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Child pornography

2025-05-30T01:41:43Z

Malibu90265: Added a section on the legality of child pornography

'''Child pornography''' is any depiction (image or video) or written description (story, etc.) that involves a child and that violates legal prohibitions against child pornography. The definition is necessarily circular, since the numerous and varied laws that apply to this subject make a more concise definition virtually impossible to formulate. In addition, the definitions tend broaden over time, rendering controversial any number of things that may have been legal previously.

"Child erotica" is a more neutral term for "child pornography". "Child erotica" may or may not include overt sexual activity, and may or may not be illegal, depending on how the law is applied in any particular jurisdiction.

== History ==

Before the mid 1970s, "child pornography" was available legally in most countries, including the [[United States]]. With the advent of [[child abuse]] legislation in the mid 1970s, however, anti-pornography advocates and other social and religious conservatives argued against child pornography since they claim that the production of child pornography may involve [[child sexual abuse]]. Even though scholars have challenged whether child pornography (in the broad sense) involves child sexual abuse (see Schuijer and Rossen 1992), whether child sexual abuse (again broadly defined) can lead to psychological trauma (see the [[Rind Report]] and [The Trauma Myth (book)]), and whether it can lead people to offend against children (see Howitt 1995), many people today are convinced that producing, distributing or possessing child pornography is even ''worse'' than child abuse. Even though all adult-child sex is declared, inaccurately, to be abusive and criminal, child pornography, their minds, is worse. It's child abuse made into a movie, for men to masturbate to. It confirms for doubting pedos that kids can really enjoy sex.

In the decision by the US Supreme Court on April 23, 2014, ''[[Voodoo Molestation and US Law|Doyle Randall Paroline v. United States, et al.]]'' <ref>[http://www2.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/Paroline_v_United_States_No_128561_2014_BL_112162_US_Apr_23_2014_/1 DOYLE RANDALL PAROLINE, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES, ET AL. ]</ref>, it was adjudicated that ''restitution'' can be awarded based not only on the manufacture, sale, or distribution of child pornography, but can be collected from all those who have been convicted of viewing the image, based on the magical belief <ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_thinking</ref> that the act of viewing the image has essentiall caused psychological damage to the soul of the person depicted. Aside from pne well-publicised case,

== Definition ==

This has led to broadening the definition of child pornography. In general child pornography is understood as pornography featuring children (i.e. images of children involved in sexual activity). Over the years the definition has become broader to the following ways:

*'''Age of the "child"'''. The child is not defined nowadays as a prepubescent person, but as a person under the [[age of consent]] (usually between 15 and 18), or more strictly under the age of 18, or more broadly, according to the council of the [[European Union]] decision ([http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004F0068:EN:HTML|E.U. Council Decision 2004/68/JHA]), "a person appearing to be a child" (which may be an adult over 18 who can pass as 16). {{uscsub|18|2256|1}} defines a minor as any person under the age of eighteen years, so it is possible for a person who takes sexually explicit photographs of his 17-year-old spouse to be convicted of child pornography production, even if there was no state law against such conduct. There have been cases in which naked "selfies" (pictures of oneself) have been deemed child pornography, in which case the child is both the injurer and the injured. [[Families Against Mandatory Minimums]] has expressed concerns over the [[mandatory minimum penalties]] established for these offenses, arguing that they sometimes result in absurd sentences, such as a 15-year sentence in a case involving a victim who consented and was of legal age to marry the offender.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.famm.org/federal/ChildPornographyOffenses.aspx|title=Child Pornography Offenses|author=Families Against Mandatory Minimums}}</ref>
*'''Nakedness of the "child"'''. According to ''[[United States v. Knox]]'' the "child" in question does not need to be nude as long as there is a "actual or simulated lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area." An image of a "child's" (broadly defined as above) crotch in underwear may fall under this definition.(see [[Azov Films Prosecutions]])
*'''Conduct of the "child"'''. In some countries, the portayal of naked children does not need to be sexual in order to be considered child pornography. Even though a three judge panel of the U.S. Third Circuit Court ruled on October 23, 2000 that [[naturism|naturist]] magazines depicting naked children in "a variety of outdoor activities, all of which are natural and expected for healthy and active children, teenagers, and adults" should not be considered obscene, American photo labs are arresting parents as child pornographers for taking pictures of their kids in the bath or photographers taking artistic pictures of naked children in [[naturism|naturist]] beaches (see [[Jock Sturges]]).

As of March 2014, a Danish proposal called for banning images that show young children who are obviously being posed in ways designed to be erotic: scantily clad, wearing adult makeup and pouting sexually, for example – even though they are not being abused and have their genitalia covered.<ref>http://cphpost.dk/news/politicians-disagree-on-child-pornography-laws.8847.html</ref>

== Legality of child pornography ==
According to Wikipedia, as of May 2025, Child pornography is illegal in 187 countries worldwide. This article may or may not be accurate given the nature of Wikipedia. There is information available with a country by country breakdown. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_child_pornography Wikipedia's Legality of child pornography].

== Dost Test==
The '''''Dost'' test''' is a six-factor guideline established in 1986 in the case ''United States v. Dost''. The case involved 22 nude or semi-nude photographs of females aged 10–14 years old. The undeveloped film containing the images was mailed to a photo processing company in Hollywood, California.

In order to better determine whether a visual depiction of a minor constitutes a "lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area", the court developed six criteria. Not all of the criteria need to be met, nor are other criteria necessarily excluded in this test.<ref>url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9482047682589425170&hl=en&as_sdt=10000000000002&as_</ref><ref>http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/adult</ref>

# Whether the focal point of the visual depiction is on the child's genitalia or pubic area.
# Whether the setting of the visual depiction is sexually suggestive, i.e., in a place or pose generally associated with sexual activity.
# Whether the child is depicted in an unnatural pose, or in inappropriate attire, considering the age of the child.
# Whether the child is fully or partially clothed, or nude.
# Whether the visual depiction suggests sexual coyness or a willingness to engage in sexual activity.
# Whether the visual depiction is intended or designed to elicit a sexual response in the viewer.

Concerning the lascivious display of clothed genitalia, the U.S. Department of Justice described use of the Dost test in child pornography and 2257 documentation regulations in a 2008 rule, writing that the precedent ''United States v. Knox'', did not prohibit ordinary swim team or underwear model photographs, but "although the genitals were clothed in that case, they were covered by thin, opaque clothing with an obvious purpose to draw attention to them, were displayed by models who spread or extended their legs to make the pubic and genital region entirely visible to the viewer, and were displayed by models who danced or gyrated in a way indicative of adult sexual relations".<ref>http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-29677.htm</ref>

Briefs submitted in late 2009 for [http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1246396.html ''Brabson v. Florida''], a case in which girls were secretly videotaped during the "innocent conduct" of changing into swimwear, differ concerning the nature of "intent" in the Dost test. At issue is whether "Cases applying Dost hold that the focus in determining whether an image is lascivious should be on the objective criteria of the image's design, not the 'actual effect' of the images on a particular defendant".<ref>http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/briefs/2009/1-200/09-136_JurisIni.pdf </ref><ref>http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/briefs/2009/1-200/09-136_JurisAns.pdf</ref>

== Criticism of the Dost Test ==

The test was criticized by New York University School of Law professor Amy Adler as forcing members of the public to look at pictures of children as a pedophile would in order to determine whether they are considered inappropriate. "As everything becomes child pornography in the eyes of the law—clothed children, coy children, children in settings where children are found—perhaps children themselves become pornographic".<ref>http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/ADLER_SPECTACLES</ref>

The sixth criteria of the Dost Test," Whether the visual depiction is intended or designed to elicit a sexual response in the viewer", seriously approaches thought crime. The case could, and has, been made that because a particular image elicited a sexual response in the viewer, it could therefore be seen as child pornography. This means that because someone gets turned on by an image that makes the image pornographic. It is a total legislation of thought crime against pedophiles and is entirely dangerous for society. If it turns you on it is lewd and therefore illegal. Schmitt v. State involved a father who was accused of taking nude photographs of his daughter while she was between the ages of eight and twelve years old. The court argued over whether or not the photographs were lewd. In distinguishing mere nudity from a lewd or lascivious display, the court considered the photographer's intent and actions.
{{quote|While it is conceivable that one might view the allegations in the present affidavit as depicting simple nudity, we believe the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding otherwise. The affidavit's factual allegations indicated that Schmitt did not treat the nudity of himself, his daughter, and others in the offhand, natural manner that might be expected if the conduct were purely innocent-for example, if they were nudists. Rather, the affidavit shows he made nudity a central and almost obsessive object of his attention. Thus, the magistrate reasonably could have believed that Schmitt's conduct toward his daughter included the “lewdness” element required by the statute. '''While nudity alone would not have sufficed, this overall focus of Schmitt's conduct tended to show a lewd intent''' and thus created a substantial basis for believing that the search would fairly probably yield evidence of a violation.<ref>http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1246396.html</ref>(emphisis added)}}

It is the '''intent''' of the photographer which is being used to say whether or not an image is child pornography. The photos themselves are not pornography unless the photographer intended them to be. That is thought crime. A heterosexual man may take pictures of a nude boy, and prove that he had no sexual intent, and that therefore the pictures are not child pornography. If the exact same pictures were taken by a boylover they could be deemed illegal because the boylover had "lewd intent". This makes the simple metaphysical act of being a pedophile illegal in and of itself, in certain instances. It is unabashed thought crime through and through.

==Term==
Sometimes objections are raised to the term "child pornography" on the grounds that it implies consensual activity.<ref>http://www.interpol.int/en/Media/Files/INTERPOL-Expertise/IGLC/Child-abuse-material-and-the-Internet</ref> Terms such as "child abuse material" or "child abuse imagery"<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10675738/Patrick-Rock-child-abuse-arrest-Can-we-all-stop-calling-child-abuse-child-porn.html</ref> are preferred instead. In cases involving children who create their own child pornography without adult involvement, the children are presumably abusing themselves, according to this view. Some children have been charged with producing and circulating child pornography for taking and circulating pictures of themselves.

== Simulated child pornography ==

As if these were not enough, child pornography law in the U.S. has established that simulated computer images, or drawings, or [[painting|paintings]] of children (naked or not) that are deemed "indecent" or "lascivious" are illegal as well, even though there should be no question of child sexual abuse since, by definition, the production of these images do not involve real children.

In particular, [[United Kingdom]] with an 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act introduced the legal definition of an "indecent pseudo-photograph of a child", which is prohibited as if it were a true photograph. On October 1, 2002, the [[Netherlands]] introduced legislation (''Bulletin of Acts and Decrees'' 470) which deemed "virtual child pornography" as illegal. German law does not discriminate between actual or "realistic" sexual depictions of children, while [[Canada]] in October 2005, Canadian courts sentenced an Edmonton, Alberta man to one year of community service for importing [[Shotacon|manga depicting child sex]]. Nevertheless, the [[United States]] Supreme Court decided in 2002 that the previous American prohibition of simulated child pornography was unconstitutional (''Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition'').

