[PHOTO OF EDWARD SNOWDEN]
Image Source: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Edward_Snowden-2.jpg
It is confirmed that over 80 percent of people in the world don't know who SNOWDEN is, are you one of them?
Since 2013, when Edward Joseph Snowden without authorization leaked information regarding the NSA on mass surveillance, there has been an increase in issues concerning privacy and anonymity online as recent events has revealed propaganda upon propaganda of mass surveillance governments of different countries. But how does
this affect us and the way we live? Is there really privacy in this 21st century era we live in? how does all these affect you?
I will show you how
Let's just play a little trivia game
Do you know right now you have already been compromised? Your bank details, credit card information, sensitive information stored in your devices, sensitive information you search for online, where you are, what you are doing right now are all at the disposal of the US government through the smartphones you use, sensitive information you put online, your PCs and even some your household appliances that are smart devices, even your phone camera is always recording and can be used to monitor you. I am sure both you and I can guess the consequences of these things that have just been enumerated.
Google keeps all logs of your searches and know your location at all times with or without your consent
Facebook is a treasure trove of information as people are willing to even input sensitive information about themselves online not caring about the consequences. Some examples of sensitive information people unknowingly put on facebook include their mother's maiden name, their DOB, their Uncle's name, their favorite pet's name,
even these examples sound like popular security questions asked for password recovery on some sites which any willing black-hat hacker can use to compromise your system.
As if this isn't enough they just go ahead and blindly use a weak password that is not even alphanumeric in nature, making it easy for even mere crackers to crack their passwords (thank God that more sites are beginning to enforce alphanumeric with special character and at least an uppercase letter to curb this folly, though I wonder why Facebook hasn't).
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO PROTECT OUR PRIVACY?
Image source: img.memecdn.com/nsa-is-watching-you_o_1725753.jpg
Well I am not saying you should quit facebooking or throw away your smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices and start living like a Hermit in a cave or get paranoid at the fact that the Government may be a HUGE stalker. Even though there is nothing like true privacy in this modern and digital world that we exist in, it is important to understand that there are certain measures you should take to secure your privacy even if its just a little.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUT ONLINE - WHAT IS POSTED ONLINE CAN NEVER BE DELETED, IT STAYS ONLINE FOREVER
The first is to be careful what you post online. I once read a famous Kevin Mitnick quote (The most famous and #1 Hacker ever) that the weakest link in a computer/system security will always be the user. It is a wonder why even despite many scams in history, people have not still learnt any lesson. No matter how secure a system is or how complex it is to fight attackers, the system security is absolutely useless if the user gives away access to the system. All it may take is just one phone call, one e-mail, and BOOM! WALAH! your system is compromised. This happens to a lot of people even today so guard against giving off sensitive information on the internet, most times it is the user (you) who compromises his own security and this still happens even today.
If you are an employer or a CEO or you have a team of partners working with you, don't just leave them to be profound in the skills they have, train them to be able to guard against attackers, black-hat hackers or any scammer who is out there looking for his/her next target. Remember, a user (could be you) are the weakest link in a computer's security or an organization's security in general, if the weakest link is made strong, then imagine the big boost in security your company or team have received.
If you want to take it further, hire a competent penetration tester to test your security by trying to hack into it, believe me a few thousand or hundred thousand dollars is worth more than the extortion and damage a heartless blackhat may leave you with.
USE VPN SERVICES
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and although VPN service is quite popular, not much people know about it or what it actually does. A VPN service is important in that it secures your connection from the you to the server, so even your ISP (Internet Service Provider) may not be able to keep track of what you are doing (Please NOTE that a VPN server only secures your connection to the server, it does not secure what information you pass from there to the outside (the internet) that's just up to you).
Well I can categorize VPN services into Free VPN service and Paid VPN service and will differentiate the two
FREE VPN SERVICE
Free VPN services provide you with cheap VPN service which may be very very effective, but just means
that you are likely being compromised by the Government. Come on, think about it has anything "too good to be true" actually turned out "true"?
Imagine you are the Government, and you need a way to monitor people who are already concerned about their privacy what would you do?
