2jWPef77

1REMEMBER:
2
3“Don’t give yourself a hard time for feeling a certain way. It’s a messed up position you’ve been put in and there’s no “right” way to feel. You’re not failing if it bothers you, you’re not failing if you’re angry, you are not failing for not being “tough enough”. A lot of emotions come with these situations, and you’re totally allowed.”
4Important: Record all information with screencaps (preferably with timestamp/url showing) and archive.today. Use a spare recording device or this guide to find an app to record phone calls from unknown numbers.
5
6
7
8Table of Contents:
9
10Triage Etiquette
11Social Media Etiquette and Self-Care
12Personal Contact Information
13Preventative and General Resources
14Monitoring Your Harassers
15Dealing with Police
16Porn & Pizza: Cleaning Up your Addresses/Subscriptions
17
18
19
20
21
22
23Crash Override Mission Statement & Code of Conduct - For Clients
24
25This document and support group is for targets and victims of a very particular kind of online harassment. If you choose to work with us, we ask that during this sensitive time, you remain in contact with us regarding your personal plan of action. In these situations, it is all too easy to become overwhelmed by desires for vengeance or accountability that may cloud your judgment. Some recommendations we may have on conduct or information withholding may seem unorthodox, but we ask that you have patience and faith in our expertise on this subject. We are focused on keeping you secure and ensuring those responsible can be held accountable.
26
27That being said, Crash Override does not take offensive action towards parties. We are purely a victim’s assistance group that focuses on safety, security, and recovery from incidents of online harassment, up to and including: working with victims and law enforcement to seek criminal charges in appropriate situations, crafting statements with victims to accurately document and expose the harassment being done to them, track, document, and report the actions of harassers to services the harasser is using to harm, and use other well-established, humane, and transparent channels to disempower abuse and reduce the ability abusers have to perpetuate it.
28
29We strongly condemn any sort of extralegal retaliatory action, and do not believe in fighting harassment with more harassment. We will not endorse or continue a relationship with anyone who seeks to “fight dirty”, or puts others in harm’s way in the pursuit of their own peace of mind. In this sense, we reserve the right to disengage our assistance from anyone who we deem a risk to our continued ability to assist others and keep them safe or undermines our mission statement of harm reduction from online vigilantism. We will do our best to communicate our concerns and intent to you. In any case, we ask that you keep all Crash Override materials and information confidential so as to best ensure the safety of past and present victims.
30
31Our goal is to create an online community where groups like us are no longer needed.
32
33
34
35Entry Requirements
36
371. Install Prey on your devices so you can locate or wipe them if they become lost.
38Chats
39
40Crash Override offers chatrooms for victims of coordinated online mob harassment. They are as follows:
41
42Triage: Reserved for active cases of coordinated online mob harassment that require immediate attention from agents.
43Updates & Ongoing: Reserved for people who are not currently in need of emergency help but would like to provide updates on their situation.
44Social Support: Reserved for social chat with victims who merely want to de-stress.
45
46All other chats not explicitly for these purposes are to be created in a room on tlk.io with a randomly generated URL. Note that until we have a private conversation medium, assume tlk.io data is retained by the site.
47Triage Etiquette
48
49Aliases are ENFORCED in Triage. Do not use a name that can be tied with any of your other aliases or online persona.
50Triage is to remain locked at all times except for explicit windows (provided by an admin) for entry/exit of participants. All logs are to be flushed upon conclusion of the triage event.
51Triage link is NOT to be given out to anyone without the explicit consent of an admin. After a Triage session, admin should revoke and reinstate the Guest Access option on the room to change the URL.
52Idling is not permitted in Triage except for admins. Please leave when you are done chatting.
53Triage exists to provide best advice, emotional support, warnings, and clarity to targets of online mob harassment. It can be used for the following:
54Assisting with account security.
55Hate mob survival tactics.
56Moral support.
57It is not to be used for any other purpose, including:
58Approval or endorsement of offensive action.
59Social chat.
60Any and all activities that could become a liability for Crash Override.
61
62Remember that people in crisis situations tend to sometimes act incoherently or may not be trustworthy. Do not do or say anything that Crash Override could not own if aired in a public setting.