==Allusion pornography==
As a response to the publication of the first edition of ''[[Destroyer Magazine]]'' the Swedish Ombudsman for Children, Lena Nyberg proposed in 2006 a change to Swedish law making "allusion" pornography (defined as images of males who have not completed puberty and merely ''appear'' to be under the age of 18) illegal.<ref>''Gay Man's Worst Friend - the Story of Destroyer Magazine'' Karl Andersson, (self-translated by the author from the Swedish) (2011), Entartetes Leben:Czech Republic, p. 20, [Translation of ''Bögarnas värsta vän – historien om tidningen Destroyer'', Karl Andersson (2010) ]</ref>

:A law to treat arbitrarily defined “young-looking” adults as legal children has been rejected so far even in porn-hysterical US. Such a law could send a Swedish gay man to prison for possessing, say, a photo of his formerly furry boyfriend’s now smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom shaved crotch.<ref>''The Guide'', 2006, as quoted in ''Gay Man's Worst Friend''</ref>

For additional details, please read ''Gay Man's Worst Friend - the Story of Destroyer Magazine''.<ref>''Gay Man's Worst Friend - the Story of Destroyer Magazine'', ibid. </ref>

== Textual child pornography ==

In some countries textual material describing sexual activities involving children is legally classified as child pornography (e.g. in [[Canada]] and [[Norway]] since 2005) while in other countries, for example the [[United Kingdom]], it is not prohibited in itself, but is covered under general laws controlling indecency and [[obscenity]]. The rationale behind these laws is that textual depictions of sex with children promote child sexual abuse. In yet other countries, most significantly the [[United States]], it is legal; written child pornography is legally protected by the US Constitution as long as it is not judged obscene. As it very difficult to prove obcenity, it is effectively legal. As a result of its general legality in the [[United States]], written child pornography is easily available on the Internet. In some states, a person can be prosecuted for mere writings. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_v._Dalton The State v. Dalton] is a legal case in the United States state of Ohio involving the prosecution of a man for recording fictional tales of alleged [[child pornography]] in a diary. He had no images, either drawn or photographed, just writings in a journal and it was deemed to be [[child pornography]]. Altogether the man spent over 10 years in prison for simple writings.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/14/us/child-pornography-writer-gets-10-year-prison-term.html/</ref>

In September 2006, Federal authorities prosecuted Karen Fletcher for transmitting obscene materials in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1462(a) and 2, after she posted various stories on the website describing the torture, sexual molestation, and murder of fictional children. The case was notable because the allegedly obscene materials were text only, and the government has never won a conviction based solely on text under current obscenity law. Fletcher pled guilty to six counts of distributing obscene materials online in August 2008. She was sentenced to a term of probation of 60 months, with 6 months of home detention, a fine of $1,000, and a special assessment of $600.<ref>http://www.dmlp.org/threats/united-states-v-fletcher</ref>

In addition, the [[New Zealand]] Court of Appeals ruled in ''Moonen v. Film and Literature Board of Review'' (1999) that erotica stories published by [[Acolyte Press]] should not be considered child pornography as they could not see how these stories explicity promote child sexual abuse.

Due to its widespread availability, countries in which it is prohibited have not always actively sought to enforce the legal prohibition against it. In general, people possessing or distributing this material are only charged if they come to the attention of law enforcement, most commonly while being investigated for other crimes (such as possession of visual child pornography, or child sexual abuse, see [[Robin Sharpe]])

The prohibition against written child pornography can extend even to materials produced by [[pedophilia|pedophiles]] for their own personal consumption and not revealed to anyone, such as diaries or journals in which they record their fantasies. Several individuals have been prosecuted for keeping such diaries (see [[Brongersma Foundation]]). Some have argued that this violates their right to freedom of thought.

==Enforcement and penalties==
The penalties for non-contact child pornography offenses are often greater than those for actually touching minors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/us/life-sentence-for-possession-of-child-pornography-spurs-debate.html?_r=0|author=Goode, Erica|date=4 November 2011|publisher=New York Times|title=Life Sentence for Possession of Child Pornography Spurs Debate Over Severity}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nacdl.org/Champion.aspx?id=22897|date=October 2011|pages=12|title=A Quiet but Growing Judicial Rebellion Against Harsh Sentences For Child Pornography Offenses — Should the Laws Be Changed?|author=Specter, Arlen and Hoffa, Linda Dale|publisher=The Champion}}</ref> In the ''Pabon-Cruz'' case, Judge Gerald E. Lynch noted that if the defendant had been charged with having sex with a 12-year-old, he would have faced only about five years, rather than the ten years prescribed by federal law: "This leads me to the rather astonishing conclusion that Mr. Pabon-Cruz would have been better off molesting a child."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/13/nyregion/a-judge-s-struggle-to-avoid-imposing-a-penalty-he-hated.html?pagewanted=1|title=A Judge's Struggle To Avoid Imposing A Penalty He Hated|author=Weiser, Benjamin|date=13 January 2004|publisher=New York Times}}</ref> No reliable study has found that a possessor of child pornography is more likely to commit a contact offense.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Changing Landscape Of Sentencing Mitigation In Possession of Child Pornography Cases|url=http://www.nacdl.org/Champion.aspx?id=20607|date=May 2011|pages=32|author=Shein, Marcia G.|publisher=The Champion}}</ref> In fact, Melissa Hamilton notes:<ref name=Cardozo>{{cite journal|author=Hamilton, Melissa|volume=33|pages=1679|date=2011-2012|title=The Child Pornography Crusade and Its Net-Widening Effect|publisher=Cardozo Law Review}}</ref>
{{cquote|Despite the deontological presumptions underlying the child pornography crusade, researchers in the child sexual abuse arena contend that the evidence to date strongly and rather consistently shows that child pornography consumption does not itself represent a risk factor for contact sexual crimes. Instead, multiple studies show that child pornography offenders are at a much lower risk for contact sexual offending than previously known contact offenders. . . . Paraphilic interest does not motivate all child pornography offenders, but is one among many explanations for consumption. . . . Given that child pornography offenders tend to score low on antisocial tendencies, they are not likely to imitate the pornographic scenes with real children. Investigations of child pornography consumers have yielded several other, relatively nondeviant, motives that render these offenders at lower risk. Briefly, these motives include using the images as a substitute for contact offending, curiosity and accidental access, facilitating social relationships, and avoiding real life. . . . Further, child pornography offenders are better prospects for postconviction rehabilitation, with far better rates of compliance when treated and when supervised postrelease, compared to child molesters. This may be the case, in part, since child pornography offenders may have more incentives as they tend to be better educated, of higher intelligence, and more likely to be gainfully employed than other types of sexual offenders. In sum, child pornography offending as a signal crime used to invoke fear for the safety of children is a social construction that misses the mark.}}

The FBI has made more than 10,000 child pornography arrests since 1996, with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reporting a similar number of arrests since its creation in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=Child porn prosecutions soaring in U.S.|url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_17306656|author=Elias, Paul|date=6 February 2011|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> The average sentence in 2007 was 91 months.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/nyregion/22judge.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Defiant Judge Takes On Child Pornography Law|date=21 May 2010|author=Sulzberger, A.G.|publisher=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nacdl.org/Champion.aspx?id=14684|date=December 2009|pages=12|author=Ian Friedman, Roger Pimentel|title=Sexual Offenders: How to Create a More Deliberative Sentencing Process|publisher=News and The Champion}}</ref>

The manufacture of such content carries a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence,<ref>{{uscsub|18|2251|e}}</ref> while pursuant to the [[PROTECT Act]], receipt or distribution of it is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison for a first offender.<ref>{{uscsub|18|2252|b|1}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|url=http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1059531.html|litigants=U.S. v. Jorge L. Pabon-Cruz|court=2nd Cir.}}</ref> The penalties have been substantially increased; in 1991, a first offender a with no criminal history who possessed violent child pornography images and movies and shared them with others would face a maximum of two years in prison in federal cases. Today, that same person could face more than 20 years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Making Punishments Fit the Most Offensive Crimes|author=Efrati, Amir|date=23 October 2008|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122471925786760689.html|publisher=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> One judge noted, "Our 'social revulsion' against these 'misfits' downloading these images is perhaps somewhat more rational than the thousands of witchcraft trials and burnings conducted in Europe and here from the Thirteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries, but it borders on the same thing."<ref>{{cite court|vol=551|reporter=F3d|opinion=516|date=9 January 2009|litigants=U.S. v. Paull|pinpoint=533|url=http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=12&xmldoc=In%20FCO%2020090109099.xml&docbase=CsLwAr3-2007-Curr&SizeDisp=7|court=6th Cir.}}</ref>

When the [[U.S. Sentencing Guidelines]] were first promulgated, simple possession of child pornography was not a federal crime, and the single relevant Guideline addressed "transporting, receiving, or trafficking" offenses, for which the base offense level was 13. Since then, pursuant to the PROTECT Act and other laws, possession has become an offense with a base offense level of 18, and the base offense level for trafficking and receipt offenses has been raised to 22.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lessons from Two Failures: Sentencing for Cocaine and Child Pornography Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in the United States|author=Steiker, Carol S.|date=2013|url=http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4345&context=lcp}}</ref> In a 2010 survey of federal judges by the [[U.S. Sentencing Commission]], about 70 percent said the proposed ranges of sentences for possession and receipt of child pornography were too high.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/29/debate-rages-over-severity-child-porn-sentences/#ixzz1z1JmMKjU|title=Debate rages over severity of child-porn sentences|publisher=Associated Press|date=29 April 2012}}</ref>

==Child pornography is a "cheap crime" to investigate and prosecute==
Child pornography is a cheap crime for police, prosecutors, and judges to deal with. It can be investigated from an officer's desk, and at whatever schedule that he (or occasionally "she") finds convenient. The evidence is easy to store; it could hardly be easier. The definition of the crime is clear-cut; what was going on in the perpetrator or alleged victims' minds, always hard to deal with, is irrelevant. Charges are rarely contested or go to trial. There is scarcely any other felony whose investigation is so labor-efficient for law enforcement. Favorable news stories practically produce themselves. Unsurprisingly, prosecutions have boomed since the Internet became mainstream, about 2000.

(A similarly labor-efficient "crime" investigation technique is setting up "[[sting]]s", in which a law enforcement officer or ally pretends to be a minor in Internet chat rooms, sets up a meeting for sexual contact, then arrests the adult (almost always male) when he shows up for the meeting.)

==Arguments for and against child pornography==

===Arguments against child pornography===
The [[Meese Commission]] wrote:<ref>http://obi-investigators.com/xuk/porn/meese/207-child-pornpgraphy.htm</ref>
{{quotation|The problems to which child pornography regulation is addressed are numerous, but four stand out most prominently.

The first problem is that of the permanent record of the sexual practices in which children may be induced to engage. To the extent that pictures exist of this inherently nonconsensual act, those pictures follow the child up to and through adulthood, and the consequent embarrassment and humiliation are harms caused by the pictures themselves, independent of the harms attendant to the circumstances in which the photographs were originally made.

