Anonimity on the Web

Due to recent events “The Growing Cowardice of Online Anonymity” by Richard Bernstein, strongly resonates with me. In today’s world the internet has pros and cons. Although I believe online anonymity was initially intended to provide a layer of safety to those engaging in the use

“The Masked Avengers” By David Kushner is about a group of people who are anonymous and hack into things like data web bases, this is pretty much all they have in common. Hackers are not a group who do things the same and together primarily because there are so many different types of people who are interested in different things although Wikipedia more commonly sees hacking as “skilled computer expert that uses their technical knowledge to overcome a problem”. For example a hacker can do their job not as the stereotypical way of bad but in helping out the common good in people, such as tracking down child predators and turning them into the police. Even though this may be seen as illegal hacking that violates the privacy of others, when its

Anonymous, an infamous hacktivist group. Their slogan “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.” Now, one can come to think that they kind of sound like an underground rebel group. Which is what they are, but they do it all via the internet. Once must also think, “well how do they do it all via internet and not get caught?” They tunnel all their nodes and logs through private networks and encrypted chats. You may ask, what do they fight for? Well it’s obvious, they all fight for one thing: Freedom and a proper Government. You can come to this conclusion just by taking a peek at their tweets, videos, speeches, and etc. It’s obvious that Anonymous’s intended audience is anyone they can reach out to, not only does this hacktivist group focus on American problems, but they also take third world countries problems into consideration. So, with all this information, you’re probably thinking, “well how do they solve America’s problems?” Anonymous isn’t only a group that just tweets hashtags, and what not. Anonymous is loosely organized group of hackers that attempt to use their skills to make a change. But, not all Anonymous members are hackers, some join just to promote what the cause. For example: @YouAnonNews on twitter, tweets operations that are going on, and daily news that has grabbed the attention of Anonymous.

Anonymous is an international network of online hacktivists who work to spread their agenda worldwide. They accomplish this mainly through distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on the organizations websites. Their targets range from government agencies to large corporations. This group is the single most accomplished hacktivist group in the world. They have successfully directed attacks on government agencies of numerous countries, ISIS, child pornography websites, Westboro Baptist Church, PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, and Sony. The group's actions have impacted the world. With access to highly skilled hackers, Anonymous also has the ability to steal data and further disseminate their agenda.

Tillman states that vulnerable communities often find themselves the biggest targets for anonymous trolling. Like Coleman and Milner, Tillman believes that anonymous communication has its place on the internet, but that its important to understand how our societal problems can be made worse when users are not required to be accountable for what they say, and how this can unfairly affect some individuals more than

There’s a lot of things we can do in the internet. We can surf, watch movies, and of course google things. But what is a lot more interesting is the internet can also be a place for people also known as ‘hackers’. They live to destroy anyone using the internet and they will and can cause major destruction in the net. There is a group, however, that does the bad for the better good. It is a group of people known as Anonymous. They help people in some ways, but also cause trouble for a lot of corporations. Today, I’m going to introduce to you what Anonymous has done to us.

Our government would have everyone believe that these groups of Internet activists are terrorists. They use words like terrorists to incite public fear and make the public view these hackers as evil. The reason that governments do not like hacktivists is that hacktivists can access information that governments wanted to keep secret. One very well-known group of hacktivists is called Anonymous. Anonymous is a group that sets out to keep the government in check by using Internet. It’s highly unfortunate that groups like Anonymous have to wear a mask and hide their identity just to protest against what they believe is not right; the problem is some don’t see internet protesting this way. As one supporter states “….and ‘hackers’ are now ‘hacktivists,' presumed by wretched propagandists like Michael Moore to be committing acts of ‘patriotism’ rather than propagating wanton electronic vandalism, fraud, intimidation and theft” (Elmore). It is statements and ideas like this that make public protests such a dangerous activity. America is a republic, but in this republic everyone must agree with the ideals set down by politicians; if not, prison awaits

One would think that what happens online has little to no impact on the physical world and people’s daily lives. On the other hand, people you don’t know can’t harm you as well over the Internet, right? These questions are answered in, Expect Us where I talk about and elaborate upon the well-known online hacktivist collective, Anonymous. I wanted to have this paper really show the reader the impact that they have on the real world and what they stand for through various forms of imagery and explanation with all of the corruption going on right now, I thought this would be a good thing to talk about. I chose to show you the collective through the eyes of a current member who’s had an idea of what they do ever since he was a child. I find this important as the story goes on as the reader will see how even as he evolves from a child to adulthood, the idea sticks with him the entire

