Privacy & Security Guides

Observing the past two years alone, the alarming sophistication of the cyber threat landscape is old news. While the mainstream threats of ransomware and phishing attacks remain a constant hurdle, bot attacks are another problem everyone needs to focus upon. Bots are essentially a vital part of websites, automating and performing several functions over the internet.

In 2021, the world had seen unprecedented ransomware attacks on healthcare networks, colleges, and critical infrastructure. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to a network or computer until a ransom is paid. To regain access to the system, one must pay the demanded ransom to hackers or cyber-criminals. If the ransom is not paid, ransomware actors frequently threaten to leak or sell authentication information or exfiltrated data.

Two days ago the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) email servers were targeted by hackers who sent out thousands of fake messages claiming that recipients were victims of cyberattacks. The thread actor known as “Pompompurin” is suspected of being behind this attack. A Privacy Affairs investigation revealed that Pompompurin is also likely behind the recent attack against Robinhood.

NordVPN and ProtonVPN are both security and privacy-oriented VPN providers. They have a similar mission of making the internet better, free of surveillance, censorship, and threats. They also boast a proven track record of fighting internet injustices and helping their users reclaim their online freedom. In this review, we will make an in-depth comparison between NordVPN and ProtonVPN.

The hackers who claim to have breached US trading platform Robinhood today revealed that they are ready to sell stolen data of millions of customers. The hackers are accusing Robinhood of lying and for intentionally omitting that ID card data was also exposed.

NordVPN and IPVanish are top-notch VPN providers in the industry. NordVPN offers excellent online security, digital privacy and is suitable for other online tasks such as torrenting and unblocking streaming services. IPVanish also provides over-the-top privacy coupled with reliability and a top-tier server network.

Have you ever thought of protecting your emails from prying eyes? If so, then ProtonMail could be a secure email service for you. ProtonMail is a webmail service focused on privacy and secure email communication between users without spying on them.

Avast Password manager, also known as Avast Passwords, is a utility you can use to store and manage passwords and other sensitive information. The sensitive information includes your credit card details, addresses, and private notes. Over time, you may notice that the Avast Password manager isn’t working correctly. Some issues and bugs can cause this problem. Here are some ways to fix the issues that may cause the Avast Password manager not to work as intended.

Cybersecurity has long since relied on the “castle and moat” analogy. While it has done a relatively decent job of protecting enterprises from generic cyber attacks, cybersecurity now demands an evolution. The cyber threat landscape is constantly ebb and flow, with cybercriminals getting more sophisticated with each passing minute.

Today the hacker Grou Desorden announced yet another breach against one of Central Group’s subsidiaries. This time the hackers breached Central Retail Corporation. Central Retail Corporation is a corporation listed on Thailand’s Stock Exchange that operates supermarkets, convenience stores, shopping malls, department stores, and consumer goods under a range of popular brands.

Despite having little or no Internet censorship, Mexico is known to be partly free. Mexico has data retention laws, increased government surveillance, and individuals practice self-censorship. In this guide, you will learn about the best VPNs for Mexico, their benefits, and how to choose the right VPN service.

The infamous hacker group Desorden announced today that they breached the servers of the popular luxury hotel chain Centara. The hacker group Desorden revealed today that they have hacked the hotel chain Centara Hotel Group and managed to steal over 400 GB of data.

The hacker group Desorden announced today that it had breached Thailand’s Central Restaurants Group’s servers releasing more than 80GB of data. Central Restaurants Group is a Thai restaurant chain with over 2,000 restaurants under its management and 12 brands including KFC, Mister Donut and Pepper Lunch.

Your OS is the basic building framework on which your device’s operations rely. It not only controls the software, memory, and processes within your device but is also responsible for a stable working of the hardware present within it.

According to the 2021 Cyber Threat Report by SonicWall, there is a 62% increase in Ransomware since 2019. This amount is still set to rise further as cybersecurity attacks are becoming more complex and difficult to detect. On top of all, cybersecurity attacks are even becoming more dangerous than ever before.

