Guide | How To A simple guide to data leakage protection (for home users)

[Andra Zaharia]

I've noticed that most discussions about data leakage are focused around companies and institutions.

But the thing is that home users are also vulnerable to this, and most don't exactly know that they're exposed or what to do about it.

So I tried my hand at putting together an explanatory guide, safety tips included:
All About (Concealed) Data Leakage for Users Like You and Me

I'd be super appreciative of any feedback on it, since I know it can be improved and I want to make it as useful a resource as possible.

 

[Atlas147]

Pretty extensive article!

 

[Andra Zaharia]

Pretty extensive article!

Thank you!

 

[frogboy]

A great read, thank you very much @Andra Zaharia very useful.

 

[JM Safe]

Yes a really interesting article, thanks @Andra Zaharia !

 

[Andra Zaharia]

A great read, thank you very much @Andra Zaharia very useful.

Thrilled to hear that! Many thanks!

 

[Andra Zaharia]

Yes a really interesting article, thanks @Andra Zaharia !

So glad you found it useful!

 

[LabZero]

Thanks for sharing

Of course the implementation of high safety standards can help to monitor the data leak.
In a normal user-computer context, I believe that prevention through multi layer security, a very good backup plan, online security education and common sense is the best compromise.
It is important to check what enters in our PC, but especially check what comes out.
The adoption of a good firewall configured in interactive mode, is one of the best solutions to prevent data theft by malware stealer.
Common sense is the great supervisor on our activities.

 

[Andra Zaharia]

Thanks for sharing

Of course the implementation of high safety standards can help to monitor the data leak.
In a normal user-computer context, I believe that prevention through multi layer security, a very good backup plan, online security education and common sense is the best compromise.
It is important to check what enters in our PC, but especially check what comes out.
The adoption of a good firewall configured in interactive mode, is one of the best solutions to prevent data theft by malware stealer.
Common sense is the great supervisor on our activities.

Great observations, @Klipsh - thanks for contributing!

 

[Darlene]

Supersized to see the low amount of votes on date encryption. In my opinion "tho factor authentication" and "date encryption" are the most effective.

 

[Logethica]

I voted:
Multi-Layered Security
Traffic Filtering (which I was surprised did not have more votes)
I know that protection from "data leakage" depends entirely on the specific data that one is referring to... but as somebody that is conscious of the amount of data leaked from my system to M$,I find that the blocking/filtering of traffic is an excellent way to minimise/prevent these leaks.
Sadly,most "data leakage" is done voluntarily by the user... and no amount of security software can make someone cleverer.

I am not a fan of 2FA as I consider its benefits overrated,and I also believe that it could put novice users at greater risk.
One has a lot more security on a PC than a phone,and despite the fact that a code sent by text has a short expiry-time IMO the very fact that 2FA exists increases the potential attack-surface for phishing.
There is already an increase in Smishing campaigns,and a novice user that has become accustomed to receiving texts saying that their e-mail/or other account has been recently breached/accessed, or a password needs verification is IMO at greater risk than those that do not use 2FA but instead use complex,frequently changed single passwords.

Sometimes more is less IMO..
A key held by one security guard for 24 hours a day is not as easy to steal as a key that is held by 2 security guards for 12 hours at a time..
There are 2 people to find a flaw in instead of 1 ,plus a hand-over that can be compromised.

 

[uninfected1]

Very good article - I guess the Heimdal plug at the end is inevitable. Sorry @Andra Zaharia but not a fan of Heimdal myself - I found it far too heavy with noticeable system impact (on a 7 year old x86 machine admittedly) and not that effective at what it was supposed to be doing.

Regarding the choices, I'd particularly advocate a multi-layered security setup, in my case Zemana AntiLogger 2.21 Premium and VoodooShield on top of Eset Smart Security, plus uBlock Origin.

I also employ a password manager and two factor authentication and ensure everything is up to date. Although personally lacking in this area I think a certain degree of cyber security education is also extremely beneficial, as this article demonstrates.

 

[Andra Zaharia]

I voted:
Multi-Layered Security
Traffic Filtering (which I was surprised did not have more votes)
I know that protection from "data leakage" depends entirely on the specific data that one is referring to... but as somebody that is conscious of the amount of data leaked from my system to M$,I find that the blocking/filtering of traffic is an excellent way to minimise/prevent these leaks.
Sadly,most "data leakage" is done voluntarily by the user... and no amount of security software can make someone cleverer.

I am not a fan of 2FA as I consider its benefits overrated,and I also believe that it could put novice users at greater risk.
One has a lot more security on a PC than a phone,and despite the fact that a code sent by text has a short expiry-time IMO the very fact that 2FA exists increases the potential attack-surface for phishing.
There is already an increase in Smishing campaigns,and a novice user that has become accustomed to receiving texts saying that their e-mail/or other account has been recently breached/accessed, or a password needs verification is IMO at greater risk than those that do not use 2FA but instead use complex,frequently changed single passwords.

Sometimes more is less IMO..
A key held by one security guard for 24 hours a day is not as easy to steal as a key that is held by 2 security guards for 12 hours at a time..
There are 2 people to find a flaw in instead of 1 ,plus a hand-over that can be compromised.

Thanks for sharing your take on this! I really found it helpful. And thank you for taking the time to read the article all the way through!

 

[Andra Zaharia]

Very good article - I guess the Heimdal plug at the end is inevitable. Sorry @Andra Zaharia but not a fan of Heimdal myself - I found it far too heavy with noticeable system impact (on a 7 year old x86 machine admittedly) and not that effective at what it was supposed to be doing.

Regarding the choices, I'd particularly advocate a multi-layered security setup, in my case Zemana AntiLogger 2.21 Premium and VoodooShield on top of Eset Smart Security, plus uBlock Origin.

I also employ a password manager and two factor authentication and ensure everything is up to date. Although personally lacking in this area I think a certain degree of cyber security education is also extremely beneficial, as this article demonstrates.

Many thanks for the feedback! We're always working to improve Heimdal and make it lighter and more effective, so thanks for sharing. If you'd like to tell me exactly what you found unsatisfactory, I'm always open to suggestions and feedback.

As for the article, we definitely share the same views. It's also great to be able to share thoughts and perspectives in a constructive discussion such as this one. It's refreshing and very, very useful.

Have a great Friday!

 

[Andra Zaharia]

Supersized to see the low amount of votes on date encryption. In my opinion "tho factor authentication" and "date encryption" are the most effective.

I was definitely expecting better support for encryption as well, but I guess it'll be a while until everyone feels comfortable using it (and not see it like a techie thing).