Was conflicted as to whether to put this to noobs or not, but I was total this was not the most noobish questions, as many are guilty of it, and many of them are no longer noobs, so I put it here, but it can be moved if the mods thing it should.
So I used to follow a broke dick guide I got from the early SR2 days that said basically a trusted VPN and the TBB over the Windows OS was safe play with DNM.
Now while it comes to light more and more now-a-days that the first steps LE takes to come after you is to identify you as a Tor user (right from a long time FBI agents lips), which makes a "trusted" (and they do exist), VPN, which provides protection from you ISP (aka LE's filing cabinets) a logical way to go about your OPSEC (I know I will get pulled apart for this comment, but read on a little.)
However, through much research, learning more about the Windows OS, having a good friend that works for the FBI, and of course the knowledge of these rooms, I have learned that there is no way I can make the argument that the VPN > Windows 7 > TBB > Illegal activity, is a better way to go then someone just running a verified, latest updated, and properly configured Tails OS, even if my ISP can see I am using Tor. Windows (as the many techs, including the author of the DNM Noobs section points out) has too many back doors and is just a joke of a way to surf the Markets. So I get that now.
My current system is one that I, as well as many, have told me is impressive, but I am not going to get into that now, as it's off topic.
My reason for this post, is to ask you gurus if there is a way to rid my the computer I used to run Windows on to surf the Markets of any, most of, or all traces of it.
It's still a newer machine, it runs great, and I would like to use it for totally legit things. I just want to remove all, or most of the taint that I have put on it over about a 6 month span of ignorance.
I assume that just deleting TBB and going about my life is not ideal. Are there ways to find those little hidden patches of things I do not want found by those backdoors? Can my integrity on that machine be restored or is there always going to be taint there?
*Also, it should be noted that LE never got wise to me. I am not on crazy lists, addresses are not flagged, men not hiding in bushes, house not being watched. I have a good source of intel on this, so everything is about what happens from this point on, and if I can continue to safely use the machine in a legit way that would be excellent.
One final note, is that I do have a backup system image for that machine, right before my DNM activity. But it would require me to lose a serious amount of work I have put into it since then, but it is one option if I wanted to be sure, but I really would rather see if there are some out there much smarter than myself that might be able to help me first.
Remember, this is going to be a totally legit machine. Not even a Matthew McConaughey movie will be watched on it from this point on.
Anyone?
Don't clean it.
Leave TOR installed in case you want to browse reddit. If youre a vendor and its full of product listing photos its another matter. Easiest to buy a new hard drive and keep that one hidden somewhere for emergencies.
The police arent going to arrest you for using tor browser.