Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: GoodGuyGreg on July 31, 2012, 07:05 pm

Title: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: GoodGuyGreg on July 31, 2012, 07:05 pm
I never realized that there are over 2 billion ips simultaneously talking to your computer, collecting bits of information and data, and sending them to places without your consent. Places like advertising agencies, anti piracy agencies, government agencies, random corporations, universities, research facilities and to that giant data collection center in Utah. My theory asserts that the NSA data collection building will be used in conjunction with quantum computing to predict the actions of every single person who uses the internet with an uncanny degree of accuracy.  The future of privacy and security for windows and clearnet users is almost seemingly non existent. Hell even now I don't think it exists.

If something like CISPA passes and it's legal for the government to buy all of this information, that's a huge problem. What then? "Justified" genocide by accusing people like us who commit victimless "crimes" as terrorists and being instantly sentenced to death (THANKS PEOPLE WHO PASSED NDAA) or to life in prison without trial? I got here through the use of the clearnet, and if they have been doing this data mining since then (which they have) this seemingly paranoid thinking is actually quite plausible.

Here is a post from someone on another forum that ultimately was what brought my awareness to this.

Quote
did a bit of research today and found out the following:

Windows 7 will often transmit quite a substantial amount of (encrypted) data to US National Security Agency Datamining servers. i noticed the massive amount of connection tries in peerblock, and turned it off for a few minutes.

then i inspected it with a packet sniffing tool and it was transmitting at the rate of like 10mb per minute. I couldn't decrypt what it was doing but it seems like theyre logging and transmitting every action due the amount of data being transferred.

Sometimes for hours on end windows will transmit, making connections every second to addresses like the one below.
It seems this occurs especially often whenever there is activity on the internet connection, but it also happened while i was not doing anything online at all and did not even have a browser or anything running.

94.245.121.253 -> teredo.ipv6.microsoft.com.nsatc.net

a whois for NSATC.net will shows it belongs to "Level 3 Communications inc"

After searching for this company i found on cryptome it belongs to an NSA IP range, which shouldn't be a surprise since the domain even has NSA in the name.

SOLUTION:

Download and install peerblock from peerblock.com
In peerblock click list manager -> add list,

in the url box add the microsoft blocklist: http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=bt_microsoft&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz

This will effectively block all Microsoft tracking/datamining efforts.

But even that "solution" only blocks microsoft's efforts. There are plenty of others. (including LE)

Thoughts?
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: ZenAndTheArt on July 31, 2012, 07:13 pm
Thanks for posting this. You've confirmed what I've been assuming.
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: intercom on July 31, 2012, 07:40 pm
ALL internet and phone communcation is logged and analyzed by the NSA and other agencies following 9-11. If you get the chance, watch the Frontline documentary "Spying on the Homefront."

Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: sourman on July 31, 2012, 08:29 pm
Not every IP blocked by Peerblock is "bad". I'd say like 90% of those IP ranges are completely innocuous while about 5% actually belong to organizations looking to report your downloads. Peerblock is still a must for torrenting, as its overly-inclusive blocklists actually do a good job at catching most of the net ranges used by intellectual property protection bots. Just don't assume that every blocked connection is an attempt to track you down or harm your computer.
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: silksts9 on August 01, 2012, 01:16 am
Does it not block this info from going out if we are using Vidalia as security to bounce our IP's while on Silk Road??  Sorry guys im very computer illiterate and my friend whom has had an account here for months is helping me but i just want to be safe as possible not to screw anything up for me or anyone else..Thanks
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: daRwin on August 01, 2012, 01:41 am
My theory asserts that the NSA data collection building will be used in conjunction with quantum computing to predict the actions of every single person who uses the internet with an uncanny degree of accuracy.

You are spot on. We are going to see this become more and more of a reality over the next few decades. While human behavior appears very complex to us individuals, it is is actually very predictable on a macro level. And the resolution of this predictive ability will improve as technology advances.

Just one example of this is from an article I read on reddit the other day about how Target use your purchasing history (tracked by loyalty cards, credit/debit cards, online purchases etc) and other information that they buy or otherwise obtain and use statistical analysis to predict your buying behavior and create a very accurate demographic profile of their customers.

