DrZaphod writes:
I think you're confusing pseunonymous with anonymous. The goal is to send data somewhere WITHOUT A TRACE as to where it came from. If you used a single e-mail address, [someone] could track it down, watch for logins, and trace the line. If you used MANY e-mail addresses it would clog the net.. remailers seem to be the way to go these days. TTFN!
Getting an anonymous account on Compuserve, AT&T Mail, MCI Mail or any of the other major services not only requires a mail drop, but also a number where they can call you back. Usually, a voice mailbox will do. Then it becomes a question of having enough phony id to get both the drop and the VMB, usually not a problem considering any cyberpunk worth his wieght in salt can get access to a 300 dpi color ink jet printer (ie: Deskjet 550C), a Polaroid camera, and a laminating machine, and put together enough good looking ID to fool almost anybody. BTW, don't try using phony ID to get a U.S. Mail Post Office box, because they are trained to spot that, not for the reason of preventing people from renting P.O. Boxes but to prevent people from cashing money orders under false names. Let us assume that obtaining an account on a major online service or major e-mail carrier is fairly easy. The question of traceability can be put to rest assuming that whatever e-mail provider you choose has offline messaging capability (ala NuPOP, Eudora, QWK, Compuserve CIM). Now assume you have a notebook or handheld PC (like the new Gateway Handbook). You can walk up to a payphone, download all your mail, then go to the park and reply to all the messages while sitting at a park bench eating a sandwitch and drinking coffee, then go to another payphone, and upload all your offline mail responses. Offline mail capability allows one to EASILY use payphones as points of access. You can download 50k of new mail in less than 2 minutes at 2400 baud, and in less than 30 seconds at 9600 baud from a payphone and then go about the rest of your day. An e-mail upload is even quicker. What could be simpler? However, make sure not to use a calling card when dialing up your e-mail service provider's point of presence. It's possible to use coins since the call will rarely be longer than 3 minutes, and never longer than 5 minutes unless you have huge uuencoded files coming into your mailbox, in which case it's probably best to be using a 9600 or 14,400 baud portable modem anyway. By the way, I think AT&T Mail has an 800 # dial-up that's free of per minute charges, it's used by people who don't have a local dialup in their area. I just realized that it's actually possible to be an anonymous UUCP site in the same manner, since UUCP is nothing more than an advanced offline download/upload protocol for news/mail/files. Assuming you can scam UUNET or PSI or whatever other UUCP provider by giving them false info, you could actually become a fully mobile, roaming, and anonymous UUCP site.. Scary, ain't it... :) Murdering Thug