[balanced] optimized

Note

also attempts to protect against some targeted attacks and passive attacks

for the person willing to trade some hassle for much more safety & freedom

this checklist maximizes the gain in safety and minimizes inconvenience

what we are avoiding:

using services where you are the product
this is not limited to free services, but they are often free
think google, meta, microsoft, and other similar companies
stop letting mega corps know and sell /everything/ about you

your isp is big brother’s best friend
stop your internet service provider from snooping
without protection, your isp likely tracks every web domain you visit

your proprietary os is also big brother’s friend
microsoft, especially, is not to be trusted
if you need convincing, read [this][]
linux isn’t perfectly safe, but drastically more so than microsoft

android is deeply insecure
you can read more about this [here][], if you are curious
thankfully graphene os is easy to install
switching will make you much more safe vs both targeted & passive attacks

use a dedicated email & device(s) for work use:

unless truly necessary, only use personal accounts on personal devices and only use work accounts on work devices.

only use linkedin, facebook, instagram, google docs, outlook, etc. for work - if at all possible only use them on work only devices. if that truly isn’t possible, use firefox containers and assign them to the ‘work’ container. (see the ‘firefox’ page under recommended tools for details about how to use containers)

use privacy focused services for your personal use:

action item checklist:

get the following tools or services & follow the associated instructions instructions and additional info can be found for each of these tools or services in the ‘recommendations’ section of this wiki

if you use an android phone:

• graphene os
• f-droid
• molly
• aegis authenticator
• comaps

if you use windows and wish to dramatically improve your security and privacy:

• read about switching to linux
  • (it’s not as hard or scary as you probably think)

for your main device:

• vaultwarden
• mullvad vpn
  • also add to your phone
• librewolf
  • noscript extension
  • ublock origin extension
  • bitwarden extension
  • mullvad extension
• mullvad browser
  • noscript extension
  • ublock origin extension
  • bitwarden extension
  • mullvad extension

if you are switching to using proton:

• proton

if you are avoiding proton:

• mailbox.org
• thunderbird
• cryptpad
• cryptomator

other services:

• lemmy (if you currently use reddit)
• mastodon (if you currently use twitter or bluesky)
• freetube (if you currently use youtube)
• harper (if you are already using grammarly)

backup your most important files:

• one online backup (like proton drive)
  • this protects you from hardware failure
• two local backups
  • use two usbs or two external drives
  • alternate - do a backup to the drive with the older copy weekly
  • each should be disconnected when you aren’t actively backing up to it
  • this arrangement protects your most important files from ransomware

delete (or only use for work on work devices):

• google chrome
• reddit
• twitter
• google calendar
• outlook
• facebook
• instagram
• whatsapp
• google docs
• google photos
• google maps or apple maps
• waze
• google authenticator
• linkedin
• unprotected cloud storage (not using cryptomator)
  • google drive
  • onedrive
  • dropbox
  • if you need more storage than proton offers, look at how to use cryptomator in the recommendations section of this wiki
• any other proprietary services