Read the article:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/17/2804554/target-data-mining-advertising-pregnancy-prediction

They can predict with an extremely high degree of confidence that a woman is pregnant, based solely on a selection of what would otherwise seem like random products she is buying. One father found out that his teenage daughter was pregnant, because target had deduced it from what she had purchased and sent her a 'Congragulations on your new baby' letter with discount coupons for baby claptrap which he found.

Also, below is a link to a short but very interesting TED talk by Gary Kovacs (CEO of mozilla corporation) in which he briefly discusses new methods of 'behavioral tracking' and measures that mozilla are implementing into firefox to ensure that you can see where exactly your web data is going and who is tracking you. WELL worth a watch!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/gary_kovacs_tracking_the_trackers.html
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: sourman on August 01, 2012, 01:50 am
^Exactly why I started limiting my online exposure post 2004. I still can't believe how eager some people are to put their lives on the market via social networking sites.
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: DrGonzoII on August 01, 2012, 01:57 am
I am posting this just so that I can find this thread quickly the next time someone asks me whats so dangerous about using windows to access SR.

But Honestly, I was always more suspicious of mac doing this kind of stuff.
But if windows is doing it, than I guarantee you that mac is too.
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: jameslink2 on August 01, 2012, 02:14 am

Well, for starters, you could stop using Microsoft operating systems and switch open source OSes like Linux.

Guru

Agree 100%!!!!!! + it does not hurt to switch to the opensource DDWRT router Firmware replacement

DD-WRT is a Linux based alternative OpenSource firmware suitable for a great variety of WLAN routers and embedded systems. The main emphasis lies on providing the easiest possible handling while at the same time supporting a great number of functionalities within the framework of the respective hardware platform used.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/What_is_DD-WRT%3F#Features

I wonder if some one could get tor integrated into it?
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: GoodGuyGreg on August 01, 2012, 08:39 am
I never realized that there are over 2 billion ips simultaneously talking to your computer, collecting bits of information and data, and sending them to places without your consent. Places like advertising agencies, anti piracy agencies, government agencies, random corporations, universities, research facilities and to that giant data collection center in Utah. My theory asserts that the NSA data collection building will be used in conjunction with quantum computing to predict the actions of every single person who uses the internet with an uncanny degree of accuracy.  The future of privacy and security for windows and clearnet users is almost seemingly non existent. Hell even now I don't think it exists.

If something like CISPA passes and it's legal for the government to buy all of this information, that's a huge problem. What then? "Justified" genocide by accusing people like us who commit victimless "crimes" as terrorists and being instantly sentenced to death (THANKS PEOPLE WHO PASSED NDAA) or to life in prison without trial? I got here through the use of the clearnet, and if they have been doing this data mining since then (which they have) this seemingly paranoid thinking is actually quite plausible.

Here is a post from someone on another forum that ultimately was what brought my awareness to this.

Quote
did a bit of research today and found out the following:

Windows 7 will often transmit quite a substantial amount of (encrypted) data to US National Security Agency Datamining servers. i noticed the massive amount of connection tries in peerblock, and turned it off for a few minutes.

then i inspected it with a packet sniffing tool and it was transmitting at the rate of like 10mb per minute. I couldn't decrypt what it was doing but it seems like theyre logging and transmitting every action due the amount of data being transferred.

Sometimes for hours on end windows will transmit, making connections every second to addresses like the one below.
It seems this occurs especially often whenever there is activity on the internet connection, but it also happened while i was not doing anything online at all and did not even have a browser or anything running.

94.245.121.253 -> teredo.ipv6.microsoft.com.nsatc.net

a whois for NSATC.net will shows it belongs to "Level 3 Communications inc"

After searching for this company i found on cryptome it belongs to an NSA IP range, which shouldn't be a surprise since the domain even has NSA in the name.

SOLUTION:

Download and install peerblock from peerblock.com
In peerblock click list manager -> add list,

in the url box add the microsoft blocklist: http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=bt_microsoft&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz

This will effectively block all Microsoft tracking/datamining efforts.

