Anonymity
hideAnonymity is derived from the Greek word ανωνυμία, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymous typically refers to a person, and often means that the personal identity, or personally identifiable information of that person is not known.
More strictly, and in reference to an arbitrary element (e.g. a human, an object, a computer), within a well-defined set (called the "anonymity set"), "anonymity" of that element refers to the property of that element of not being identifiable within this set. If it is not identifiable, then the element is said to be "anonymous".
The term "anonymous message" typically refers to message (which is, for example, transmitted over some form of a network) that does not carry any information about its sender and its intended recipient. It is therefore unclear if multiple such messages have been sent by the same sender or if they have the same intended recipient.
Sometimes it is desired that a person can establish a long-term relationship (such as a reputation) with some other entity, without his/her personal identity being disclosed to that entity. In this case, it may be useful for the person to establish a unique identifier, called a pseudonym, with the other entity. Examples of pseudonyms are nicknames, credit card numbers, student numbers, bank account numbers, and IP addresses. A pseudonym enables the other entity to link different messages from the same person and, thereby, the maintenance of a long-term relationship. Although typically pseudonyms do not contain personally identifying information, communication that is based on pseudonyms is often not classified as "anonymous", but as "pseudonymous" instead. Indeed, in some contexts, anonymity and pseudonymity are separate concepts.
However, in other contexts what matters is that both anonymity and pseudonymity are concepts that are, among other things, concerned with hiding a person's legal identity. In such contexts people may not distinguish between anonymity and pseudonymity.
The problem of determining whether or not the identity of a communication partner is the same as one previously encountered is the problem of authentication.
For more information about Anonymity, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with anonymity
Town on SF Bay wants to photograph every car
Jul 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Visitors should be prepared to have their pictures taken as they enter and leave this picturesque town of million-dollar views and homes along the San Francisco Bay.
SKorea says attackers use IP address in 16 nations
Jul 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Cyber attacks that caused a wave of Web site outages in the U.S. and South Korea used 86 IP addresses in 16 countries, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Friday, amid suspicions North Korea was ...
Obama setting up better security for computers
May 29, 2009 |
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(AP) -- America has for too long failed to adequately protect the security of its computer networks, President Barack Obama said Friday, announcing he will name a new cyber czar to take on the job.
Virtual communities may provide valuable support for psoriasis patients
Jan 19, 2009 |
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Online support communities appear to offer both a valuable educational resource and a source of psychological and social support for individuals with psoriasis, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of De ...
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Sharp drop in British sperm donors
Sep 10, 2007 |
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Britain's decision to remove anonymity from sperm donors has resulted in a sharp drop in the number of men willing to donate.
Joost seeks cable TV operator as buyer
Apr 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Online video site Joost is shopping itself around to different cable TV operators.
Apple, labels work on album 'Cocktail'
Jul 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Apple Inc. and the four major recording labels are working on launching a music offering code-named "Cocktail" that aims to add value to digital albums sold on the online iTunes Store.
Second face transplant in US performed
Apr 10, 2009 |
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Surgeons in Boston have performed the second-ever partial face transplant in the United States, replacing some 80 percent of a disfigured man's face.
Be On the Alert for VA Tech Phishing
Apr 22, 2007 |
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Phishers will stop at nothing and they're gearing up to rip you off. Watch out for fake calls for help.
Mom calls for egg/sperm donor registry
Mar 28, 2008 |
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An Arizona woman is pushing for the creation a U.S. egg and sperm donor registry after her daughter, an egg donor, died of colon cancer.
Comcast exploring stake in NBC
Oct 01, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Comcast Corp. is in negotiations to buy 20 percent to 50 percent of NBC Universal, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
New Technology Combines GPS Benefits with Privacy Protection
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 11, 2007 |
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As GPS and other wireless location-based technologies are becoming prevalent on cell phones and other everyday devices, two researchers are thinking about the social reaction to constant surveillance. As George ...
Craigslist to Add Ccube Click-to-Call
May 15, 2007 |
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Ccube pinged us this afternoon to let us know that popular Web classified site Craigslist.org will add Ccube's click-to-call VOIP technology beginning on Tuesday.
NEC Develops World's Most Efficient Privacy Preserving Authentication Scheme
Jul 22, 2005 |
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NEC Corporation announced that it has developed the world's most efficient privacy preserving authentication scheme (or group signature scheme ) in terms of signature length and computational complexity, social infrastructure ...
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