#privacy

- connect to VPN, get pseudo 'from' IP address

- log in to site/account that has your KYC information (including mailing address)

- pseudo 'from' IP address added to your 'known aliases'

- them: "...OK what other sites were visited by that IP around the same time? ...wait, he uses the *same* public IP address all day, every day? ...wow, he's not even trying...LOL."

- VPN useless

Seems to me that there's no point in trying to keep our online activity private if we're logging in to our bank or any other site that already has all our info anyway--then we've only exposed our 'fake' public IP address as *me*. Think how easy it would be to then track *that* IP address. Silly to think this is an effective way to remain private.

I guess this is why so many privacy advocates have emphasized some combination of VPN + Tor for IP address obfuscation. But the minute you log in to a site that has your KYC info, you're "burned." It's like putting on a disguise to get cash out of the ATM--by inserting your card and entering your code, your "disguise" is pointless: it's you--and you even verified it's you with a password!

I've been adamant about getting whole-home VPN set up, but now I don't know if I even care. As long as we have adequate DNS content filtering (especially for the kids' sakes), then maybe that's good enough for now. Have everyone use tor-browser, or Brave's Private window-with-Tor, and call it a day. But even then, "Tor is not a panacea."

Thoughts welcome.