But even that "solution" only blocks microsoft's efforts. There are plenty of others. (including LE)

Thoughts?

Well, for starters, you could stop using Microsoft operating systems and switch open source OSes like Linux.

Guru

Well I need Windows for work due to having to use applications specifically designed for the Windows OS, though I do use liberte linux to access the site now. The thing is I found out about, researched, and accessed SR all on Windows OS via clearnet before knowing anything about security. Thus the damage has already been done. If they actually have this information stored to be further analyzed, it's possible that I and anyone else who made the same mistakes via Windows OS are at risk of having their identities unmasked.

Not every IP blocked by Peerblock is "bad". I'd say like 90% of those IP ranges are completely innocuous while about 5% actually belong to organizations looking to report your downloads. Peerblock is still a must for torrenting, as its overly-inclusive blocklists actually do a good job at catching most of the net ranges used by intellectual property protection bots. Just don't assume that every blocked connection is an attempt to track you down or harm your computer.

That's what I've heard. Yet I don't buy it. Why the hell should these seemingly innocuous IP's get to have backdoor access to real time data and information from my computer? If they were as innocent as you claim them to be, why did the people who designed peerblock feel it was necessary to include them in the block list? I don't think they're all out to track me down or harm my computer, but data farming without my consent is NOT okay in my book.

My theory asserts that the NSA data collection building will be used in conjunction with quantum computing to predict the actions of every single person who uses the internet with an uncanny degree of accuracy.

You are spot on. We are going to see this become more and more of a reality over the next few decades. While human behavior appears very complex to us individuals, it is is actually very predictable on a macro level. And the resolution of this predictive ability will improve as technology advances.

Just one example of this is from an article I read on reddit the other day about how Target use your purchasing history (tracked by loyalty cards, credit/debit cards, online purchases etc) and other information that they buy or otherwise obtain and use statistical analysis to predict your buying behavior and create a very accurate demographic profile of their customers.

Read the article:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/17/2804554/target-data-mining-advertising-pregnancy-prediction

They can predict with an extremely high degree of confidence that a woman is pregnant, based solely on a selection of what would otherwise seem like random products she is buying. One father found out that his teenage daughter was pregnant, because target had deduced it from what she had purchased and sent her a 'Congragulations on your new baby' letter with discount coupons for baby claptrap which he found.

Also, below is a link to a short but very interesting TED talk by Gary Kovacs (CEO of mozilla corporation) in which he briefly discusses new methods of 'behavioral tracking' and measures that mozilla are implementing into firefox to ensure that you can see where exactly your web data is going and who is tracking you. WELL worth a watch!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/gary_kovacs_tracking_the_trackers.html

Well no wonder the tor browser bundle uses firefox as the browser. Thanks for the interesting read and video.
Title: Re: I just started using peerblock on my clearnet computer and HOLY FUCK
Post by: sourman on August 01, 2012, 12:25 pm
^Yup, the larger the group the easier it is to predict its actions assuming you have a large enough dataset of past activity.

Quote
That's what I've heard. Yet I don't buy it. Why the hell should these seemingly innocuous IP's get to have backdoor access to real time data and information from my computer? If they were as innocent as you claim them to be, why did the people who designed peerblock feel it was necessary to include them in the block list? I don't think they're all out to track me down or harm my computer, but data farming without my consent is NOT okay in my book.

I completely agree. If you are noticing strange open ports on your machine which are communicating with suspicious IPs on the bluetack/peerblock lists, that is certainly unusual and warrants further investigation. Perhaps a rootkit scan?

Many of these malicious "anti-p2p" entities (along with advertisers, etc) change the IP blocks used by their bots pretty often. That's why there are soo many netblocks on these lists. They want to cover as many IPs as possible, that way it's harder for them to slip through the cracks. Lots of those list entries are simply orphaned over from previous edits of the list as well, and should be removed because the netblocks are now used by legit companies.  Try enabling HTTP blocking and browsing the clearnet. You'll see that lots of plain, ordinary web servers are blocked, and no, it's not because your computer silently uploads your porn collection to amazon.com. lol