Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published
IMPORTANT: This is not investment advice, but purely academic talk.
How to register an account on JPEX and deposit a small amount without revealing personal information?
Below, I will discuss how to hide personal information that might be involved during the registration and usage process of an exchange. This includes at least five types of information: IP address, email address, phone number, transaction records and legal identity. Although this article uses JPEX as an example, the related tools and logic can also be applied to other websites and services.
It's essential to note that the cybersecurity tools discussed in this article are just basic skills, aimed at 'strengthening and conditioning', sufficient for everyday scenarios. However, there's always something superior; do not assume that these basic defensive measures will make you entirely off the radar. Big brother is watching you.
IP Address = Digital World Location
The new generation might not have the chance to know, the underlying protocol of the internet is called TCP/IP. And the IP (Internet Protocol) address is the 'location' of every machine on the internet, equivalent to an address in the physical world. By obtaining the IP address of an internet user, one can trace the internet service provider, approximate physical location and other personal data. Therefore, when discussing online privacy, the first consideration is usually how to shield personal IP addresses, followed by the discussion of VPN (virtual private network).
Many people use VPNs, but not necessarily for privacy. It's often to access blocked foreign websites or to make services like Netflix perceive the user as being in another country, thus accessing local content. In the past, the former was a particular need inside the Great Firewall, and netizens jokingly referred to VPNs as ladders or 'scientific internet access' tools for bypassing these blocks. But as 'One Country, Two Systems' retreats, unless someone wants to forsake ChatGPT and Bard for being 'patriots', the demand for VPNs among Hong Kongers is increasingly high. For me, it's a must-have.
The reason VPNs can bypass blocks, watch overseas content and use ChatGPT is that they can encapsulate the original IP, leading websites to judge users as coming from another IP. VPN service providers typically have servers in multiple countries, allowing users to choose identities from different nations based on their needs.
There are various VPN service providers, and one needs to choose carefully; otherwise, you might just be exposing your browsing behaviour and other data to a malicious company. As for which specific VPN service is reliable, it's better for readers to do their research and decide. My personal experience is just for reference; one of the providers I use is ProtonVPN. I chose them mainly because the founder is from Tainan, the company is registered in Switzerland (i.e. not a US, China, or EU company), their long-term commitment to end-to-end encryption, and their support for Hong Kong civil society. ProtonVPN is not particularly cheap, but I believe that people in authoritarian countries can't afford to save this bit of money.
Advantages of a Free Lunch
If you must save on VPN costs, I still have a free option worth recommending: Cloudflare's WARP 1.1.1.1. Talking about the benefits of something free might seem redundant, but it's not. When shopping online, using credit cards, PayPal, etc., inevitably leaks personal information. Using cryptocurrencies, other than a few like Monero and Zcash, can easily expose other transaction records, and these currencies are challenging to deposit or withdraw. Therefore, the advantages of free tools are not just about saving money but also about privacy protection.
WARP is also considered a VPN, but the technology behind it differs slightly from typical VPN services. From a user experience perspective, the primary difference is that you can't choose servers from other countries. The system automatically assigns the fastest server, usually in the same country of the user's current location. Therefore, WARP cannot be used to bypass country restrictions or watch foreign content. Its primary purpose is to encrypt online data and, in most cases, hide the user's IP, replacing it with the nearest Cloudflare server address. However, some users have found exceptions where WARP might expose the user's IP in some edge cases. If you're interested, you can look further into this.
Last week, when I registered for a JPEX account, I also used WARP. Not to save money, but because it's incredibly fast. Unlike typical VPN services, it hardly slows down the internet. Plus, Cloudflare's reputation is commendable. For instance, in 2014, when the Hong Kong civil referendum website popvote was DDoS attacked, Cloudflare stepped in to defend against what was considered the second-largest cyber-attack in history. So, when I'm not using other VPNs, I typically have WARP on. WARP can be considered one of the "low-hanging fruits" for online privacy protection. It provides basic protection for free. If you haven't subscribed to another VPN service, the advantages of installing and keeping WARP on far outweigh the disadvantages, especially if you're reluctant to purchase sufficient monthly data and have the bad habit of using public WiFis like those in malls, cafes, or buses.
