Best privacy preserving measures
-
Don't use localization or weather apps, don't use soft or services from big (US) corporations, don't use discount or banking apps in your mobile, use a good VPN/SPN or Snowflake, use Pi-Hole or better Portmaster on desktop, InVizible Pro on Mobile, don't store sensible data on your Mobile....the most important, use your common sense, PEBCAK
What do you think of weather apps from F-Droid?
-
All data is routed through somewhere you don't have control over at some point. If everything is encrypted then you are fine. You could setup a vps and proxy through that instead of Cloudflare, but you are just relying on the vps provider to protect any data/not snoop then rather than Cloudflare.
The only real way to be completely private is to just avoid connecting to the internet at all, but that's not really feasible. Just get to a point where you are comfortable, you've already done more than most to protect yourself (as much as you can without it getting silly anyway). Good job!
What bs if I have a reverse proxyy data gets decrypted by the person who it should be. Cloudflare MiTM the data.
-
The best way?
Get rid of all the connected stuff entirely, delete all your online accounts, get rid of your cell phone and similar devices, start paying cash for everything. Close your bank accounts and keep your money under your mattress. Move into the woods, grow your own food, and don't talk to anyone.
The three golden rules to ensure computer security are: do not own a computer; do not power it on; and do not use it.
-Robert Morris
-
What do you think of weather apps from F-Droid?
All weather apps need your location, well from your GPS data or entering it manually and this is always an security hole, even if the app don't share it. If you want to use it, is preferable an FOSS app from F-Droid than one from Google Play, but the best apps are from the official meterologic agency of your country (in Spain AEMET), these are the most accurate and reliables and not driven by commercial interests, other apps anyway use their info from these agencies.
-
All weather apps need your location, well from your GPS data or entering it manually and this is always an security hole, even if the app don't share it. If you want to use it, is preferable an FOSS app from F-Droid than one from Google Play, but the best apps are from the official meterologic agency of your country (in Spain AEMET), these are the most accurate and reliables and not driven by commercial interests, other apps anyway use their info from these agencies.
Sadly, NOAA is prohibited from making their own weather app. God bless America.
-
Considering the current intrusive cyber climate, what are the best ways to preserve privacy?
For example, I have been exclusively using a VPN connection network-wide at home setup on OpenWrt, which in turn has a PiHole as its DNS, with the PiHole using Unbound and NextDNS (redundant I know, but I use it to encrypt my requests more than anything else).
I also have Wireguard setup so I can VPN all my devices to my network while I am on the road (also have a NextDNS profile installed. Yes I know, it’s redundant).
I also basically have all my “smart” devices (TV, lightbulbs, air purifier, etc…) at home cutoff from the internet using OpenWrt’s firewall to prevent them from calling home.
I rotate web browsers frequently to try and attempt avoiding getting fingerprinted, not sure how useful that is.
I switched email providers to mailbox.org because f*** Google and Microsoft.
I also am hosting my own cloud drive on Nextcloud to avoid using services like GDrive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc…
I own Apple devices which aren’t the best for privacy but migrating from a whole ecosystem that I have been embedded in for MANY years is easier said than done. Hopefully in the future that’s my next move.
I feel like there is a lot more I can do but I am not sure what else. I would appreciate any and all suggestions ya’ll might have.
EDIT: I’m not being too extreme with my caution as some comments are making it sound to be. I am a very average person who is privacy conscious yet realize being cut off from the internet and society is not realistic. I guess my threat model is your basic “day-to-day it’s non of your business who am I online or what I do, please don’t profile/fingerprint me, I am just a passerby” kinda threat model.
I wouldn’t worry about moving away from the apple devices. Just turn on lockdown and keep it on, do the privacy checkup or whatever it’s called and use a doh profile.
On the other hand, which is to say stuff you should be doing to enhance your privacy, stop voting. Assuming you’re in the us, voter rolls with your home address are free for any advocacy group to peruse. Consider moving your home under a trust or something so that your property taxes are not tied to your name. If you rent, stop renting, if you can’t, consider renting a place from your local credit union instead of from a company. Banks have more chance to protect your privacy than a rental company will r an individual.
-
Sadly, NOAA is prohibited from making their own weather app. God bless America.
That's sad. the US is really turning into a third world banana republic
-
Aside from iOS, I am already there. Soon enough, I hope, I will migrate from Apple’s ecosystem. Already have my Linux box setup and functional recently. One step at a time.
There’s a lot you can do to lock down iOS using official features. Go through all the app privileges, especially location, get rid of widgets, lock down your iCloud authentication and enable e2e, disabling web access to iCloud, etc.
-
There’s a lot you can do to lock down iOS using official features. Go through all the app privileges, especially location, get rid of widgets, lock down your iCloud authentication and enable e2e, disabling web access to iCloud, etc.
Use a web shortcut to the website for the forecast of your town, not an app.
-
Aside from iOS, I am already there. Soon enough, I hope, I will migrate from Apple’s ecosystem. Already have my Linux box setup and functional recently. One step at a time.
The clarify, they said to get rid of all that stuff from OTHER peoples devices. The point being that you're not the weakest link in this chain.
To illustrate, I have a phone number for less than a year that maybe 20 people have. All friends and family.
I still had a sales call on it who was targeted and addressed me by name.
