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Adds more mobile security suggestions
- Only install apps from trusted app sources - Use Orbot for system-wide Tor network - Prevent apps from accessing phone data with Island - Erase phone after too many failed PIN attempts - How to watch out for Stalkerware
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README.md
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README.md
@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ It's strongly advised not to use non-encrypted email, but if you follow these gu
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**Only put info on social media that you wouldn’t mind being public** | Recommended | Even with tightened security settings, don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want to be seen by anyone other than your friends. Don’t rely solely on social networks security.
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**Only put info on social media that you wouldn’t mind being public** | Recommended | Even with tightened security settings, don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want to be seen by anyone other than your friends. Don’t rely solely on social networks security.
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**Don’t give social networking apps permissions they don’t need** | Recommended | By default many of the popular social networking apps, will ask for permission to access your contacts, your call log, your location, your messaging history etc.. If they don’t need this access, don’t grant it.
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**Don’t give social networking apps permissions they don’t need** | Recommended | By default many of the popular social networking apps, will ask for permission to access your contacts, your call log, your location, your messaging history etc.. If they don’t need this access, don’t grant it.
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**Revoke access for apps your no longer using** | Recommended | Instructions: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=applications), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/settings/applications), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/third-party-applications), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/accounts/manage_access/).
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**Revoke access for apps your no longer using** | Recommended | Instructions: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=applications), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/settings/applications), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/third-party-applications), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/accounts/manage_access/).
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**Use a secure email provider** | Optional | Most email providers completely invade your privacy intercepting both messages sent and received. [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com) is a secure email provider, that is open source and offers end-to-end encryption. There are alternative secure mail providers (such as [CounterMail](https://countermail.com), [HushMail](https://www.hushmail.com) and [MailFence](https://mailfence.com))- but [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com) has both a clear interface and strong security record.
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**Remove metadata before uploading media** | Optional | Most smartphones and some cameras automatically attach a comprehensive set of additional data to each photograph., This usually includes things like time, date, location, camera model, user etc. Remove this data before uploading. See [this guide](https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-ways-to-remove-exif-metadata-from-photos-and-why-you-might-want-to/) for more info.
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**Remove metadata before uploading media** | Optional | Most smartphones and some cameras automatically attach a comprehensive set of additional data to each photograph., This usually includes things like time, date, location, camera model, user etc. Remove this data before uploading. See [this guide](https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-ways-to-remove-exif-metadata-from-photos-and-why-you-might-want-to/) for more info.
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**Don’t have any social media accounts** | Advanced | It may seem a bit extreme, but if your serious about data privacy and security, stay away from entering information on any social media platform.
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**Don’t have any social media accounts** | Advanced | It may seem a bit extreme, but if your serious about data privacy and security, stay away from entering information on any social media platform.
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@ -135,16 +136,21 @@ SMS texting and traditional phone calls are not secure, so it's imprortant to av
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**Security** | **Priority** | **Details and Hints**
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**Security** | **Priority** | **Details and Hints**
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--- | --- | ---
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--- | --- | ---
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**Turn of connectivity features that aren’t being used** | Recommended | When you're not using WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC or anything else, turn those features off. These are commonly used to easily hack individuals.
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**Turn of connectivity features that aren’t being used** | Recommended | When you're not using WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC or anything else, turn those features off. These are commonly used to easily hack individuals.
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**Uninstall apps that you don’t need** | Recommended | Don’t have apps that your not using on your phone, as they can be collecting data in the background. Don’t install apps from non-legitimate sources, or apps with few reviews.
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**Keep app count to a minimum** | Recommended | Uninstall apps that you don’t need or use regularly. As apps often run in the background, slowing your device down, but also collecting data.
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**Don’t grant apps permissions that they don’t need** | Recommended | If an app doesn’t need access to your camera, don’t grant it access. Same with any features of your phone, be wary about what each app has access to.
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**Don’t grant apps permissions that they don’t need** | Recommended | If an app doesn’t need access to your camera, don’t grant it access. Same with any features of your phone, be wary about what each app has access to.
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**Only install Apps from official source** | Recommended | Applications on Apple App Store and Google Play Store are scanned and cryptographically signed, making them less likley to be malicious. Avoid downloading .apk or .ipa files from unverified source. Also check the reviews before downloading a new application.
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**Only Charge your Device from a Trusted Source** | Recommended | When you charge your device via USB in a public space, it is possible for malicious actors to gain full access to your device, via [AT Commands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_command_set). You can read more about this at https://atcommands.org/ or from [this seminar](https://www.usenix.org/node/217625). To protect yourself, either only charge your phone from trusted sources, or use a [USB Data Blocker](https://amzn.to/30amhja). A Data blocker allows your phone to charge, while blocking the data transfer wires, blocking this exploit or any file transfers to run. ([PortaPow](https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/) is recomended, since it still allows for fast-charge.) Availible in both [USB-A](https://amzn.to/309kPh3) and [USB-C](https://amzn.to/39Wh5nJ).
