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It’s not pretty.

Admittedly, there’s some debate among security experts over whether you should use a VPN.

5 tips from a hacker written next to the photo of a hacker

Your government is also probably spying on you.

Why not make it just a little bit harder?

Blocking ads already reduces a huge malware vector, so Id recommend one for this alone.

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Take a look at thebest VPN serviceson the market.

I use that anduBlock Originto cover most of my bases online.

If you’re free to see it, so can someone else.

Tackle your online presence and trim out anything you don’t want a stranger to see.

Don’t underestimate the power of social engineering when it comes to hacking your devices.

This is particularly important for platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

4. tune up your apps

Yes, it’s boring advice.

Unfortunately, it’s the basic precautions that often make the critical difference between success and failure in cybersecurity.

Those security updates on your box are usually what fix these issues, so don’t underestimate them.

Phones aren’t the only place where these attacks happen, however.

There are countless insecure sites and apps out there that you entrust your passwords to.

Even if your credentials haven’t been leaked, using common passwords makes you vulnerable to attacks.

I try the most common three passwords against every user on the system.

It’s depressing how often this works.

You should consider using apassword manager(or, at the absolute very least, enabling two-factor authentication).

If someone has left the back door open, why bother trying to pick the lock?

Trust me on this one.spear phishingworks far more often than it should.

Andreas is a digital privacy advocate and researcher.