guides
guides
4 Ways to Store Backup Codes, Keys, and Seed phrases
Backup codes, keys, and seed phrases are important if you lose access to multifactor authentication (MFA) methods or are otherwise completely locked out of your accounts.
There are many methods to store backup codes, keys, and seed phrases. Some methods may be better for certain situations and/or...
guides
Avoid The Hack: 17 Free and Easy-to-Use Tools to Improve Your Privacy
This post was originally published on 1 SEP 2022; it has since been updated and revised.
One of the biggest sticking points commonly brought up in the privacy community is the price of privacy.
As it generally goes, especially on the internet as a whole, free is not free – however, there are s...
guides
Blocking Ads, Trackers, and Malware in Browsers, Devices, and Networks
This post was originally published on 18 MAY 2022; it has since been updated and revised.
You may hear a lot that you should block ads and trackers. But how can you block ads? Which adblockers should you use? Which adblocking method is best?
This guide aims to provide information on differen...
guides
Everything You Should Know Before Using a Password Manager
Passwords, passwords, passwords.
We have so many passwords to create and remember, don't we?
According to recent research conducted by NordPass, the average internet user has approximately 70 - 80 passwords to remember.
No matter how you try to slice it, that's a ton of passwords to memorize...
guides
Getting Started: Basic Personal Cybersecurity for Everyone (3 Easy Tips)
Welcome to the world of cybersecurity!
This guide was written for completely cybersecurity and privacy novices in mind. It is designed to get anyone started on improving their personal cybersecurity, which is becoming increasingly important as more of society's lives intertwine with a digital la...
guides
Here are 5 Reasons to Stop Using WhatsApp
WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption for its messaging platform by default, but the platform itself is owned by Meta, known for its privacy-related scandals and appears to engage in an outstanding amount of data collection.
WhatsApp is also the most popular messaging app with over 2 billion users...
guides
How (and Why) to Take Full Advantage of Apple’s New Advanced Data Protection Feature
With the iOS 16.2 update, Apple introduced “Advanced Data Protection,” which finally introduced end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for most items backed up or stored in iCloud.
Apple has long been criticized, with good reason, over its iCloud service not providing E2EE (where the user has the decryption...
guides
How to Configure Safari for Privacy on iOS Devices (UPDATED FOR iOS 16.2)
This post was originally published on 2 OCT 2020; it has since been updated and revised.
Though Safari is a closed-source browser, some users may wish to use with their Apple devices.
This how-to guide will show you how to increase your data privacy and security while using Safari. This guide...
guides
How to Install Librewolf
This post was originally published on 8 AUG 2021. It has since been revised and updated.
When configured properly, Mozilla Firefox offers great privacy and security.
However, achieving a higher level of privacy and security in Mozilla Firefox requires many tweaks across all levels. Some users...
guides
How to Install and Configure PiHole
For a lot of people, the hardest part about running a PiHole is generally setting up the whole thing.
This can be especially true if you're not the best networking person or are unfamiliar with the typical environment (Linux) that PiHole usually calls home.
The aim of this guide is to provide...
guides
How to Install and Configure Ungoogled Chromium
This post was originally published on 7 OCT 2021. It has since been revised and updated.
Long story short: Google Chrome sucks for privacy.
Now, with that out the way, I'm here to show you how to download, install, and tweak the Ungoogled Chromium browser.
Bear in mind that installing and...
guides
How to Manually Install Extensions (Ungoogled Chromium)
This post was originally published on 20 NOV 2020; it has since been updated and revised.
For those who don't wish to download Chromium extensions from the Chrome Web Store, there is (fortunately) an alternative: you can install Chromium extensions manually. No Google account required.
While...
guides
How to Set Up Firefox for Privacy
This post was originally published on 17 FEB 2021. It has since been updated and revised.
This is a guide for tweaking the Firefox browser for enhanced online privacy. We explore the "normal" and the "advanced" tweaks here.
This guide is intended for desktop users across all platforms: Wind...
guides
How to Use a Password Manager (Beginner Friendly)
Using a password manager can prove highly essential for good password management practices.
Broadly speaking, password managers allow users to generate strong passwords - but most importantly they allow users to have unique passwords for their various online accounts, eliminating the need fo...
guides
Metadata and Your Privacy
The importance of metadata to user privacy is simply under emphasized.
Metadata can tell the whole story without ever reading the message contents; with files, Metadata can reveal additional and potentially sensitive information in addition to whatever is contained inside a file.
People break u...
guides
Switching From Twitter to Mastodon
This post was originally published on 7 NOV 2022; it has since been updated and revised. avoidthehack is actively looking for tips/contributions to this guide in future updates.
What is Mastodon?
Mastodon is an open-source and decentralized microblogging network. Mastodon is also part of a lar...
guides
WebRTC Leaks and Your Privacy (+ how to fix them)
This post was originally published on 31 JAN 2021; it has since been updated and revised.
WebRTC can prove useful when users need to use it, which is most commonly during peer-to-peer (P2P) calling in the browser.
However, a critical flaw yet to be directly and adequately addressed across a...