This topic is part 3 of 4 parts series about Security and electronic traces
- Does OG log IP addresses?
- How secure is my Internet connection?
- How to hide my location / IP address?
- How to post photos online anonymously?
Hello and welcome.
In this post I will explain how to use a VPN/Proxy Server to encrypt your internet traffic and anonymize your location.
Method 1. Tails/Tor (Free)
In this method we will be using the Tor Network to encrypt our traffic and anonymize our location.
There are several ways of using the tor network but for this guide, we will use tails live USB.
Tails is a live operating system that runs on a USB stick or DVD. Tails uses the TOR network and is setup with privacy in mind. Tails will encrypt your internet traffic and hide your location. Whenever you shutdown tails, all of your history and information is wiped out. When you start it again it is fresh and new again. Tails does not erase or modify your current operating system or hard drive in any way.
1.) Google and Download Tails.
2.) Google and download Unetbootin.
2.5) Plug in your USB drive. This will be erased.
3.) Open up UNetbootin and click the “DiskImage” bullet.
4.) Choose ISO and navigate to the Tails iso file you downloaded.
5.) Select the drive letter that represents your USB drive and click OK. This will erase the USB drive and install Tails to it.
6.) Reboot your PC and choose to boot from your USB drive. Tails will start. Follow the instructions and you are done.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TAILS & TOR
It is not recommended to run tails as a virtual machine as virtual machine software uses your hard drive to store cache and can leave crumbs behind.
It is possible for a specific tor exit node to determine the location of your computer. If you happen to use one of these exit nodes, your location and activity could be seen by that exit node.
It is possible to use a vpn to protect against this but if your already have a VPN why bother?
Method 2. (Paid Method)
There are several cheap VPN services out there to choose from.
I recommend IPVanish or NordVPN. IPVanish comes with several key features that make it easy for a novice user to stay protected.
1.) Google IPVanish (or whatever VPN you choose) and sign up and download and install the software.
2.) Log in using your credentials and click the settings tab on the left.
3.) Click the Connection Tab on the top and select Auto Reconnect, Kill Switch, Block Lan Traffic, Enable IPV6 Leak Protection & Enable DNS Leak Protection.
4.) Choose your server and connect. You are done.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VPNs
It is important to choose a VPN that has a kill switch and DNS and IPv6 Leak protection. If you do not have these features then your VPN could and will probably be rendered useless.
If you use Linux or have any questions, Feel free to ask.
Ganja.