, is it prudent to access Silk Road this way, rather than using TOR through your home broadband supplier and raising suspicion? Or would this make no difference to security?


Edited for clarity: I typed "toggling" and not "tethering".
Title: Re: Using a mobile phone as a WiFi access point for SR
Post by: shinzon76 on April 15, 2013, 12:44 pm
I see this potential problem: you'd be using a cell phone, so all the inherent risks that comes with that applies, such as your location being traceable via cell-phone tower triangulation, geolocation, etc. To get around this, you'd need to never, ever let this phone connect to the cell network while: a. home, work, or some other place that you could be easily identified (coffee shop within view of a security camera, etc), and b. your personal cell phone is active, as you don't want the feds to see records of both in the same location at the same time.

That said, this is an interesting idea if you used it to drive out to the middle of nowhere, put the battery in, then turn the phone on, tether, and do your business. Done right, this could allow for a great deal of flexibility in maintaining anonymity.

edit: it'd also have to be, obviously, a phone that has never had been associated with you previously, as each phone that is connected to the network is individually identifiable to the carrier; no using an old phone, it'd have to be a purpose bought burner that couldn't be traced back through purchase records.
Title: Re: Using a mobile phone as a WiFi access point for SR
Post by: Marwood on April 15, 2013, 01:16 pm
Salient thoughts, shinzon76.

I would also add that if you have TAILS running on your laptop you could access SR through the mobile phone via TOR bridges, so to the mobile network it would appear that you are communicating only with the bridge addresses and not using TOR.
Title: Re: Using a mobile phone as a WiFi access point for SR
Post by: lysergic25 on April 15, 2013, 05:45 pm
I am probably wrong at some point but afterall what do you care of the phone being triangulated ?
No one can go back to your phone from the IP found at an external server because you use TOR. Besides, most phone operators use shared IP's for their customers so even if you real IP gets logged somewhere, it can't be matched to this specific phone. But you don't even care as this phone is not associated with your name.
Oh... yeah now I understand your points upthere... They could obviously link the two phones (the personal and the anonym) if they stay side-to-side all the time. But that would be a tough motherfucking investigation, provided you don't use the same providers on your two phones.

But are you sure that Android don't log things you do then upload them to Google ?
Because that is something I can very easily see Google doing. They love logs. Logs means big money.

Interesting fact by the way, if you see a Facebook "like" button on some page (news, blogs, etc...), you ARE identified by Facebook even if you don't click the button. That means that Facebook records nearly every article you read outside of Facebook, then sells this information. That is how Facebook and Google make so much money.
Bottom line is, I have hard time trusting Google, and Android devices scare me.
Title: Re: Using a mobile phone as a WiFi access point for SR
Post by: Empathy101 on April 15, 2013, 08:42 pm
cool idea.
Title: Re: Using a mobile phone as a WiFi access point for SR
Post by: mayhem15 on April 16, 2013, 12:57 am
What about using tethered Wifi with TOR??