Privacy Checklist – A Beginner’s Quick Start to Online Privacy

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asked Nov 1, 2019 in 3D Segmentation by freemexy (47,810 points)

When you make the decision to actively protect your online privacy, it can be difficult to know just where to begin. In this privacy checklist, we’ve outlined several key privacy categories to consider: passwords, browsing, email, search, text messages, and network.
The internet is unsafe by default; it’s a sad reality, but there are tools you can use to make it safer. If you aren’t taking extra steps to protect your online privacy, you’re not doing enough. A good rule of thumb to follow: being overly cautious won’t hurt you; being overly reckless will. How many privacy measures you enact is ultimately a personal choice, but we want to give you all of the basic tools necessary to make that decision.

Are You Safely Managing Your Passwords?
Password management is an essential instrument in today’s web landscape. Safe passwords must be long, complex, and difficult to guess, and they should be unique for each account. Repeating passwords is out, because it means all accounts are at risk when one account is compromised.

But this creates a huge problem. It’s nearly impossible to remember the amount of passwords required to meet these stringent criteria. The solution lies in the use of a password manager. Password managers store all of your active passwords and protect them through encryption.

There are many password managers available to choose from. Three of the most popular are Dashlane, LastPass and RoboForm.

Is Your Web Browser Secure?
There are a few elements to a secure browsing. Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Firefox are the four most-used browsers, but in their default states, they’re riddled with vulnerabilities.

One way to improve upon this is by optimizing their settings. As far as cookies are concerned, only allow third-party cookies, and only keep first-party cookies until your session is over. Block pop-ups, Flash, and JavaScript. Finally, turn-off any tracking, auto-fill, and password-saving functions, and disable saved browsing histories where possible.

You can also use a more alternative private browser if you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone. There are many available with varying levels of expertise required. For a simple option, consider Brave. It’s a fast, open-source browser that disables ad-tracking.

Is Your Email Client Safe?
Mainstream email providers have a poor track record. Google used to scan Gmail messages to create user-relevant ads. And Yahoo – where to begin? Last year we learned of their secret email spying program. And this year we discovered that their 2013 data breach included all 3 billion Yahoo accounts.

So, if you’re wary of using the one of the major players for your personal email, you should be. Luckily, there are safer options out there. End-to-end encrypted email is available through several outlets, including the highly-regarded Tutanota.

Are You Using a Private Search Engine?
Google may be king of the search engines, but it’s also a privacy nightmare. Every query is tracked and shared extensively with third-parties looking to turn Google’s data into dollars.

You can tinker with your settings to limit the damage done by cookies; you can also opt out of Google’s personalized ads. But these actions won’t end the ads or tracking altogether. To do that, you’ll need an alternative search engine.

To maintain Google’s performance while eliminating tailored ads and tracking, try Startpage. The Netherlands-based search engine uses Google results. Another popular alternative is DuckDuckGo, which uses Yahoo search results.

Are Your Text Messages Shielded With End-to-End Encryption?
While iMessage encrypts all text messages by default, Android does not. The disparity creates a problem. When iPhone users text Android users (or when Android users text anyone) the message is not encrypted end-to-end.

Thankfully, there’s an easy fix. Encrypted messaging apps are exploding in popularity, and they’re easy to use. WhatsApp has the biggest user base and while it’s a solid option, use Signal if possible. The app, created by Open Whisper Systems, is open-source and has developed its own encryption protocol that’s been vetted and approved by the cryptography community.

Are You Connecting to the Internet With a VPN?
The tools above are great start for remaining safe online, but only a VPN secures all of your device’s web traffic with encryption. Use a VPN service
to protect your privacy whenever you use the internet.

http://www.fastexpressvpn.com/
http://www.fastvpnproxy.com/
http://www.buysecurevpn.com/

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