If you've been living under a rock the past few days, the media's thrown a huge fit over Trump's tweet of one his old WWE appearances with the CNN logo photoshopped onto the dude he's "fighting". Your opinion on that aside, the important thing to come out of that is the fact that CNN got the user to publicy apologize by threatening to reveal his identity, aka doxxing. You can read more about how CNN did that here. A lot of this advice is common sense, but to not have yourself busted like this guy (or at least make it harder):
*Only post very general, broad personal information about you. I think age, gender, and race are okay.
*Don't post details that could be tracked back to you like where you work, what town you live in, where you go to school, etc…
*When browsing a highly controversial and sensitive site like TRP, consider using a VPN.
Have a TRP only account you use for Reddit. If someone sees you post in TRP, a Seattle sub, a Latino sub and a software development sub regularly for example, they can very easily infer you're a Latino software engineer in the Seattle area, and just like that you're easily narrowed down. I'm writing this here because TRP is a very controversial sub much more susceptible to doxxing than other subs, and there's a fair chance you guys also post on other controversial subs. The chances of this ever happening, but these are general rules you should follow anyway to protect yourself.
Edit: Added a link
Desadarius 6y ago
Guess I'm living under a rock
4juice 6y ago
I used to be very good in doxxing when i was younger and this is one tip i want to share as well.
Most of my breakthroughs comes from an email address. Email will usually lead me to an online profile, where a little digging can get me your real name which can lead me to your address/phone numbers/SSN and more. Use multiple email address for every purpose and mix them up. Tough work but it is worth it in the long run. I got one email account for Playstation services, one for work, one for Facebook, one for webspams, one for family/friends etc etc.
Flintblood 6y ago
Have you ever doxxed someone through Reddit alone?
4juice 6y ago
Nah, i dont pay particular attention to any username on here.
[deleted] 6y ago
That's how they caught Ross Ulbricht of The Silk Road online drug marketplace.
destraht 6y ago
If I recall he posted to Stack Overflow about some code
But really though, I kind of don't believe it because of things like Heart Bleed OpenSSL vulnerabilities. Its just that if he was that much of a priority than I'm fairly confident that the top spooks can slip through software and even virtualization layers. So I'm saying that they found him with their tools and then found another way to find him after the fact.
SilverGryphon 6y ago
was it because they stupidly gave out their e-mail accounts?
4juice 6y ago
Either that or searching it for yourself through google if you know the right info for it like usernames or public documents available online.
youkickmyd0g 6y ago
I'm all for taking steps to separate identity, but it's getting ridiculous. There need to be some shining beacons of light for people to see, and follow their example. I'm coming to the point where I don't give a fuck about RP association in real life... just work/go places where people don't give a fuck about stupid internet shit. If somebody harms me, that's what the police are for. If they explode my inbox, who fucking cares? Collectors are already doing that anyway. Yea I used to make a quarter mill a year, now I make a little less... fucks given: way fewer. sleep: way easer. And I live at the heart of Antifa weenie 'territory' and work with Cal students. Fuck cowardice... fuck stupidity obviously, but it's a fucking website and this conspiracy stuff must be self perpetuated to a degree.
In my book, if i say nothing illegal then maybe I want a degree of separation via handle that I'll never admit is real no matter how much people assume... then not say things that would be illegal.
Popeman79 6y ago
I've been PMed by two different young hot girls in the past month who wanted to exchange picks with me. One even sent me pics with the instructions I required so I knew it wasnt a troll usin somebody else's pics.
They were very insistent and convincing.. Once they realized I wouldn't divulge any info or pics they stopped trying. Obvious attempts at doxxing. Be careful
destraht 6y ago
People have tried to doxx me simply by asking me to give an email or link to a professional network. Nothing so elaborate though. I think that I'm not worth real effort but it takes only minimal effort to simply ask.
I know especially from traveling that many soft Westerners feel compelled to fulfill all desires and the thieves and worse take advantage of this by simply getting in the persons space and acting friendly towards them and then making requests in which the Westerner feels obligated to fulfill.
The ironic part of this is that the BPs are projecting their mentality onto us when they make such requests and they don't understand that we can do what we want to do and that we aren't nearly as susceptible to herd mentality. I'd wager that if a BP woman turns down a request its because of "creepy perverts" but if we do it its because we know that we are up against a toxic ideology animated by person vessel.
Popeman79 6y ago
Exactly. In my interactions I was nothing but polite and didn't attack the doxxing girls, but uf they had the chance I'm sure they would feel no remorse in ruining my entire life. I don't think I've ever seen redpillers use this kind of tactics against bloopies..
JeSuisSuperman 6y ago
Right now there's probably a Latino Software Engineer in Seattle reading this and praying he doesn't get raped
[deleted] 6y ago
Now that I think about this, it might be time to close this account and create a new one. That's scary that CNN freaking did it to that guy. Just proves that CNN sucks. I loved that video.
Qerus 6y ago
Ey bro I see you on the Donald and trp and ur awesome just to say. I replaced my old account because someone messaged me saying, 'can you guess who this is, insertmynamehere"
[deleted] 6y ago
Thanks. I never revealed my name, but probably casually mentioned things like my race, industry I'm in and possibly state I live in. Never thought I was revealing too much, but after what happened, I want to be safe. Probably will create one for just TRP and The_Donald and another one for everything else, like subtle truth bombs in other subreddits.