63
64
65
66Social Media Etiquette and Self-Care
67
68Lockng Down your Social Media: Always up-to-date guide on locking down your Facebook is here. It is highly recommended you limit your facebook to friends only if you are being targeted.
69
70Shutting Down Accounts: We do not recommend deleting your social media presence outright - this often telegraphs that those targeting you have accurate information. You don’t have to hide, but you do not have to engage either, and hopefully should not have to freak out. The worst feeling that tends to hit in these situations is of the invasion of privacy, barring security concerns. This is natural and normal, but can lead to rash decisions if left unchecked. Remember that these are bullies, and an outright retreat from social media does not mean they will stop targeting you. Generally, this will only cede to them the narrative of what has occurred. If you can weather it, try to keep your accounts online.
71
72Posting to Social Media: Feel free to let those on personal levels of social media know what has happened if you’d like, but make sure the accounts you use for this are properly secured against public view and against anyone who you feel you cannot trust (try using custom user lists on facebook). Include any privacy disclaimers or requests you’d like in the status update text itself to make sure it doesn’t get out further than you intend. It is important that you get the support and understanding you need, so do not feel ashamed to do this, or like it might be a tactical error, as long as you take all the mentioned security precautions.
73
74Talking About Harassment: Going public with information about harassment you have received is a complicated and sensitive issue. As a general rule you should refrain from acknowledging any harassment until you have taken necessary security precautions. Because you are, at this moment, in an on-going situation talking about successful, or unsuccessful, attempts provides feedback to harassers that can lead them to information that they did not previously have, encourage them to “keep digging” for information that they thought they had correct, or drive them to escalate their harassment to more severe (and dangerous) methods. 
75
76For example, while a false pizza delivery is obnoxious, talking about it prior to taking precautionary measures informs harassers that they have your correct address, which could embolden them to attempt a SWATing.
77
78Because of the unique nature of every case, going public should be handled strategically.
79
80Blocking: In cases of online mob harassment on Twitter, we strongly encourage blocking trolls and harassers, and especially the use of Randi Harper’s GGAutoblocker. In our experience, this tool covers blocking a good chunk of trolls and harassers who frequent both Gamergate and other gendered harassment movements. To use it, sign up to BlockTogether and subscribe to the randi_ebooks block list.
81
82Do not feel bad about resorting to using an autoblocker. We have found that the breathing room and peace of mind it grants is worth the very small amount of potential false positives. You are entitled to enforce your personal space, and nobody has a right to your audience if you don’t want to grant it.
83
84Remember: Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.
85 
86Step Away: Stepping away from online spaces can feel like admitting defeat, like your harassers “won” and have driven you off the internet, such is the psychological trap abusers intentionally create. Stepping away from social media for any length of time due to the stress it may be bringing into your life is not defeat. It is no different than creating some distance in a high-friction relationship, or taking time off from a stressful job. You have the right to feel safe in social spaces, and you have the right to back away from those spaces.
87
88In some cases, there is a fear that stepping away may cede a narrative to your harassers. This is usually when the harassment is taking the form of spamming libelous or potentially embarrassing information about you across social networks, as opposed to merely bombarding you with abusive emails, magazines, or pizzas. In some cases, the best thing to do is step away and let the situation resolve itself; in others, based on the veracity or severity of the harassment, it may benefit from active monitoring or countering.
89
90Part of Crash Override is to help advise you and best determine the best course of action for your unique situation. Conventional wisdom on how to handle these cases differs based on the circumstances of the harassment and the target. You should not feel pressured to go one way or the other; sometimes, the matter is not saying something, but what and how you say it. We’re here to help you with that.
91 
92Leaving Home: In extreme cases law enforcement may advise you to leave your home, or you may feel the need to leave for your own sense of well-being. If law enforcement recommends leaving, do so. Due to the severity of these situations each should be handled on a case-by-case basis.
93
94
95Personal Contact Information
96
97Zoe Quinn: [REDACTED]
98Alex Lifschitz: [REDACTED]
99
100Please use these numbers to contact either Zoe or Alex in case you should need it and do not have internet access.
