Ultimate Privacy Guide 2023

Use 2FA onevery site with a login. Do not use SMS 2FA instead Google Authenticator or Authy.
Use Linux Operating System on your laptop instead of Windows.
Have one Laptop for work related tasks. Have another Laptop for playing games(doom), watching movies & social network etc.
On your laptops always encrypt the entire drive during install & disable booting from USB and enable a BIOS password.
Beware of Phishing coming through email and do not click any links from emails. Instead visit the web site yourself and type in the desired action example a tracking ID on the shipment provider website. Status on an Amazon order visit amazon website yourself and login view your orders and status.
If uploading to cloud storage providers such as mega.nz , dropbox.com , google drive, icloud etc. never upload any sensitive data.
When having a router make sure no NAS or storage device is connected that can be leaking sensitive data.
Never upload any sensitive data to websites such as cloud virus scanning, pastebin, picture editing, temporary data posting sites . The sites might store the data forever.
When connecting to public WiFi such as on a cafe, hotel or airport always use a VPN software.
Never insert any unknown USB/CDs/Removable Media devices to your computer if possible disable USB ports at all times.
Use a strong password min. 10 characters example several words, different numbers together and special characters.
Careful not to reuse your password across multiple sites
Never write sensitive data or upload pictures with sensitive data on any social media such as Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn etc
Check your email addresses if you can be in possible data dump at haveibeenpwned.com
Disable the Microphone and Webcam in your laptops if not being used.
Set specific DNS to Cloudflare instead of using your ISP 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1.

Password Privacy Checklist

Change your password a few times a year and write it down in a safe place so you do not forget it.
Be careful not to reuse passwords on multiple sites.
Use a strong password minimum 10 characters example 3-4 words combined with small uppercase and special characters.
Always use 2FA connected with your password.
Do not give out your password on email, social media, over the phone or on instant messaging.

Personal Computer & BIOS Privacy Checklist

Always make sure to disable the Microphone in the operating system and in the BIOS.
Always encrypt the drive which will require a password to resume or to start up. Example in Linux LUKS.
Always set a BIOS password.
Always disable booting from a USB drive.
Disable Computrace in the BIOS if the option is there.
Use a VPN when not at your home network.
Use external encrypted DISK drives to backup your data. Often do backups such as on a weekly or monthly basis.
Set Cloudflare DNS 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1

It is recommended running LINUX, MAC or OpenBSD as operating system for less amount of data collection.

It is recommended to using one computer for your professional work and another computer for playing games and entertainment.

Use 2FA Authentication to any service you login to.

Windows

Deploy Anti Virus. On Windows install a preferred commercial antivirus.
In the operating system such as Windows navigate to the privacy menu and disable all data collecting.

LINUX

In the operating system such as Ubuntu navigate to the privacy menu and disable all data collecting.
On linux use ClamAV to scan local system clamscan -r -i / . Clamscan can have false positives always research.
On Linux use rootkit hunter ./rkhunter --chceck to scan local system download only from https://sourceforge.net/projects/rkhunter/

Mac

Navigate to Privacy menu and disable all data collecting.
If using a MAC it is recommended to not login using an apple id.. You can still get updates only you cant access app store. Instead use Brew.

Email Privacy Checklist

Check your email address at https://haveibeenpwned.com/ if you are listed there consider change to another email address.
Only use a secure email such as Protonmail.
Use multiple email addresses. Example one for personal, one for business related, one for trading.
Often delete mails older than 1 month stored in the Cloud.
Never leave any sensitive data in your email.
Be very careful or have as a rule to never click any links coming in email.
Enable 2FA authentication. Do not use phone SMS 2FA instead use Google Authenticator or Authy

Web Browser Privacy Checklist

Install Malwarebytes plugin.
Install uBlock Origin plugin.
Enable HTTPS-Only Mode in all windows.
Disable all Firefox Data collection minimum 4 menus.
Enable DNS over HTTPS a select a vendor as Cloudflare or put a more private custom https://dns.quad9.net/dns-query
Change search engine to Duck duck go or another privacy focused search engine & disable the Provide search suggestions option.
Set Firefox privacy mode to strict from Standard
In the address Bar option disable all suggest such as: Browsing history, Bookmarks, Open tabs, Shortcuts & Search engines.

