Private browsing

Firefox

Hardening firefox

Most of the follwing information has been taken from VikingVPN's Hardening Mozilla Firefox Quantum For Privacy & Security 2018 Edition

Some basic privacy and security settings

  • Set duck DuckDuckGo default search engine
  • On the privacy and Security page
    • Disable password remember
    • Enable warn when installing add-ons
    • Send do not track signal to servers
    • If you are serious about privacy, you should also think about dissabling history
    • Be sure that when a site request your personal certificate:
      • Ask you every time
      • Queries OCSP

Hardening firefox - Advanced

  • Type about:config on the search bar, this will open the advanced settings
    • Disable the WebRTC service
      • media.peerconnection.enabled = FALSE
    • Disable DES(weak) cipher
      • security.ssl3.rsa_des_ede3_sha = false
    • Force TLS 1.2
      • security.tls.version.min = 3
    • Require safe negotiation
      • security.ssl.require_safe_negotiation = TRUE
      • security.ssl.treat_unsafe_negotiation_as_broken = TRUE
    • Disable form autocomplete
      • browser.formfill.enable = FALSE
    • Tell firefox to resist fingerprinting
      • privacy.resistFingerprinting = TRUE
    • Disable face detection using cameras
      • camera.control.face_detection.enabled = FALSE
    • Disable cache to disk
      • browser.cache.disk.enable = FALSE
      • browser.cache.disk_cache_ssl = FALSE
    • Disable clipboard manipulation
      • dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled = FALSE
    • Disable geolocation
      • geo.enabled = FALSE
    • Throw away all cookies every time you close the browser
      • network.cookie.lifetimePolicy = 2
    • Disable telemtry
      • Search telemetry and set all true/false options to false

Chrome

Go to chrome advanced settings:

  • Disable third party cookies
  • Enable cookie reset after every browsing session

Mobile

Give a try to Firefox Focus, mozillas privacy aware mobile browser, it has integrated some interesting feautes like:

  • Ad and tracking blockers
  • Delete you history wiht a single click
  • Fast

Advice: dsable data collecting

  • Settings > "send anonymous usage data" > off

Tracking

What?

If you're not paying for a service, you're the product, not the customer.

Sites you visit, time you spent there, articles you read... all these areavailable informations for people that want to know more about you.

They want their version fo your profile to be as complete as possible so thay can sell it for advertising.

Who?

How?

  • Cookies
  • Browser fingerprin
  • Personal information

How to protect you

Search engines

Https

Why are they useful

Secure version of http that allows you to:

  • Hide the communications with the sites you visit from other people in your network
  • Allows you to verify the identity of the sites you visit
  • Doesn't hide the sites you visit from your internet provider or state agencies

How to protect you

VPN

Virtual private networks (vpn)

Why are they useful

  • hide your real IP from the sites you visit, allowing you to prevent censure
  • encrypt the trafic before you trafic reaches the network, protecting you from attackers on your own network

When they can become dangerous

  • VPN doesn't make you anonymous, they still know your real identity. If your online activity requires complete anonimity TOR may be a better option.

VPN providers

  • ProtonVPN - Available on mobile
  • RiseUp
  • VikingVpn

Social networks

General tips

  • Do not use them
  • If you use them:
    • Don't use them from mobile devices
      • Provide them as few personal information as possible
      • Provide single use email
      • Don't keep logged in. Anyone with access to you computer will have access to it.

Facebook

Run away it's evil !

  • If you need to use it here you have a nice guide about how to improve Facebook's security.
  • Use extensions to isolate facebook from the world.
  • Wired did a nice video too.

Twitter

It's possible to create an anonymous account.

These are extremlly simplified explanations of the process, follow them at your own risk

  • What do you need:
    • PC with Tails or Qubes and TOR browser installed
    • Single use SIM card + burner phone (Never used before, bought in cash in a place without cameras)
    • Public internet connection in a place with no cameras
    • Anonymous email
  • How to do it:
    1. Go to a place with a public network
    2. Try to avoid surveillance cameras
    3. Connect to twitter using TOR browser
    4. Put the SIM card on the phone and activate it
    5. Sign up using your anonymous emaila address an phone number
    6. Have fun ! And never connect this account from a mobile device and use TOR on you main PC

Downloads

  • Open downloaded files in sandboxed environments
  • Do not click on any file you haven't requested
  • Delete files or move them away from Downloads folder, that will allow you to see all download files easily and detect unexpected files

Sources

Printable documents

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