Question: Anonymous Blogging

“How can I run a blog without being subject to government surveillance? It seems the only way is to use a service hosted in Europe, never add anyone to my friends list, and never mention my location or other personally identifiable info.” — Anonymous from California

True anonymity on the Internet is very difficult. There are many ways you can be tracked via your ISP and your computer. I like Tor, an anonymous Internet communications system that uses a protocol called onion routing to hide your identity, and wish more people would sign up as nodes on the service. (Products like Anonymizer take some steps to hide your identity on the Internet, but they’re best in conjunction with something like Tor.) Used properly, Tor offers real anonymity on the Internet, both for surfing and for posting blog entries.

As to anonymous blogging, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has some great ideas in their “How to Blog Safely” guide. I recommend reading that.