Second, there is substantial evidence that photographs of children engaged in sexual activity are used as tools for further molestation of other children. Children are shown pictures of other children engaged in sexual activity, with the aim of persuading especially a quite young child that if it is in a picture, and if other children are doing it, then it must be all right for this child to do it.[74] As with the problem of the permanent record, we see here a danger that is the direct consequence of the photographs themselves, a danger that is distinct from the harms related to the original making of the picture.

Third, photographs of children engaged in sexual practices with adults often constitute an important form of evidence against those adults in prosecutions for child molestation. Given the inherent difficulties of using children as witnesses, making it possible for the photographs to be evidence of the offense, or making the photographs the offense itself, provides an additional weapon in the arsenal against sexual abuse of children.

Finally, an argument related to the last is the unquestioned special harm to the children involved in both the commercial and the noncommercial distribution of child pornography. Although harms to performers involved would not otherwise be taken to be a sufficient condition for restriction of the photographs rather than the underlying conduct, the situation with children is of a different order of magnitude. The harm is virtually unanimously considered to be extraordinarily serious, and the possibility of consent is something that the law has long considered, and properly so, to be an impossibility. As a result, forms of deterrence of the underlying conduct that might not otherwise be considered advisable may be considered so with respect to photographs of children. If the sale or distribution of such pictures is stringently sanctioned, and if those sanctions are equally stringently enforced, the market may decrease, and this may in turn decrease the incentive to produce those pictures.

As part of the previous justification, it ought to be obvious that virtually all child pornography is produced surreptitiously, and thus, even with vigorous enforcement efforts, enforcement will be difficult. Enforcement efforts against the more accessible product of the process rather than or in addition to the less accessible process itself may enable the realities of enforcement to track the magnitude of the problem.}}

===Arguments in favor of allowing child pornography===
It is sometimes argued that child pornography images validate and normalize the sexual exploitation of children. This may well be true. But the same could be said of explicit arguments in favor of exploitation of minors, which nevertheless enjoy [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]] protection.<ref>{{cite journal|quote=If politicians and judges were worried that paedophiles might be so sexually aroused by such pictures as to attack other children, or have their inhibitions removed so that such attacks would be possible, there should have been consideration as to whether this would/might/was likely to happen. No such research was conducted prior to the legislation being passed. Furthermore, if such endangering of children is proven, it seems logical that stories, cartoons, sketches, paintings or other indecent representations of child sexual activities should also be tested as they might have similar effects and therefore need controlling. However, these items are only controlled if they are deemed obscene, a more stringent test, and only then if they are traded in some way; mere possession is legal.|author=Williams, Katherine S.|date=2004|title=Child Pornography Law: Does it Protect Children?|journal=Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law|volume=26|number=3|pages=245-261|doi=10.1080/01418030412331297065}}</ref> Also, there is evidence that pornography, including child pornography, can serve as a substitute for sexual violence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Outrage As Judge Tells The Truth About Child Pornography|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/07/outrage-as-judge-tells-the-truth-about-child-pornography/|author=Worstall, Tim|date=7 July 2013|publisher=Forbes}}</ref>

Gordon Hawkins writes, "There are two contrasting definitions of [[victimless crime]], only one of which would include most instances of the involvement of children in pornography. The most common definition, derived from John Stuart Mill and according to which such crimes have no other victim than the perpetrator, who harms only himself (Mill, [1859] 1975:10-11), does not really apply in this context. Even if children consent to being used in, or exposed to, pornographic communication, their immaturity could nonetheless render them victims in Mill's sense. But another concept of victimless crime defines it as referring to 'crimes that lack victims, in the sense of complainants asking for the protection of the criminal law' (Morris and Hawkins, 1970:6). In light of this definition, all of the consumption of pornographic material by willing children, and a substantial amount of child participation in the production of pornography, would be victimless crime."<ref>{{cite book|title=Pornography in a Free Society|pages=191|chapter=Public policy after liberalization|author=Hawkins, Gordon and Zimring, Franklin E.|date=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>

Lew Rockwell points out that if the state is unleashed to solve the problem of child exploitation, "The power will not be used to solve the problem, but rather to intimidate the population in ways that people will find difficult to object to":<ref>{{cite web|title=But What About the Children?|author=Rockwell, Llewellyn H.|date=30 April 2008|url=http://mises.org/daily/2967/}}</ref>
{{cquote|The goal of the state is to find some practice that is universally reviled and pose as the one and only way of expunging it from society. The best example today is child pornography, a grim and ghastly industry that every decent person would like to see eradicated from the earth. But in the name of doing so, the state invades everyone's privacy, controls speech, interferes with families, and otherwise uses the issue as a wedge to eliminate every freedom.}}

There are some concerns that Canadian child pornography law causes harm to society by suppressing thoughts and expression concerning child and youth sexuality that involved no harm in production, fall short of advocating harm and that have at best a tenuous connection to the commission of harmful acts.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ryder, Bruce|title=The Harms of Child Pornography Law|date=2003|publisher=University of British Columbia Law Review|volume=36|pages=101|url=http://ssrn.com/abstract=1739873|archivedate=January 14, 2011 }}</ref> In the U.S., court rulings have required restrictions on free speech to have a direct connection with abuse of actual children, while the Canadian Supreme Court has allowed much broader possession offenses, including works of the imagination such as writing, to pass constitutional scrutiny.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Child Pornography in Canada and the United States: The Myth of Right Answers|journal=Dalhousie Law Journal|volume=29|issue=2|date=Fall 2006|pages=375-412|author=Johnson, Travis}}</ref> In the U.S. Supreme Court case of ''Osborne v. Ohio'', {{ussc|495|103|1990}}, the dissent by Justice Brennan argued:
{{cquote|The notion that possession of pornography may be penalized in order to facilitate a prohibition on its production, whatever the rights of possessors, is not unlike a proposal that newspaper subscribers be held criminally liable for receiving the newspaper if they are aware of the publisher's violations of child labor laws. . . In both cases, sanctions against possession might increase the effectiveness of concededly permissible regulations on the production process. But although the need to protect children from exploitation may be acute, it cannot override the right to receive the newspaper or to possess sexually explicit materials in the privacy of the home, especially when less restrictive alternatives exist to further the state interests asserted.}}

Howitt suggests that child pornography's use in grooming is rare.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Howitt, D.|date=1995|title=Pornography and the paedophile: is it criminogenic?|journal=British Journal of Medical Psychology|volume=68|number=15–27}}</ref>

According to Hamilton:<ref name=Cardozo/>
{{cquote|several concerns held by child pornography crusaders should be addressed. One is the argument that there is value to pursuing child pornography offenders generally, in order to reduce the production market. The [[market thesis]], though, is more speculative and ideological than supported by experiential data. The global nongovernmental organization End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) acknowledges that organized crime is rarely involved with child pornography. Furthermore, a United Nations report indicates skepticism that children are sexually abused for the sole purpose of making a marketable product. The argument is also troubling on several other-though somewhat contradictory-grounds. The illegality of the content may encourage consumption as many report that the unlawful nature of the content is what makes the material more sexually enticing. From an economic-theory perspective, just as the country witnessed with the war on drugs, the criminality itself could conceivably drive profits for those organizations that can charge for the material. In actuality, however, the Internet permits widespread trading and downloading of child pornography materials for free, thereby creating a disincentive to those who believe they can profit by creating new products.}}

According to Wolak, Finkelhor, and Mitchell:<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment|title=Child Pornography Possessors: Trends in Offender and Case Characteristics|author=Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor and Kimberly Mitchell|date=2011|volume=23|number=22|doi=10.1177/1079063210372143}}</ref>
{{cquote|One concern is that the accessibility of online CP has caused increases in child sexual abuse. Some research suggests that CP may trigger sexual abuse by activating and validating sexual urges in CP viewers that were previously suppressed or controlled (Beech et al., 2008; Quayle & Taylor, 2003; Wilson & Jones, 2008). There is no evidence of increasing abuse in the United States, however. In fact, rates of child sexual abuse have declined substantially since the mid-1990s, a time period that corresponds to the spread of CP online. Statistics from U.S. child protective service agencies show that from 1992 to 2007, child sexual abuse declined 53% (Jones & Finkelhor, 2009), including interfamilial abuse (Finkelhor & Jones, 2006). Evidence of this decline also comes from victim self-report surveys and U.S. criminal justice system data (Finkelhor & Jones, 2008; Finkelhor, Turner, Ormrod, & Hamby, 2010), as well as the child protective services data collection system. The fact that this trend is revealed in multiple sources tends to undermine arguments that it is because of reduced reporting or changes in investigatory or statistical procedures. Nonetheless, we cannot conclude for certain that the online circulation of CP is having no impact, despite these indicators. Even if child sexual abuse has not increased, more abusers may be recording and circulating images of the abuse they perpetrate, there could be increases or shifts in victim populations that might not be reflected in large aggregated data collection systems, and increases in abuse associated with CP consumption could be seen in the future. However, it is important to recognize that, to date, there has not been a spike in the rate of child sexual abuse that corresponds with the apparent expansion of online CP.}}

====Child pornography as a positive experience for the child====
Recent discourse on child pornography, except for [[Judith Levine]], falsely portrays it, like child sex in general, as a disaster for the child. Children are (supposedly) "traumatized" because they cannot consent, and their parents cannot consent for them. Thus all child-adult sexual contact is by definition the crime of rape (actually, it is ''statutory rape'' which usually involves no real physical violence at all), and the child pornography is considered documentation of "crime" and more or less permanently remains available on the Internet for all to see.

Unfortunately, there are small numbers of people who really do abuse children, and who even violently rape them, without the child's consent or that of their parents. These are, and should be crimes, of course.

Yet there are many children seen in child pornography whose words, facial expressions, body language, and orgasms show that they thoroughly enjoy the sexual activity, sometimes enjoying it immensely. Why causing another human being intense enjoyment and pleasure, without any complaint from the alleged victim or his/her parents, is necessarily a crime is one of the contradictions of our sex-conflicted age.

Children, especially younger children, need protection from abusers and rapists. The logical people who should provide this protection are the child's parents. Here are some reasons why parents might even ''endorse'' their children's participation in child pornography:

* Many children are eager consumers of pornography of all sorts.
* Since smartphones such as the IPhone became available, each of which contains a still and video camera, some children - how many is unknown, but a variety of cases have appeared in newspapers - without any adult participation, knowledge, or guidance start taking and circulating among each other nude and pornographic pictures and videos of themselves.
* Making pornography brings the child, in some cases, into contact with sexually enlightened people, who can teach the child about sex.
* The sexual sophistication exhibited by just-turned-18 porn actors and actresses is documentation of "kinky" sex by minors.
* Making pornography can be very lucrative for the child. This may brighten the child's future, if the money is invested; if the family is suffering economic difficulty this income may alleviate it. Like a [[Thai]] child "prostitute," a child may be very happy to be able to help the family economically.
* Children enjoy the attention they get during the photographic session. They come to learn that they are perceived as "hot", and this is a source of pride, as is the fact that people will be watching and be stimulated by the child's sex scene(s) for many years. Some may become Internet "stars" and get fan mail.
* It's fun. Sex is fun. It's an adventure. As the Lone Ranger said, "Hi-yo Silver." (Silver was his horse.)