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**Only Charge your Device from a Trusted Source** | Recommended | When you charge your device via USB in a public space, it is possible for malicious actors to gain full access to your device, via [AT Commands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_command_set). You can read more about this at https://atcommands.org/ or from [this seminar](https://www.usenix.org/node/217625). To protect yourself, either only charge your phone from trusted sources, or use a [USB Data Blocker](https://amzn.to/30amhja). A Data blocker allows your phone to charge, while blocking the data transfer wires, blocking this exploit or any file transfers to run. ([PortaPow](https://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/) is recomended, since it still allows for fast-charge.) Availible in both [USB-A](https://amzn.to/309kPh3) and [USB-C](https://amzn.to/39Wh5nJ).
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**Set up a mobile carrier pin** | Recomended | [SIM hijacking](https://securelist.com/large-scale-sim-swap-fraud/90353/) is when a hacker is able to get your mobile number transfered to their sim (often through social engineering your mobile carrier). This then allows them to recieve 2FA SMS codes (enabling them to access your secure accounts, such as banking), or to pose as you. The easiest way to protect against this is to set up a PIN through your mobile provider, thus disallowing anyone without this PIN to make any changes to your account. The PIN should not be easily guessible, and it it important that you remember it, or store is somewhere secure. Using a non-SMS based 2FA method will reduce the damage that can be done if someone is able to take control of your SIM. [Read more](https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-mobile-sim-swap-fraud.html) about the sim swap scam.
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**Set up a mobile carrier pin** | Recomended | [SIM hijacking](https://securelist.com/large-scale-sim-swap-fraud/90353/) is when a hacker is able to get your mobile number transfered to their sim (often through social engineering your mobile carrier). This then allows them to recieve 2FA SMS codes (enabling them to access your secure accounts, such as banking), or to pose as you. The easiest way to protect against this is to set up a PIN through your mobile provider, thus disallowing anyone without this PIN to make any changes to your account. The PIN should not be easily guessible, and it it important that you remember it, or store is somewhere secure. Using a non-SMS based 2FA method will reduce the damage that can be done if someone is able to take control of your SIM. [Read more](https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-mobile-sim-swap-fraud.html) about the sim swap scam.
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**Opt-out of personal adds** | Optional | In order for adds to be personalized, Google collects data about you, you can slightly reduce the amount they collect by opting-out of seeing personalised ads. See [this guide](https://www.androidguys.com/tips-tools/how-to-disable-personalized-ads-on-android/), for Android instructions.
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**Erase after too many login attempts** | Optional | To protect against an attacker brute forcing your pin, if you loose your phone, set your device to erase after too many failed login attempts. See [this iPhone guide](https://www.howtogeek.com/264369/how-to-erase-your-ios-device-after-too-many-failed-passcode-attempts/). You can also do this via Find my Phone, but this increased security comes at a cost of decreased privacy.
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**Monitor Trackers** | Optional | A tracker is a piece of software meant to collect data about you or your usages. [εxodus](https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/), is a great service, which lets you search for any app, by it's name, and see which trackers are embeded in it. They also have [an app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.eu.exodus_privacy.exodusprivacy), which shows trackers and permissions for all your installed apps.
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**Monitor Trackers** | Optional | A tracker is a piece of software meant to collect data about you or your usages. [εxodus](https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/), is a great service, which lets you search for any app, by it's name, and see which trackers are embeded in it. They also have [an app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.eu.exodus_privacy.exodusprivacy), which shows trackers and permissions for all your installed apps.
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**Install a Firewall** | Optional | To prevent applications from leaking privacy-sensitive data, you can install a firewall app. This will make it easier to see and control which apps are making network requests in the background, and allow you to block specific apps from roaming when the screen is turned off. For Android, check out [NetGuard](https://www.netguard.me/), and for iOS there is [LockDown](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lockdown-apps/id1469783711), both of which are open source. Alternatively there is [NoRootFirewall](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.greyshirts.firewall) *Android*, [XPrivacy](https://github.com/M66B/XPrivacy) *Android (root required)*, [Fyde](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fyde-mobile-security-access/) *iOS* and [Guardian Firewall](https://guardianapp.com/) *iOS*.
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**Install a Firewall** | Optional | To prevent applications from leaking privacy-sensitive data, you can install a firewall app. This will make it easier to see and control which apps are making network requests in the background, and allow you to block specific apps from roaming when the screen is turned off. For Android, check out [NetGuard](https://www.netguard.me/), and for iOS there is [LockDown](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lockdown-apps/id1469783711), both of which are open source. Alternatively there is [NoRootFirewall](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.greyshirts.firewall) *Android*, [XPrivacy](https://github.com/M66B/XPrivacy) *Android (root required)*, [Fyde](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fyde-mobile-security-access/) *iOS* and [Guardian Firewall](https://guardianapp.com/) *iOS*.
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**Use secure, privacy-respecting apps** | Optional | Mainstream apps have a reputation for not respecting the privacy of their users, and they're usually closed-source meaning vulnrabilities can be hidden. [Prism-Break](https://prism-break.org) maintains a list of better alternatives, see [Android](https://prism-break.org/en/categories/android/) and [iOS](https://prism-break.org/en/categories/ios/).
