Securing my digital perimeter

Based on several factors I’ve revamped how I store files and send text between machines. This may seem like overkill, but let’s be honest, there are simply too many prying eyes these days. And even though Cloud services are secure, it’s still a hard drive that belongs to someone else.

First order of business was to implement a VPN. I have SurfShark running 24/7 on multiple machines. I’m 98% satisfied with how it works. The only glitches have been a slow connection from time to time, and one small period where it didn’t connect. Not sure if that on my end or theirs. But overall, totally worth the money.

Next is CryptoEdit, a simple text editor that password protects documents and stores them in an encrypted format. This is for sharing links, emails addresses, passwords, serial numbers, and other details I would prefer not to just throw out there. I have this shared in iCloud and can see information on all my machines using a secure method.

Taking that a step further, 90% of my files on Dropbox and iCloud are encrypted with AutoCrypt. This includes PDF files, spreadsheets, and other documents related to my work.

AutoCrypt is template driven, which makes the process of securing files extremely easy. One click and they’re converted.

I also use my Keyboard Maestro password tool to rename files to obscure them even more. Why store something with the enticing name of IDCard.pdf or FinancialStatement.xlsx when it can be PaA2oXFv1zdoze8.pdf?

If I just need to pass a quick snippet of text, that is handled by Paranoia Text Encryption. There is no point passing a Team or Zoom meeting in clear text. I use this almost daily to move information back and forth between my Mac and Windows machine.

Finally, I’ve decided to get away from Google and use DuckDuckGo. Google simply knows too much and they make no qualms about using that information. Further, Google repeatedly complains about my VPN connection and forces me to solve a Captcha. No thanks, I’ll go somewhere else. It may have no real impact, but it’s not contributing to their data mining.

Again, overkill, but once set up, it’s just one click to keep my information as mine. I can manually enter a 10 character password or paste an insanely complex 500 or even 1000 character password using Keyboard Maestro. Yes, CryptoEdit, AutoCrypt, and PTE accept a 1000 character password.

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