Of course, in some cases it is the parents ''themselves'' having loving sex with their own children that may be recorded, and referred to as "child pornography."

== Further reading ==

*Jan Schuijer and Benjamin Rossen, "[http://web.archive.org/web/20010806083348/http://ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume4/j4_2_1.htm The Trade in Child Pornography]," ''[http://web.archive.org/web/20010806075608/http://ipt-forensics.com/journal/index.htm Issues in Child Abuse Accusations]'' 4, no. 2 (1992). --Examines the origins of claims regarding child pornography.
*Anne Higonnet, "[http://www.ipce.info/library_3/files/higonnet_text.htm Conclusions based on observation]," ''Yale Journal of Criticism'' 9, no. 1 (1996): 1-18. --Examines some controversial pictures of naked boys.
*The Perverse Law of Child Pornography(2001)- Amy Adler(medium_resolution).pdf
:http://www.keepandshare.com/doc18/view.php?id=9294&da=y
::''Columbia Law Review'' 101, no. 2 (2001): 209-273. --Argues that child pornography law, intended to protect children from sexual exploitation, threatens to reinforce the very problem it attacks. (This is the original article, not a copy!)
*Chuck Kleinhans, "Virtual Child Porn: The Law and the Semiotics of the Image," ''Journal of Visual Culture'' 3, no. 1 (2004): 17-34 [http://vcu.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/3/1/17 Abstract]
*Andrew Sorfleet and Chris Bearchell, "[http://www.walnet.org/csis/news/toronto_94/parallel-9406.html The sex police in a moral panic: how the 'youth porn' law is being used to censor artists and persecute youth sexuality]," ''Parallelogramme'' 20, no. 1 (1994). --The Law in Canada.
*D. Howitt, "Pornography and the paedophile: Is it criminogenic?" ''British Journal of Medical Psychology'' 68 (1995): 15-27.
*D.D. Knudsen, "Child sexual abuse and pornography: Is there a relationship?" ''Journal of Family Violence'' 3 (1988): 253-267.
*B. Kutchinsky, "The effect of easy availability of pornography on the incidence of sex crimes: The Danish experience," ''Journal of Social Issues'' 29 (1973): 163-181. --Based on the Danish experience, concludes that concurrent with the increasing availability of pornography, there was a significant decrease in the number of sex offenses registered by the police.
*[[Dave Riegel|David L. Riegel]], "Effects on Boy-Attracted Pedosexual Males of viewing Boy Erotica" ''[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]]'' 33, no. 4 (2004): 321-323.
*[[Dave Riegel|David L. Riegel]], ''Beyond Hysteria: Boy Erotica on the Internet'' (Philadelphia: SafeHaven Foundation Press, 2004) [http://www.ejhs.org/volume8/book35.htm Review]
*Rod Liddle. "[http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,874336,00.html Should it really be a crime to look at child pornography?]" ''The Guardian''. January 14, 2003.

==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
*[[Azov Films]]
*[[ Azov Films Prosecutions]]
*[[ Azov Films Prosecutions - Canada‎]]
*[[Spading Up Hate: Joanna Beaven-Desjardins’ Big Lie]]
*[[ChildPorn.info]]
*[[List of works that were legal when created and later banned as child pornography]]

==See also==

== External links ==
*"The Perverse Law of Child Pornography" by Amy Adler
:https://cyber.harvard.edu/ilaw/Speech/Adler_full.html

*[http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/ Dr. Milton Diamond of The Pacific Center for Sex and Society ]-- Dr. Diamond has investigated Pornography, as it relates Rape and Sex Crimes and his research demonstrates that countries where child pornography was legal showed a significant decrease in the incidence of child sex abuse.

*[http://web.archive.org/web/20080129233731/http://www.geocities.com/pca_1978 Indecent Acts: child pornography in the UK] --An excellent site that "presents a discussion of the English laws that apply to 'child pornography' and their current application"

*'Everything is Now "Potential" Child Porn' by Dr. Marty Klein; Sexual Intelligence; 24 June 2011
:http://www.sexualintelligence.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/everything-is-now-%E2%80%9Cpotential%E2%80%9D-child-porn/

*[[Wikipedia: Child pornography]]

[[Category:Child pornography]]

Proxy and VPN

2025-05-30T01:24:16Z

Malibu90265: /* VPN vulnerabilities */ Added a section on IP leaks and Free VPN providers.

A proxy is a server that routes connections in order to provide some additional service such as security, anonymity, or information processing. A common use is to connect to a proxy in order to mask one's [[IP address]] from a web server. There are thousands of proxy servers available, but many of them may not be trustworthy. One of the most secure system of proxies is [[Tor]], a protocol for [[onion router|onion routing]], the tor proxy is made up of three different proxy servers located in different countries, in order for an attacker to find out who is behind a website request he would have to get access to all servers and get hold of the logs, which are not meant to be kept by tor operators.

=== VPN (Virtual private network) ===

A VPN is a single hop proxy that is considerably faster than tor and that is its main advantage. A VPN is not as secure as Tor and there have been instances in which people using a VPN to commit a crime have been arrested. When choosing a VPN, to minimize the risk of your privacy being compromised one should look for a company that does not keep connection logs for too many days and it is located offshore (i.e. not in your country of residence). Nearly all VPNs claim not to keep logs about the websites you visit but they do not specify anything about connection logs, it is not necessary to know what websites you visit to track you down, only connection logs, time and date of connection and what IP was assigned, are needed.

=== VPN vulnerabilities ===

A very common VPN vulnerability is that the server sometimes will disconnect and show your real IP, this will be unexpected and there is little protection against it. One rough trick you can use to notice a VPN disconnection is to stream online music while you surf the Internet, for example listening to Pandora radio, when the VPN disconnects the music will stop playing, another way to stop accidentally exposing your IP is choosing a company that has VPN software with IP binding, Security Kiss has such feature, when IP binding has been activated it will stop your IP leaking out. There are websites such as ipleak.net which can be used to ensure that your VPN of choice is working before visiting other websites.

A second VPN vulnerability is a DNS leak, before you can access a website its URL needs to be resolved, DNS is used for this, by default you will be using your ISP DNS servers to resolve addresses, if your DNS leaks it would be possible to find your Internet provider by looking at that DNS name, although your computer IP would still be hidden. DNS leaks are sometimes patched by your own VPN provider but not always, if you use a VPN you can check if the DNS leaks visiting the DNSleaktest in external links. You can manually prevent DNS leaking changing your DNS resolver to a free one like Comodo Secure DNS, OpenDNS is another free DNS provider.

To completely avoid VPN disconnections revealing your computer IP the best one can do is to use an SSH tunnel instead of a VPN, unlike VPNs, SSH tunnels do not route all of your Internet traffic, they work on per application bases, when an SSH tunnel goes down your browser will not work and your real IP will remain secret until the tunnel is activated again. Privacy trends point towards VPNs, there are very few commercial SSH tunnel providers, some of them are VPNSecure.me, Cotse.net and Tunnelr.com

=== Understanding VPN logs ===

All VPN providers will advertise that they do not track users and do not log what sites they visit, but it is not necessary to keep a record of visited websites to track someone down, all that is needed is to keep connection logs detailing at what time and on what date a user had the specified IP, these are the kind of logs that proxy and VPN providers keep, connection logs. Websites servers log accurate visitors time and dates, if for example, a VPN provider receives a complaint from Yahoo that someone posted a political comment on a specific date and time using a particular IP belonging to that VPN company, all that is needed for the VPN company is to look at the connection logs and see who had that IP that day on that time matching it with a real person.

If a VPN company receives a request to match one of their assigned IPs with a user and the VPN only keeps logs for a few days they can easily reply that nothing is available, a VPN provider is not an ISP and they are not required by law in the US or Europe to keep connection logs. Many Internet Service Providers, depending on jurisdiction, have a legal duty to keep connection logs, many other ISPs voluntarily keep them, when you use a VPN the Internet Service Provider will not be able to record what activities you are doing over the Internet other than seeing that you are connected to a VPN and nothing else will leak.

=== Free VPN providers ===

Free VPN services can be used to get around Internet filters and light privacy, free VPN services are financed either selling your data to advertisers or giving you a limited bandwidth amount with the hope that the user will get tired of limitations and upgrade to their paid for version.

Companies providing free VPN access tend to have vague privacy policies for these services, paid for VPN providers are more keen to emphasize in their FAQ how long for they keep logs, their business does not rely on selling advertising but in selling privacy, it is essential for privacy activists when using a VPN to select a provider that keeps logs for as few days as possible, free VPN providers can be suitable for privacy if they clearly state on their FAQ what kind of logs they keep and how long for, one should play the paranoid card too and not automatically assume that everything a company claims without proof is true, it is best to go for well established companies, long standing companies are more likely to get caught lying if they have been operating for years than a new out of the blue VPN provider. Remember the saying "if you are not paying for the product, you are the product."

==See also==

* [[The Dangers of using VPN]]

== External links ==

* [https://ipleak.net/ IPLeak test]
* [https://protonvpn.com/ Proton VPN (Free option)]

[[Category:Technology]]

Internet security tutorial

2025-04-06T08:31:19Z

Malibu90265: /* Using secure passwords */ and information about VPN's

This tutorial will help you stay safe when using the Internet, and avoid hackers, viruses, and accidentally giving out your private information to strangers. The first section assume that you're using Microsoft Windows (the most popular operating system for PCs). But even if Windows is the most popular operating system for PCs, does not mean that it is the most reliable. It is better to install an open source system like GNU/Linux, [https://linuxmint.com/ LinuxMint] is suitable for beginners, advanced users paranoid about security can use [https://www.qubes-os.org/ Qubes OS]. Because Microsoft is intercepting your data and sending it to the NSA (and the CIA and the FBI). <ref>http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/windows-8-prism-edition</ref>

==On Windows==

=== Browser security ===

Windows ships with a web browser called Microsoft Edge, this is the program you use to 'surf the web' and view web pages. As Windows is a popular operating system, a large percentage of web surfers and companies use it but it doesn't mean that it is the only Internet browser out there, you can download a different one and install it.

In fact, it is strongly advisable to use another web browser instead of Microsoft Edge. Here's why:

* Windows makes money with your data, and the same company owns an advertisement business and a search engine called Bing, the default in Microsoft Edge, it is not in their interest to look after your privacy.

* Microsoft Edge will try to push you towards other products Windows owns, like their non private search engine or their cloud service.

Chrome is the most popular browser but it has the same downfalls of Windows, it is owned by Google, another company that owns an advertisement business and they have no interest whatsoever in your privacy, they make money by mining your data and selling it, you will be better off with a privacy focused browser such as Brave or Firefox, you can get them at zero cost, both are simple to download and install and they are available for mobile phones as well as desktop computers.

===Firewall/Anti-virus===

A firewall monitors your internet connection and allows you to only let through the programs you want and block out potential hackers. Windows comes with a built-in firewall turned on by default and invisible to the user unless you dig into settings. Businesses deploy hardware firewalls that are far more complex, like a library that wants to stop users from accessing gambling and pornography websites, a hardware firewall will do that for them and log all policy violations and which user did what, including the visited websites, each business decides its own IT policy and what the firewall does. They can do whatever they want since it is their network and not yours.