WhereIsTheEvidence1 6y ago
Same shit happened to me, I was an idiot and put my first name in my username, dunno how he found my last name and subsequently me for that matter.
[deleted] 6y ago
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dr_warlock 6y ago
gmx is better, they don't require phone numbers.
OneRedSock 6y ago
This ties back into a lot of the push-back I saw in the community in regards to the "TRP App". A lot of people don't seem to understand how easily anonymity can be compromised on the web, or further don't understand the havoc that can be wreaked once they lose their anonymity. When it comes to TRP, your life can and will be ruined by zealous feminists and most liberals.
This CNN situation is a great example of why you always need to use a separate account strictly for TRP and is not used in any other sub, especially ones that can compromise your identity. And this second account needs to be tied to an email address that in no way can compromise your identity. Make no mistake, reddit has a cesspool of SJWs and hardcore feminists who have nothing better to do than ruin your life simply because they disagree with your views.
rp_phoenix 6y ago
This is good stuff. TRP is only a couple steps below the Donald sub in terms of notoriety, so it's wise to take the necessary precautions, especially since these aren't all that hard to do.
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[deleted] 6y ago
E-mail address? Is it possible to be doxxed on Reddit tha easily with E-mail? How do they get ahold of it, I thought it was private?
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[deleted] 6y ago
The average redditor is a loser who hates success. Never forget that
afkb39sdfb 6y ago
That's why they love socialism, basic income, and national health care so much. It's taking from the successful and redistributing it to the losers.
[deleted] 6y ago
lmao dont get me started on Basic Income. Of course every Redditor that supports it are either jobless or broke
[deleted] 6y ago
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Desadarius 6y ago
Trump is a massive red pill himself. Just watch what happens. True Masculinity is making a comeback.
SilverGryphon 6y ago
He should have used a throw away account. And you are right about this sub being controversial, society in general hates it when the cold hard truths are revealed.
LibertyIsNotFree 6y ago
No one expects to go viral.
If he posted it on a throw away it probably would have went unnoticed.
Throwawaysteve123456 6y ago
Never hurts to have a throwaway!
[deleted] 6y ago
One thing that wasn't mentioned: it is very likely CNN was aided by Reddit admins. Reddit hates this sub and hates the_donald more due to its sheer size and influence. Anything that happens to this sub WILL happen here whenever that sub is 'contained'
Viking_RnP 6y ago
Almost all of my feed is CNN related. All negative. Don't apologize to the bully and you'll be better off. People are starting to let go of the PC garbage.
dankvibez 6y ago
With regards to the VPN, how important is it?
Do reddit moderators of a subreddit have the power to see user IP's?
I would assume no, but I have seen forums in the past which showed all users IP addresses. It is obviously stored somewhere in the reddit server, but how easy is this to access?
dr_warlock 6y ago
Any website owner with basic traffic analytic tools can see your 'IP address'. I would know, because I have a blog. Everytime someone visits my site, I can see the IP address and city/country, but that's it. However, if my information is correct, it's not good enough to know your definite location because it's the IP address of your ISP. Only the ISP has your definite location.
yummyluckycharms 6y ago
Thats the thing.....there must be more to the story
imagine what its like in big cities.....the ip would tell the doxxers that the guy lives in seattle and what is service provider is. Thats it. Even knowing his gender, ethnicity, and industry, there would be tens of thousands of people that would match that identity.
Clearly, CNN had access to these guys ISP records to know more about him
rp_phoenix 6y ago
Good question, there's a lot of confusion over VPN. A VPN essentially hides you behind another IP address. So if a mod could see IP's, they wouldn't see yours, they'd see some other random one. A good VPN will make it extremely hard/impossible to trace it back to you.
dankvibez 6y ago
Ok. But wouldn't an IP just be a small piece of information about you unless they were directly in contact with your ISP?
I know you can get a geographic approximation of location with IP address, but its not down to your address. But if you could use that to narrow down your city/state/country, it could be a big tell for someone trying to dox you.
Also don't most VPN's keep logs? What do they require to give them up?
rp_phoenix 6y ago
A good VPN will not keep logs, there's plenty out there. Also, you can spoof your location to a different country with every VPN I've come across. Some VPN's admittedly work harder than others to keep your information as private as possible.
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duvagin 6y ago
do what most slebs do, work through a trusted agent
[deleted] 6y ago
CNN are unbelievable idiots and the only thing worse than the dishonest, misleading bullshit they get up to is the denying and playing innocent over the dishonest, misleading bullshit they get up to.
They are the very definition of a news network that seeks to "influence rather than inform" and they're going down the drain fast, or at least they would be, if Google weren't throwing them a life-line with a juicy YouTube embedded channel.
As for Doxxing, I don't know, is this place really all that controversial? It's no worse than 4Chan that's for damn sure, and there's only so many people that are going to have the requisite skill and 'trigger-level' to waste their time with this.
