More and more of our life is becoming digital. Are you prepared to deal with the privacy and security implications of that fact? As a permanent digital nomad, my life is lived online more than most others and I have had to learn about the issues involved the hard way. So, I decided to take a comprehensive look at what I have learned along the journey and share that knowledge with you. This book is one of a three-part series of computer and online guides covering basic and advanced computer setup, local and online backup and syncing, and online privacy and security.
The following topics are covered:
- Passwords: Everything You Need to Know
- Protecting Your Computer
- Protecting Your Files with Encryption
- Safely Using Public Computers and Networks
- Wi-Fi and Networking
- Keeping Your Browsing Activity Private
- Securing Your Network Connection
- VPNs and Proxy Servers
- Chatting Securely
- Testing Your Security and Privacy
- Identity Theft
External Links Found in the Book
As promised in the book, here is a listing of all the external links found in the book.
- Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You
How Much Your Stolen Data Is Worth to Scammers
book on saving, syncing and sharing your digital life
Internet Service Provider
router
access point
keylogger
malware
social-engineering
phishing
How I became a password cracker
BIOS
WebBrowserPassView
BulletsPassView
Master Password Timeout add-on
Master Password+ add-on
KeePass
KeePassX
LastPass
Password Safe
Dashlane
Keeper
SplashID
1Password
RoboForm
key file
KeeFox
ChromeIPass
KeeForm
KeePassDroid
MiniKeePass
Yubikey
Lifehacker tells you how you can use it with a password manager
couple of questions
entropy
The Usability of Passwords
Your Clever Password Tricks Aren’t Protecting You from Today’s Hackers
How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords
Thomas Baekdal article
xkcd Password Generator
How Secure Is My Password
infographic
Danah Boyd’s security question algorithm
Bruce Schneier’s advice
security challenge
How Secure Is My Password
Should I Change My Password?
Have I Been Pwned?
PwnedList
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)
Mailvelope
Gpg4win explanation
Mailvelope help page
two-step (two-factor) authentication
Google
Yahoo! Mail
Facebook
Dropbox
Apple
Microsoft
PayPal
Amazon Web Services
WordPress
LastPass
Android
iOS
Windows Phone
useful video and Matt Cutt’s discussion of two-factor verification
OAuth
Lifehacker describes it
Google
Twitter
Facebook
App Settings
OpenID
core providers
Ultimate ZIP Cracker
Free Word Excel Password Recovery Wizard
Word Password Recovery Master
Wondershare PDF Password Remover
Ophcrack
LCP
Lazesoft Recover My Password
Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK)
Windows Key
Windows Password Unlocker
Windows Password Recovery Bootdisk
NirSoft
How to Break Into a Computer (And Prevent It from Happening to You)
break into a PC or Mac
Wi-Fi router
access point
Ninite’s updater
FileHippo Updater
CleanSofts UpdateNotifier
Secunia’s Personal Software Inspector (PSI)
Software Update by Glarysoft
CNET TechTracker
Microsoft Security Essentials
CCleaner
Glary Utilities
HiJackThis
MalwareBytes
Spybot Search & Destroy
SpywareBlaster
SuperAntiSpyware
Keystroke logging
KeyScrambler
Index Dat Spy
CCleaner
Glary Utilities
HOSTS file
HostsMan
PeerBlock
Domain Name System (DNS)
OpenDNS
setup guide
free program
Google Public DNS
setup guide
encryption
I highly recommend
only useful to keep honest people honest
AxCrypt
zip (“archive”) file format
7-Zip
illustrated tutorial covering the use of both 7-Zip and AxCrypt
Locknote
Skype
CryptSync
TrueCrypt
BoxCryptor
How do I use TrueCrypt for on-the-fly encryption?