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**Use secure, privacy-respecting apps** | Optional | Mainstream apps have a reputation for not respecting the privacy of their users, and they're usually closed-source meaning vulnrabilities can be hidden. [Prism-Break](https://prism-break.org) maintains a list of better alternatives, see [Android](https://prism-break.org/en/categories/android/) and [iOS](https://prism-break.org/en/categories/ios/).
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**Use Signal, insted of SMS** | Optional | SMS may be convinent, but it's [no secure](https://www.fortherecordmag.com/archives/0315p25.shtml). [Signal](https://signal.org) is both the most secure and private option. [Silence](https://silence.im/) (encrypted SMS), [Threema](https://threema.ch), [Wire](https://wire.com/en/)(enterprise) and [Riot](https://about.riot.im/) are also encrypted.[iMessage](https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/27/apple-explains-exactly-how-secure-imessage-really-is/) and [WhatsApp](https://www.whatsapp.com) do claim to be [end-to-end-encrypted](https://signal.org/blog/whatsapp-complete/), but since they are not open source, verifying this is harder, and the private companies which own them (Apple and Facebook), have a questionable reputation when it comes to protecting users privacy. Keep in mind that although the transmission may be secured, messages can still be read if your, or your recipients' devices have been compromised.
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**Use Signal, insted of SMS** | Optional | SMS may be convinent, but it's [no secure](https://www.fortherecordmag.com/archives/0315p25.shtml). [Signal](https://signal.org) is both the most secure and private option. [Silence](https://silence.im/) (encrypted SMS), [Threema](https://threema.ch), [Wire](https://wire.com/en/)(enterprise) and [Riot](https://about.riot.im/) are also encrypted.[iMessage](https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/27/apple-explains-exactly-how-secure-imessage-really-is/) and [WhatsApp](https://www.whatsapp.com) do claim to be [end-to-end-encrypted](https://signal.org/blog/whatsapp-complete/), but since they are not open source, verifying this is harder, and the private companies which own them (Apple and Facebook), have a questionable reputation when it comes to protecting users privacy. Keep in mind that although the transmission may be secured, messages can still be read if your, or your recipients' devices have been compromised.
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**Use a secure email provider** | Optional | Most email providers completely invade your privacy intercepting both messages sent and received. [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com) is a secure email provider, that is open source and offers end-to-end encryption. There are alternative secure mail providers (such as [CounterMail](https://countermail.com), [HushMail](https://www.hushmail.com) and [MailFence](https://mailfence.com))- but [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com) has both a clear interface and strong security record.
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**Avoid using your real phone number when signing up for an account or service** | Optional | Where possible, avoid giving out your real phone number while creating accounts online. You can create phone numbers using services such as [Google Voice](https://voice.google.com) or [Skype](https://www.skype.com/en/features/online-number/). For temporary usage you can use a service like [iNumbr](https://www.inumbr.com) that generates a phone number that forwards messages and calls to your main number.
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**Avoid using your real phone number when signing up for an account or service** | Optional | Where possible, avoid giving out your real phone number while creating accounts online. You can create phone numbers using services such as [Google Voice](https://voice.google.com) or [Skype](https://www.skype.com/en/features/online-number/). For temporary usage you can use a service like [iNumbr](https://www.inumbr.com) that generates a phone number that forwards messages and calls to your main number.
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**Watch out for Stalkerware** | Optional | This is malware that is installed directly onto your device by someone you know (partner, parent, boss etc). It allows them to see your location, messages and other app data remotley. The app likley won't show up in your app draw, (but may visible in Settings --> Applications --> View All). Sometimes they can be disguised as a non-conspicuous app (such as a game, flashlight or calculator) which initially don't appear suspicious at all. Look out for unusual battery ussage, network requests or high device temperature. If you suspect that stalkerware is on your device, the best way to get rid of it, is though a factory reset. See [this guide](https://blog.malwarebytes.com/stalkerware/2019/10/how-to-protect-against-stalkerware-a-murky-but-dangerous-mobile-threat/) for more details.
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**Sandbox Mobile Apps** | Advanced | Prevent permission-hungry apps from accessing your private data with [Island](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oasisfeng.island&hl=en_GB). It is a sandbox environment to clone selected apps and isolate them from accessing your personal data outside the sandbox (including call logs, contacts, photos and etc) even if related permissions are granted.
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**Consider Orbot** | Advanced | [Orbot](https://guardianproject.info/apps/orbot/) provides a system-wide [Tor](https://www.torproject.org/) connection. Although more secure than a VPN, it may be slower- see [Networking](#networking) section for more details.
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**Consider running a custom ROM if you have an Android device** | Advanced | Your default OS tracks information about your usage, and app data, constantly. Consider a security-focused custom ROM, such as [Lineage](https://lineageos.org) or [CopperheadOS](https://copperhead.co/android/).
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**Consider running a custom ROM if you have an Android device** | Advanced | Your default OS tracks information about your usage, and app data, constantly. Consider a security-focused custom ROM, such as [Lineage](https://lineageos.org) or [CopperheadOS](https://copperhead.co/android/).
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