Use two accounts when on Reddit, sure, because it's better to keep it 'clean' and not have others accuse you of peddling Propaganda (oh, the irony) but as for VPN's and that...hmmmm, not sure that's really necessary unless you're going out of your way to be prominent/outrageous.
wanderer779 6y ago
Can someone explain how they figured our who the guy was? Something about looking at FB but what exactly was it.
I really can't believe CNN is stooping this low. Wish this guy would have stuck to his guns and made CNN look bad cause it sounds like he can probably be doxxed pretty easy anyway so he really didn't buy that much security with the apology.
Also, motion to require everyone to use archive when linking to CNN
yummyluckycharms 6y ago
Its important not to panic - if you do something stupid like post key biographical details about yourself, then you deserve to get slammed like what happened to the guy in the original post.
I mean c'mon - they were able to attach his reddit name to his facebook profile - there must have been some glaring giveaways. Good luck trying to do that with me
midgetpooooo 6y ago
Actually they used their isp (they are part of Time Warner) to get his info from his reddit ip address. # Edit: I am wrong. "The apology came after CNN's KFile identified the man behind "HanAholeSolo." Using identifying information that "HanAholeSolo" posted on Reddit, KFile was able to determine key biographical details, to find the man's name using a Facebook search and ultimately corroborate details he had made available on Reddit."
yummyluckycharms 6y ago
Now that makes sense, but I suspect its pretty illegal as wouldnt you need a warrant?
[deleted] 6y ago
CNN isn't a court system, and won't be filing any sort of due process within any legal systems. No warrant is needed for any third party to get your details and tell you to "say sorry or we share your personal info with everyone"
yummyluckycharms 6y ago
ISP can't reveal subscribers information to third parties beyond the generics. CNN had this guys real name - something fishy
midgetpooooo 6y ago
According to CNN they just did some internet searching, that's it. So I corrected my post.
yummyluckycharms 6y ago
I think there is more to it than that - just knowing his IP wouldnt reveal his facebook identity.
midgetpooooo 6y ago
No his fb was public. They just connected the dots based off his reddit posts which revealed lots of personal info.
dankvibez 6y ago
Any source on this or the method they used? I find this interesting, not sure if there is any other case of someone using that type of power to dox someone.
[deleted] 6y ago
People do it all the time. They just need the motivation.
dankvibez 6y ago
"People do it all the time."
I know people dox all the time. But the guy above me originally said that they used his IP to trace him.
This would require you to: Go through reddit to get his IP address, then go through his ISP to resolve the IP address to his actual name, information not normally given out to anyone. I think you need a warrant for something of this nature.
Doxxing through information revealed by someone, is very common and I have seen that done many times, have a corporation do this without the help of law enforcement would be unprecedented as far as I know.
midgetpooooo 6y ago
According to CNN they just did some internet searching, that's it. So I corrected my post.
dankvibez 6y ago
Ok, I was going to say, that would be crazy if they did that.
midgetpooooo 6y ago
What they did was crazy enough tbh haha
dankvibez 6y ago
Yeah it is bad to begin with, but that would be absurd if they actually got an ISP company to give up private information that quick and easy. They aren't supposed to give data like that out at all.
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RonieGarret 6y ago
Use temporary mail for sites like this!
afkb39sdfb 6y ago
You don't even need an email for a reddit account.
bastardstepchild 6y ago
My stupid phone went and memorized my username, too. If you type "ba" it "helpfully" tries to autocorrect to bastardstepchild. The only way to make it stop is to periodically reset the entire keyboard dictionary.
[deleted] 6y ago
Usually you can hold the word suggestion and it will ask to forget.
wanderer779 6y ago
What about going a step further and making a fake identity on reddit. So if you're a Latino software dev in Seattle, join some subreddits about Boston and running a restaurant and being black.
afkb39sdfb 6y ago
That's what I do. I 'work' in several entirely different professions and currently reside in several different locations.
[deleted] 6y ago
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[deleted] 6y ago
"Political Correctness is fascism masquerading as good manners." - George Carlin
The 'tolerance' they speak of isn't the same tolerance in the sense you or I would regard it as such, they mean it as "Mandatory Acceptance of our view of what a 'good' world should look like."
[deleted] 6y ago
Honestly it couldn't have happened to a worse kind of person so I don't give a fuck in this instance. It's wrong for CNN to come at someone like that, but I couldn't care less for racists.
Edit: here's this dude's posts
MattyAnon Admin 6y ago
Be aware that reddit have your IP address and quite likely info from your google cookies,etc. If you're high profile enough, reddit can/will leak this info.
Do not click ANY links sent to you in private or in a deep thread where very few other people are viewing: their servers will show your IP address and farm your cookies for private info.
Do not read TRP from work if you are high profile - again your IP will trace right to your employer.
Limit personal info to rough age (20's, 30's), gender (male or gtfo), country. Definitely not down to city, don't give away your profession, talk in general terms about all personal info.
Don't use the same or similar username for anything else, don't comment on other subs.
Obviously don't share any contact details (email, skype, etc) with anyone.
ThinkingTiger 6y ago
Meh .. If they are good enough they gonna get all your info even if you never shared it online...