Anti-virus software will prevent computer viruses from spreading to your computer monitoring the behaviour of downloaded files, sometimes they include a webshield and when visiting a page that is known to distribute malware it will block access and warn you. Windows comes with a free tool called Microsoft Defender that analyses malware, the tool has good ratings at detecting malware but Microsoft is not known respect user privacy, if you decide you don´t wish to trust Microsoft Defender you can install a free antivirus like Avira or Avast, installing an antivirus in Windows will automatically disable Microsoft Defender, an operating system can not run two antivirus at the same time because it would cause incompatibilities.

== On GNU/Linux ==

GNU/Linux is the combination of the Linux kernel, with the GNU operating system created by [[Richard Stallman]].<ref name=linuxandgnu>http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html</ref> The GNU/Linux operating system is often called, simply '''Linux'''.<ref name=linuxandgnu /> This operating system is free software.<ref>http://gnu.org</ref> Free software does not mean zero cost software although most Linux distributions are free of charge.<ref name=freesw>http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html</ref> It means that respect your freedom to study, share, modify, etc the software. <ref name=freesw /> It is generally safer to use free software instead of proprietary software. Because you have the right to study it and find out what it is really doing. Becoming less vulnerable to malicious code and spyware. Some examples of spyware in proprietary software are Windows Media Player and RealPlayer that reports what each user watches or listens. <ref>http://gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html</ref>

=== Why you should not use Windows? ===

Windows is proprietary software, the operating system's source code is not available for review and Microsoft makes money with your data, they use dark patterns <ref>https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_US/privacyhub/what-are-dark-patterns/</ref> to force you to give up your privacy or get you to use unwanted services like OneDrive, Microsoft own cloud service that scans all of the files you upload with PhotoDNA <ref>https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-photodna-how-does-it-work/</ref> a technology to detect child porn that could lead to false positives as well as illegal spying from three letter agencies, CIA, NSA, etc.

=== Migrating to GNU/Linux ===

If you use Windows and want to try the GNU/Linux operating system the easiest way to do this is with a tool such as [https://unetbootin.github.io/ UNetbootin] that will automatically download the Linux distribution of your choice into a USB thumbdrive and make it bootable, you will only have to make sure that your computer UEFI will start booting from the USB thumbdrive when you start the computer.

Beginners should start by trying LinuxMint or similar beginner friendly distributions, advanced users will want to download [https://tails.net/ Tails] a Linux distribution focused on user privacy that comes comes with Tor already configured.

== Encryption ==

It doesn´t matter that you are a law abiding citizen are, due to prejudices in society being a boylover makes you a target, if anybody finds out you will be treated like an outcast, marginalised, fired from your job and perhaps even physically attacked, boylovers should take privacy seriously. The best way to stop having your personal computer files and Internet browsing history exposed if your laptop gets lost or stolen or accessed without authorization by somebody at your home, you should use full disk encryption, this will render every single byte in your hard drive unreadable without the correct password. [[Encryption]] software has been known to be unbreakable by even law enforcement. There are many encryption programs out there, focus on those that can fully encrypt the whole operating system because if you encrypt individual files there is the risk that temporary unencrypted copies could still be recovered from other parts of the operating system.

Some countries like the United Kingdom and Australia make it a criminal offense not to reveal your [[encryption]] password when required by law enforcement, in the [[United States]] there is no such law and you have no legal obligation to reveal your passwords to the authorities. However, there was a case where a person in the USA was jailed for refusing to unencrypt his drives.<ref>http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/child-porn-suspect-jailed-for-7-months-for-refusing-to-decrypt-hard-drives/</ref>. If you live in a repressive country like China, and do no want to be found out using encryption, then use a live USB like [https://tails.boum.org/ Tails] where creating an encrypted partition for your files are settings is optional, a live USB like Tails runs in volatile RAM memory, when you switch off the computer, there will be nothing left to recover, but not all live USBs work the same way, Tails does because it has been designed for privacy.

==== Using secure passwords ====

The weakness of most encryption systems is the password, the most common way to guess somebody´s password is by having a computer to try common dictionary words and passwords that the user is known to have used somewhere else, you should not be using the same password everywhere and remember that if your password is a dictionary word, sooner or later it will be found. The best way to protect you form password guessing is by using a password manager like KeePassXC where you can store different passwords and only remember the main one for the password manager, which should be a long passphrase with numbers and special signs. There is a password manager called 1password which has a travel mode. However, this can be confusing to set up, enable and disable.

== Cloud Services ==

Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, all try to get users to use their embedded cloud service to back up and store personal data, many users are uploading their personal data to the cloud, which is monitored by those companies, without even knowing about it, if you don´t configure your settings right, specially in smartphones, it is possible that the pictures you take or download from the Internet get automatically uploaded to the cloud, this is extremely dangerous because on top of Microsoft and Google (Google drive) staff being able to access your files, the account could also be hacked and your data stolen like one incident where dozens of celebrities had their naked selfies leaked onto the Internet <ref> https://thehackernews.com/2014/09/reported-apple-icloud-hack-leaked_1.html </ref> after their iCloud was hacked.

A cloud computer is another´s person or company computer, if you care about privacy you should avoid at all costs uploading your personal files to the cloud but if for whatever reason this is not possible you can pick a zero-knowledge encryption cloud provider, which are rarely free and you can´t know for sure how real their claims but one good bet would be Proton Drive because they have been around for many years and so far they haven´t had any significant data leaks, or ideally you should encrypt the data yourself before encrypting it to the cloud service of your choice. Cryptomator is one of the best tools to encrypt data destined for the cloud because it can sync it and doesn´t need you to open and close the container continuously as you update your files.

== Virtual Private Network ==

All computers that are connected to the Internet have their own identifiable IP address, your Internet Service Provider will keep a record of the person who is using that Internet connection and it can be used to identify you as an individual, many countries also censor the websites you can visit and VPN can bypass that censorship as well as encrypting your connection and thwart your ISP spying on your activities. A VPN can help you stay anonymous on the Internet by masking your IP address, because of the hatred against boylovers using a VPN is recommended when visiting boylover sites.

If you're serious about Internet security, you should consider using [[Tor]]. It is an advanced proxy, and is better at protecting your privacy than web-based proxies. Tor is also considered more secure, as it is based on open source code and dynamic traffic routing, because of the layered approach Tor has, even if one administrator turns to be rogue, it will not be enough to deanonimize you.

Ensure that you are familiar with the 14 eyes alliance and countries that are friendly towards this alliance. Once you are aware of which countries are friendly towards this alliance, use a VPN with multiple countries available so that the alliance can be avoided completely. Educate yourself on killswitches, and advanced protection within the VPN settings.

==== MAC addresses ====

Each network card, wired and wireless, has a MAC address. This address is unique and it is used to communicate with other computers or routers on the same network, the websites you visit will not have access to your MAC address but software you have installed could leak it, there are many ways to sneakily get hold of a MAC address, diagnostic software often record the MAC address because it is a way to uniquely identify that machine, you can use software to change your MAC address but this can lead to incompatibilities when your computer tries to communicate in the internal network. The main danger of your MAC address being leaked is that it identifies your computer specially by public wifi access points that do not require login, they might use this piece of information to limit how long for you can connect to the network and multiple of other restrictions or monitoring. When you connect to your library´s Wifi your smartphone MAC address will be logged and it could be used to identify you. Apple randomizes the MAC address when it scans for open access points to avoid user profiling.

== Securely deleting files ==

When you delete a file from your operating system it isn´t really gone for ever, only marked as invisible by your operating system so that it is not visible to you but the file can be recovered easily with specialist software, to make sure that you permanently delete a file beyond recovery, in Windows you must install specialist wiping software like Eraser, the program will overwrite the indicated document, image, etc to make sure that it not be unmarked as undeleted, and in Linux you can use the terminal and use <code>shred -u <file_name></code> or <code>shred <file_name></code> instead of <code>rm</code>.

==See also==

* [[How not to accidentally out yourself]]
* [[Email security]]
* [[Police]]

==References==

<References />

== External links ==

* [https://www.brave.com Brave browser]
* [https://ssd.eff.org Surveillance Self-Defense]
* [https://sourceforge.net/projects/eraser/ Eraser]
* [https://cryptomator.org Cryptomator]

[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Security for boylovers]]
[[Category:Essential reading for BoyLovers]]

Privacy Freeware

2025-04-06T08:15:16Z

Malibu90265: I added ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

This page contains external links to free programs that will help you protect your privacy, some of the listed tools might show you advertisements or a nagging screen inviting the user to upgrade to a paid for version, they might also make it difficult for you to find the free version on their website.

=== Secure Email ===

Most privacy email services charge for their services, the free privacy email services that exist, are provided with the hope that some of their free customers will upgrade to paid accounts and with that money they finance the free service for other users. Usually free accounts are given with limited resources to encourage them to upgrade to a paid account, but it might still be enough for light email users.

One way to obtain an anonymous email account is to hide your computer IP using [[Tor]] to register with any free email provider but many free webmail providers ban Tor proxy IPs and they ask for a backup email account, the method will fail many times.

'''Note:''' If you use the Tor Browser any website requiring you to enable Javascript presents a serious security risk. Javascript code has been used by law enforcement agencies (or LEO="Law Enforcement Officers") to defeat the security of Tor -- LEO may even have the capability to ''inject'' Javascript into websites without the knowledge of the website administrator if they control the server.

* [https://tuta.com Tuta] - Free German based encrypted email service that reportedly keeps no logs.
* [https://proton.me/mail ProtonMail] - Encrypted email service in Switzerland that does not keep logs.

'''Note:''' Hushmail is not recommended; among other things, Hushmail privacy policy mentions that they keep a record of your activities for 18 months after deleting the account.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hushmail privacy policy|url=https://www.hushmail.com/privacy/}}</ref>

=== VPN Providers ===

Free VPN services finance their activities displaying advertisements while you surf, or with a freemium model where they convert a part of their free users into paying ones to finance the free VPN. A few other VPN services get government or private funding to help people living in oppressive regimes to bypass censorship, the funding allows them to provide a free service focused towards bypassing firewalls but keeping logs tracking the originating IP.

When choosing a VPN pick a company that will not keep any logs and is located in a jurisdiction where they have no obligation to keep them. Remember that you have no way to verify if the VPN company claims are true or not, when extreme security measures are necessary, browse the Internet with Tor instead of a VPN.

* [https://protonvpn.com/ ProtonVPN] - Company in Switzerland, no bandwidth limit, company claims they do not keep logs, not even for free users.

* [https://windscribe.com/ WindScribe] - Company is based in Canada, free version has a bandwidth limit. They claim they do not keep logs.
* [https://www.expressvpn.com ExpressVPN] - Company that is based in British Virgin Islands. They claim not to keep logs.
* [https://nordvpn.com/about-us/ NordVPN] - Company that has bases in UK, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland, and Panama. The parent company is based in Netherlands. Use this VPN with caution due to the 14 eyes security alliance and other friendly countries towards this alliance.