(lightbulb)Oh I know! Create a free VPN service that offers quality service so that it makes people think they are free of being compromised are actually bloody compromised (thumbs up). Yeah, so if you are going in cheap, just think about the consequences that maybe, just maybe what you are vying for is not what you get, as with all cheap services that occur. Well that is just my opinion but in case you don't really care whether the government is spying on you and you just need it probably for other services, here is a short list of some of the most popular VPNs (in no particular order):
TunnelBear
Express VPN
NordVPN
Proton VPN
Hide Me
Goose VPN
PAID VPN SERVICE
Well this is way much better believe me than free VPN service, but is it totally bulletproof? will it guarantee my online privacy?
Well the truth is YES and NO. Because in as much as paid VPN service guarantee you security from surveillance, your data still lies with the private company you registered with so...Not exactly foolproof. But, at least, its just a private company you have be worried about.
Some examples of paid VPN services:
CyberGhost
Private Internet Access VPN
3)IPVanish
4)PureVPN
(Please note also that some free VPN service have paid versions of them too).
Image Source: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Seal_of_the_U.S._National_Security_Agency.svg/718px-Seal_of_the_U.S._National_Security_Agency.svg.png
Ultimately if the Government, or the NSA (if you are American) is after your ass, there is really nothing you can do, unless you are one super duper genius at hacking and programming, hiding even in plain sight.
AWARENESS
In this fast paced digital world we live in, no commodity or currency is worth more than
information, awareness is key to privacy, as new technologies come out everyday both to
tear down and to build up security, if you are not kept abreast with the latest of the latest
you may find your security being compromised, trust me, hackers are tenacious
USE LINUX/MAC OS(s) OR ANY SECURE UNIX-BASED OS (DON'T USE WINDOWS!!!!!!)
If you are using Windows OS and back up sensitive information on it thinking you are safe, you are like a naked indian fighting modern American combatants with a plastic spear. Most Windows Operating Systems can easily be breached to their poor system security architecture, so please never use Windows for sensitive task online or offline.
USE PROXIES TO HIDE YOUR LOCATION OR PROXYCHAINS TO BOUNCE IT AROUND THE WORLD
Image Source: i.ytimg.com/vi/hFzt4mlZmPs/maxresdefault.jpg
(By the way Kali Linux is an awesome OS for both hackers and crackers)
The use of proxy cannot be overemphasized as it masks your location giving you a kind of anonymity, but some of the proxy servers I have encountered are not really effective as it can easily be bypassed and your real location can be discovered. If you are using proxy, make sure you test just how strong that or those proxies are. You may also choose to use proxychains to bounce of your connections across the world, this can be easily done in Linux but I do not know about windows since i practice what I preach (wink). But proxychains do just that so no one can know your location,
this minute you are in Spain, and another you are in New Zealand, pretty slick huh?
(Please do not use an app to try to hide your location, most of them don't work)
USE TOR SERVICE
Image source: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Anonymous_emblem.svg/316px-Anonymous_emblem.svg.png
A lot of people are scared of the Deep Web as they see it as one dark gloomy place where all evil deeds, and Illuminati including the Devil himself originated. This is most laughable, the truth is the deep web is actually key to our privacy
(Watch Alex Winter talk about it here on YouTube)
youtube )
and you only get in trouble based on how you use it. Just like the normal web, if you use it for illegal activities and you get caught, you get into trouble, and if not, you don't. It is still all based on your discretion. I like it because it gives you the freedom to be anonymous so you don't have to worry whether you are being compromised or not. Ensure not to run scripts when you browse the deep web though and do not visit sites you know will put you in trouble. Like I said before, I will be talking a lot on the deep web, since I have been there for a while and the sensational Marianas Web which still trickles on some people's curiosity whether it actually exists or not.
Image Source: i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/08/article-2229806-15E8F646000005DC-328_634x356.jpg
OH! And here is a tip, especially for those who browse the DEEP WEB (I will be writing an article on that soon),
place a duct tape on your camera, this is very important, you wouldn't want unapproved pictures of
you with someone else especially if all your are wearing is a smile, so please take this
caution. I know it sounds ridiculous but trust me, this is the fact of the world we live in.
So that's it for now, of course there are more ways to keep yourself secure but following these steps will guarantee you a very much higher level of security than you have now. How secure you are or want to be is entirely up to you, read more to know more about being safe and anonymous online, and you shall have your DIGITAL FREEDOM. Till next time, chiow.
[EXTRAS]
Mehn why can't we use smileys, or is it just because I am a newbie
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