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Quiz: Are you Anonymous?

Anonymous’ roots and actions remain steps ahead of pop media, who think they’re a pimply teenage army, and Anonymous has a complex history. Despite Anonymous’ online evolution, people still seem to confuse Anonymous with “Revenge Of The Nerds.
Written by Violet Blue, Contributor

Anonymous’ roots and actions remain steps ahead of pop media, who think they’re a pimply teenage army, and Anonymous has a complex history. Despite Anonymous’ online evolution, people still seem to confuse Anonymous with “Revenge Of The Nerds.”

For those who might not know, Anonymous is a notorious, indefinite online collective (often called "hacktivists" in media) credited with high-profile website raids, protests and various actions tied to values relating to internet freedom. Membership requires a secret identity.

Take the quiz to test your outsider knowledge of Anonymous. Or… are you Anonymous?

Instructions: Click on your answer and then see how many others agree with you. Then click to see the answer and the next question.

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The correct answer is... »

1. 61-year-old rock and roll fossil Gene Simmons threatened Anonymous with what for DDoS-ing his website after he urged entertainment companies to take a hard stance against piracy?

The correct answer is D. Man-on-man sex.

Last year, Gene Simmons redoubled his anti-file sharing stance at MIPCOM stating, "Be litigious. Sue everybody. Take their homes, their cars (…)" When Anonymous took his website offline, he threatened them with prison rape, saying “they might find their little butts in jail, right next to someone who's been there for years and is looking for a new girl friend [SIC].”

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2. What “operation” is confused for being Anonymous’ handiwork?

The correct answer is B. Operation Payback.

Operation Payback and Anonymous are not considered the same thing, but most mass media has difficulty with this distinction due to the sophisticated concept of Anonymous’ decentralized ethos.

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3. What Hollywood actor was at the locus of Anonymous’ first action, when the actor demanded and took legal action to remove embarrassing (and revealing) online media of him?

The correct answer is D, Tom Cruise.

When the Scientologist and actor went American Psycho and jumped up and down on a couch during a TV broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the unsettling video was posted online. The Church of Scientology tried to censor the Internet by having the video removed from any and every website it appeared on. Anonymous described the attacks as punishment for the Church’s alleged abuse of copyright laws, and alleged brainwashing of its members.

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4. What religion did Anonymous not attack, despite reporting and rumors claiming the contrary?

The correct answer is D, The Westboro Baptist Church.

While outlets like Huffington Post reported that Anonymous attacked Westboro’s website during a live interview, this would turn out to be incorrect. Anonymous issued a press release berating media for believing what they claim was a publicity-seeking hoax perpetrated by Westboro. [poll id="6"]

The correct answer is... »

5. What is a Geohot?

The correct answer is A. A funny rapper.

George Hotz, aka Geohot, successfully hacked a Sony PlayStation 3 in early 2010, and Sony responded by suing him. Geohot responded with this humorous rap video, in which he pointed out Sony’s hypocrisy and explained his position. [poll id="7"]

The correct answer is... »

6. Is Julian Assange in Anonymous?

The correct answer is D. No. He'd have to be a mutant.

Assange was in a London jail during “Operation Avenge Assange,” an expansion of “Operation Payback.”

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7. Anonymous did the most known damage to:

The correct answer is B. The RIAA, for being $%^&.

While damage is difficult to measure in the absence of financials or reputation scores, Anonymous (nee Operation Payback) successfully took the RIAA’s site down for over seven days.

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8. The Guy Fawkes mask is associated with Anonymous because:

The correct answer is D. d) Anonymous' early protests were characterized by people wearing the mask for anonymity.

When attacks began on The Church of Scientology, Anonymous issued a video featuring the mask, and later staged in-person flash mob protests where participants wore the mask for anonymity. The suggested reference is most likely related to Alan Moore’s “V For Vendetta" where an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask begins an elaborate, violent, and intentionally theatrical campaign to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and convince the people to rule themselves.

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9. What is the name of Anonymous’ primary software tool developed for DDoS attacks?

The correct answer is C. Low Orbit Ion Cannon,

According to Pandalabs Security, the “(Low Orbit Ion Canon) is a DDoS tool developed by the attackers to carry out their DDoS attacks. The software allows users to insert a command and control address into the application, which will then automatically connect their computer to the “HIVEMIND” and immediately start attacking a predetermined target.”

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10. When Sony singled out Anonymous for its role in the PlayStation Network data breach, what did Anonymous say in response?

The correct answer is C. "Sony is incompetent."

Anonymous has continually denied having any role in the data breach, stating “For Once We Didn’t Do It.”

And, now for your results (correct answers):

10: You're the person behind the Guy Fawkes mask. 7-9: I didn't catch your name... 4-6: Want to buy a Guy Fawkes mask? 1-3: Sign your name here. 0: Go back to downloading strange email attachments

Thanks for playing!

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