To Log Out or Not?

[Chan]

From an internet security viewpoint, are there any dis/advantages to staying logged in vs logging out every session?

 

[joedirt]

From an internet security viewpoint, are there any dis/advantages to staying logged in vs logging out every session?

I suppose this partly depends upon where you are located. In countries were free speech is a right then there is no harm in staying logged in or even openly admitting associate with the Nexus... So long as you are not posting incriminating evidence that could lead authorities to a search warrant and a kicking in of your door... though even if you are it's not exactly easy for them to get access to the information. I believe Trav has a couple layers of encryption which could in all likelihood be cracked, but at what cost? This site isn't resulting in Kilos's of Coke or Heroin hitting the shores.. It's a small psychedelic enthusiast site and psychedelics appear to cause the fewest problems of any of the controlled drugs in society... It's not that the authorities wouldn't like to shut down the nexus and flow of information, but they don't really have the resources or legal grounds to effectively carry it out..

Take for instance the silkroad story... a site dedicated to directly circumventing the law... This is the kind of target that resources will be spent on.. and quite frankly they have their hands full. The first time it was taken down a new market was up in a month or two...along with many other sites. The second time it was taken down it was back up in a single day... These are the sites that are of most concern to the authorities.. Most people aren't interested in learning chemistry to get off.. or growing a plant for years to have an experience.. No most drug users are interested in simply purchasing a pill or powder and doing it... So distribution sites are a MUCH larger concern than information sites like the nexus...

This is why we have policies against source talk. Acquiring drugs is illegal. Talking about them is not. Doing them is illegal.. talking about doing them is not. Extracting them is illegal, actually talking about the science of their extraction is not... This of course only applies to countries that have open and free speech and this clearly isn't the case for a lot of countries... so be sure to check my post against where you reside and your laws...

 

[DisEmboDied]

There is just a level of fear and paranoia that I refuse to live under (though I hear you though).

 

[○]

I never payed much mind to it, but every time I shut the computer down my browsing history, cookies, saved log ins, etc all get erased, so I have to log in each time I get on.

 

[Chan]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Totally free speech isn't a right I enjoy, unfortunately, and well, my head is free of tinfoil but I just wondered whether there were any specific pro/cons of the two approaches.

This might be of interest/concern to some, I'm not affected, but it's along the lines I was thinking with my OP

AT&T’s plan to watch your Web browsing—and what you can do about it

 

[nexalizer]

As a general security rule, it's best to not stay logged on.

IF what you're looking for is not incriminate yourself, then logging off will be next to useless. Even clearing cookies etc won't help much, as the data isn't really removed from your hard disk.

It truly depends on who and what you are defending against.

 

[Chan]

Thanks Nexalizer, that's what I was looking for!

 

[MachienDome]

If you stay logged in your session can be hijacked and an attacker can log-in as you and do anything they want with your account. Its called "session hijacking." Log out. :thumb_up:

As for "its what you're defending against", therein lies the problem...you wont know until its too late. Defend against the entire planet, because that's who has access to your computer when its online.