Domain Games: Role-playing an online identity

Clearly, domain name registration is not the only transaction that one might occasionally want to keep “off the record.” Many of the steps described in this article are relevant to other activities, as well, such as purchasing non-free software, registering for premium services and paying for access to proprietary databases, among others examples.

This article has three main sections. First, a brief primer on the difference between pseudonymity and anonymity. Second, a reasonably brief, step-by-step description of how we obtained a pseudonymous domain name while making it difficult for anyone to figure out that we had done so. And, finally, a not-so-brief presentation of additional challenges, including details on how some of those challenges might be addressed.