The Anonymous movement is a modern, loosely organized group of online and offline users, idealizing the principles of anonymity and freedom on the Internet. The movement opposes censorship, harassment and surveillance on the global computer network. In protest, Anonymous members carried out various attacks on government websites and the websites of security organizations.
The organization was originally an anarchic digital global brain coordinating members to achieve goals related to entertainment, internet humor and memes. But since 2008, the focus has shifted towards rallies and protests against anti-piracy rallies organized by trade, industrial and record companies. Public opinion is ambivalent about the Anonymous movement. Some call them freedom fighters on the Internet, while others call them anarchist guerrillas on the global network.
Anonymous is a fundamentally new phenomenon of mass activism, uniting a wide variety of participants in a common direction of the movement. The organizational structure is completely absent: at any moment new users may join the movement, old ones leave, some may change course. But at the same time, the group remains very numerous and has serious power and influence. Its effectiveness lies in the fact that in each case it is possible to unite the forces of participants from all over the world.
The movement is not tied to any specific sites, but some resources are positioned as closely related to this Internet group. Anonymous grows in popularity and size after every successful and scandalous attack or action. Using a humorous interpretation of the name Anonymous as a real person, the American magazine Time included him in the TOP-100 of the most influential people in 2012.
The Anonymous movement is completely decentralized. There are no leaders or leaders in it. It is governed by the collective power of its participants, giving a total of the effect of unity. Participants in the movement are mainly users of image boards, Internet forums, together with some wikis and IRC networks. Social and IRC networks, various sites are used by the movement as a means of communication and organizing protests on the Internet and in the real world. There are also specialized resources that allow everyone to overcome the limitations applied in various imageboards.
Anonymous' hacking activity is based on the use of a wide botnet network. Members of the movement voluntarily download the LOIC application to their computers, thus connecting their computer to the botnet.
One of the symbols of the movement was the Guy Fawkes mask, widely used by participants in offline promotions. It was first used in 2008 as a symbol of anonymity. Subsequently, it became a graphic Internet meme and the official mask of Anonymous.
