I originally wrote this piece for the Privacy Guides blog, although the information herein has been largely superseded by my contributions to their Threat Modeling and Common Threats pages, which I recommend exploring. The major trade-off with many privacy-centric services and software I’ve seen is that in general, the more private and secure something is, the more restricting or less convenient it is. This balancing act between high security and privacy, and usability and convenience is one of the trickiest problems to overcome both when creating software and services and when choosing which services to use....

Matrix is a modern, open standard for decentralized communications. It boasts a production-ready specification maintained by the Matrix.org Foundation and it’s being used by anyone from small hobbyist collectives to national governments. Essentially, it’s an instant messaging service, but one that can be under your complete control: Your data won’t be snooped through by Big Tech organizations, and it won’t stop existing because one company decides they want to shut it down....

Everything on your computer — your photos and documents, the programs you use, and even the operating system itself — is stored on your hard drive. If your hard drive is too slow, you get frustrated when your computer and programs take multiple seconds or minutes to open completely. For many users, a slow hard drive affects performance more obviously than any other component. Luckily, there is a solution: a Solid State Drive (SSD)....

Everyone has important digital files these days. Maybe your family photo albums are stored on your computer, or you have important documents you need in order to keep track of your finances or run your business. Whatever the case may be, that data is important and it would be devastating to lose. Hard drives — even SSDs — fail all the time, sometimes even out of the blue. A good backup routine is the most important thing you can do to keep those files safe....

Parenting gives you no shortage of things to worry about for your children, and technology is no exception. The digital world is as commonplace at school and daycare as it is at home. Children are alone with technology from a very young age. You’ll want to make sure your children are safe online, aren’t misusing apps, and aren’t making accidental in-app purchases. You’ll also want to make sure your child stays engaged with the world around them....

There’s a massive problem in the privacy world. Websites, social media accounts, and other platforms are constantly popping up out of nowhere, telling you to buy The Greatest Service Ever in order to solve all your privacy woes, whatever that may be. These websites often employ marketing teams to make sure their “reviews” are what you see first when you begin your research. Some of them are even operated by VPN providers themselves, operating under anonymous business entities to hide their bias, or doing it right out in the open, hoping you’ll mistake their advertising-filled press releases and blogs as insider knowledge of the VPN space....

So you know what a VPN is, but there are so many options to choose from! Well before we dive into this, let’s get one thing off the bat: Avoid Free VPNs Privacy-respecting VPNs can provide their service because you pay them for it. Free VPNs are worse than your ISP when it comes to respecting your privacy, because selling your data is the only way they can make money, whereas an ISP is primarily paid for by you....

A VPN — or Virtual Private Network — is a tool that secures your internet connection from attackers on your network. But before I explain how that all works, let’s talk about the internet without them. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can see everything you do online. Well, nearly everything: When websites use HTTPS (or TLS, or SSL. these terms are often used interchangeably when referring to website encryption), indicated by the padlock in your web browser, your ISP cannot see exactly what you’re doing on the website....

I can honestly say I didn’t see this coming. On August 29th, 2019, Apple announced they would begin not only selling original OEM parts to independent repair businesses, but also provide them with the tools, guides, training, and diagnostics required to complete repairs on out of warranty iPhones. This is great news. It’s a surprising turn of events from a company that has spent years lobbying against Right to Repair bills across the nation....

Outline is a suite of open-source software developed for journalists to safely access their network and the internet while traveling in countries where their activities may be monitored or censored. Despite this, the Outline platform is ideal for a wide range of users, especially less technical users, and users in censored countries like China who may have little to no knowledge about how VPNs or proxies work. Outline consists of two parts, the Outline Manager and Outline Clients....