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1. Introduction
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2. Tools
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3. Procedures
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4. Posting
To News Anonymously
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5. Anonymity
Checking Methods
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6. Resources
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1. Introduction :-
This attempts to be a summary of those basic methods by which you can
anonymously communicate with other like minded persons via usenet also known as
Network News.
To upload or post files to a newsgroup, you will need access to
that newsgroup first. So you'll need a program to read newsgroups, and a program
to post to your chosen newsgroup(s), as well as a NNTP server that carries the
newsgroup(s) you want to post to.
If your chosen NNTP server is a subscription based pay server then to maintain your
anonymity you should: Send a money order (NOT a cheque) by snail-mail to the
company, using a false name and address (not illegal unless there is fraudulent
intent). Use an anonymous e:mail address to register and receive your news a/c and
user/pass.
If your ISP doesn't have a NNTP server, or it has but it doesn't carry
the newsgroup you like, or it only gets a few posts for that newsgroup,
you can try out a free NNTP servers from the list in the resources section.
2. Tools:-
Some programs to help you complete your news post might be.
Anonymizing Tools:
There are many programs available to assist you in remaining anonymous. One such
program is SocksCap32 which will allow you to anonymise yourself or sockisfy
your connection to network news and other protocols such as irc ftp etc. It is a
versatile and valid alternative to using proxy servers directly. Download and install it
from here . How to
setup Sockscap is to be found in the Socks
Basics faq.
News Reading Tools:
The news reading functions built into your browser either Internet Explorer or the
Netscape Browser work fine, but are not reccommended since they leave a url audit
trail. A competent news reader application is Forte Agent, it has a small
footprint, can also automatically rejoin large files and its administration is easily
managed. Download and install it from here.
News Posting Tools:
There are many advanced news posting agents available. Autopost32 is the
easiest way to post a large number of binaries to a single newsgroup. Autopost will
automatically do all the encoding for you. Using AutoPost32 will when it omits the
NNTP Posting host line allow you to post these images with anonymity. It is
important you make TEST posts to see which ones omit this particular line as not all
do. Autopost is Shareware. Once you have mastered posting to news anonymously
you can upgrade to one of the more fully featured news posting programs. You should
Download and install it from here.
File Splitting Tools:
If the item you are posting is larger than say 3MB then you may want to split it into
a number of parts, this anticipates some news servers not receiving all your parts, so
the splitting allows for selective reposts. A good program to do this is
MasterSplitter which lets you split binaries up. MasterSplitter is a simple to
use program that allows you to set the size and number of splitted file parts and will
also generate a batch file which can be used to automatically join the parts together
again. Download and install it from here. MasterSplitter
Compression Tools:
Two programs that allow you to compress or reduce the size of your news post and
which both offer basic password protection are:
You can download and install WinZip from here WinZip
Encryption Tools:
The industry standard for distributed file encryption is PGP. This allows you to
encrypt and password protect any files that you post to news. You can download
and install PGP from here MIT's pgp
distribution.
Encoding Tools:
If you need to encode/decode files or file parts to something other than uue for
posting, say one of Mime (Base64) UUD/UUE, XXD/XXE, AtoB/BtoA and Binhex. Then
Fastcode32 supports all those formats If you have browsed newsgroups and seen
files that contain those weird characters, this means they are encoded. Fastcode32
will decode these files using drag and drop. It will also decode multipart MIME files.
You can download Fastcode here Fastcode32
3. Procedures:-
Depending on whether your news posting is to be split up and if it is for public or
private consumption will determine which procedure(s) to follow.
The procedure options are:
- Posting it as it stands offers no privacy i.e. its contents are publicly known.
- Posting using Split parts offers no privacy.
- Posting using Compression offers simple privacy.
- Posting using Encryption offers stronger privacy.
Programs widely used to perform these functions are WinZip, WinRar, and PGP.
So depending upon your desired level of privacy Splitting can be followed by
one of the following operations Encryption or Compression, to
ensure that your items reach only their intended audience on Network News.
Example file preparation steps:
Step 1. Splitting the file
Split the file with Mastersplitter. Here the split options are custom in
the combobox and 100 is typed into the left hand spin edit to size each part as 100
kilobytes and the program will indicate the part count to the right, here its 5
Piece(s). Click the Split button to split the file.
If your post is to be publicly available you can simply post all the split parts using
Autopost32 to news. Else continue to step 2.