File encryption made simple with TrueCrypt
Cryptonite
AddictiveTips coverage
expand your volume size
Cloudfogger
DataNow Vault
Viivo
A+ Folder Locker
AddictiveTips review
EncFS
Disk Utility
BitLocker
FileVault
DiskCryptor
Trusted Platform Module
WinPT Portable
Rohos Mini Drive
USB Safeguard
Granite Portable
FreeOTFE
TrueCrypt
virtual keyboard
on-screen keyboard included in Microsoft Windows
Safekeys
KeePass
virtual keyboard plugin
ShareWatcher
ShareWatch
Flash Drive Reminder
portable apps
Tor browser bundle
TrueCrypt
packet analyzing
monitor mode
Session hijacking
excellent video
Man-in-the-middle attacks
Cain and Abel
sslstrip
WEP passwords
WPA passwords
Wireshark
guide to using Wireshark to sniff out passwords and cookies
MAC addresses
router
firewall
port forwarding
ad hoc
tethering
NetSetMan
Application Firewall
Stay Invisible
Anonymity Test
Panopticlick
Gina Trapani
10minutemail.com
Guerrilla Mail
YOPmail
noclickemail.com
AccountKiller
Google
Twitter
Facebook
AdjustYourPrivacy
MyPermissions
Always Up-to-Date Guide to Managing Your Facebook Privacy
opting out of the Facebook/Datalogix collaboration
bookmarklet
AVG PrivacyFix
AdjustYourPrivacy
MyPermissions
forward all email
delegate email access
how CIA director David Petraeus’s emails were traced
SSL encryption
Phishing
social engineering
spoofing
DuckDuckGo
Ixquick
Blekko
Start Page
add-on
google.com/history
Web of Trust (WOT)
McAfee Site Advisor
AVG Secure Search
Link Scanner
URL Void
Spokeo
PeopleFinders
WhitePages.com
StopDataMining.me
similar, though smaller, list
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
HTTPS
HTTPS Everywhere
KB SSL Enforcer
Firefox points out
guest browsing
this Swtiched article
Do Not Track
Why Do Not Track may not protect anybody’s privacy
HTTPS Everywhere
Web of Trust (WOT)
DoNotTrackMe
Ghostery
Digital Trends has a comparison of the two
Disconnect
Priv3
KeeFox
uninstall it from your machine
Local shared objects
track your online activity
BetterPrivacy
Firefox
Opera
Chrome
JonDoFox
JonDoBrowser
Tor Browser Bundle
CCleaner
Glary Utilities
create a shortcut to run CCleaner silently
User Account Control
create shortcuts that bypass UAC
disable it entirely
set up CCleaner to run on a schedule
nagware
Sandboxie
Sandboxie introduction and user tutorial
proxy server
Virtual Private Network
peer-to-peer
Lifehacker shows you how
Amazon EC2 instance with SSH access
Silence is Defeat
PHProxy
on your own server
on a desktop at home
HideMyAss
How Stuff Works article
What Is VPN & Tunneling; How To Create And Connect To VPN Network [Beginner’s Guide]
How Do I Know If My VPN Is Trustworthy?
freemium
SoftEther VPN
VPN Gate
the combined VPN Gate and SoftEther package
PacketiX.NET
CyberGhost
Faceless.ME
Addictive Tips offers a good overview of the service
Freegate
program
Hurricane Electric
Hamachi
Hotspot Shield
ExpatShield
proXPN
SafeIP
SecurityKISS
Spotflux
Tunnelbear
USA IP
VPNium
UDP and TCP
VPNReactor
Best Free Anonymous Surfing Services
Lifehacker has polled their readers for the top 5 providers
how to choose the best one for your needs
TorrentFreak directly asked many of the leading VPN providers
Hola
Spotflux
Blue Box Proxy
FoxyProxy
Hamachi
OpenVPN
using the Windows VPN
Privoxy
Proxy Switchy
FoxyProxy
http://config.privoxy.org/
WhatIsMyIP.com
build the same thing using a cheap, power-conserving Raspberry Pi device
Anonymous-P2P.org
GNUnet’s related projects
Hola Unblocker
JonDo or JonDonym
JAP
tutorials
ANONdroid
JonDoFox
JonDoBrowser
Privacy ProtectorGVN
Tor
the King of high secure, low latency Internet anonymity
data is encrypted inside the Tor network
official tips for using Tor properly
Tor software bundle
Tor site
Wikipedia site
AdvOR
Orbot
Everything you need to know about using TOR
iTwin Connect
Wake-on-LAN
DD-WRT
How-To Geek shows you how
Connectify
Connectify tutorial
Witopia
Proxy Switcher Lite
Sidestep
Meerkat
VPNetMon
VPNCheck
Speedtest.net
Cryptocat
Pidgin
plugins
Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR)
Domain Name System
DNSLeakTest.com
VPNCheck
OpenDNS
DNS spoofing
cache
Shield’s Up
AuditMyPC’s firewall test
Norton’s Security Scan
Lifehacker’s tips on scanning for port security holes
Password Security Scanner
Federal Trade Commission page on identity theft
Credit Sesame’s article
file a report
Social Security Administration
Internal Revenue Service
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