=== Encryption Software ===

To quickly send encrypted email files or messages you can use Winrar or 7-Zip, the protection they offer is strong enough to stop even corrupt law enforcement agents, but to be sure that if your computer is ever lost or stolen no data will be recovered, you will need to use full disk encryption, file [[encryption]] alone can not protect you from temporary files and Internet browsing history leaking into your hard drive, the only way to protect is by fully encrypting your operating system.

* [https://www.veracrypt.fr/ Veracrypt] - Free open source encryption software to fully encrypt your hard drive. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac computers, but the full disk encryption option only works in Windows. In Linux and Mac Veracrypt can only be used to create encrypted virtual disks.

=== Data Wiping ===

Documents, images and videos you delete can be easily recovered with specialist software. The only sure way to get rid of a file for ever is to overwrite it with other data on top, the following programs will do that for you.

* [https://www.bleachbit.org/ BleachBit] - Internet browsing and temporary files data wiping software
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/eraser/ Eraser] - File and hard drive empty sectors wiper
* [http://privazer.com/ Privazer] - It securely wipes temporary files and hard drive free space
* [https://www.ccleaner.com/ CCleaner] - Program to securely erase history browsing, cookies, temporary files and other personal data stored in your hard drive.

=== Password Manager ===

You should never reuse usernames and passwords if you care about online security and privacy. If you reuse in a real life self-help or entertainment discussion board the same username or email address being used for boylover activism, somebody could make the connection. A search engine query can locate all places on the Internet where that username is being employed. Another factor is that if you reuse the same password in multiple online accounts and one of those accounts is hacked, the attacker will have access to all accounts you own on the Internet. Bots can automatically attempt multiple usernames and passwords taken from a hacked database, by choosing a unique username and password for each online account you have, you will limit the damage in case of a hacking incident.

Passwords managers are needed to be able to remember dozens or hundreds of unique usernames and passwords for online accounts. There are two types of password managers:

An offline password manager database is not accessible from the Internet and you don´t have to trust third parties with your data, hence security is higher. The disadvantage is that it will be harder to access the password manager from other devices without physically moving the file and you might have compatibility issues on mobile devices.

* [https://keepassxc.org/ KeePassXC Password Manager] - Offline light weight free open source password manager that works in Windows, Mac and Linux.

Cloud based password managers are less secure than offline password managers, if the service is on the cloud you have to trust that the company holding those passwords is really as secure as they say they are and they normally charge a fee for their services. The advantage is that being on the cloud has the convenience of not having to store anything on your hard drive and it is accessible across multiple devices like smartphones and tablets.

* [https://bitwarden.com/ BitWarden] - Online password manager that can be sync across multiple devices.

=== Windows 10 Privacy Software ===

Windows 10 it is the most privacy invasive operating system from Microsoft. The first thing you should do is to never ever use a Microsoft account to log into your operating system, it is possible to use Windows 10 without having a Microsoft account, they just make it difficult for you to realise of this. If you login with your account everything you do can be linked to that account. Even when you are logged in without any Microsoft account, there are features like OneDrive, Microsoft cloud storage services, that comes enabled by default, and it is very easy to upload something there by accident without being warned that Microsoft scans all files you upload to OneDrive to detect illegal content, something that can be misused to invade your personal privacy, you should never store anything on the cloud and disable OneDrive straight away if you care about your personal privacy.

* [https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 O&O ShutUp10] - Free utility to quickly disable advertising IDs, Cortana, OneDrive and automatic sending of crash reports to Microsoft, using a slider you can choose what services you are ok with and which ones must be disabled. There are information about what each service does next to the slider.

=== Free Antivirus ===

Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender, a fully featured security solution that scans your computer for malware and viruses, it is enabled by default but if you install new antivirus software, Windows will disable Windows Defender and use your preferred antivirus solution instead. Most online reviews point out at the high quality of Windows Defender, the main reason why somebody might want to use a different product it is lack of trust in Microsoft products, or somebody looking for advanced control over their antivirus software. Windows Defender has few customisation options.

* [https://www.avast.com/en-eu/free-antivirus-download Avast Free Antivirus] - It might install a website rating toolbar that can be easily uninstalled.
* [https://www.avira.com/en/free-antivirus-windows Avira (German company)] - Free version will display nagging to try to get you to upgrade to their paid version.

=== Operating System ===

Macintosh operating systems and specially Windows, have all kind of tracking mechanisms that can be misused and besides being closed source, they are not focused in privacy. If you are really serious about security you will be better off with a Linux or BSD open source operating system that has been build with security and privacy in mind.

* [https://tails.net/ The Amnesic Incognito Live System - Tails] - Debian based operating system that can be installed in your computer, a thumb drive or run from a live DVD, this is the best choice for beginners. Tails routes your Internet data through the Tor network, with the firewall configured to make it impossible to leak your real IP. It will circumvent Internet censorship and it will leave no trace behind unless you ask it explicitly. Tails comes with a messenger, text editor, video player and many other utilities.

* [https://www.qubes-os.org/ Qubes Operating System] - Linux operating system using virtualisation to isolate every single application you have, making it is impossible for malware to spread from your Internet browser or text editor to the operating system. Quebes does not come with Tor out of the box but you can easily install Whonix, a virtual operating system similar to Tails, using a template provided by Qubes and enjoy anonymous Internet access with one of the most secure set ups possible.

=== Other ===

* [https://www.torproject.org/ Tor Project] - Browser to access the Internet anonymously.
* [https://www.whonix.org/ Whonix] - Very similar to Tails but it runs inside a virtual box. You should be advanced in computer skills to use it.
* [https://geti2p.net/ GetI2P] - Anonymous network similar to Tor that can be used for email and Internet browsing.

== See also ==

* [[Internet security tutorial‎]]
* [[Encryption]]
* [[Email_security|Email Security]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Technology]]

Privacy Freeware

2025-04-06T08:10:37Z

Malibu90265: /* VPN Providers */

This page contains external links to free programs that will help you protect your privacy, some of the listed tools might show you advertisements or a nagging screen inviting the user to upgrade to a paid for version, they might also make it difficult for you to find the free version on their website.

=== Secure Email ===

Most privacy email services charge for their services, the free privacy email services that exist, are provided with the hope that some of their free customers will upgrade to paid accounts and with that money they finance the free service for other users. Usually free accounts are given with limited resources to encourage them to upgrade to a paid account, but it might still be enough for light email users.

One way to obtain an anonymous email account is to hide your computer IP using [[Tor]] to register with any free email provider but many free webmail providers ban Tor proxy IPs and they ask for a backup email account, the method will fail many times.

'''Note:''' If you use the Tor Browser any website requiring you to enable Javascript presents a serious security risk. Javascript code has been used by law enforcement agencies (or LEO="Law Enforcement Officers") to defeat the security of Tor -- LEO may even have the capability to ''inject'' Javascript into websites without the knowledge of the website administrator if they control the server.

* [https://tuta.com Tuta] - Free German based encrypted email service that reportedly keeps no logs.
* [https://proton.me/mail ProtonMail] - Encrypted email service in Switzerland that does not keep logs.

'''Note:''' Hushmail is not recommended; among other things, Hushmail privacy policy mentions that they keep a record of your activities for 18 months after deleting the account.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hushmail privacy policy|url=https://www.hushmail.com/privacy/}}</ref>

=== VPN Providers ===

Free VPN services finance their activities displaying advertisements while you surf, or with a freemium model where they convert a part of their free users into paying ones to finance the free VPN. A few other VPN services get government or private funding to help people living in oppressive regimes to bypass censorship, the funding allows them to provide a free service focused towards bypassing firewalls but keeping logs tracking the originating IP.

When choosing a VPN pick a company that will not keep any logs and is located in a jurisdiction where they have no obligation to keep them. Remember that you have no way to verify if the VPN company claims are true or not, when extreme security measures are necessary, browse the Internet with Tor instead of a VPN.

* [https://protonvpn.com/ ProtonVPN] - Company in Switzerland, no bandwidth limit, company claims they do not keep logs, not even for free users.

* [https://windscribe.com/ WindScribe] - Company is based in Canada, free version has a bandwidth limit. They claim they do not keep logs.
* [https://www.expressvpn.com ExpressVPN] - Company that is based in British Virgin Islands. They claim not to keep logs.

=== Encryption Software ===

To quickly send encrypted email files or messages you can use Winrar or 7-Zip, the protection they offer is strong enough to stop even corrupt law enforcement agents, but to be sure that if your computer is ever lost or stolen no data will be recovered, you will need to use full disk encryption, file [[encryption]] alone can not protect you from temporary files and Internet browsing history leaking into your hard drive, the only way to protect is by fully encrypting your operating system.

* [https://www.veracrypt.fr/ Veracrypt] - Free open source encryption software to fully encrypt your hard drive. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac computers, but the full disk encryption option only works in Windows. In Linux and Mac Veracrypt can only be used to create encrypted virtual disks.

=== Data Wiping ===

Documents, images and videos you delete can be easily recovered with specialist software. The only sure way to get rid of a file for ever is to overwrite it with other data on top, the following programs will do that for you.

* [https://www.bleachbit.org/ BleachBit] - Internet browsing and temporary files data wiping software
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/eraser/ Eraser] - File and hard drive empty sectors wiper
* [http://privazer.com/ Privazer] - It securely wipes temporary files and hard drive free space
* [https://www.ccleaner.com/ CCleaner] - Program to securely erase history browsing, cookies, temporary files and other personal data stored in your hard drive.

=== Password Manager ===

You should never reuse usernames and passwords if you care about online security and privacy. If you reuse in a real life self-help or entertainment discussion board the same username or email address being used for boylover activism, somebody could make the connection. A search engine query can locate all places on the Internet where that username is being employed. Another factor is that if you reuse the same password in multiple online accounts and one of those accounts is hacked, the attacker will have access to all accounts you own on the Internet. Bots can automatically attempt multiple usernames and passwords taken from a hacked database, by choosing a unique username and password for each online account you have, you will limit the damage in case of a hacking incident.

Passwords managers are needed to be able to remember dozens or hundreds of unique usernames and passwords for online accounts. There are two types of password managers:

An offline password manager database is not accessible from the Internet and you don´t have to trust third parties with your data, hence security is higher. The disadvantage is that it will be harder to access the password manager from other devices without physically moving the file and you might have compatibility issues on mobile devices.

* [https://keepassxc.org/ KeePassXC Password Manager] - Offline light weight free open source password manager that works in Windows, Mac and Linux.

Cloud based password managers are less secure than offline password managers, if the service is on the cloud you have to trust that the company holding those passwords is really as secure as they say they are and they normally charge a fee for their services. The advantage is that being on the cloud has the convenience of not having to store anything on your hard drive and it is accessible across multiple devices like smartphones and tablets.

* [https://bitwarden.com/ BitWarden] - Online password manager that can be sync across multiple devices.

