{:title "Tools I use to stay secure online" :layout :post :tags "Miscellaneous" }

Tools I use to stay secure online

Usually when I talk about privacy and security with other people, they're usually like "Well, I don't care about my privacy! I've got nothing to hide!" While you may think that way, think about it this way as well. How would you feel if there was a camera in your bathroom? What about if someone posted all your financial information on a forum online? Your address? Would you still say the same thing? Most likely, no. The truth of the matter is, we all have stuff that we have to hide from others. Being able to hide important information about yourself is crucial for basic social and technical functions, regardless of how big or small it may be to you. Saying that you don't care about the right to privacy and security because you have nothing to hide is pretty much the same as saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say. Privacy is absolutely a necessity in today's society, especially with the internet. Information is power, and anyone with information about you can steal your identity, leak damaging information, steal money from you, steal your identity, and much more.

Tools I use:

There are many tools that I use when casually browsing the internet, or when downloading files and more.

VPN: I personally use Mullvad VPN, since they have a strict no-log policy and is extremely cheap, with only 5 dollars a month. Their way of working is extremely different as well, you get an account number and that's all the information they have about you, besides credit card information if you choose to pay with a card. You can pay with cash, vouchers, and other methods of payment. This is very unique and different to many other VPN services, which require you to provide an email address, a password, and other information about you. Besides that, it's extremely secure and offers many additional features like a killswitch, ad-blocking DNS servers, and bridges. Of course, VPNs are not a one stop tool for absolute anonymity, all they do is route your data to a different server and your ISP provider can see when you do this. It's more of a question whether or not you trust your VPN provider to keep the information safe and have no logs, which I believe Mullvad doesn't.
Passwords: Using the same password is easy for you to remember, but it's also easy for others to use to get access to all of your other accounts. Using a different password for everything is suggested, making sure it's long, and something that isn't based on personal information or that can be easily guessed. I personally use KeePass, since it's all stored locally, meaning that it's safe from cyber attacks. Look up LastPass and you'll easily see why you probably shouldn't use an online password manager.
Tor: The Onion Routing project, or Tor, is an open-source privacy network that allows users to anonymously browse the internet. The Tor network uses secure, encrypted protocols to protect the online privacy of its users. Initially it was developed by the U.S. Navy to protect sensisitive data, however, it was publically released and the source code was made accessible to everyone. The encryption scheme it uses is secured in a multi-layer system, where the connection is routed through multiple different nodes(Tor servers). This means that whoever is tracking you will stumble on the exit node, which makes it nearly impossible for you to get identified. You only get identified if you log in on any service while connected to Tor. While it's highly secure, it's much slower than a VPN or a bare internet connection because your traffic is being sent to multiple different servers. Many people, such as journalists, activists, people wishing for better cybersecurity(me), or people facing heavy censorships benefit from using Tor.
Browser extensions: Here is a list of browser extensions I use while browsing the internet:
- uBlock Origin: Best open-source adblocker that's extremely efficient and easy on the CPU and RAM.
- Forget Me Not: Makes the browser delete cookies and other identifying information everytime you close a website.
- HTTPS Everywhere: Automatically moves you from an insecure HTTP site to a HTTPS

Conclusion

These are some tools that I use to keep myself safe online, even if it's scratching the surface. Doing things like using different operating systems, hardening the browser, and much more can be done to protect yourself online. I'll eventually talk more about it.