Professional level of protection, even when the services you use could be breached. ( Golden Rule )

 Hey there,

I couldn't help but notice that Twitter has been in the spotlight once again due to a security breach. This time, around 235 million users' email addresses, phone numbers, and Twitter handles were exposed. This situation got me thinking about the steps you should take to protect your anonymity online, especially when the services you use could potentially be compromised. 

The golden rule to remember is: if you want to stay anonymous online, don't provide enough information to a single service that could jeopardize your anonymity should a breach occur. That means, don't give out a phone number or email address that can be traced back to you. If a service requires a phone number to set up your account, opt for an online service that provides a temporary, disposable number. Once your account is set up, ensure you establish real 2FA (like a security key or TOTP), and remember to generate and save recovery codes. After doing this, you can remove the phone number.

When it comes to your email address, create a new one and use it exclusively for signing up for the service. Never send any emails from it and don't give it out to anyone. By following these steps, a single service breach won't compromise your anonymity.

However, if staying anonymous is very important to you, then these measures might not be sufficient. Below are some additional steps you can take to ensure your online security:

1. Don't use the same anonymous email account for multiple services. Instead, create a separate email account for each service. This way, breaches at multiple services won't allow anyone to correlate your identities across them.

2. Avoid configuring the email account to forward emails to your real address. Doing this could link your anonymous email account to your real address if the email service provider is breached.

3. Avoid logging into the temporary phone number service or the anonymous email account from an IP address that can be traced back to you. Use a reputable VPN with privacy guarantees, so that the IP address your logins come from is shared by many other people and can't be traced back to you. 

4. Be careful when logging in to the temporary phone number service or the anonymous email account over a public wifi network, as it could potentially compromise your anonymity.

5. Try to only log into the service you're trying to remain anonymous on from public wifi.

Use an ad/tracker blocker in your browser on your computer and phone. uBlock  and Blokada are good choices.

Remember, protecting your identity is crucial in this digital age. Stay safe online!

Best,

Alex