Digital privacy has become a major talking point in recent years, especially as more and more people learn about how governments and corporations harvest our personal data. This also means that there has been a bigger push for more people to focus on protecting their now privacy as much as possible.
There are a number of ways to achieve this, ranging from installing different operating systems, using aliases, ditching certain ecosystems, and much more. There are even several gadgets that a privacy-conscious user can utilise in order to protect and maintain their digital privacy.
Let’s take a look at some of the best on the market right now.
Webcam Cover
Many people might be surprised to learn that they might be being spied on through their desktop or laptop webcam. It doesn’t take much for a program, malicious piece of software, or even an operating system to gain access to the webcam, which is a massive privacy violation. Even people like Mark Zuckerberg have been seen covering the webcam on their laptop, so there is definitely some truth to the claims. Webcam covers are inexpensive but effective gadgets that can be used to completely cover the webcam, disallowing any software from viewing what’s going on.
Two-Factor Authentication Keys
Two-factor authentication is one of the best ways of securing an account, forcing anyone who wants access to the account to produce randomly generated keys along with the username and password. For most people, a simple app is usually enough, but USB keys, such as the ones that are offered by Yubikey, provide an entirely new level of protection. These keys are able to be plugged in directly or make use of NFC technology and means that nobody else has access to the generated keys that they produce.
Pi-hole
The Pi-hole has become increasingly popular as a means of blocking advertisements and other traffic at a DNS level. This means that instead of having trackers installed on a multitude of devices around the house, all traffic is instead diverted through the Pi-hole, which then removes all of the ads and trackers that sometimes make the internet completely unusable, whether for casual browsing or NZ betting online. It’s free to download and use, but has to be installed on a Raspberry Pi, which can be somewhat difficult to get a hold of at the moment.
Open Source Router
One way that an ISP can track all of a user’s traffic is through the logs that obtained in the router, which is why many people turn to open source routers and open source routing software. These routers are generally quite easy to get a hold of and allow a user to ensure that nobody else has access to the information that they store, such as IP addresses or the websites that they visit. Sometimes it’s possible to get a router from a well-known manufacturer that supports the usage of open source router software, making it easy to set up and install.