How to Protect Yourself from Online Shopping Security Threats

Here are easy actions which will reduce your risks during online shopping.

☑️ Update Your Browser and OS. These updates protect devices from vulnerabilities and online attacks.

☑️ Use Powerful Antivirus/Anti-Malware Software. Built with an advanced algorithm, the software detects malicious activities. It even prevents you from unknowingly logging into a malicious website.

☑️ Avoid Using Debit Cards. Using a credit 💳 to shop online is much safer than using a debit 💳. That's because a credit card has more consumer protection.

☑️ Implement Script Blockers (an extension that provides an extra layer of security for browsers). It blocks unnecessary and harmful scripts like JavaScript and iframes on retail stores you visit. You can use this free script blocker.

☑️ Use secured Websites. Avoid websites that don't have HTTPS in their URL or a padlock icon 🔒 beside the URL. 🔒 means your personal information is encrypted.

☑️ Use a VPN.

#security

Find out who's watching you through  camera

Both huge companies and ordinary hackers can try to get access to your camera for their own purposes. In both cases, you probably won't even know it's there.

One of the few ways to know if your camera is being tracked is with the help of  Procesed Explorer utility. The software was created by Microsoft Corporation, so it's effective.

✅ Press Win + R to open "Device Manager", run devmgmt.msc and tap "Details".

✅ In the list select "Physical Device Object Name" - \Device\0000009c.

✅ Copy this name, download it and run it as administrator.

✅ Type the name of the webcam in the search box and click on "Search" with the binoculars icon.

That's it: you'll see the processes and applications that use the camera. See the details or complete them, if you want.

#security #pc

How To Hide Personal Photos and Videos

For Android:

To natively hide your photos on an Android device, open up your File Manager. Add a new folder, but start the name with a period. Example: .Secrets.

When you move your photos and videos into this folder, they won't appear in your gallery or albums. ❗️You can only access them through your file manager. 👌

For iPhone:

Just select the photo you want to conceal, and tap "Hide" at the bottom of the screen. This will move the image to your Hidden" folder, and it'll stay out of any Moments, Collections, or Albums.

These device-native hiding techniques aren't password protected or encrypted, though, so using them is more risky. If someone knows your phone passcode, they can still access it.

Also there are apps for this task (password protected or encrypted). Would it be interesting for you to know about them?

#security

Musicat

A sleek desktop music player and tagger for offline music 🪕 With experimental features like map view, GPT analysis, artist toolkit. 

Features:
🎵 supports MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, OGG
🔗 linked library, using original files on disk
👀 auto-watch and re-scan folders
🏷 with metadata tagging support (read and write ID3v2, Vorbis)
🖼 download album art, origin country from Wikipedia
🎤 fetch lyrics for current song
🗺 World Map view - see your library on a map
💿 a neat mini-player
🎸 U2's latest album automatically added to your library
📊 Stats, album timeline
🤖 Dive deeper with ChatGPT or local Ollama model for additional insights.

https://github.com/basharovV/musicat

#app #github #music #mac

Find and track the IP address of any person

Grabify IP Logger can give you advanced and detailed statistical data and metadata for all clicks on your links. Your IP Logger link can access information about user’s IP address, location tracker (country, city) and so on.

The service works with just 3 simple steps:

✔️ Shorten long link.

✔️ Share the short link with another user.

✔️ Grab IP address after the user clicks on your short link.

Be attantive: you can also be a target of such actions ❗️Be careful opening links!

#service #security

How to store text messages safely?

We store most of our valuable information in text form, and if fraudsters gain access, the situation will be very unpleasant.

Paranoia Text Encryption protects your notes, cryptocurrency keys, emails, social media posts and any other text from spies, hackers and prying eyes.

The app provides real security because data is encrypted using strong encryption algorithms: Blowfish 448bit, AES 256bit, RC6 256bit, Serpent 256bit, Twofish 256bit, GOST 256bit +.

Simply copy and paste to and from your favorite apps or save to a file for later use. Available on Android, iOS, Windows, Linux.

#security #lifehack #android #windows #linux

How to copy text from a photo or a document

Sometimes you need some text from an image, don't you? Brandfolder is a text extractor that allow you to extract text from any image.

