Top 5 Facts about Anonymous
Hacktivists, pranksters or Cyber Terrorists; regardless of what you think of the organization it has certainly been influential. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts. In today's installment, we'll be counting down the 5 most interesting things we could learn about Anonymous, those cyber vigilantes who have hacked everything from countries to corporations to cults and others.
Special thanks to our user christo for submitting the idea using our interactive suggestion tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
#5: Anonymous Began as a Joke on 4Chan
4chan’s layout makes it look like posts are uploaded by a single user named 'Anonymous'. Eventually a small group of people from the site's /b/ section took up the moniker and started to troll the internet with the motto "none of us are as cruel as all of us". Their first pranks typically involved trolling internet forums and some famous Habbo Hotel raids. Arguably, the group didn’t became political until late 2006 when it picked the neo-nazi radio host Hal Turner as the target for a series of pranks. Outsider political hackers saw the attack and flocked to join the effort, effectively taking him off the air. This started a major conflict in Anonymous between old members who wanted to cause chaos "For the lulz" and new members who wanted to use hacking for the greater good.
#4: Even Visa Isn't Safe From Hacktivists
Back in 2010 when Wikileaks was making headlines, Visa, MasterCard and PayPal all decided that they would cut off service to the website. For the average citizen it was basically impossible to donate to Wikileaks, which made it difficult for the website to function. Some members of Anonymous saw this as an attack on freedom of speech and mobilized Operation Payback. They attacked the websites of financial institutions and web hosting companies who were aligning against WikiLeaks, disrupting the sites of Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and others. They didn’t exactly bring the financial world to its knees, but they certainly sent a message.
#3: Batman Was Almost the Face of Anonymous
The Million Mask March has become an annual event. Before organizing their first live demonstration though, Anons wanted a face covering for safety and the iconic Guy Fawkes mask was settled on. But this was near the beginning when they were mostly known for extreme practical jokes and online harassment, so some weren't sure if Guy Fawkes, the infamous British traitor-turned-folk hero, was a good fit for the organization. Masquerade masks and Batman masks were two of the other contenders for the official disguise of Anonymous, but, the forces of consumerism settled the dilemma: Guy Fawkes masks were the cheapest and most widely available option.
#2: Anonymous Exposed 1,500 Child Pornographers
Regardless of your feelings towards Anonymous, I think we can all get behind their war on Child pornography. In 2011 they announced Operation Darknet, an action which would eventually lead to the shutting down of over 40 websites that produced and shared child pornography. They released the names and addresses of the users of these sites and encouraged the police to get involved. In total they doxed over 1,500 viewers and producers of child porn.
#1: Most Anons Have Little to No Hacking Skills
It’s hard to know anything for certain about a movement as nebulous as Anonymous. Some of its members claim it isn’t even a group, just a bunch of random internet people. According to various Reddit AMAs from actual Anons, most members are not the cyberninjas that hyperbolic media reports would have you believe. Most are newbs, script kiddies who couldn’t hack their way out of a paper bag– and that’s just fine! It seems that all that is really required to be part of Anonymous is agree with its philosophy of unrestricted free speech, claim allegiance to the collective, become invisible online, and participate in Anonymous’s IRC chats.
So, what do you think? Is anonymous a force for good in the world, or a troubling form of vigilantism? For more Righteous top 10s and “for the lulz” top 5’s be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