Just three days after breaching Acer India, the hacker group Desorden announced it had now hacked and breached Acer Taiwan, releasing sensitive employee information. The hacker group Desorden announced today that it had hacked Acer Taiwan and found vulnerabilities on its Malaysian and Indonesian network as well.

An unknown hacker or hacker group claims to sell access to an Argentine government network linked to internal communications and technology. The same hackers claim to posses sensitive ID card data on millions of Argentine citizens.

Hacker group Desorden announced today on a popular hacker forum that it has hacked and breached the Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics company Acer. On a forum post today – 13 October – the hacker group Desorden announced that it had hacked and breached the Indian servers of Acer. This alleged breach affected acer.co.in – the Indian subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer.

The zero trust architecture is often seen as the ultimate, foolproof method of implementing information security. It emerged as an all-in-one solution to several security issues, especially as organizations rapidly adopted cloud, DevOps, and IoT-based infrastructures. The security model requires the creation of segmentation and network perimeters to ensure information security.

Popular video game streaming service Twitch appears to have been hacked “in its entirety”, according to an anonymous hacker on 4Chan. The hacker posted a torrent file of 125G that contains source code as well as information on creator payouts. The anonymous hacker commented on 4Chan that the reason for the leak was to “foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space.”

Attaining a secure information exchange is nothing less than a challenge within the current digital landscape. Authorities and surveillance agencies are increasingly poking their nose into our personal lives, all with the facade of maintaining law and order. But even if we manage to swallow this bitter pill for the greater good and succumb to online surveillance, there is always the looming threat of cybercriminals.

Personal information of more than 1.5 billion Facebook users is being sold on a popular hacking related forum. This could potentially enable cybercriminals and unscrupulous advertisers to target Internet users worldwide. This might constitute the biggest Facebook data dump to date. This seems to be unrelated to an earlier 2021 Facebook data dump where 500 million users were affected.

Money is not the only resource you could provide to a business in return for a service. Some companies would take your data instead of money, and then turn it into more money than you could have paid to them. Facebook is one of those companies. They are a social network, but the network serves only as a hook for users. Under the surface, they serve as an intermediary between people and businesses that want to sell to those people.

Private and sensitive information of more than one million members Argentina’s various military services was leaked on the dark web and various hacking forums. On September 26 2021 a user on a popular hacking related forum claimed to possess sensitive information of more than 1 million members of various military branches and institutions of Argentina.

A paid VPN keeps you secure and private over the internet. It ensures your connection and online traffic are not vulnerable to eavesdroppers and even snoopers. This makes it harder for interested parties to know what you are up to on the internet. A VPN also helps you unblock various content by changing your geo-location and masking your IP address. But is paying for a VPN really worth it?

Cybersecurity researcher Sick.Codes has discovered a major vulnerability on the Tor browser, allowing a correlation attack that can compromise the privacy of visits to v2 onion addresses.

Browser fingerprinting generates a unique fingerprint of users enabling websites to track them among millions of others. The most dangerous part of fingerprinting is websites’ ability to collect extensive information to generate a unique browser fingerprint for every user. Javascript and Flash and Canvas, WebGL, Media devices, and Audio fingerprinting are the major techniques used for this purpose.

Online privacy company ExpressVPN claims that it knew “key facts” of their executive, Daniel Gericke’s involvement in Project Raven. Recently, three former US intelligence and military personnel, Marc Baier, Ryan Adams, and Daniel Gericke were fined $1.6 million by the DPA, on hacking-related charges.

A Venezuela VPN is one of the best way to reclaim your internet freedom. It can bypass various restrictions and blocked websites. It will you to gain access to social media, avoid self-censorship anonymously, and access other platforms. You also get to change your IP address.

ProtonMail, widely acknowledged as one of the most secure email services, just walked back on it’s no-logs policy after a police investigation. The company logged the user’s account and collected his IP address, which it then handled to the French authorities, who subsequently arrested a user in France.