=== Windows 10 Privacy Software ===

Windows 10 it is the most privacy invasive operating system from Microsoft. The first thing you should do is to never ever use a Microsoft account to log into your operating system, it is possible to use Windows 10 without having a Microsoft account, they just make it difficult for you to realise of this. If you login with your account everything you do can be linked to that account. Even when you are logged in without any Microsoft account, there are features like OneDrive, Microsoft cloud storage services, that comes enabled by default, and it is very easy to upload something there by accident without being warned that Microsoft scans all files you upload to OneDrive to detect illegal content, something that can be misused to invade your personal privacy, you should never store anything on the cloud and disable OneDrive straight away if you care about your personal privacy.

* [https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 O&O ShutUp10] - Free utility to quickly disable advertising IDs, Cortana, OneDrive and automatic sending of crash reports to Microsoft, using a slider you can choose what services you are ok with and which ones must be disabled. There are information about what each service does next to the slider.

=== Free Antivirus ===

Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender, a fully featured security solution that scans your computer for malware and viruses, it is enabled by default but if you install new antivirus software, Windows will disable Windows Defender and use your preferred antivirus solution instead. Most online reviews point out at the high quality of Windows Defender, the main reason why somebody might want to use a different product it is lack of trust in Microsoft products, or somebody looking for advanced control over their antivirus software. Windows Defender has few customisation options.

* [https://www.avast.com/en-eu/free-antivirus-download Avast Free Antivirus] - It might install a website rating toolbar that can be easily uninstalled.
* [https://www.avira.com/en/free-antivirus-windows Avira (German company)] - Free version will display nagging to try to get you to upgrade to their paid version.

=== Operating System ===

Macintosh operating systems and specially Windows, have all kind of tracking mechanisms that can be misused and besides being closed source, they are not focused in privacy. If you are really serious about security you will be better off with a Linux or BSD open source operating system that has been build with security and privacy in mind.

* [https://tails.net/ The Amnesic Incognito Live System - Tails] - Debian based operating system that can be installed in your computer, a thumb drive or run from a live DVD, this is the best choice for beginners. Tails routes your Internet data through the Tor network, with the firewall configured to make it impossible to leak your real IP. It will circumvent Internet censorship and it will leave no trace behind unless you ask it explicitly. Tails comes with a messenger, text editor, video player and many other utilities.

* [https://www.qubes-os.org/ Qubes Operating System] - Linux operating system using virtualisation to isolate every single application you have, making it is impossible for malware to spread from your Internet browser or text editor to the operating system. Quebes does not come with Tor out of the box but you can easily install Whonix, a virtual operating system similar to Tails, using a template provided by Qubes and enjoy anonymous Internet access with one of the most secure set ups possible.

=== Other ===

* [https://www.torproject.org/ Tor Project] - Browser to access the Internet anonymously.
* [https://www.whonix.org/ Whonix] - Very similar to Tails but it runs inside a virtual box. You should be advanced in computer skills to use it.
* [https://geti2p.net/ GetI2P] - Anonymous network similar to Tor that can be used for email and Internet browsing.

== See also ==

* [[Internet security tutorial‎]]
* [[Encryption]]
* [[Email_security|Email Security]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Technology]]

Tor (The Onion Router)

2025-04-06T08:06:36Z

Malibu90265: /* The Darknet */ Minor edits.

'''Tor''' is a free open-source project providing people with a [[proxy]] to make their computer IP address more anonymous (harder to find) when surfing the Internet. It contains its own browser.

Us boylovers community are at a higher chance of being targeted and TOR is an extra layer of anonymity.

Every computer (or phone or tablet) that is accessing the Internet has an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Typically these are assigned by the Internet Service Provider (the company you connect to which then connects you to the Internet using their own permanent connection), and can and often are different each time you use the Internet. They are in digits and typically take the form 000.00.000.0. There are more computers than there are IP addresses, so in most cases a number is assigned when you connect and the number is released when your Internet session ends. (There are partially implemented plans to increase the number of IP addresses, by making them longer.) Internet Service Providers typically keep records of which IP address is assigned to which customer at which time. Thus, a warrant from a judge can (in the U.S.) compel the Internet Service Provider to identify who used an IP address at a certain time.

A proxy is a computer server that acts as an intermediary. It receives your request for a Web page, with your IP address exposed. It then forwards the request, using its own IP address as the requestor. When the requested page arrives, the proxy computer sends it to you.

In addition to using a VPN over Tor, also use a bridge. An ISP can see that you are using Tor without this. By using a bridge, this is another level of concealment and could make an ISP's job harder to see what websites is being viewed. Tor functions without any issues on BoyWiki.

A bridge is specifically important if you are located in a heavy censorship country. This is also applicable for a country that is considered an [[Axis of evil (dictionary)]]

Ensure that the latest updates are applied when they are available. This also ensures that protection could be provided against attackers.

Tor typically uses as series of servers (10 is a number frequently seen), each located in a different country. Thus the origin of the name: there is an similarity to layers of an onion.

To track the request for a Web page back to you, law enforcement must track it through multiple servers in multiple countries. These servers change (a new route is selected) frequently, adding to the difficulty in tracking through them. Many of the proxy servers deliberately do not keep records of the requests received and processed. Tor also encrypts the data leaving or arriving at your computer. Your IP address cannot be encrypted.

However, what cannot be concealed from your Internet Service Provider is the time you connected to Tor. At the other end, the same thing applies. In other words, if law enforcement wants to device the resources, the times you logged on to Tor can be matched with those of a recipient. This is not a hypothetical danger; law enforcement has done this. The solution is to use a [[VPN]], in any country other than the one in which you reside.

Because of the multiple steps involved, using Tor will result in slower Web page loading than when it is not used. This is, to a degree, common to all types of [[encryption]].

Be very careful when signing into websites with Tor as this is identifying information. Once done with a website that has been signed into, ensure that a new session is created. This is so that you have a new IP address right away and limits the digital footprints that the session has.

==The Darknet ==
There are a variety of services, both legal and illegal, that can be accessed using Tor and only Tor. This is called the Darknet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet). There is no single directory of them; they change frequently. Tor conceals which country the server of the requested material is in.

Browsing on the Darknet can easily reveal disturbing material - animal torture, for example - which is not available on the regular Internet. One can order an assassination ("no prominent politicians"). There is much copyrighted material posted illegally.

However, there is plenty of material on the Darknet which is legal under the laws of all Western democracies, but is illegal under the laws where some user finds him - or herself. For example, anti-Islamic writings or discussions of textual or other errors in the Koran, can lead to formal execution or assassination in many Islamic countries. Conversely, in the [[United States]] there is an active anti-birth control movement, where, not long ago, birth control information could not be mailed, and Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger fled the country, under indictment for distributing it.

No one is in favor of the free distribution of all the information and communication, including child pornography and torture of children, found on the Darknet. (OK, a few left-wing First Amendment nuts are.) But there is no way to shut it down without shutting down the whole Internet, in which case the cure would be worse than the disease. The Darknet is, on purpose, completely decentralized; one would have to shut down individually all the hundreds of thousands if not millions who use it.

== Limitations on Tor security ==

Originally, it was thought that the anonymity provided by Tor was total. However, law enforcement, which has more resources than all the boylovers in the world put together, has developed a number of ways to penetrate Tor security. Ross Ulbricht, on whom there is a Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht) is serving a life sentence as a result of law enforcement penetrating his Tor security. It only took them a few months.
* The fact that you sent a request for an Internet page, through your Internet Service Provider, to a Tor proxy is not and cannot be concealed using current technology. Even though the name of the page is encrypted, law enforcement can easily find out that you requested some Web page through Tor (but not which one) at a particular time. Most Internet Service Providers keep logs of which pages each user requests and when they request them. At the other end of the chain of servers, law enforcement can find out which IP addresses requested the page the users of which they are investigating. Even if all they can find out is the IP address of the final Tor proxy in the chain, the time the page requested cannot be concealed. If the time the page is served matches with the time you requested a page, this does not prove that you requested that page, but it could serve as grounds to seize and search your computer (phone, tablet).

* Nothing prevents law enforcement from acting as a Tor proxy -- anyone running the browser can -- and thus spying on the data requests sent and received somewhere in the chain.

:NOTE: This article gives an overview of how Tor works. If you'd like to skip the technical information, then just see link to the Tor Project home page at the end of this article, visit the Tor home page, download the browser bundle, and install it. '''''You should make sure that the "global scripts option" (the "S" with a circle and line through it, found on the the upper-left corner of your screen) is set to ''not'' allow scripts.''''' (You can disable this option, and enable scripts, for visiting "safe" sites which do not contain sensitive information.) Using Tor, you can surf the Internet more securely. (Note: ''Never'' try to download bit torrents that contain sensitive information through Tor--you are NOT protected from others monitoring your downloads, and your real IP address will be exposed! Also, you should NEVER combine the visiting of sites which have ''the details of your real-life identity'' at the same time that you visit "sensitive" sites. Only do one thing at a time--browsing that involves your "real-life identity," should ''not be done'' at the same time that you are using Tor to visit "sensitive" sites (like BoyChat, for example) Remember: close your Tor browser, and then start it again to protect your real-life identity and to keep yourself safe.

To access the Tor network the end user runs a program called a Tor client (a special Internet browser) on his computer, this comes with an extra filtering program (like [[Privoxy]]) between the Tor client and the Internet browser on the local computer due to the risk of applications like Java revealing user information. Any Tor user with sufficient bandwidth can also choose to run a proxy allowing other Tor users to route traffic through his computer, but one has to be very careful when running an Tor "exit" node, which is the last computer in the chain, and the one that connects directly to the site you are visiting.

An '''onion router''' works by opening a circuit of [[proxy]] servers, through which the data sent from the source to the destination can be routed. By creating a series of connections, via several proxies, neither the first nor the last server knows the whole route that the data took, nor even which source is sending to which destination.

Used correctly, Tor protects one's anonymity. But there can be problems: In 2013 Ross William Ulbricht was arrested for running a Web site--Silk Road--using Tor. It was primarily a marketplace where illegal drug sellers and buyers could connect. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. (See Wikipedia for information on how his site was compromised by the legal authorities.)

The Tor technology is attractive to [[boylover]]s because of the [[anonymity]] offered by the proxy network. Some sites, such as Wikipedia, restrict access or posting using Tor software, to reduce spam and malicious hackers. [[BoyChat]] for example, will only allow people to post using Tor if they have a registered nick. The Tor network also hosts hidden sites that can not be taken offline because it is not possible to work out which server is hosting them, however these sites, with the extension ''.onion'', are only accessible if you run Tor software in your computer.

=== Tor and live CD/DVD ===

Even when you use Tor it could still be possible for someone to see information on your computer hard drive, and to look at your drive's contents --websites that you have visited using Tor can be found in the Internet browser cache (if it is enabled). But if you use the "Tor browser bundle," with the special version of Firefox that comes with it, then you do not have to worry about your browser cache being stored on your computer.

Using a live DVD to browse the Internet avoids leaving any traces of your browsing history on your hard drive, because after you have finished browsing using a live DVD all of the data held in volatile RAM memory will disappear, and recovery will not be possible. A live DVD (i.e. Tails) with Tor is one of the most powerful anonymity tools that exist.

== Javascript Exploit ==
Javascript provides many "whistles and bells" in your browser while you browse the Internet. Without javascript enabled in your browser, you may find the functionality of many websites diminished. Some sites will not function at all without javascript enabled in your browser. If using Protonmail, Javascript must be enabled to use it.

