How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour

[1984hasarrived]

How to stay safe in the digital age - an interesting read.

Andy Grove was a Hungarian refugee who escaped communism, studied engineering, and ultimately led the personal computer revolution as the CEO of Intel. He died earlier this year in Silicon Valley after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease.

When one of the most powerful people in the world encourages us to be paranoid, maybe we should listen.

And Grove isn’t the only powerful person urging caution. Even the director of the FBI — the same official who recently paid hackers a million dollars to unlock a shooter’s iPhone — is encouraging everyone to cover their webcams.

But you obey the law. What do you have to worry about? As the motto of the United Kingdom’s surveillance program reminds us, “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear.”

Well, law-abiding citizens do have reason to fear. They do have reasons to secure their devices, their files, and their communications with loved ones.

“If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.” — Cardinal Richelieu in 1641
In this article, I will show you how you can protect yourself by leveraging state-of-the-art encryption. In a single sitting, you can make great strides toward securing your privacy.

Common sense security for everyone
To be clear, everything I recommend here is 100% free and 100% legal. If you bother locking your doors at night, you should bother using encryption.

“Be prepared” — The Scout Motto
Let’s get prepared.

First, a couple definitions. When I use the term “attacker” I mean anyone trying to access your data whom you haven’t given express permission to — whether it’s a hacker, a corporation, or even a government.

And when I use the terms “private” or “secure”, I mean reasonably so. The reality is that — as long as humans are involved — no system will ever be 100% private or 100% secure.

As long as your phone, computers, and accounts are sufficiently protected, their contents will remain an “encrypted lump” and there’s not much anyone — regardless of how powerful they are — can do about it.

Tip #1: Use two-factor authentication on your inbox
Your inbox is the skeleton key to your life. If an attacker compromises it, they can not only read your emails, they can use it to reset your passwords for pretty much anything. This includes social media accounts and even bank accounts.

The simplest thing you can do to dramatically improve your personal security is to turn on two-factor authentication on your inbox.

Basically, two-factor authentication is a second layer of security when signing in. It usually involves receiving a text message with a special code whenever you sign into your account.

Two-factor authentication substantially reduces the likelihood of your inbox getting hacked.

If you use Gmail, you should activate two-factor auth here.

Now.

Seriously.

I’ll still be here when you get back.

Tip #2: Encrypt your hard drive

Tip #3: Turn on your phone’s password protection

Tip #4: Use different passwords for each service

Tip #5: Send private text messages with Signal

[b]Tip #6: Your browser’s incognito mode isn’t private enough[/b]

[b]Tip #7: Browse in private with Tor[/b]

[b]Tip #8: Search in private[/b]

Lots more here : with links, screenshots and info on each tip.
How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour

[guohua]

@"1984hasarrived"  Thank You, for this   Thread.

A lot of Great Advice.

[1984hasarrived]

@"1984hasarrived"  Thank You, for this   Thread.

A lot of Great Advice.

Hey, I just linked to another article - did not even post most of the article.

But I would say that DDG may not be the safest search engine.

I use startpage.com as I have read some negative things about DDG, just FYI.

[Mystic Wanderer]

Good information to have on hand.   Thanks.    

I use Avast virus protection and also Malwarebytes Premium.  Do I still need to do this too?

[1984hasarrived]

Good information to have on hand.   Thanks.    

I use Avast virus protection and also Malwarebytes Premium.  Do I still need to do this too?

Yes, I would still use them as viruses and malware are different things to the tips shown.

The tips are how to be more secure and private.

I would alos recommend NoScript link here, an add on for Firefox that blocks Javascript on sites - it is easy to allow permission, and is not too intrusive imho.  But it does show you how much Javascript is used on so many pages.

[Mystic Wanderer]

Good information to have on hand.   Thanks.    

I use Avast virus protection and also Malwarebytes Premium.  Do I still need to do this too?

Yes, I would still use them as viruses and malware are different things to the tips shown.

The tips are how to be more secure and private.

I would alos recommend NoScript link here, an add on for Firefox that blocks Javascript on sites - it is easy to allow permission, and is not too intrusive imho.  But it does show you how much Javascript is used on so many pages.

Got it installed.  Thanks!  

[Ninurta]

The basic principles presented are fairly sound, but I believe some of the "solutions" are... less than optimal. For example, the "two factor authentication" offered by Google is nothing more than an excuse to link your cell phone to the rest of the info Google has documented on you, making their data mining job easier and ensuring that ALL of your information can be stored in one handy, convenient place. I don't believe it's EVER a good idea, for ANY reason, to link your cell phone to your e-mail, or any other Google service. As a matter of fact, I've taken every single thing that I can from my cell phone to minimize my Google footprint on it. No gmail, no banking, no browsing, no Google searching, and for God's sakes NO MAPPING, LOCATION, OR OTHER TRACKING SERVICES on it. That goes double for any "apps" that MUST be procured through the "Google Store". I have automatic suspicion of anything that can only be obtained from one source, especially if that "One source" is one whose stock in trade is tracking your every move and action. The only "apps" I would even consider for my phone would be those developed and distributed independently of Google.

Likewise, the suggestion to use native Microsoft "solutions" for encrypting your hard drive. Microsoft already has developed your Windows operating system, and trusting them to play nice in encrypting it is more trust than I would care to place in Microsoft, given their track record. That is like trusting the fox to guard the henhouse, only worse. The fox has already designed and built the henhouse, and I see no reason to give him the keys to it, too. I use a third party open source solution, called "VeraCrypt".

I have no experience with the "Signal secure messaging app", but if it is ONLY available at the "Google Store", it's automatically suspect. See above.

I'm on lunch, gotta git back to work. maybe I'll add more after I get back home again.

[1984hasarrived]

Here is an alternative to Google Store which only allows Free and Open Source software - F-Droid

[guohua]

Here is an alternative to Google Store which only allows Free and Open Source software - F-Droid

Thank You, I'll look into that.

[Ninurta]

Here is an alternative to Google Store which only allows Free and Open Source software - F-Droid

Thanks for that. I've spent years now getting used to NOT using apps on a phone, but I'm going to look through there and see if there is anything that might get me interested in apping up my phone.