ExpressVPN was just bought by Kape Technologies for $936 million, a decision that both of the co-founders of the renowned VPN service were adamant about. This marks the biggest VPN takeover deal in history.

Session App is an open-source private messaging application that focuses mainly on user privacy and communication encryption. The platform is based on decentralized servers connected in a global routing network and does not require users for any personal information when creating an account.

Deepfakes are fake media content created by manipulating existing media using deep learning techniques. The main technologies used in creating Deepfakes are autoencoders and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). Face-swapping, Face re-enactment, Audio Deepfakes, Lip-syncing, and Puppet-master are among the popular types of Deepfakes circulating on the internet.

Ireland’s Data Information Officer has just fined WhatsApp with €225M for breaching several privacy regulations. In the history of the GDPR, this is the second-largest fine they’ve issued. It’s also the largest ever issued by the Irish Data Protection Commission.

The Australian parliament just recently passed an unheard-of surveillance bill that crushes all efforts for privacy in recent years. Police will be able to infiltrate your device to collect and delete data at their discretion.

VPNs or Virtual Private Networks help you anonymously surf the internet by establishing a secure connection between your device and the VPN server. There are several ways you can set up your own VPN server. The cheapest method is converting your personal computer into a VPN server. There are a series of steps you need to follow for specific operating systems. The most straightforward method is to buy a router with VPN capabilities.

A California VPN is a gateway to access all the content California has to offer. From bypassing restrictions to changing your IP address. You can also use it to avoid market segmentation or access sites that only allow a California IP address.

A Florida VPN will boost your online security and privacy. Additionally, you get to access services that only allow a Florida VPN, unblock restricted content, and even get discounts. If you are a student, you can access your Advanced Placement test scores earlier than others. Florida receives the AP test results earlier.

Cybersecurity researcher Sick.Codes has discovered a major vulnerability on Brave browser 1.27 and below where the browser permanently logs the server connection time for all v2 tor domains to ~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/tor/data/tor.log.

A Texas VPN will protect your online traffic and ensure your privacy will not be compromised. You can use a Texas VPN for various tasks. For instance, you can gain access to Texas sporting activities, stream other content, and access services that only allow a Texas IP address.

Nowadays, using your private computer is not as secure as you think because you leave traces of your activities that anyone can find. The Tails operating system provides essential facilities for you to hide your identity without getting caught by prying eyes. You can install Tails on a USB stick which consists of several steps.

With a Nevada VPN, you can carry out many online activities securely. You can watch online content, access Nevada-only services with a Nevada IP address, or even partake in online gaming only accessible from the state.

Many years ago, when someone accessed the internet, their data had been stripped off at the moment of arrival on any website. Cookies were starting to collect users’ data as soon as they possibly could. But, it has changed. The European Union was quick to make an attempt to prevent this by passing the ePrivacy Directive in early 2000’s, which was updated a few times.

A Smart DNS or VPN are the top tools that you can use to bypass geo-restrictions and gain access to online content. Mostly, streaming blocked content from various online video services. Both Smart DNS and VPN spoof your geo-location, but they do it differently

VPNs encrypt your entire connection over the internet. However, at times you may need to access your local network while protecting your connection at the same time. In this case, what you need is VPN split tunneling. It helps you have fine control of your VPN and internet connection.

A VPN protocol determines how data is exchanged between your device and the VPN server. Among the available VPN protocols, OpenVPN is often regarded as the best for privacy and security. It is compatible with most encryption algorithms, stable with fast speeds, and has rare vulnerabilities. Moreover, almost all VPN providers support it.

Data protection is everywhere nowadays. Ever since the introduction of the GDPR and the global craze around it, new laws are popping up around the world. National laws can quickly create a mess for global businesses operating online. That’s why they prefer national laws whose requirements are aligned among themselves.

If your mobile phone has an internet connection, you can share that connection with other devices like laptops and other phones. This process is called tethering. VPN tethering is when you have an active VPN connection on the mobile device you use for tethering.