Internet Privacy Privacy Checklist

*NEVER UPLOAD* any files to websites on the Internet or anywhere else.

This can be sites that keep files temporary or longer times. It can allow malicious actors to gain access to sensitive data.

virustotal - udrop.com - tmpfiles.org - file.io - dropbox.com - pastebin.com - imgbb.com - pixlr.com - canva.com - online-image-editor.com

Smartphone Android & IOS Privacy Checklist

Never use your phone number for authentication. SIM Swapping can be easily done. Use instead 2FA Authenticator apps.
Disable GEO location in the camera app. Make sure when you take pictures there is no GEO location data.
Disable Bluetooth when not being used.
Never call using the normal phone app or SMS. Instead use encrypted services such as Signal, Telegram.
Disable location tracking when not needed example if you are not using the GPS app for driving.
Disable storing of GEO location tracking in online services such as your Google ID.
Always password protect your smart phone with a code instead of fingerprint or face recognition.
Install a VPN client when not at your home network.
If you do not trust the microphone is turned off you can put in a Mic Blocker. It works the same way as if you put a headset in and the operating system switch to it. And in this case it will block the microphone.
Disable WiFi & Bluetooth when travelling to prevent leaking data and be subject to attack.
Preferred OS GrapheneOS (grapheneos.org) Device. It can convert any traditional Google Pixel Device to a pure Android without any Google services or connections.
Disable automatic storing of pictures to the cloud. Some smartphones have enabled by default to upload your pictures to Google Drive, MEGA.nz or Apple Cloud.
Set Cloudflare DNS 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 if it is not allowed set one.one.one.one or 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com
Goto the Privacy menu and disable ads Ads or advertising id.
On Android you can run Privacy guide and turn off or set to Paused all options.

Crypto Currencies Privacy Checklist

Never give or show your 12 or 24 word seed phase to anyone.
Always store your crypto currencies offline and not leave it on an exchange.
Have written down in one or more secure place your seed phases for recovery.
Never have any crypto currency on your smart phone.
If storing on a computer only have it stored on a separate computer. Do not store it on the computer you play games on.

Router Privacy Checklist

Make sure to limit access to the web interface.
Disable UPNP.
Do not connect any Network Enabled Harddrives example for movie or picture storing.
Disable access to the USB port on the router.
Set a strong WPA2 Password.
Lower the WiFi Signal strength so it can only be accessed in a short range. Making it harder for attackers to reach it.

Public WiFi Privacy Checklist

Be careful to connect to any public WiFi. Instead tether Internet from your phone.
Always use a VPN.
Do not click any popups or update requests when on a public WiFi.

Cloud Storage Privacy Checklist

When using cloud providers such as mega.nz , dropbox.com , google drive etc. do not store any sensitive data.

Backup Privacy Checklist

Always perform offline backup of your key files. It is not recommended to do backup to online Cloud services.
Perform backup on multiple encrypted USB hard drives which you can store in different locations.
Be sure to have the password for the drives in a safe place.

Security Cameras Privacy Checklist

First make sure your security cameras do not have an easy to access web interface that is widely accessible on the Internet. Multiple web cameras allows for attackers to easily gain access to the web interface and use search engines such as Shodan to discover them.

Remote Connection Software Privacy Checklist

Be very careful if connecting with any remote desktop software such as Anydesk, Teamviewer etc.
Always disable your microphone since it can be recording audio without you being aware.
If you need to use remote connection software for support be sure to exit the software after use.
Disable any automatic startup of the remote connection software when the operating system starts or it can leave you open to connection.