Lugh, one other thing. Why do you think that using WiFi offers protection? Even if you connect through someone else's access point you can still be tracked by your MAC address and by other means. I don't understand why you think that's a better alternative than using Tor.

Do you mean using WiFi to connect to JAP? The same liability would apply, however, if JAP itself can't be trusted.

PP

There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding, what was meant is to use wi fi to connect to an open router, and then use TOR too    If the router has a keyword firewall then one needs to use one of the Privax proxies as well, and enter the URL one wishes to access manually    As far as using wi fi, there are some good instructables and other resources:

h**p://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/

h**p://www.instructables.com/id/Wifi/

h**p://www.instructables.com/id/Wifi-Signal-Strainer-WokFi/

h**p://www.instructables.com/id/The-Wireless-Internet-Cantenna-gets-Dished/

h**p://w3bguru.com/wiffy-extreme/

h**p://www.binarywolf.com/249/parabolic.htm

h**p://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448

 

Lugh, I thought that might be what you had in mind, but I really don't see that using a public access point will give you much you need. With Tor properly configured they can't track you to your computer unless they really, really want you and are willing to spend big money. Software vulnerabilities are another thing altogether, and you can bet that LE knows of a few undisclosed exploits. Some of them may be built into MS operating systems deliberately. For example, have you heard of Cofee, which recently excaped into the wild?

Lugh, you seem to have an awfully wide breadth of expertise. More so than I, but while there are more than a few things that I that I still don't know, without being too specific I'll say that I've worked professionally with the type of systems we're discussing. On my own I've made a couple of cantennas, but found the parabolic design works better, and it's far easier to make. That doesn't mean I can't be wrong, but I have a pretty good idea how a lot of this works.

WizardX, I'm sure you know that even if you change the MAC address there remain other means of finding you. You'd need to cover a lot of bases if you were to rely on just that and a public wifi connection. In the end it all comes down to how badly they want you, of course, and how safe you feel you need to be. Most of us here would probably be fine with WiFii and a changed MAC address, or with Tor alone.

I personally wouldn't use Internet Explorer. Firefox is a better choice, and you can get a specially configured copy bundled with Tor. You folks from down under should go ahead and download and install and test whatever you're planning to use before the time comes, just to make sure you know it's going to be safe and effective.

PP

One of the worst microsoft ploys IMO, is the so called genuine windows advantage software. It's practically a Trojan, and once installed it is very difficult get rid of it. This thing has even been released as a Firefox plugin that installs and activates without your permission, and has no uninstall facility. The people who write Firefox didn't like that, and sent out an update that turned it off.

No matter how carefully you watch, there are so many things that keep track of what you do in windows it's almost impossible to keep your machine clean. Programs like CC Cleaner show lots of data that most would never guess exists, and CC Cleaner is not that thorough. Firefox leaves trails, too, even after you use the "erase recent history feature". That's probably why they renamed it from "erase private data".

We should probably all migrate to Linus, but every time I've tried there's always been something I needed from Windows that I didn't have, and wouldn't run on an emulator. I haven't tried lately, though. Maybe that's less of an issue now.

What appealed to me about the parabolic antenna was the fact that it took the energy that would otherwise be radiated to outside walls or other areas where it is wasted, and re-focused it in the direction of use. I didn't put a lot of effort into the construction of either, but according to my router I got about fifteen dB gain from the parabolic antenaa vs. about 7 or 8 dB from the cantenna.

The consensus seems to be that you are correct--that properly constructed, the cantenna provides better gain. That makes sense but it's going to be very directional. But directional may be just what you want.

You've got me on the cantenna with USB dongle. I don't know what the hell the dongle is supposed to do or even what it is. It's been maybe five years since I played with these, and I guess I'm behind the times.

Here's a little blurb from the web page on a parabolic antenna. Another thing I really like is that  it's make of cardboard and aluminum foil in about ten minutes, and it works pretty well. It's from http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/ It doesn't even need a connection to your router. The author says:

"Advantages over other antennas such as the Pringles Can Antenna

   1. No Pigtail Required
   2. No Modification to AP (No voiding of warranty)
   3. No Matching (SWR) Problems
   4. No Purchased Parts
   5. Trivially Easy Construction
   6. Very Low Probability of Error
   7. As Good As or BETTER Performance than the Pringles Can Antenna
   8. Superior Front to Back/Front to Rear Ratio
   9. Improves Wireless LAN Privacy
  10. Reduces Interference

"Basically this antenna is so easy to make, tune, and install, and it performs so well that it is foolish not to try one before electing to purchase a commercial antenna, if for no other reason than you can check to see if you are purchasing enough commercial antenna to make the link you want to make."