Magic. Its Sorcery. Just Kidding… Kinda.
Your Home
Everyone has a home address – a physical geographic land-based immovable place on this Earth where we live, eat, and sleep. From that glorious place where our heart is emanates the flow of all our mundane commerce – credit card bills, utility bills, airline tickets, cable bills, telephone bills, etc. That place literally has your name written all over it. Anytime you open up a website, mobile app, video game console, or even your smart television your unique identifier is shared with every connection, download, upload, audio, video, or transaction you make.
Telecommunications Providers
It begins with the basic fact that your connection to the Internet starts with a telecommunications provider: cable, telephone, or cell phone. They have to bill you, right? They also have to know where to send data when your computer, cell phone, tablet, game console, etc requests it. Two numbers collide of necessity: your Billing Address in the physical world and your Internet Address in the digital world. Tag, you’re it.
Data Centers, Websites, Apps
When we open a connection to the Internet, most of us want something located outside of what our cable, telephone, or cell phone company offers. All those interesting things on Amazon, Apple TV, Facebook, Yahoo!, YouTube and so on live in Data Centers (mostly) removed from our telecom providers and to get to them we must pass from one gate to another – a hand-off. When that hand-off occurs, your unique Internet Address is shared so that delicious stream of Internet Goodness can arrive in your entertainment center, iPad, or Xbox. In addition, we all have an account for every website, app, and console. So, even if your telecom provider didn’t share your unique information stop to ask yourself (or read their privacy policy) if you think the last place you logged in will keep your information private.
Unique Address
It feels hopeless, right – like there is no escape? Well, its quite simple really: stop telling every stranger you meet who you are and where you live. Make conscious choices about who to trust and when. Just like in real life. The tool you need to do that is the AMENDMENT 1. When you want to shop online without being “gamed” by an Artificial Intelligence that knows all your demographics use AMENDMENT 1. When you want to engage in political dialogue or debate without fear you will be attacked personally use AMENDMENT 1. When you want to search online without having each query added to your permanent profile use AMENDMENT 1. Just stop sharing your Internet Address – stop telling everyone who you are.
What is Tor?
Tor is a tool that disguises your address – Home and Internet. How you ask? Well, we’ll let the video below from Mashable explain the details but suffice it to say it encrypts all data at the source (you) and bounces it around the world in a random, arbitrary number of jumps. No logs. No Log in. No Credit Cards. No Home Address. No Internet Address. AMENDMENT 1 uses the Tor network to provide anonymity at the point you join the secure WiFi network hub and works for all connected devices. While you can download the Tor Browser for free from the TorProject.org, the Tor Browser cannot address the security of your hardware, protect your Internet of Things (Smart Home) devices, or provide a firewall or intrusion detection from hackers.
How Anonymous am I?Imagine you are walking into your favorite store when you are greeted by a stranger who asks you to sign a petition. You are in the process of declining their request when your neighbor walks up and says, “Hey [your name], you live right next door to me – I signed and you should too!” The Internet is a lot like that analogy. AMENDMENT 1 makes you as anonymous as you allow. If you walk into a store and tell them your address or use your credit card, you are no longer unknown to them. The same is true on the Internet. If you want to remain anonymous, refrain from logging in or telling folks who you are. On the other hand, even if you do decide to reveal yourself by logging in, you are still anonymous between you and your destination. Data centers, uplinks, downlinks, bridges, and waypoints between you and your destination will not know your Home Address or your Internet Address while using AMENDMENT 1. Your Destination will only know what you reveal to them. And your telecom provider will not know where you are going or why. That is privacy in the Internet Age.