You may upload an image or document (.pdf) and the tool will pull text from the image. Once extracted, you can copy to your clipboard with one click.

#service

Encrypt your data 

You need to securely protect your data. One of the best tools for it is VeraCrypt. It's simple, easy to install, you just have to come up with a strong password and not store it digitally.

My laptop hard drive has been encrypted for years: I enter a password every time that can neither be recovered nor reset.

VeraCrypt is used by hackers, investigators, journalists and anyone else who deals with important data. So far, not a single intelligence agency in the world has managed to decipher VeraCrypt algorithms.

#security #windows #linux #mac

Save your data from a stolen smartphone

You should be warned in advance that you may have your 📱 stolen and tried to unlock it - it's not uncommon. To save important data from falling into the wrong hands, there is this app and smarthack 👇:

✔️ If you have an iPhone, open the settings and in the section "Face ID and password code" turn on the option "Erase data". After the tenth attempt to enter the wrong password, the 📱 will delete all data.

✔️ Wasted is an app (for Android) which completely locks 🔐 and wipes the device in an emergency situation. For example, if it has not been turned on for several days: this number of days can be adjusted.

#security #privacy

Tips for working with Microsoft
Word

✅ To quickly insert the current date, press SHIFT + ALT + D, and to insert the time, SHIFT + ALT + T.

✅ If you accidentally typed a text with the CAPS LOCK key enabled, then select the text in uppercase and press SHIFT + F3.

✅ To speed up the cursor movement through the text, hold down CTRL and use the arrows.

✅ By holding CTRL, you can select all the parts of the text you are interested in, even if they are not arranged in a row.

✅ The F4 key repeats the last command used.

✅ Place the cursor at the beginning of the text selection and click at the end of the desired text segment with the SHIFT key held down for quick selection.

✅ Press CTRL + ENTER to quickly create a new sheet.

#lifehack #windows

Сheck if your data is leaking through a VPN

Do I Leak is a tool to check for data leaks through VPNs. It is designed to detect most leaks that could reveal your real identity.

To test, go to the link, select "VPN Leak Test" and click on "Begin test". Then follow the simple instruction and the service will check everything for you. Use only verified VPN services.

#security #privacy

How to be sure an account in Telegram is deleted

In Telegram you can easily make an account look exactly like a deleted account.

Such accounts have a deleted photo, username is removed, name is as "Deleted Account" and privacy options are restricted (last online time, forwarding messages, showing phone number, etc.).

There are a couple of points that can help you recognize a fake 👇

✅ A really deleted account shows "last seen a long time ago" instead of the last activity time.

✅ There is no message entry field.

✅ When you change the interface language, the account name changes.

#lifehack

Share files conveniently!

Send Anywhere is a file sharing application that takes an easy, quick, and unlimited approach to file sharing. It is for anyone wanting to share quality content quickly, from any device to anyone in the world 🌍.

The service uses p2p networking, making the transfer process safer and faster. In addition, the service requires no login or registration - all that's required is a one-time 6-digit code that syncs the sending and receiving devices.

Sending:
1. Select a file and click Send.
2. The service will generate a 6-digit one-time key that you will share with the person you want to send the file to.

Obtaining: enter the 6-digit one-time key on the receiving device.

#service

Signs Your Social Media Accounts Have Been Hacked

Hackers can stealthily take control of your social media accounts without your knowledge. So, look out for these 👇 signs.

✅ Your password has been changed.

✅ Random posts from your profile.

✅ Your contacts reporting unusual messages. Check if there have been unusual sharing of links that you did not share or messages that you did not send across your network.

✅ Logins from remote locations.

✅ Unusual increase in number of friends or followers. Hackers often spread malicious links and content by adding other people to your network or using your authority to accomplish what they need.

✅ Receiving emails notifying about unauthorized access.

✅ Signed up for subscriptions and unusual purchases.

✅ Suspicious activity in your ad manager (campaigns running for promoting pages or selling products, with random credit cards added as payment methods).

Protect your social media accounts!

