PRIVACY - FSMdotCOM

📅 December 21, 2018

HOW TO: Delete Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp

Just in the last week or so there were two major issues with Facebook. It gave Amazon, Spotify and Netflix access to users’ private messages and a bug exposed private photos of 6.8 million users. And this is not even scratching the tip of the iceberg. Here’s a list of Facebook scandals and controversies in 2018.

Facebook owns many many things. It’s not just Facebook.com. But the most popular services are Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Delete them…

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📅 December 10, 2018

HOW TO: Encrypt Your Emails

Like it or not we need to start using encryption in everyday tasks. Privacy is a fundamental right and “I have nothing to hide” is a bullshit argument for not using encryption and has nothing to do with privacy. Most of us, 99% of the time, have nothing to hide, but that doesn’t mean we should give everything away, for free, on a silver fucking platter.

Email encryption is easy, and you won’t have to spend a dime as we’re going to use only free and open source tools.

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📅 December 9, 2018

10 Minute Email

A free and privacy-friendly temporary email account

Quick tip: Sometimes you need to signup for a service with an email address to confirm the user registration. When that time comes, it’s a good idea not to use your personal email.

You should take a look at 10 minute Mail, a service that generates a 10-minute email account for you.

According to their privacy policy, the service does NOT keep logs or records of your personal data. A temporary cookie is used to allow the service to deliver the e-mail to the right person, but will expire when you close your browser.

NOTE: there are tones of 10 minute email services out there. The one linked in this article is just an example. If you want to use a different service just search for 10 minute mail in your favorite search engine

NOTE: also check out throwawaymail, which gives you a 48-hour inbox. Or until you clear your cookies.

📅 December 5, 2018

FreeTube: An Open Source YouTube Player Built for Privacy

an open source desktop YouTube player built with privacy in mind

This is just a short and sweet update on my “HOW TO: Break Up With Google” post. For most people the hardest thing to do, when breaking up with Google, is to move away from YouTube.

What most people don’t realize ( including myself until a couple of months ago ) is that you can use RSS with YouTube. Check how to do it here.

One other thing you can do is use FreeTube – a free and open source cross-platform app that allows you to watch YouTube without advertisements and prevents Google tracking from you with their cookies and JavaScript.

The app is still in beta, and there’s some bugs ( like using Tor for API calls does not work and max video resolution is 720p ) but for the most part works great. Also keep in mind that if you have a ton of subscriptions, when you open the app, it will take some time to load all the subscriptions. Also, I THINK, it will bypass geo-restrictions. Not sure though, as I’ve not come across any geo-restricted videos to test it out.

FreeTube Features

Watch videos without ads
Use YouTube without Google tracking you using cookies and JavaScript
Make API calls through the Tor network
Subscribe to channels without an account
Local subscriptions, history, and saved videos
Export & import subscriptions
Open videos from your browser directly into FreeTube (with extension)
Mini Player
Light / dark theme

Learn more and download FreeTube on the project’s github page.

📅 March 6, 2018

AdGuard Pro for iOS is Now 50% Off

AdGuard Pro for iOS is now 50% off in the App Store. But for a limited time only…

AdGuard for iOS is now 50% off in the App Store [limited time – direct link]. The free version is a great way to block ads in Safari. But if you pay for the app, which is now only $0.99, you can do so much more with it.

You will be able to select different DNS providers ( or add your own ) for enhanced parental control, protection from phishing and malware and shielding your DNS traffic against interception and snooping. This way you will also be able block in-app ads too.

There’s also a Privacy module that detects trackers in real time and lets you decide which to block and which to let through. It also includes popular adblock filter subscriptions such as EasyList, EasyPrivacy, Fanboy’s Annoyances, Malware Domains.

You can also import custom hosts file. Up until now, you could edit the iOS device’s hosts file only if you were jailbroken.

The new update, which was released a few hours ago, comes with a redesigned dark theme look and DNSCrypt support.

All in all this seems to be the best AdBlocker app in the App Store right now. The fact that it blocks in-app ads will do it for most people, but I suggest you spend some time with its settings and research how can you set it up to get maximum protection while not affecting usability. Also keep an eye on trackers the first time you open an app ( and maybe a good idea to keep an eye on the trackers after you apply app updates ). See what connections it makes and blacklist useless crap and known offenders like Google services, Facebook/Instagram.

📅 February 15, 2018

How Much Info is Google Getting From Your Phone? [video]

Every move you make, every step you take, Google is watching you!

When you say “Google”, 9 out of 10 people think of “searching the web”. The other guy thinks of mass surveillance. Seed-funded by the NSA and CIA, Google was merely the first among a plethora of private sector start-ups co-opted by US intelligence to retain ‘information superiority.’

But you don’t have to think just about the search engine, and all the wonderful, life-saving services they offer us, for “free”. They also have a phone in millions of people’s pockets. So how much information is Google getting from those phones?

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📅 January 29, 2018

HOW TO: Block Cryptocurrency Miners System-Wide

stop cryptocurrency miners

Ads are not only used to advertise products and services, but also to track your activity and behavior on the internet, steal your data and infect you with malware. The worst part? You don’t even have to click on ads to be affected by malware, tracking and ransomeware.

In the past uTorrent quietly installed cryptocurrency miners and The Pirate Bay was discovered to run browser-based miners. YouTube was recently caught displaying ads that covertly leach off visitors’ CPUs and electricity to generate digital currency on behalf of anonymous attackers.

There’s a few things you should take care immediately…

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📅 December 19, 2017

Gas Mask: A Simple Hosts File Manager for macOS

Gas Mask. A simple, free and open source hosts file manager for macOS

Maybe I should start by explaining what a hosts file is. But you can read all about it here. The average user probably shouldn’t mess with the hosts file unless…

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📅 December 15, 2017

HOW TO: Encrypt Your Mac and Set a Firmware Password

Device encryption & firmware passwords will not only protect your data from unwanted access but it will also make it easier to recover lost or stolen devices.

Here’s something you probably don’t think about when using your Mac: encrypting your startup disk and setting a firmware password.

Device encryption and firmware passwords will not only protect your personal data from unwanted access but it will also make it easier to recover lost or stolen devices.

Disk encryption is self explanatory, but you might be confused about that firmware password. Simply put, a firmware password prevents your Mac from starting up from any device other than your startup disk.

It can be helpful if your Mac is lost or stolen and will protect your against Direct Memory Access ( DMA ) attacks which can read your FileVault passwords and inject kernel modules.

Luckily you can easily enable both on your Mac, without 3rd party software, so let’s get started…

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