101Preventative and General Resources
102
103Seg’s guide for protecting your accounts: http://segonmedia.com/2014/08/21/the-quick-indie-guide-to-protecting-your-accounts/
104
105Zoe’s guide to protecting your online identity: http://ohdeargodbees.tumblr.com/post/99694581114/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-the-internet
106
107Important: Enable 2-Factor Authentication on all services that support it and change your passwords to complex, alphanumeric, unique passwords for each site.
108
109To 2-Factor, check sites that support it at https://twofactorauth.org 
110Password services to use for generating and storing passwords:
111Keepass (local storage)
1121password (local storage)
113LastPass (online storage, cross-platform, support for YubiKey).
114Consider investing in a YubiKey. These are physical USB and NFC keys that are natively supported on services like LastPass, Gmail, Windows Login, and Dreamhost that add an extra layer of physical multi-factor account security. It is recommended you get two and store one with identical configuration in a static location.
115
116
117
118Monitoring Your Harassers
119
120Disclaimer: It is very easy to go down the rabbit hole of trying to track the progress of these people 24-7, but it’s mentally and emotionally daunting. DO NOT FEEL AS THOUGH YOU HAVE TO DO THAT YOURSELF. We are here to help with monitoring things, and if you’re not comfortable with having us do that consider asking a trusted friend to do it with you. 
121Anonymous Message Boards: 8chan in particular monitors the IP addresses that access it. If you are determined to follow threads about you, try downloading the TOR browser to keep your IP (and location) secret from the board administrators. 
122IRC Rooms: Oftentimes, people use IRC chatrooms to co-ordinate mass harassment. Do not enter one of these rooms without using a VPN to hide your location first. We are happy to monitor and record these for you.
123Phishing Attempts: Sometimes harassers will send you links with captions like “they’re coming for you” to try and get you to click. If you see anything like this, be very careful and ideally avoid clicking on the link altogether. If you are scared to ignore it, send it to us without clicking on it yourself and we can safely investigate it for you.
124Documentation: Do try and screenshot everything you can, or use a service like archive.today to keep track of anything you may want for your records. It is always better to over-record than under-record. When taking screenshots for law enforcement, make sure that you have a timestamp visible along with a URL.
125
126Other suggestions
127
128This pastebin contains a number of sites that 8chan uses for doxxing. Try to scrub your info from as many sites as possible. For ease, use this guide to figure out how to delete your info.
129This guide by Dan Olson addresses a few other basic identity scrubbing tactics you may have forgotten about.
130If you have personal websites, update any content delivery software (i.e. Wordpress), templates, themes, and plugins, and let your hosting service know you are being targeted.
131Consider flushing your Skype history unless there is important information you need documented. Skype has a ton of security holes and is generally unsafe for storing chat information.
132Check your gmail to make sure you are not logged in from any other locations. (Be aware that some services, like YesWare, will show as a remote login.)
133
134
135
136Dealing with Police
137
138If you have not yet been targeted
139
140If you feel like you may be targeted but have not yet been, our strong advice is that you not go to the police yet. Our interactions with law enforcement about these matters have shown the following:
141
1421. Cops are already less likely to take you seriously if you're a woman.
1432. Cops do not understand the internet or SWATing a lot of the time.
1443. Cops do understand specific threats and seeing someone targeted in particular.
145
146We recommend that you not contact the PD if you can't show them the specific threads and efforts being made to harass you - what you'll likely get is an annoyed police officer, because even in the event of SWATing, they still have to send people; And without being able to point to specific plans of attack against you, they can only really shrug and are less likely to take you seriously if things escalate.
147
148We know that sounds grim, but this is what our experience with law enforcement has been, even in the case of successful notifications - sometimes it’s up to luck of the draw on who answers your calls. We’d like you to know that Crash Override does monitor private and public channels of harassment, and can give you a heads up if we see anything, but we recommend that you do not involve the PD unless there's escalation.
149
150Right now, We recommend that you follow our guide on two-factoring and monitoring your harassers.
151
152Pre-emptive calls
153
154If you can, try to call a non-emergency line at your local police department, or at whatever address you are attempting to prevent a SWAT at. When calling the police to pre-empt a SWAT, say that you fear a SWATing attack.