To check your IP, you can use services like whatismyipaddress.com or checkip.org. Turn VPN on and off, then refresh the page to see the IP change. Of course, doing this also exposes your IP to these services, but if you're that concerned, you're probably already a cybersecurity expert. To test internet speed, you can use fast.com. The method is similar: test the speed with VPN on and off and compare.
By the way, after turning on WARP, you might find that you can't access certain websites or apps, especially those from mainland China. If you really want to visit these sites, temporarily turn off WARP and refresh. It might seem a bit troublesome, but on the flip side, consider why using a VPN restricts access to certain sites. Regularly using a VPN also helps you discern which websites demand your IP address before granting access.
1.1.1.1: The Address Book Gatekeeper
WARP's associated service, 1.1.1.1, is a DNS (domain name service) used to resolve domain names, like ckxpress.com, into their corresponding IPs, which in this example is 172.67.176.164. This is because most users, websites, and apps rely on domain names instead of IP addresses to point to a server. However, just as properties with prestigious addresses like "8 Woh Chai Street" or "1 Kowloon Road" simply use their addresses as building names, if you have a memorable IP address like 1.1.1.1, you might brand it directly using the IP address instead of a name like one.one.one.one.
Typically, users default to the DNS provided by their telecom service provider. During the anti-extradition bill movement, the Hong Kong government requested local telecom providers to block xxxxxxxxxxxx.com (actual domain name omitted by the author for self-censorship) on their DNS. Users relying on local telecoms and their corresponding DNS still cannot access that website. Bypassing this blockade is straightforward: merely switch to another DNS like 1.1.1.1 or Google's 8.8.8.8. However, Hongkongers, accustomed to taking their freedom for granted, lack the mindset and knowledge to circumvent information blocks. Such basic measures already restrict most of Hong Kong's population, let alone the more sophisticated techniques used by the Great Firewall, which is technically two decades ahead.
Beyond its impressive speed, another benefit of 1.1.1.1 is that it doesn't need to comply with local regime requests to block specific sites. Plus, it encrypts DNS, ensuring your browsing history remains private. My recommendation for 1.1.1.1 aligns with that for WARP: unless you have other considerations, there's no reason not to use this efficient and free service.
Besides WARP 1.1.1.1, another free tool is Tor (The Onion Router). It not only hides users' IP addresses and browsing history but also enables access to the dark web. For instance, when the Z-Library had all its domains blocked by the FBI last year, one could still access the site, then absent from the "surface web," via its .onion address. Users with higher security demands might even combine technologies, such as Tor-over-VPN, for further protection.
Tor involves slightly advanced technology and significantly slows down internet speeds. It's suitable for users like whistleblowers who need strict identity protection. Average users don't often use it, but if you're interested, you can download the Tor browser and input website addresses as usual, allowing for high-privacy browsing of the "surface web" – the internet we typically use and can access via standard browsers like Chrome or Safari and search through Google.
Learning Through Mistakes
Some people think that I registered on JPEX for fun after it received complaints from over two thousand people alleging scams involving 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollars. That's a misunderstanding. The truth is, I've always believed in the adage "experience is the best teacher." Reading second-hand (third-, forth-...) reports isn't enough. I wanted to personally register for the service purely out of scientific curiosity.
Take the issue of disinformation as an example. The Taiwan Fact-checking Center has held workshops and verification challenges multiple times, letting young people compete in fact-checking skills. Finland, similarly affected by misinformation, goes even further. They teach students from a young age to discern the authenticity of news, even letting them practice writing disinformation themselves. To profoundly understand a mechanism, the best approach is to immerse oneself, comprehend the designer's ingenuity, and grasp the psychology of participants. To understand a scam, the best method is either to deceive someone personally or to be deceived yourself. Stumbles and falls are inevitable, but as long as you set up a sandbox in advance to limit the scope of impact, what you learn will surely outweigh what you lose.
Later on, we'll continue discussing methods to protect personal privacy, such as hiding email addresses and transaction records.
Extended Readings
web3dom - of web3 and freedom is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