Anonymous is a group whose members are geographically scattered around the world but unitedthrough the Internet, consisting largely of multiple imageboards and forums. Originating in 2003 on theimageboard 4chan, the name came from the perceived anonymity of users posting content on theInternet. In its early form, Anonymous was a decentralized online community of people actinganonymously in a coordinated manner, usually towards a loose goal of entertainment. Beginning in 2008,the group became increasingly associated with international hacktivism, often with the goal of promotingInternet liberty and freedom of speech.The name “Anonymous” is inspired by the perceived anonymity under which users post imagesand comments on the

Anonymous is an international organization complied of like-minded individuals sharing an extensive knowledge of computation and systematic software (German, 2012). In short, they are hacking activists; people wanting social change who protest by revealing hidden truths. It is known to operate on ideas rather than directions meaning that the individuals involved do not wait for instruction or approval of a task. They do however, have a loosely agreed upon goal- for there is order. There is no granted membership. If one believes to be Anonymous, they are. The self-proclaimed members operate in response to events and scandals and expose what people in power try to conceal. With many operating as one, Anonymous is bringing social justice to corrupt organizations who disguise situations and refuse to meet the needs of the abject population.

Furthermore, Boyd claims that people have a right to do what protects their well-being and says: “What’s at stake is people’s right to protect themselves, their right to actually maintain a form of control that gives them safety” According to Boyd, nobody has the right or authority to stop people from doing what protects them the most. Any action to stop people from protecting themselves is wrong and that’s exactly what the ban of anonymity calls for. Boyd holds the same idea as Stafford and Zhou that people need to be protected from these “trolls” on the internet but unlike the other authors, Boyd sees anonymity as the defensive measures that people take to protect themselves. Without anonymous accounts and names people at risk such as stalking victims, rape victims, defectors from suppressive governments, and company whistleblowers are left defenseless to people who have access to the internet and their identities and the intention to harm them. It is unreasonable to take a risk to implement something, not knowing if it will have any positive effect, but knowing it will definitely negatively effect many users of the internet. Boyd’s article explains that anonymity allows for all ideas to be fully expressed without being afraid of backlash from individuals that aim to harm you. This lack of

The concern about privacy on the Internet is increasingly becoming an issue of international dispute. ?Citizens are becoming concerned that the most intimate details of their daily lives are being monitored, searched and recorded.? (www.britannica.com) 81% of Net users are concerned about threats to their privacy while online. The greatest threat to privacy comes from the construction of e-commerce alone, and not from state agents. E-commerce is structured on the copy and trade of intimate personal information and therefore, a threat to privacy on the Internet.

In the early 2000s, the hacker subculture were rising in popularity in the mass media bringing with it more members and like with most hobbies these members naturally come to be drawn together in to small groups. These groups, in this case were hacktivist groups and one of the biggest, important and well known one was the group called Anonymous. Starting from pretty childish beginnings this groups has come to be the face of the hacker subculture and for the groups many activist movements. Though a simple philosophy of not being content with idea of censorship on the internet and have taken common hacking techniques like denial of service attacks to combat this dictatorship like acts of control on the internet. The introduction of a group like Anonymous to the world has influenced many other hackers to stand together for a singular goal then one person alone.

The rapid growth in technological innovation has brought about an increase in information via digital platforms, bridging communications all over the world from different geographical locations. This progression of virtual interactivity has enabled the possibility of anonymity, and it has deliberated continuously whether it aids or hinders society, and questions the efficacy of anonymity. One aspect of anonymity is that it is implemented in the identity of online self-representation through the discourses of general communication, cyberbullying and hacker criminality. Therefore, the character of obscurity is crucial in specific online actions and this will be analysed throughout. Anonymity acts as a different tool for every purpose, and how it impacts individuals and society in varied measures. There are consequences of invisibility, in both positive and negative aspects which tailor an individual’s online portrayal. Focusing on how invisibility can be democratic and influence community building, but at the same time encourage immoral behaviour, reflects the prominence of cyberbullying and corrupt activity.

Internet privacy is the security of a user’s personal data that is stored or published on the internet. The internet is an important part of every individual’s daily life. In today’s society, the internet is used by many different people for many reasons. It can be used for research, communication, and purchasing items. Without the internet, many things that are completed during the course of a day would be impossible or take time to complete. As people use the internet, everything is stored in a database that tracks and keeps any personal information that is entered by users. As users continue to use the internet to complete important tasks such as purchasing items and paying bills, their privacy and security become at risk. Although the internet can be seen to have a positive impact on society, it does have a negative impact. Since the internet can be accessed by anybody it can cause a lot of damage. Examples of internet risk include identity thieves, phasing, and scams. Due to things such as online shopping, banking and other e-commerce options, personal information is stored in the internet enabling many cybercrimes to occur. Cybercrimes are very similar to any regular crime; the crime just happens to take place on websites for criminals to hack and steal user’s information for their own personal benefit. Cybercriminals tend to attack users based on their emails, social media accounts, and web history because the most history about an individual is stored in those sites.