Step 2. Encrypting the parts:
Highlight all the parts, then right click, selecting pgp using the Encrypt
option. Choosing conventional encryption you can password protect your post.
The procedure to Compress these parts would be similar except
WinZip or WinRar would have been used. Once you have finished these preparatory
step(s) your items are now ready to post to news.
4. Posting To News Anonymously:-
Install Autopost and insert it into the Sockscap32 Profile, check it out its pretty
easy to use. Run SocksCap32 and select Autopost by clicking on the
Sockisfy button
When Autopost is first run the following banner window appears.
Just Click the Continue button at this stage.
The resulting screen displays the posting status window.
To set up the details for your news post click on the Settings button. This
will display the Settings window where you can enter the details of your news post.
just use the button to set up your preferred nick and posting details i.e.,
- Host: Type your news servers address in here. If you plan to post
sensitive images, make sure the server you use omits the NNTP-Posting Host Line.
many open servers do this. If you are already familiar with a certain news server,
then put its address in this box.
- Username: If you are using an open server, leave it blank. If you are
using a server which requires a Username then put it here.
- Password: If you are using an open server, leave it blank. If you are
using a server which requires a Password, then put it here.
- From: Your chosen nickname
- Reply To: Your chosen email address
- Organization: Your chosen Organization
- Subject Prefix: Your chosen prefix ie normally the Subject
- Files From Dir: Type your folder path i.e. C:\Autopost\Upload\
- Newsgroups: alt.binaries.pictures.gardens.
- Max Bytes: Maximum Bytes per part or article
- Text Message: An accompanying text message
Clicking the Ok button will start your news post.
The Newsgroups edit box accepts more than one news group separated by a
comma, no spaces, also you can copy Agent's groups.dat file to the Autopost32
folder and import the file so you can choose which groups you want to crosspost
to.
Also it will help to organize your posts if you create a couple of folders from which
you can format and post your articles, suggested names are "Upload" and "Post".
Usually under the Autopost folder but this isn't necessary.
- Now whenever you intend to use Autopost remember and run it through
SocksCap32, when you want to post to usenet anonymously.
- Try and choose a proxy from different country from which the server is located.
- If your post is a large binary like a movie then split it into manageable sizes,
about 250K is a good rule of thumb since mime/base64/uuenecode/quoted encoding
methods at the server end all increase the part size by approximately 40%-50%.
- If you want to restrict its distribution then consider Encrypting or
Compressing the split parts along with using a password.
- Lastly do a test post using some attractive countryside scenes or
surfing/beach movies. If you are using a pay server you could use an open server
first as a precaution this means if your proxy dont work you Fail Safe! Whilst on the
pay server you would Fail Open!
WARNING: Remember always do a test post and read your
headers in agent and check that you are anonymous on news prior to posting!!!!!
5. Anonymity Checking Methods:-
- Method 1.
- Disable the proxy option in your browser and then run your browser through
sockscap32. To do this highlight your browser in the "Application Profile" listbox
and "Click" the "Run Sockisfied!" button, in SocksCap32 this will launch your
browser and is a valid alternative to simple 8080 proxies for browsing the net. Now
visit a proxy checking site and if you are anonymous, you should see either the
domain name/url or the ip number of the socks here. If so then the socks has nym
status, else try again.
- Method 2.
- When connected to News server open a MS-DOS window and type: netstat
-a . If you can see the name of your News reader followed of the IP/Name or your
Socks proxy:1080 instead of the IP/Name of your News server:119 (or nntp) the
connection is properly being made through Sockscap.
- Method 3.
- Use a test post. Find a news server that allows posting and do a post in
some innocent group for testing, like alt.test , alt.binaries.test or similar. download
your message and display it, then check the Headers/Properties and look if it
shows your real IP or that of socks proxy. Its usually the last in the list.
6. Resources:- See the other
faqs
- Network News Providers
- Network News Readers
- Network News Agent Setup
- Network News Posting
- Network News Downloading
Free News Servers: -
Proxy Lists:
Proxy Checkers
Country Check:
Cracks:-
Programs:
Computer Partners
Brief explanation of newsgroups and instructions for using Netscape Navigator or
Outlook Express for reading newsgroups.
Rules for posting
to Usenet
Brief introduction to Usenet and appropriate guidelines to follow for posting.
Free
Advice
on Usenet News
An editorial introduction to Usenet.
The Usenet Newbie Project
Learn everything about the Usenet in one place. How to access it, how to read
posts, explanation of technical terms and acronyms and how to create your own
Newsgroups.
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