I mentioned in one of my earlier articles something about ghost hackers, and very shortly stated a thing or two of what they do.
Sit back because this is a very long article
Now I want to tell you how to become one.
What Is a Ghost Hacker?
First you need to understand who they are, and what they do. Only then will you be able to truly become one. (Obviously). So, let me explain.
Explanation
disclaimer: this is my definition, based on experience, knowledge, and information obtained from elsewhere.
They are hackers who dont seek attention. They know the consequences of such circumstances, and seek to be as unknown as possible. Staying one place for too long, gives you just that. Attention.
So, they will make sure nothing is connected to their real identity first and foremost, but they will also likely have more than one alias, and therefore keep those separated also.
Now you should have a good overview of what a ghost hacker is, so lets move on.
Aliases:
First thing they will do is create an alias for everything they have. Smart ghost hackers will only use on alias once, and never re-use it. So if one have 24 accounts, he will have 24 different aliases. Yes sounds a bit over the top, but some hackers do this to achieve maximum anonymity. Bare in mind this is only if you are in the small group of level 1000 paranoia.
The benefit of never re-using an alias is first off, it is impossible for say, FBI to link 2 accounts together if they are in no way connected to each other somehow. Obviously there are other measures needed to be fulfilled in order for this to be possible, but you get the idea.
Passwords:
Next up is passwords. Again, the smart ones will only use one password for each account, and never re-use it. This way you again exclude the possibility of one being able to link two accounts together. Again a paranoia measure you can choose to do if you are paranoid like that. I dont judge.
Language Patterns:
Next up is the way you speak. This is the most crucial step when becoming a ghost hacker, because you can determine a lot by the way one types, and with 2016 now being here, we have very smart people being able to determine various things out from just how one types and or speaks, therefore this is very important you understand this step. I'll elaborate.
Say you have 2 different aliases, and if you truly want to make sure no one is thinking you are the same individual, type differently than you usually type. This includes words you wouldn't usually include in your vocabulary, and maybe make certain spelling mistakes. By doing this you are giving people an idea of who your alias is, and if you continue to type in that way, they won't even begin to think if this account they came across on eBay, speaking very sophisticated is in some way connected to this account on Craigslist, typing with basic grammar.
Basic psychology with Typo
Creating an Identity:
The goal for the multiple aliases, and additional steps taken here, are to create a character to the people you are speaking to. Because when you are sitting behind you're screen, you obviously don't know who is sitting on the other end, and therefore you might as well fill this persons head with a completely false idea of who you actually are in real life. This gives great advantages such as if the FBI should stop by and question that individual, he'll be describing someone completely different, and maybe someone who doesn't even exist. Who knows.
Knowing When to Leave:
As a ghost hacker you also need to know that you can still upset some people, and make some enemies, and a wise ghost hacker do not wish to be in such situation.
You need to know when danger is headed to your door, and if even the slightest sign of 'shadyness' is present, you have to leave your alias.
As I have also mentioned earlier, ghost hackers never stays one place for too long, and a perfect example of such scenario is if danger has occured. By 'discarding' your alias, you never log onto it again and never talk to the people you knew under that alias on a different alias, otherwise they'll be suspicious.
Being Introverted:
I saw a comment on here from TRT I believe, and it didn't actually occur to me before seeing it. He replied to a newbie on here about anonymity. He said something like 'you can also be silent and not talk to people, and therefore people wont have much info about you'
I was honestly amazed that I have never thought about this. You aren't obligated to speak to anyone, so by not talking to people, they will have no information about you, which is a very very effective method to use, however in my eyes it takes a lot to not speak to anyone, however you can always make a new alias for doing just that and have another one for speaking to people.
Don't Say Too Much:
Having many aliases is obviously only for skilled people, and people who can handle it. Self control is definitely needed because you need to remember when to use a certain language pattern and not mix any of them up. And just like real life, you probably tell some things you want to remain a secret to some, and therefore if you accidentally reveal that to the wrong person, you are screwed. Which is why you need to have time, time to type and have a conversation otherwise you'll be stressed.
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8 Comments
Well written, TypoGuy. But I'd like to say that having different passwords for each account isn't a paranoia measure. I think it should be a standard that everyone retains a distinct password for everything if privacy is in some way a concern.
I concur with you in that it is difficult to maintain the appropriate behaviour across the board. You will often make mistakes, and that's fine. Learning from them is how you truly gain the experience to evolve into a ghost hacker.
TRT
it depends on where you are coming from. Realistically I dont see it being a necessity to have a separate password for your accounts as long as you update them regularly, because the major companies already do their best to keep their security up to date.
What I meant was, if one of your accounts are hijacked and the offender knows one other account for which you have the same password, then he can (obviously) gain entry to that other account.
The problem is either keeping each account separate from all the rest, so as not to have them interrelated in any way, or persistently altering the passphrase for each account. It is rather inconvenient, so I propose just having separate passwords for each individual profile, which eliminates the unnecessary hassle.
TRT
I honestly love reading these posts. This whole series has been very informative and applies not only to hackers but to everyone who wants to surf the WWW as anonymous as possible.
glad to hear that.
is very wisely for one to know how and what to do so that can be so special to people in any circumstances
here's my thoughts on this. wanna be hackers worry about their slang, tag names, hanging out in the IRCs. Real hackers (who are smart) don't associate themselves with any alias and aren't worried about keeping up with the latest super 1337 lingo. Any clue you leave out there, is a clue. Having no alias leaves no clue. Hanging out in the IRC is how you get caught. Period. Also, it takes very little to NOT speak to someone. It takes nothing actually. Pple get caught because they do something cool and want to tell all their friends and family for the notoriety, which just isn't smart. I realize it's hard NOT to tell pple, but it's what's required.
I can see where you are coming from, and completely agree that if you do not associate yourself with others, it will be very tough for others to find you. What I meant by it being hard for an individual not to talk to others, is that usually most people will want to talk about what they just did, because thats how we humans are, we need and like to talk about things we do, and keeping that a secret requires mental strength. yes I went very far away from the IT area for a bit there.
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