This simple advice will help to protect you against hackers and government surveillance.

The internet today is filled with news of breached and compromised accounts on various platforms and how the governments are able to surveil there own citizens.

The question now is Whether the government is the good guy or the bad guy and I certainly have had a hard time figuring it out.

Well if you are like, “I got nothing to hide” then you should probably reconsider.

Privacy is what sets us apart from the animals. People often don’t think about their rights until they need them — whether it’s when they’re arrested at a protest or pulled over for a routine traffic stop.

Surveillance is also a part of life, and it’s getting progressively more invasive.

Government eavesdropping is increasing, carried out in wider secrecy, and it’s becoming far more localized. In fact, the last three presidents have pushed for greater surveillance: Clinton introduced mandated wiretapping laws, Bush expanded mass domestic surveillance, and Obama expanded the intelligence service’s reach — just in time for Trump.

Now, with a new president in the Oval Office, many are concerned about the future of their fundamental freedoms and constitutional rights.

There is no such thing as perfect security.

But no matter who you are or where you are in the world, there are a lot of things you can do — many of which are simple — to protect yourself in this turbulent time.

Protecting your digital self can be a tedious task and requires you to use the online resources very carefully and staying secure.

Let’s Start your security assessment with what’s known as a threat-modeling exercise.

  • Ask yourself what you want to protect and from whom, and estimate the likelihood that the specific parties would compromise your data. Plug the high-risk holes first. Everything else, you can sweat a little less.

The following are the points I find should be helpful to protect one and his/her Digital self.

  • Consider whatever you post on social media, a good example is considered what you post on social media as being displayed on a big print on the side of a building.

  • Always Try Using Strong Password (8-11 characters if possible and if you find them difficult to remember to use a password tool like 1password.

  • Check on HaveIbeenPwned, also Firefox Monitor if your credentials have been leaked in one of the many credential leak(LinkedIn, Dropbox, mail etc…)

  • Use different username and password across social media (CheckUserNames finds the same username across different media). Try to use a variation of your name in social media unless you want to be identified.

  • Remove metadata from the image in Windows and Mac Android or Iphone. JPEG image has a lot of information including the location where it was taken. This can be used to track where you are at a particular date in time. The information gets also read on social media. Nonetheless, only a few social media preserve the EXIF (photo metadata) details. This means that when a picture gets downloaded it will not contain Geo-tagging and other details.

  • Do not share your location on social media apps or directly on your phone (iphone or android).

  • Double-check your privacy settings, but don’t trust them. l only share material with a specific individual (e.g. a picture of your kids, where you go for a holiday when you are away).

  • When moving apartment use redirection services. Royal Mail and other postal service offer a redirection service. Consider it when moving house If you move house, also informing : your bank, the credit card company, Utility bill providers and other organizations that send material by post is a good idea.

  • Be mindful of people that might have access to your post (left in open place, on the patio or in the trash): Contact Royal Mail or other post providers if you think your post is being stolen. Check whether a mail redirection order has been made in your name without your knowledge.

  • Be mindful of document you trash that might contain sensitive information. Everyone gets access to the bin. Also be mindful on recycling paper that contains confidential information. Get hold of privacy ink. Shred paper with a shredder.Verify credit score to see if your identity has been compromised to open a new credit card or another line of credit.

  • Setup Google alerts when new information about you appears: www.google.com/alerts. This will notify you if suddenly your name appears where it shouldn’t

  • Service from Experian and similar are paid services that help to track identity use or whenever someone opens a new line of credit in your behalf.

  • Browse safely in public places by using privacy screen on your devices (Privacy screen mac or iphone or android-Samsung)

  • When connected in public places use VPN to prevent profiting from the local WiFi or from a possible rogue WiFi hotspot.