Protecting your Privacy - Revision history

Slackline at 07:44, 6 December 2016

2016-12-06T07:44:44Z

Slackline at 07:42, 6 December 2016

2016-12-06T07:42:21Z

Slackline: /* Overview and Definitions */

2015-11-14T00:17:51Z

‎Overview and Definitions

Slackline: /* Web Browsing */

2015-11-14T00:16:21Z

‎Web Browsing

Slackline: /* Internet Security */

2015-11-13T17:08:12Z

‎Internet Security

Slackline: Added sub-sections and ToDo notes as well as web browsers section

2015-11-13T15:36:57Z

Added sub-sections and ToDo notes as well as web browsers section

Slackline: /* Choosing a VPN service */ added section on protocols

2015-11-12T07:42:22Z

‎Choosing a VPN service: added section on protocols

Slackline: More on router configuration

2015-11-12T06:29:40Z

Slackline: /* Overview and Definitions */

2015-11-11T22:56:50Z

‎Overview and Definitions

Slackline: Created - will write more in due course

2015-11-11T22:51:21Z

Created - will write more in due course

New page

= Internet Security =

Its a big deal these days, whether its companies tracking your browsing habits to serve up adverts or the government trying to snoop on your activity under the bullshit pretense that it protects you from 'terrorists', when in reality its an infringement on [http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a12 Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights] which states…

''"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks"''

…there are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.

== Overview and Definitions ==

A lot of new terms…

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_certificate Certificates] documents issued by VPN providers to users allowing them to connect securely to their network.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software Free Open Source Software (FOSS)] software that anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change in any way and for which the source code is available.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications) Gateway]] a server through which you connect from one network to another.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_provider Internet Service Provider (ISP)] is who you pay for an internet connection. Sometimes this will be whoever you have your mobile phone with.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVPN OpenVPN] Free Open Source Software (FOSS) implementing Virtual Private Network (VPN).
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) TOR] is a network that anonymoises your browsing by routing it through a network of public servers.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network (VPN)] is a private network that you can connect to over the internet. Traffic then passes between you and the private network without anyone in between being able to see what is passing between you. This in essence means

== Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ==

This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news). By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.

=== Choosing a VPN service ===

There are lots to choose from, I'm no expert, so read this [https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/ detailed article] ([https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/ 2014 version]) on TorrentFreak who asked a whole host of VPN services to describe their approach to anonymity. A few shortlisted ones to check out are...

* [https://nordvpn.com/ NordVPN]
* [http://www.slickvpn.com/ SlickVPN]
* [https://privatevpn.com/ PrivateVPN]

...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:44, 6 December 2016
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	For some time there have been browser add-ons that block adverts, recently however some of these have become something of an oxymoron because things like [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads Adblock Plus allow "acceptable ads"] as a means of generating revenue for themselves. Quite how someone else can decide what I consider to be an “acceptable ad” I've no idea, that would require input from me rather than payment from the advertiser to the supposed ad-blocker. Thankfully for now [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/ uBlock Origin] (NOT ublock.org) blocks all adverts and uses less memory resources in doing so, thus it gets my recommendation if you're not going to setup [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block adverts for you.		For some time there have been browser add-ons that block adverts, recently however some of these have become something of an oxymoron because things like [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads Adblock Plus allow "acceptable ads"] as a means of generating revenue for themselves. Quite how someone else can decide what I consider to be an “acceptable ad” I've no idea, that would require input from me rather than payment from the advertiser to the supposed ad-blocker. Thankfully for now [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/ uBlock Origin] (NOT ublock.org) blocks all adverts and uses less memory resources in doing so, thus it gets my recommendation if you're not going to setup [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block adverts for you.
		+
		+	= User Setups =
		+
		+	Detailed below are some TMB Members setups, they're not necessarily exhaustive in protecting privacy but are provided to hopefully reassure that its not overwhelming to make a few changes gradually to protect your privacy.
		+
		+	== Windows ==
		+
		+	== GNU/Linux ==
		+
		+	== Android ==
		+
		+	== Router ==

@@ Line 77: / Line 77: @@
 You've gone to all this bother of setting up and using a VPN so that your ISP can't see what you are browsing and/or the sites you are viewing think you are in a different location than you are, but there is a key step in staying anonymous on the web that most overlook and can be strongly argued gives away more information about you than anything else....the web browser.
-Web browsers are the interface to the vast majority of peoples uses of the internet and as such the way in which they are used has a huge impact on your security. All browsers have some default security built-in, but they almost all allow the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie cookies] which websites/services to not just enhance your browsing, but also keep track of what you do.  Thankfully there are innumerable add-ons/plugins that can be used to improve your security and some suggestions are listed below, but they are by no-means exhaustive.
+Web browsers are the interface to the vast majority of peoples uses of the internet and as such the way in which they are used has a huge impact on your security and privacy. All browsers have some default security built-in, but they almost all allow the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie cookies] which websites/services use to not just enhance your browsing, but also keep track of what you do.  Thankfully there are innumerable add-ons/plugins that can be used to improve your security and some suggestions are listed below, but they are by no-means exhaustive.
 ToDo - Insert table

