Night Ops

hey guys this post is partially to vent and partially to get advice on how to handle this situation. i recently got into an argument with my roommate/opping partner about opsec. i walked by and saw him watching a youtube video gear review for some nvg's on his personal youtube account. being as paranoid as i am, i freaked out because that is so backwards from every instinct i have when it comes to this stuff. i think seperation between your casual internet self and operative self is incredibly important. i dont want anything even loosely related to nightops being visible on our ip address. and of course he starts making fun of me calling me 'schizo' saying i was overreacting. i did my best to explain that if anyone ever suspected us it wouldnt be hard at all to connect the dots when they find my roommates search history. i take persec and opsec very seriously. i refuse to get caught because my roommate is too stubborn and lazy to simply open Tor whenever he wants to browse something nightops related. am i being reasonable? id love to hear what u guys think. thanks

-Phil

If you're browsing a VERY suspicious website or doing dark web shit, then yeah, cover your arse.

If you're watching a fucking Youtube video on NVGs, who cares? There's loads of gun-related & tactical content on Youtube that's SFW. Even channels like Lockpicking Lawyer are fairly innocuous. So long as he isn't watching videos on how to break into a government building dressed as Sam Fisher, you should be fine.

the way i see it, if you're browsing on the clearweb you should imagine everything youre doing is being monitored by a cop. the fewer things you have to invent creative alibis for the better. im someone who likes to appear squeaky clean when im on the internet. the only thing my internet provider knows is that im a tor user, and there are no other hints that i might be involved in b&e. i just wish my roommate was as overly cautious as i am

As they say, "Don't shit where you eat".

I understand the heightened annoyance of your friends casual attitude about it, especially if you both share the same interest and somewhat understand it all...

If you're seriously opping in your area (or going to increase activity) like physically out and about, and if discovered it would carry legal consequences, then I would consider tightening up shop - only because the bread crumbs begin to weigh more after the fact.

Otherwise, like Xanatos said, there isn't much to worry about at this stage. There are people out there with worse porn search history who fly by.

yeah that makes sense. im definitely being overcautious but id rather be that than not cautious enough

Xanatos wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2024 4:10 pm

So long as he isn't watching videos on how to break into a government building dressed as Sam Fisher, you should be fine.

Brilliant.

Absolute non issue. If anything he's giving you chaff which makes your traffic look normal compared to someone who is more squeaky clean.

100 people. One without facebook. You don't find out he's suspicious because he has one, you become suspicious because you have the other 99 but not his. It's an absence issue. If anything you should at the minimum maintain a basic clutter of social media and normal front ends if you are actually paranoid about being watched. But you're not because all watching is done by passive collection and retroactively pulled back by orders if you are found to have done something retarded later on.

Basically just behave normally. Don't try to police other people because that's a flag and that will show you are worried and have something to hide. We all do, but that's not the point. Don't tip your enemies about your anxieties by chimping out over something. It'll create a Streisand effect.

If anything else you can always point the finger at your roomate if you're a godless snitch. Either way this is all a total non concern. Worse stuff passes through open internet traffic than you could possibly imagine. It's not all darkweb meme wars. Reality is there's so much data to sift through now that if you don't produce it, that's how your stick out. Just practice some basic data hygiene and you'll be fine.

Paranoia is like fire. Sometimes it's a tool. Sometimes it's arson. Sometimes it's gone when you needed it. Don't throw fuel on that fire without a reason.