FLoC is a new model from Google which gives interest-based advertising a more privacy-preserving experience for consumers. Currently, planning to roll out in 2023, it will deprecate the use of third-party cookies, which have become a privacy-invasive way of user tracking for many years.

Many people these days know that their internet browsing is not particularly private, but most aren’t aware of quite how much they are being tracked. In this guide I will explain the most common methods of tracking, and how to overcome them and keep your internet usage private.

This guide explains how to get a New York state IP address. We explore the three key mechanisms for getting an IP address based in the Empire state: VPN, proxy servers and TOR.

Tor Browser is software that lets you surf the internet and use all web services anonymously. Nobody — not even government organizations, law enforcers, or big corporations — would be able to check your browsing history or track your location, provided you follow certain security practices.

Kodi is an open-source media software designed for home entertainment. The media software is free to download and can be installed on virtually any computing device. Kodi lets you stream trending movies, TV Shows, IPTV, sports, live events and more.

With a VPN router you can connect all your WiFi and wired devices to the internet through the VPN, even devices that don’t support a VPN natively. This means that ALL your internet traffic is encrypted by the VPN and the apparent location of your entire network will be that of the VPN server.

The VPN Concentrator is a networking device that allows multiple VPN tunnels to use a single network. VPN tunnels are the name for a secure connection that uses advanced encryption techniques to protect the information flowing across the web.

You will know Opera VPN is not working correctly if you encounter the following messages. ‘Unavailable to connect to opera server,’ ‘VPN is temporarily unavailable, Opera is working on the problem,’ or you get stuck in the connecting stage. Here is what to do to get Opera VPN working again.

In a nutshell, a VPN passthrough is a router feature that enables any device connected to that router to establish an outbound VPN connection. By contrast, a VPN router is a device that actively implements a VPN connection. The VPN passthrough is a passive enabler for VPN traffic.

An infected router or DNS hijacking can be used for malicious purposes. Cybercriminals can eavesdrop on your overall network traffic and collect sensitive information. They can even propagate further malware attacks, including blackmail.

A VPN kill switch is a feature offered by some VPNs that will automatically disconnect you from the internet whenever your VPN connection fails. This is extremely useful if you don’t want the website or app you are using to find out your real IP address.

Usenet is one of the oldest network communication systems, which is composed of newsgroups in news servers. However, accessing Usenet is not straightforward. You will require a Usenet provider, a search engine, and a newsreader.

Ultrasurf is a tool that allows you to bypass censorship. It has no other functionalities and cannot be used as an online security tool. It also doesn’t increase your online privacy. On the other hand, a VPN allows you to bypass censorship, and it can offer privacy and security functionalities. Also, a VPN has more features.

You, as an internet user and owner of your own personal data, have the right to submit a complaint to the relevant data protection authority in the case of violation of your personal data rights. Data protection laws protect your online privacy. However, there are billions of websites and just a handful of enforcement agencies to oversee their compliance.

The Zero-Trust Network Access is an emerging security model which has received wider attention lately. It enhances network security by enforcing strict identity and integrity verification for everyone who accesses networks. Microsegmentation, Multifactor Authentication, Device Verification, Least Access Privileges, and Continuous Network monitoring are the core principles that comprise this model.

In general usage, obfuscation is done to hide or obscure a message’s intended meaning, making it difficult to understand. In the context of VPNs, obfuscation is done to hide VPN traffic, and hence bypass VPN blocks.

Most banking institutions, including the Bank of America, blocks VPN connections. This is counter-intuitive as VPNs – if used right – may increase your online security and privacy. When using a VPN, you may reduce the chances of identity theft and online fraud.

At times, IPVanish VPN may not work as intended. Usually, this is attributed to connectivity issues. These issues involve the VPN app, your network and system configurations, or even the VPN service. This guide will provide you with solutions to the most common and rare IPVanish connection problems.

As parents, it is one of our many responsibilities to try to keep our children safe at all times. Technology has become of even greater importance in the lives of our children, and with the constant advancements, keeping up with what you need to know to keeps kids safe online in 2021 is more important than ever before.

