SECURITY - FSMdotCOM

📅 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 28, 2018

KeePassXC: A Starter Guide

a free and open source password manager that puts you in full control

We all need and use password. The passwords we use should be complex and unique. Password re-use is a huge problem with large data breaches becoming more and more common these days, with billions of data records lost or stolen since 2013.

So how are we suppose to remember tens of strong, complex and unique passwords? We don’t! We only need to remember one good password and use a password manager.

There’s a whole bunch of password managers available, and most of them are not free. Some of them even offer subscriptions. I don’t know about you, but I find the idea of renting software retarded.

Some vendors even advertise their password managers as “military grade” or “bank level” secure. But how can you be 100% sure your data is actually stored securely? There certainly was no lack of breaches and vulnerabilities found with most of the popular password managers in the past.

Using the built-in manager of your favorite browser is definitely not a good idea either.

Ideally we would use a password manager that we’re in full control of.

Continue reading “KeePassXC: A Starter Guide”

📅 February 27, 2018

Cryptomator: Encrypt Files Before You Send Them to the Cloud

Cryptomator encrypts files on your mobile device before they are uploaded to your cloud. Even if a third party gained unauthorized access to your files (e.g., hacker attack), your files are secure from prying eyes.

These days, pretty much everybody is using a cloud file hosting service. Might be iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive.

Preferably you would ditch all those services and choose a self-hosted cloud server software, but the next best thing is to encrypt your files before uploading them to the cloud.

We’ve talked about VeraCrypt before. Now let’s take a look at Cryptomator – a free and open source client-side encryption app.

The app is available for free ( “pay what you want” option is available if you want to support the development ) for Mac, Linux and Windows and you can get it here. The iOS app is available here ( $4.99 ) and Android app is available here ( $4.99 ).

Check the video below to see how stupidly easy it is to encrypt your files for your cloud services…

Don’t want to use YouTube? Here’s a Hooktube link….

📅 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…

Continue reading “HOW TO: Block Cryptocurrency Miners System-Wide”

📅 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…

Continue reading “Gas Mask: A Simple Hosts File Manager for macOS”

📅 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…

Continue reading “HOW TO: Encrypt Your Mac and Set a Firmware Password”

📅 December 13, 2017

A Quick Look At VeraCrypt Encryption Tool

You can already encrypt files and encrypt folders using macOS, but you might want to consider adopting a tool like VeraCrypt.

It’s a good idea to encrypt your digital life. Especially when you upload it to the cloud. You can already encrypt files and encrypt folders using macOS, but you might want to consider adopting a tool like VeraCrypt.

Continue reading “A Quick Look At VeraCrypt Encryption Tool”

📅 December 11, 2017

You Can Login To Facebook With The Wrong Password

typing the wrong password will still allow you to login to Facebook

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t use Facebook much. I’ll log in once in a while to see what my 400+ “close friends” are up to, scroll twice and log out. But usually I get on Facebook just to do a quick post on FSM’s page.

You might care more about Facebook than I do. And don’t worry… next time you log in, if you type in the wrong password, you’ll still get in.

Here’s the deal. Let’s say your FB password is “password”. You can type “1password” or “password1” ( or replace “1” with any other character ) and you’ll still be able to get in.

I’m not a security expert so I can’t explain why is this allowed. But in my book, no matter what the reason is, it’s a security flaw. I’m also a bit paranoid ( maybe too strong of a word ) and my first thought was…. OK, once people will figure it out it will be all over the news and then Facebook will prompt users to change their passwords.

Once a user changes his/her password, next step will be to “upload a clear photo of your face“. And I suppose you can figure it out why they want you to do that. To keep you safe. Wink wink.

To be clear, I’m not saying that’s the reason behind it. I’m only saying that this was my first thought. So in the meantime, you might want to turn on two-factor authentication by going to Settings > Security and Login. You might also want to use the “Recovery Codes” for 2FA, but if you want to use the SMS option, do me a favor and use a prepaid SIM not your actual number.

📅 November 24, 2017

A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide to iPhone Privacy and Security

a comprehensive beginner’s guide to privacy and anonymity

Alright boys and girls, settle down. It’s time to put your tin foil hats on. Before we go further, this is not a guide on how to protect yourself against government surveillance ( although it helps ). This is more of a guide on how to protect yourself against corporate surveillance.

It’s pretty long so let’s get started…

Continue reading “A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide to iPhone Privacy and Security”

📅 November 16, 2017

bitwarden: A Free, Open Source, Cross Platform Password Manager

a free, open-source, encrypted and cross-platform password manager

We all have dozens of online accounts. All of them require a password. Complex and unique. Password re-use is a huge problem with large data breaches becoming more and more common these days, with billions of data records lost or stolen since 2013.

So what can you do to protect yourself? You can create a complex and unique password for each and every online account you own and then write each of those passwords on a piece of paper for reference. But that’s just insane. The best way to approach this is to use a password manager.

Continue reading “bitwarden: A Free, Open Source, Cross Platform Password Manager”