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 ...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.
-== Router Configuration ==
+== Configuration ==
 If you configure your router/modem to use the VPN then any device connected to your home network automatically will have everything routed through the VPN. This has Pros and Cons, on the up side it means you don't have to mess around enabling the VPN connection on each device and starting/stopping it. On the downside it might mean you can't view certain geographically restricted services such as BBC iPlayer if the VPN gateway you use is outside the UK, but on the flipside this might be an advantage if for example you wanted to view films that are only available on US Netflix and not on UK Netflix.
@@ Line 56: / Line 60: @@
 * [https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/OpenVPN DD-WRT Wiki : OpenVPN]
 ToDo At present the modem/router I use is pretty crap and doesn't allow you to do this configuration so I am not covering how to do this at present.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:42, 12 November 2015
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	This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news). By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.		This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news). By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.

		+
		+	=== Protocols ===
		+
		+	There are three main protocols you might encounter when using VPN
		+
		+	^ Protocol ^ Encryption ^ Description ^
		+	\| PPTP \| MPEE 128 BIT \| Oldest and most widely used, built into a lot of software making it simple to use. \|
		+	\| IPSec \| 128 BIT \| Designed for OSX/iOS its heavy on you CPU but is built into the OS and therefore simple. \|
		+	\| OpenVPN \| 256-bit \| The strongest encryption and very widely used. Recommended \|

	=== Choosing a VPN service ===		=== Choosing a VPN service ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:29, 12 November 2015
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	...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.		...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.
		+
		+	== Router Configuration ==
		+
		+	If you configure your router/modem to use the VPN then any device connected to your home network automatically will have everything routed through the VPN. This has Pros and Cons, on the up side it means you don't have to mess around enabling the VPN connection on each device and starting/stopping it. On the downside it might mean you can't view certain geographically restricted services such as BBC iPlayer if the VPN gateway you use is outside the UK, but on the flipside this might be an advantage if for example you wanted to view films that are only available on US Netflix and not on UK Netflix.
		+
		+	There is a lot of variation in router hardware, most people use those provided by their ISP and are quite likely to find that the supplied router does not support establishing VPN connections (e.g. VirginMedia's SuperHub). You'll most likely need to buy a new router and relegate the ISP one to modem (although choose wisely and you can replace the ISPs router completely). Even then the firmware on the router might not support VPN connections, but all is not lost since FOSS alternatives are available in the form of [https://openwrt.org/ OpenWRT] and [https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ DD-WRT] that you can flash your router with. If either of these supports a router you have lying around your in business, follow their installation instructions for the model of router you have. If not and you are buying a new router you might want to consider whether it is supported by either of these distributions.
		+
		+	Both distributions have a lot of information on VPN written by people who know far more about networking than this author. You will want to read sections on setting up the router as a client rather than a server since you are unlikely to want to setup your own VPN (unless of course you wish to establish a secure and private connection to your home network whilst away from home).
		+
		+	* [http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/vpn.overview OpenWRT Wiki : VPN Overview]
		+	* [https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/OpenVPN DD-WRT Wiki : OpenVPN]
		+	ToDo At present the modem/router I use is pretty crap and doesn't allow you to do this configuration so I am not covering how to do this at present.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) TOR] is a network that anonymoises your browsing by routing it through a network of public servers.
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network (VPN)] is a private network that you can connect to over the internet.  Traffic then passes between you and the private network without anyone in between being able to see what is passing between you.  This in essence means you appear to be located wherever the VPN server is physically located.
 == Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ==
-This should be your first step in improving your internet security.  Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides.  As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news).  By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.
+This should be your first step in improving your internet security.  Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides.  The [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill Investigatory Powers Bill] came into force in late 2016 in the UK and forces ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news) and make them available to a [http://telegra.ph/Who-your-internet-browsing-history-is-viewable-by-under-the-Investigatory-Powers-Act-11-25 huge swathe of Government bodies].  By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN since data between you and the VPN you are connected to is encrypted.

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_certificate Certificates] documents issued by VPN providers to users allowing them to connect securely to their network.
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software Free Open Source Software (FOSS)] software that anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change in any way and for which the source code is available.
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications) Gateway]] a server through which you connect from one network to another.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ''"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks"''
-…there are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.
+… and many countries already ban freedom of speech by censoring the websites you can access (e.g. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall The Great Firewall of China]).  There are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.
 == Overview and Definitions ==