We expect to notice cybersecurity news. The screamer headlines jostle for our attention, coming in waves via print, electronic, and social media. But aren’t cybersecurity exploits just part of our modern world, the problem of mid-sized and enterprise companies?

The Amnesic Incognito Live System, or simply known as Tails, is a Debian-based Linux operating system whose ultimate goal is to preserve your privacy and anonymity. To achieve this, Tails forces all your internet traffic to route through Tor — software that lets you browse the internet anonymously.

You may experience connectivity issues while using NordVPN. These issues may stem from the VPN app, your system, the network, or other configurations. This guide will help you solve common and complex problems most users encounter with NordVPN.

If you’ve never used a VPN before or would like to know a bit more about how they work or want to be armed with some extra knowledge before signing up to a subscription, you’ll get a good deal of information right here in this VPN guide. I won’t dumb it down so get your thinking cap on.

Get a New Jersey IP address in five minutes: To get started right away, follow these instructions to get a New Jersey IP address in […]

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU came into effect three years ago and changed the online world for good. Businesses that were […]

In this comprehensive article, you will learn about VPNs with RAM-only servers. Included in this guide: What are RAM-only VPN servers? How RAM-only VPN servers […]

In this guide we will explain what ransomware is and how you can protect yourself and avoid becoming a ransomware victim. What is ransomware? Ransomware […]

In this guide you will learn about the basics of Signal – Private Messenger. I’ll be walking you through the basics of Signal, such as […]

In this guide, you will know about various methods you can use to get a New Zealand IP address with a New Zealand VPN, and […]

Our research found that currently the records of more than 107 million Americans is sold on the dark web for as cheap as $10.

The hacked voter records include extremely sensitive information such as voter ID, full name, physical address, previous addresses, date of birth, gender and citizen status.

SOC 2 provides an essential framework that you can use to prove that you take information security as one of your top priorities by demonstrating you have implemented necessary security policies. In this guide you can learn everything you need to know about SOC 2.

VPNs and proxy servers offer various ways in which you can access the internet privately, protect your identity and bypass geo-restrictions. However, a VPN gives you more security and privacy than a proxy server. You can use a VPN or a proxy server, depending on your online tasks.

In this post, we’re going to be looking at pfBlockerNG. pfBlockerNG is an optional package available for pfSense. What pfBlockerNG does is essentially extend pfSense’s firewall functionality by giving you the ability to finely tune inbound and outbound connections using IP and DNS blocklists.

A double VPN offers ultimate security than that of a standard VPN. It also offers better privacy by completely masking your IP address. Hence, a double VPN gives you comprehensive security and anonymity when you are browsing the internet.

A vulnerability found in Taiwanese manufacturer Edimax’s popular wireless day and night network cameras allows hackers to operate and control the devices remotely because of a hard-coded default password in their firmware.

This guide to home network vigilance is designed for anyone who operates a wireless network at home, school, or on the move. First, we’ll work through that list of potential threats. Then, we’ll describe the ways you might recognize the presence of network cyberthreats. And finally, we offer a long list of ways to neutralize or reduce those threats.

This article will teach you: Who has data subject rights under the GDPR What data subject rights does the GDPR grant to users How they […]

In this guide you will learn about: What VPNs are and how they work How a VPN keeps your internet traffic private What TOR is […]

Telegram is a messaging application with over 500 million monthly active users, being one of the 10 most downloaded apps in the world. The software […]

For SMB owners, reading about massive cyberattacks might seem like a faraway misfortune of international enterprise companies. Now, the tit-for-tat cybercrime war pits increasingly sophisticated malicious actors against businesses of all sizes.

In this guide, you will learn about: What is a VPN? What is an APN? The differences and similarities between an APN vs. VPN. Use […]

In this article you will learn about: What is pfSense and how do you use it What is Squid and how do you use it […]

Can NFTs help online artists to fight back against online piracy? But can NFTs also threaten privacy & anonymity online (as far-fetched as this may sound)?

