Throw out the windows
It has come to my attention that many Steemians are still using Windows while also trying to maintain their privacy. This however, does not and will not work in today's cyber-society. I see questions on various forums, that go something like: Is it safe to use Windows and Tor? Am I safe using Windows if I use a VPN and then Tor?
The answer is simply NO. Windows was at one point a great operating system but that time has come and gone. The web is no longer the one known when Windows 95 was out, prior to 95, or even spanning up to XP.
The only true way to stay safe, even from your operating system, is by using an open-sourced OS such as Linux. Now, I will not be telling you which Linux distro to use as that is for you to figure out. There are various Linux distros and only you can find the one most suited to your needs. Like Windows? I would recommend Ubuntu or Mint. Want a hacking machine? Kali Linux or possibly even Parrot. There are many others that I have not mentioned here as well.
My main point here is that you should not be using Windows. You should also not be using OSX or either, even though Apple does seem to be attempting to fight for encryption standards and privacy. Below I have provided links for the cases against using Windows.
Disclaimer: These are clearnet links. I will offer a brief summary of each article below the link to it.
- Recently Bought a Windows Computer? Microsoft Probably has Your Encryption Key. - Micah Lee
Basically, just as the title says, if you recently bought a Windows computer then they will automatically have your encryption key as you are forced to encrypt your hard drive and the key is associated to your Microsoft account. The only way to fix this would be to decrypt your hard drive and the re-encrypt it with another piece of software (I would suggest VeraCrypt).
- Why not Windows.
http://www.getgnulinux.org/en/windows/
You should go ahead and read this entire thing. It is not very long and many of the points are just bullets. One key piece of information is this:
Private information is collected
The licence explicitly states that "Microsoft and its affiliates" collect technical information gathered on your computer by the software. They "may use this information solely to improve products or to provide customized services or technologies".
In order to activate most Microsoft products, as part of the license agreement, your computer connects to the Microsoft servers and sends "technical" information. It can "solely" be used for pretty much anything.
- Even when told not to, Windows 10 just can't stop talking to Microsoft – Peter Bright
Windows still collects your data even when you turn off telemetry settings (the settings that collect your data)
If you do wish to install Linux, I have provided a link to a guide. This particular guide is a pdf but I find it to be the most useful.
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/~matloff/Linux/LinuxInstall.pdf
I have also posted another guide that is not a pdf if you are weirded out by that kind of thing.
http://www.control-escape.com/linux/lx-install.html
Steem on and browse safe!