EFF Surveillance Self-Defense

English:  https://ssd.eff.org/en     Pусский:  https://ssd.eff.org/ru

Modern technology has given those in power new abilities to eavesdrop and collect data on innocent people. Surveillance Self-Defense is EFF's guide to defending yourself and your friends from surveillance by using secure technology and developing careful practices. Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD) is EFF's guide to defending yourself and your friends from digital surveillance. In addition to tutorials for installing and using security-friendly software, SSD walks you through concepts like threat modeling, the importance of strong passwords, and protecting metadata.

I support the EFF and recommend that anyone with an interest in personal privacy take the time to read their Surveillance Self-Defense Guide, and that you implement those practices that are applicable in your life. There is a lot of good information on their web-site, and understanding that information can help keep you stay safe both on-line, and in the physical world as well.  

However, the EFF SSD is not the only thing you should read. The EFF SSD Guide guide does not address operational security or "OPSEC" in the broader sense. OPSEC is the process of protecting information about one's activities that may be important to a potential adversary. This is a process that frequently goes beyond the digital realm.

For example, people trying to have confidential meetings may have to worry about whether someone physically followed them, or whether they were observed by CCTV cameras, or whether their neighbors might have become aware of the meeting, or whether their meeting places have been bugged. Perhaps they should wonder if they are creating a suspicious pattern of activity. They may also have physical security concerns; could they tell if someone broke into their home or tampered with their laptop? Are their confidential documents safe? These are important and valid concerns for people with certain kinds of security needs, but they fall outside the scope of the EFF SSD Guide.

However, if you are interested in this broader concept of security the American government has several courses on their Security Awareness Hub  that address these topics. Although the courses are designed for US Government and Military personnel, they are available to anyone who wants to take them.

Additional information about protecting yourself on-line is available from many sources on-line. Some sources I like are:    

• Security in a Box 
  
• Dark Web Beginners Security Guide
  
• Privacy Tools 

Take time to read articles about on-line security and personal privacy, and understand things that pit you at risk, and things that make you more secure.

E-mail Self-Defense

Surveillance Self-Defense Against the Trump Administration

Upgrade Your iPhone Passcode to Defeat the FBI’s Backdoor Strategy

How to Protect Yourself From Government Surveillance and Criminal Hackers

With C.I.A. Hacking Revelations, How to Protect Your Devices


Security Tools

HTTPS Everywhere
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

Privacy Badger
https://www.eff.org/privacybadger

Wickr

https://www.wickr.com/

Telegram
https://telegram.org/

** Russia Threatens to Ban Encrypted Messaging App Telegram **

Tutanota
https://tutanota.com/


There is no one single answer to protecting yourself from surveillance (if there was then everyone would use it). There are a wide variety of things that should be used, depending on your particular circumstances. Every security procedure you put into place makes it that much more difficult for an adversary to target you. So, read, research, and add the security tools that best fit your needs.