Want to learn more about a company’s privacy practices? Then a privacy policy is a good start. We’ll explain what elements a Privacy Policy should have & how to understand what is being done with your data.

Keyboard logging software that tracks everything you type, wearable tech that tracks everywhere you go, drones, superzoom cameras, parabolic microphones… No this isn’t the CIA, it’s your employer.

In this guide you will learn about: Why using Google services can harm your privacy Privacy friendly alternatives to Google Search Privacy friendly alternatives to […]

Professionals working alone or in private practice must change defense methods to avoid cyberattacks of their small businesses. This guide will: Describe changes in cyber […]

In this guide you will learn about: What encryption is and how it works How encryption will protect data on your external storage devices How […]

In this guide you’ll learn: What are data brokers What types of personal data they collect and process How they collect personal data Why you […]

Notable corporations and organizations like NASA, McDonald’s, Microsoft and even cybersecurity companies FireEye and SolarWinds have all been victims to serious breaches in 2020-2021 alone.

Where does all of this leaked information end up? For sale on the Dark Web of course. We investigated how the Dark Web market has changed since last year, so you can understand what your personal information is worth and why you should protect it.

Many small and medium businesses think that GDPR compliance is a long road ahead and delay it as much as possible. However, it is not […]

Google Analytics is a free tool by Google that provides robust insights into website visitor performance and statistics. In this guide you will learn about: […]

The View from the Remote Workplace Working from home increases the risk to system security and data privacy. With this guide, remote workers and independent […]

If you want to use the best data processing tools out there, then you have to use those made by US companies. If you want […]

A step-by-step practical guide for the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) There are thousands of articles on the web that analyze in-depth the legalese and […]

According to Statista, in 2020, around 3.6 billion people used some form of social media. A graph, by Statista, representing the trajectory of growth for […]

Data-informed decisions keep the profits high while optimizing the costs of acquiring new customers, so almost every single online business wants to monitor what you […]

Many of us have woken up to a new year, after a dreadful 2020, wondering about our lives, who we are, and how we impact […]

The human face is something we are programmed to recognize; the face has an evolutionary history that reflects how our species has changed over time. […]

As you may already know, a device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address — whether dynamic or static — is its assigned 32-bit numerical label that can […]

Healthcare data breaches increased by 2733% between 2009 and 2019 in the United States. The alarming frequency of such attacks has resulted in the majority […]

As a regular internet user, you’ve probably heard the term encryption. Many internet users have no clue what encryption is, but it’s critical that you […]

If you use a VPN regularly, you probably know that almost all VPN vendors provide OpenVPN protocol because OpenVPN is a secure and reliable open-source […]

The dark web has a longstanding reputation as a haven for the worst kinds of criminal activity. This reputation is not wholly unjustified, as there […]

What is port forwarding? Well, in simple terms, it’s forwarding internet data from one port to another. And when do you need it? When you […]

There may come a time in your career, working in a corporate environment or for your government, when you realize that something’s not right. You […]

Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was created in mid-April 2016, the EU had hopes of creating an internet where the privacy of its […]

Saying that air gapping a system is anything but the most secure and invulnerable way to protect data is bound to burst some bubbles. After […]

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phone book of the Internet. When people use the web, they don’t type in the IP address of […]

There have been almost 500 documented geopolitical cyber attacks around the world since 2009. Making cyberwarfare a major technological threat to nations and their citizens. […]

Surveillance offers government agencies the ability to gain a deep understanding of a target. This can often be to prevent terrorism or other serious crime, […]

The European General Data Protection Regulation is widely misunderstood by many small businesses. It’s one of those topics that many people have some idea about […]

Everyone has something to hide even if one might not know it yet. One of the most common pseudo-arguments brought against privacy goes something like […]

VPNs and other privacy tools are for the underprivileged what tax heavens are for the wealthy: a way to secure your own rights when those […]

TestMyNet is a free internet speed test website that’s been around for some time now. It’s very easy to use because the interface is very […]