<small>(NOTE: One "workaround"--which ''sometimes'' works--to the problem of javascript limiting site functionality is to access the site desired using the Wayback machine found at https://www.web.archive.org)</small>

But you should be aware that at least one "exploit" (a "trick" used in computer programming to compromise a computer) exists which law-enforcement personnel can use to expose your identity '''even though you may be surfing behind the protection provided by Tor'''.

<big>Javascript should ''never'' be enabled in a browser used to visit "sensitive" sites, such as sites posting information which is "pro-pedophile" (or even "anti-pedophile") or which contains other information (or images) which may be of interest to a [[pedophile]].</big>

A large number of [[boylove|BoyLovers]] (and GirlLovers) are now serving very long terms in prison because they enabled javascript in their browsers. Don't be one of them!

=== Links to articles describing the risks of browsing with javascript enabled===

*Inside the Tor exploit | ZDNet
:https://www.zdnet.com/article/inside-the-tor-exploit/
*Firefox Zero-Day Exploit used by FBI to shutdown Child porn on Tor ...
:http://thehackernews.com/2013/08/Firefox-Exploit-Tor-Network-child-pornography-Freedom-Hosting.html
*FBI Admits It Controlled Tor Servers Behind Mass Malware Attack ...
:http://www.wired.com/2013/09/freedom-hosting-fbi/
*The FBI TOR Exploit - InfoSec Institute
:http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/fbi-tor-exploit/
*Actual risks of javascript and Flash? : TOR - Reddit
:http://www.reddit.com/r/TOR/comments/1y8r3m/actual_risks_of_javascript_and_flash/
*Identity-exposing malware on Tor "could be work of FBI"
:http://www.welivesecurity.com/2013/08/05/identity-exposing-malware-on-tor-could-be-work-of-fbi/

==See also==
*[[Encryption]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.torproject.org/ Tor Project homepage]
* [https://tails.boum.org Tails live CD]
* [https://www.whonix.org/ Whonix Anonymous OS]

[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Essential reading for BoyLovers]]
[[Category:Security for boylovers]]

14 eyes

2025-04-06T07:40:58Z

Malibu90265: I have created this page - please feel free to start editing. This is my first page which I have created !

=== A word of warning ===
It is highly recommended that Boylovers do not use a [[Proxy and VPN]] within these countries due to the surveillance.

=== 5 eyes ===
The 5 eyes alliance has it's origins based during World War 2. There were secret meetings between countries in this period of time. These countries are part of the [[Axis of evil]] for Boylovers as there are numerous ways which people in these countries are surveilled. It is highly recommended by the Boylover community to avoid doing Boylover related activities especially via any of these countries due to the potential consequences. The 5 eyes countries are:

* [[United States]]
* [[Canada]]
* [[United Kingdom]]
* [[Australia]]
* [[New Zealand]]

=== 9 eyes ===
The next part of the 14 eyes alliance is the 9 eyes. These countries don't work as closely with the above mentioned 5 eyes countries. These countries are:

* Denmark
* [[France]]
* [[Netherlands]]
* [[Norway]]

=== 14 eyes ===
Lastly there are the 14 eyes countries. These countries are:

* Belgium
* [[Germany]]
* Italy
* [[Spain]]
* Sweden

=== Other countries ===
There are other countries that work with the 14 eyes countries. For boylovers, these countries could gather VPN information and pass it on if there is a warrant or not is debatable. Some of these countries are:

* Greece
* Iceland
* Switzerland
* Austria
* Japan

Further reading about the 14 eyes alliance is available on this link: https://tuta.com/blog/fourteen-eyes-countries

=== Sources ===
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes#cite_note-fiveeyes1-2

Australian Federal Police

2025-04-06T07:00:19Z

Malibu90265: Modified the article

The '''Australian Federal Police (AFP)''' is the federal police agency of the [[Australia|Commonwealth of Australia]]. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of Australia's six precursor British self-governing colonies in 1901.

The AFP Child Protection Operations (CPO) team performs an investigative and coordination role within Australia for multijurisdictional and international online adult-child sex matters within the online and travel and tourism environments. These matters include those to and from Australian State and Territory Police, government and non-government organisations (including Internet Service Providers and Internet Content Hosts), the [[Virtual Global Taskforce]] (VGT), international law enforcement agencies, [[Interpol]] and members of the public.

The AFP investigates certain online adult-child sex-related activities which occur using a telecommunications service, such as computers with internet connectivity or mobile phones. The types of offenses investigated include accessing, sending or uploading [[child pornography]]. [[Child grooming|Grooming]] and procuring of children over the internet is also investigated by the AFP. This is when an adult has made online contact with a child under the age of sixteen with the intention of facilitating a sexual relationship. AFP investigations may also focus on Internet sites carrying child pornography and operated from an ISP in Australia. In cases where the site content is not hosted within Australia, the matter is referred to overseas law enforcement agencies.

The AFP admits, "It is not known whether the child sex tourism legislation has any real deterrent effect on Australians determined to have sex with children overseas."<ref>http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/publications/platypus/previous-editions/2000/december-2000/child</ref>

There has been in recent times, media advertisements about reporting Child Sexual Abuse. The website is called It's Happening Here. [https://projectparadigm.com.au/ItsHappeningHere/ItsHappeningHere-497/] Further to this, more government information is available about JACET (Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team) [https://www.afp.gov.au/crimes/crimes-against-children] A report on "Child Sexual Abuse Material" statistics is located on this link: [https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/ti617_crime_commission_processes_in_csam_production_and_distribution.pdf]

==AFP policy in relation to international travel of Australian Registered Child Sex Offenders==
Each State and Territory has laws that set out who becomes registered on the [[National Child Offence System]] (NCOS) as a "Registered Offender". These laws also prescribe when a person ceases to be a Registered Child Sex Offender. A Registered Offender must report intended travel outside of Australia. The State or Territory Registrar is obliged under State and Territory law to advise the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with a copy of this report.

The Registered Offender must also report travel outside their state or territory point of residence. For example, a "Registered Offender" must report if they are wanting to travel from New South Wales to South Australia.

In accordance with its functions as set out in the Australian Federal Police Act 1979, including crime prevention, the AFP may provide information relating to a Registered Offender’s international travel to a Foreign Law Enforcement Agency. The AFP's current policy in relation to a Registered Offender’s intended international travel is that notification will occur in most circumstances. This policy also relates to cruise ships departing from Australia travelling to International destinations.

The notification includes the offence(s) and sentence for which the Registered Offender is registered; registration period; and travel details. Whenever the AFP provides such information, it is a decision for that foreign law enforcement authority as to what actions they may take, including denying entry to their country. The AFP recommends that Registered Offenders seek advice from the relevant country or Cruise Ship operator prior to travel to ensure they confirm to their entry or travel requirements. Compliance with this will more than likely prevent the unnecessary loss of travel costs including airfares and accommodation.

Registered Offenders can request the AFP provide an advanced decision in relation to whether notification of International Travel to Foreign Law Enforcement Agencies will occur. Although the AFP may decide not to notify on that occasion, the AFP reserves the right to change this decision should additional information come to light prior to travel. Additionally the Registered Offender is still obliged to disclose criminal convictions, when requested, to any immigration authorities and that it is ultimately a matter for the foreign jurisdiction as to whether they will allow entry or not. Seeking an advanced decision from the AFP does not remove the Registered Offenders obligation to notify the relevant State or Territory Registrar of travel.

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Australia]]

Australian Federal Police

2025-04-05T22:48:25Z

Malibu90265: Updated information

The '''Australian Federal Police (AFP)''' is the federal police agency of the [[Australia|Commonwealth of Australia]]. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of Australia's six precursor British self-governing colonies in 1901.

The AFP Child Protection Operations (CPO) team performs an investigative and coordination role within Australia for multijurisdictional and international online adult-child sex matters within the online and travel and tourism environments. These matters include those to and from Australian State and Territory Police, government and non-government organisations (including Internet Service Providers and Internet Content Hosts), the [[Virtual Global Taskforce]] (VGT), international law enforcement agencies, [[Interpol]] and members of the public.

The AFP investigates certain online adult-child sex-related activities which occur using a telecommunications service, such as computers with internet connectivity or mobile phones. The types of offenses investigated include accessing, sending or uploading [[child pornography]]. [[Child grooming|Grooming]] and procuring of children over the internet is also investigated by the AFP. This is when an adult has made online contact with a child under the age of sixteen with the intention of facilitating a sexual relationship. AFP investigations may also focus on Internet sites carrying child pornography and operated from an ISP in Australia. In cases where the site content is not hosted within Australia, the matter is referred to overseas law enforcement agencies.

The AFP admits, "It is not known whether the child sex tourism legislation has any real deterrent effect on Australians determined to have sex with children overseas."<ref>http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/publications/platypus/previous-editions/2000/december-2000/child</ref>

There has been in recent times, media advertisements about reporting Child Sexual Abuse. The website is called It's Happening Here. [https://projectparadigm.com.au/ItsHappeningHere/ItsHappeningHere-497/] Further to this, more government information is available about JACET (Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team) [https://www.afp.gov.au/crimes/crimes-against-children]

==AFP policy in relation to international travel of Australian Registered Child Sex Offenders==
Each State and Territory has laws that set out who becomes registered on the [[National Child Offence System]] (NCOS) as a "Registered Offender". These laws also prescribe when a person ceases to be a Registered Child Sex Offender. A Registered Offender must report intended travel outside of Australia. The State or Territory Registrar is obliged under State and Territory law to advise the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with a copy of this report.

The Registered Offender must also report travel outside their state or territory point of residence. For example, a "Registered Offender" must report if they are wanting to travel from New South Wales to South Australia.

In accordance with its functions as set out in the Australian Federal Police Act 1979, including crime prevention, the AFP may provide information relating to a Registered Offender’s international travel to a Foreign Law Enforcement Agency. The AFP's current policy in relation to a Registered Offender’s intended international travel is that notification will occur in most circumstances. This policy also relates to cruise ships departing from Australia travelling to International destinations.

The notification includes the offence(s) and sentence for which the Registered Offender is registered; registration period; and travel details. Whenever the AFP provides such information, it is a decision for that foreign law enforcement authority as to what actions they may take, including denying entry to their country. The AFP recommends that Registered Offenders seek advice from the relevant country or Cruise Ship operator prior to travel to ensure they confirm to their entry or travel requirements. Compliance with this will more than likely prevent the unnecessary loss of travel costs including airfares and accommodation.

Registered Offenders can request the AFP provide an advanced decision in relation to whether notification of International Travel to Foreign Law Enforcement Agencies will occur. Although the AFP may decide not to notify on that occasion, the AFP reserves the right to change this decision should additional information come to light prior to travel. Additionally the Registered Offender is still obliged to disclose criminal convictions, when requested, to any immigration authorities and that it is ultimately a matter for the foreign jurisdiction as to whether they will allow entry or not. Seeking an advanced decision from the AFP does not remove the Registered Offenders obligation to notify the relevant State or Territory Registrar of travel.

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Australia]]