155
156It is important to start with the threat and work your way backwards: you are being targeted by harassers who may try to use the police to hurt you. Avoid getting bogged down trying to explain Gamergate, 8chan, anon, baphomet, or the underlying reasons. Those reasons are important to you, but the priority of the first people you will be talking to is, first and foremost, physical safety. Explaining the politics can cloud the issue, confuse the officer you are talking to, and leave you frustrated.
157
158Avoid talking about the events as happening "on the internet." For many people who are not heavy users the internet is often seen as a different place, an alternate dimension, and they will advise you to "just walk away" or "stop going to those sites." Keep things grounded in the physical world. 8chan is just a space where real people coordinate physical activities.
159
160Remember, some officers are more open-minded and helpful than others. It can sometimes come down to getting the right officer in the right mood at the right time.
161
162Sample Script:
163
164Simple explanation: "There's a group that has made fake police reports in the past, I've become a target."
165If you must explain who: “A group of vandals, they posted my personal information to one of their forums, they often make prank calls to police.”
166If you must explain why: "I was critical of them/I have a vague connection to another of their targets."
167If you need to explain SWATing: "They place a false tip, typically for a hostage situation, bomb threat, or suicide attempt, hoping the police will respond with significant force."
168If you are asked if you know people who have been SWATed personally: “Yes. I am in contact with a few people who have been targeted similarly, some of them successfully.”
169We will be happy to put you in contact with other SWATing targets and victims if needed, but feel free to give the numbers at the top of this guide as a baseline.
170
171If an officer is sent to investigate, keep your archives/screencaps at the ready. If they need examples for what SWATing is, here are a few links you can have at the ready:
172
173Israel Galvez gets SWATed after having his personal info shared by Gamergate.
17420 police officers show up to an innocent person’s home after Gamergate SWATs the wrong address.
175What 8chan is and how they operate with regards to illegal activity.
176
177If the police arrive at your house
178
179Create a paper trail for later follow-up and evaluation. Document everything. This can include:
180A case number or incident report
181An officer’s contact information/business card
182
183Avoid mentioning the incident on social media immediately - it is important that you let people know what has happened, but the timing and prep is crucial. The support group can advise you on what best to do with this information. Like with any other move, this should be calculated to keep you safe and put you and your case beyond reproach.
184
185Following Up
186
187Try to get information on what next steps might be in obtaining official police reports. In the case of a SWATing, many law enforcement offices will have one ready within a few days with details of the SWAT tip and officer notes.
188
189If you vacate your home or move at all, be sure to follow up with police and notify them that you are changing addresses for the time being.
190
191As a general tip, we suggest keeping information about the SWAT attempt assembled and private until you have enough concrete details, such as case numbers, contacts, and official reports. This makes it easier for both the authorities and yourself to conduct investigations with minimal interference, and for you to publicize the incident with concrete numbers and information. If applicable, we will help you find the right avenues of press and social media to publicize your case.
192
193Remember that keeping these things to yourself is your own prerogative. Harassers usually encourage their targets to not publicize their harassment to avoid culpability. No officer or authority force will ever tell you to not release information. This is purely a victim-blaming and silencing tactic. However, do give your police department a heads up if you intend to release information so they can better deal with press inquiries.
194
195Choosing to go public or not is a personal decision. Going public carries the risk of increased aggression from harassers, but can help others who face similar harassment form a support network, and draw the public eye to the harassers, which impedes their efforts to harass and terrorize. Neither answer is a wrong answer. Not everyone has the time, energy, inclination, or freedom to bear further harassment (and, indeed, no one should have to). Each person targeted by harassers must make a decision, as an individual, as a family, about their safety and the risks they are willing, or not willing, to take. 
196
197
198
199Porn & Pizza: Cleaning Up your Addresses/Subscriptions
200
201One common tactic of harassers is to sign their targets up for email newsletters, porn distribution lists, physical mail services, etc. The following is a compendium of measures you can take to clear your inbox and protect yourself from mail fraud.
202
203Pizza: You can contact various pizza companies to flag orders made to your address.
204Dominos Cares Line: [REDACTED]
205We can call this number on your behalf, they are aware we do this for people sometimes.
206User services like Unroll.me and Mailstrom to quickly and easily clean up your email inbox and unsubscribe yourself from mailing lists that you may get signed up for.