#security

Send Messages, Not Metadata

Your correspondence can be read in almost all messengers. The exception is Telegram, but it is not completely anonymous - it requires you to enter your phone number to register. If it comes up, you will be easily identified.

Session is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that minimises sensitive metadata, designed and built for people who want absolute privacy and freedom from any form of surveillance. It does not ask for an email or 📱 number when you register, but assigns you an ID - a set of hundreds of characters. It looks like a long nickname that you can share with your interlocutor to start a chat.

The app looks like a normal messenger - you can send documents, voice messages, there are groups, but it's completely anonymous. The company has no servers, the routing goes through users - it means that leaks of personal data are simply impossible.

Available on iPhone, Android and PC.

Use it!

#security

How to Beat Social Media Algorithms

Social media platforms charge you nothing to use them, except info about you. Their algorithms decide what content to show you.❗️Don’t make their data harvesting easier —skirt the algorithms whenever you can.

✅ Don’t confirm the algorithm’s assumptions. Avoid interacting with suggested content if possible. If you find something interesting in suggestions, search for it manually and watch it from there.

✅ Eliminate suggested feeds when possible. Change your feeds to sort chronologically ➡️ don’t train the platform’s algorithm. Not for all social medias! Facebook and Twitter let you sort by recent posts. Instagram might not have a chronological feed at the moment, but it’s coming. TikTok - watch content from the “Following” (would show you videos only from accounts you follow).

✅ Use platforms without your account when possible (YouTube, Reddit).

✅ Use a burner account, with none of your real info.

#security

How to search on Google from another region

I Search From helps you simulate using a Google search from another location or device, or search with custom search settings.

The site allows you to build your search query so that Google searches by the territorial data you specify.

You can choose from search region and device type to city.

#lifehack #security

How to Copy More Than One Thing to Your Clipboard at a Time

If you ever need to copy multiple things from one place to another or have a habit of misplacing the link you copied but forgot to paste, you need a clipboard manager.

Windows 10 and 11 come with their own basic clipboard history too. Enable the feature from Settings > System > Clipboard > Clipboard History. Then, use the Windows + V keyboard shortcut to bring up a floating panel where you’ll see a list of text that you have recently copied to the clipboard. You can click on an entry to paste it into the text, and the Pin button to pin that entry to the top.

The Windows clipboard history tool is nice to have. But it’s no clipboard manager 👇.

Ditto is a lightweight, free, and open-source clipboard manager.

1Clipboard is another great option for a free, universal app built on open source tech. It works on both Windows and Mac.

#lifehack #pc

How to Turn Off/On All Sensors on Android Phone With a Tap

While Android offers quick toggles to disable location tracking and cellular connectivity, there’s no direct option to switch off the rest of your phone’s sensors. For example, gyroscope can use to intercept sensitive information like passwords, account names from your 📱. Luckily, Android has a hidden setting that lets you shut off all your phone’s sensors in a single tap.

✅ Go to Settings > About phone > and tap build number 7 times to enable Developer Options.
✅In Settings, go to System > Advanced > and tap on Developer Options.
✅ Scroll down and tap on Quick settings developer tiles.
✅ Now, tap on Sensors off toggle to add the tile on the Quick Settings panel.
✅Now, to on and off sensors, pull down the Quick Settings panel, and tap on the Sensors off tile.

#security #android

Checking APK files for viruses

There is a small chance to stumble on dangerous applications even in PlayMarket , and if you download from other sources, this risk increases tenfold.

Therefore, you should take care of your security in advance. MetaDefender Cloud will help.

It is a free scanner that runs the file through the databases of 40 anti-viruses simultaneously. All you have to do is attach a file, its hash, its IP address, or a link to a suspicious site - and click "Process".

In just a few seconds the service will scan the entire file and show the results of each antivirus scan and also the metadata and rights of the application ✅.

#security

Swap geolocation in your browser

It's very useful feature that will allow you to keep at least a little more personal privacy.

Location Guard will keep your location private in your browser. You give it access to your location, and it controls what resources end up getting. And what they get is not what you actually have.

This kind of dispersion of your location is available at several different levels on an incremental basis. The extension is available for Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

#security