secure-os wrote
Sep 4, 2026 in messaging, anonymity, metadata - Session drops phone numbers and central servers, Signal keeps both and encrypts everything else. What each one hides from whom, what Session gives up to get anonymity, and the single question that decides which of the two you actually need.
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Sep 4, 2026 in mobile, 2fa, account-security - A SIM swap moves your number to someone else's card, and every code sent by text follows it. What actually stops the attack at the carrier, why SMS two-factor is the wrong lock, and the ten minutes that decide whether you keep your accounts.
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Sep 4, 2026 in vpn, privacy, network - A VPN sends your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server that then talks to the internet for you. What that hides, who sees it instead, and the four common expectations it does not meet.
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Sep 4, 2026 in vpn, privacy, network - A kill switch cuts your internet the moment the VPN tunnel drops, so nothing leaves in the clear. What it protects, the gap between blocking one application and blocking the whole device, and how to test yours in two minutes instead of trusting the label.
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Sep 4, 2026 in vpn, privacy, network - Split tunneling sends some applications through the VPN and lets the rest use your ordinary connection. What it fixes, the three ways it quietly leaks, and the one question that tells you whether to turn it on.
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Sep 4, 2026 in tor, anonymity, network - Tor sends your traffic through three volunteer relays, each of which knows only its neighbours. How the layers work, why it is slow on purpose, and the difference between what Tor hides and what a VPN hides.
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Sep 4, 2026 in vpn, protocols, privacy - WireGuard is faster, smaller and reconnects instantly. OpenVPN is older, slower and hides better on hostile networks. What each protocol gives up to get what it is good at, and the one privacy detail your provider has to solve for you.
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Sep 3, 2026 in phishing, 2fa, mfa - Adversary in the middle phishing proxies the real login page in real time, so the code from your authenticator app lands in the attacker's hands and the stolen session cookie keeps working after you close the tab. How AiTM works, why one factor type survives it, and what to check.
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Sep 3, 2026 in surveillance, privacy, alpr - Automatic license plate readers photograph every car that passes, not only wanted ones, and keep the plate, the time, the place and often the image. What ALPR collects, how long networks retain it, why a retention period is the real privacy setting, and what you can and cannot do about it.
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Sep 2, 2026 in encryption, cryptography, standards - A working list of the encryption algorithms in real use today - AES, ChaCha20, RSA, Ed25519, SHA-2, Argon2id - what each one is for, which are officially retired, and what the post-quantum standards change.
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Sep 2, 2026 in linux, distros, hardening - Kicksecure is a security-hardened Debian derivative from the Whonix developers. What it hardens, how it differs from Whonix and Tails, who it is for, and its honest limits.
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Aug 1, 2026 in ssh, fail2ban, hardening - Fail2ban bans IP addresses after repeated failed logins, which lowers the noise in your logs. The project itself states it cannot eliminate the risk of weak authentication, and names what to use instead.
Read more…Operating systems
Which secure OS fits which threat model - compartmentalisation vs amnesic vs Tor-routed.
Read the guides →Encryption
LUKS, BitLocker, FileVault and VeraCrypt - what each protects, and what it does not.
Read the guide →Hardening
Practical hardening built around the adversary you actually face.
Read the guide →