Backtrack 5 - Anonymous phone calls

I've realized an interesting way to make completely anonymous phone calls online using a real phone number. Its surprisingly easy as well. It uses three or so well known pieces of software, and can keep you in secure contact with others, without worrying about being tracked online or eavesdropped on. The first thing to do is boot up Backtrack. Backtrack comes with Tor, the software used to keep all of our online activities anonymous. If you don't trust Tor, use another proxy based in a country outside yours. From my understanding this should make it more difficult for government employees to track, as they would have to request the information from the other country and all that goodness. Routing through multiple foreign countries will add to anonymity as far as this theory is concerned, but may reduce sound quality when talking through this internet connection. It may just be easier to use free public wifi with Tor, as that is what I would do. Backtrack also contains macchanger, software used to change your hardware mac address, furthering your anonymity. Lastly, Backtrack comes with chatting software, some of which are compatible with the Skype protocol, which is going to be the voice software used to communicate during the call. If the version of Backtrack you are using does not contain this software, it is all free and can be easily obtained and installed. Note that I have yet to try Backtrack 5, but will post on that separately after getting a feel of the software. If it changes any of the procedure in this post, I will make changes as necessary after testing in the new release.

The first thing that is necessary to do, before connecting to any wifi or other type of internet connection is to change your hardware mac address (this is briefly explained in the bottom of a previous post here on wireless security). This, along with Backtrack should remove any evidence that your computer hardware was used in this communication that is about to take place.

Next you will want to run Tor or your preferred technique for anonymous internet use as you connect to the internet via public wifi. Make sure to set your browser proxy settings to route through Tor. Alternately you can use the JanusVM, which creates a VPN that routes all of your traffic through Tor automatically. This way you don't worry about correctly setting proxy settings on all of your software. After this I usually like to do a IP search on my IP address using http://whatismyipaddress.com/ and making sure this location is not near mine.

Browse to gmail.com and create a new email address, naturally with the account name and information having nothing to do with you. Then sign up for a Google voice account and create a phone number that has nothing to do with your location. This will allow you to call land lines for free and route the number back to your cell phone or land line, however instead of a cell phone you can simply use Skype. Just put your Skype number in the phone number field. It is also recommended that you create a Skype account while surfing anonymously to keep all internet traffic private. Also, if you're not using something like JanusVM, you must set the Skype/chat client settings to utilize the Tor proxy. Now all you have to do is call someone using the Google Voice account and your Skype account will ring, allowing you to speak completely anonymously.

Obviously I am not all knowing, so I cannot see every flaw in the process that I came up with. If there is any loop-hole or problem with this idea that removes anonymity, feel free to comment on any improvements. Regardless of any issues, this should be a pretty safe way to talk online.

In other news, a new Senate bill requires a Warrant for searching information on the internet 'cloud'. Make note, however, that if the government requests information from companies without a warrant, they still DO have the option to comply, and this has been known to occur before.