what other privacy/security tools do you use?

The_caveman
The_caveman
Community Member
in Lounge

Just curious about what other 1Password users use in daily life to get some privacy and/or security when being online. I'm thinking about messaging apps like Signal or Threema, email services like Tutanota or ProtonMail or secure cloud solutions along the lines of Spideroak or Tresorit.

Anyone use VPN services?

Any recommendation, comment or addition is welcome.

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Comments

  • pervel
    pervel
    Community Member

    I recently started using Opera browser for some of my web activities. It includes both a built-in adblocker and a free VPN. If you haven't tried it, you should definitely check it out. It has mostly replaced Tor browser for me. The anonymity of a VPN isn't as strong as Tor but it's good enough for my purposes and Tor is just a pain to work with.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    I regularly use a few different VPN services (Cloak, ProXPN, VPN Unlimited — don't ask), private browsing (Firefox Focus, Brave, and the requisite features in others), but not so much messaging. Opera is nice and it was my primary browser years ago, but I use other browsers so much for other specific uses that I'm not in Opera much these days. And I use as few extensions as possible since so many of them request some pretty invasive access permissions.

  • The_caveman
    The_caveman
    Community Member

    Thanks for the replies. About the Opera VPN, I am very hesitant to use a free VPN client ("if it's free, then you are the product, not the client"). Never used TOR, cause I'm a little put off by the apparent complexity of use... Maybe I should have a second look at it.

    funny how the first 2 replies are mainly about VPN. Would have thought most people would use a secure messaging or email service long before even considering VPN. Oh well.

    Personally, I'm not too worried about anonymity, but I do value my privacy. I'm using Signal myself (free, but would be willing to pay) and I'm a paying ProtonMail user. I recommend both if you are interested in such things.

  • pervel
    pervel
    Community Member

    Tor Browser is just as easy to install and use as any other browser. In fact, it's just a modified version of Firefox. No complexity there. The main problem is that many web sites don't work well with Tor.

  • prime
    prime
    Community Member

    I have a VPN (TorGuard) and might switch. As for Opera, a Chinese company bought them and I do not trust them at all with my data.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    funny how the first 2 replies are mainly about VPN. Would have thought most people would use a secure messaging or email service long before even considering VPN. Oh well.

    @The_caveman: That's a good point. I guess I'm old fashioned in that regard: I don't do a lot of messaging, and even when I do it's like "See you in a few minutes." And frankly the biggest hurdle to secure messaging is getting everyone else to adopt it. ;)

    Personally, I'm not too worried about anonymity, but I do value my privacy. I'm using Signal myself (free, but would be willing to pay) and I'm a paying ProtonMail user. I recommend both if you are interested in such things.

    Thanks for the recommendation! I love threads like this because even if it isn't something I need right now, it's nice to have in the back of my mind as a starting point if I need it in the future. :)

    Tor Browser is just as easy to install and use as any other browser. In fact, it's just a modified version of Firefox. No complexity there. The main problem is that many web sites don't work well with Tor.

    @pervel: It's definitely come a long way, but yeah...even if I'm not concerned about hiding from the FBI, it certainly puts a damper on things when sites don't work correctly.

    I have a VPN (TorGuard) and might switch. As for Opera, a Chinese company bought them and I do not trust them at all with my data.

    @prime: Ah, I totally forgot about that. I'm not really scared of China though. I doubt I interest them enough for them to cross the sea, even if they can get at my browsing history. It's my own government that worries me. :lol:

  • The_caveman
    The_caveman
    Community Member

    As said before, I really like Signal, but most people indeed seem to be hesitant to change... most are stuck to Whatsapp. Granted, it has the Signal algorithm, but it does leak info to Facebook.
    Not nice.

  • rickfillion
    rickfillion

    I've been meaning to check out Signal. It looks interesting. :)

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