User Controls
Low budget privacy.
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2016-02-06 at 5:41 PM UTCThis thread probably won't apply to most T&T regulars but if you're just a normal guy/gal who doesn't do anything particularly illegal or dangerous on the internet and would just like a little more privacy in general this thread is for you. No programming knowledge is required, but i encourage you to look into getting python 2.7, it's easy to work with from the commandline on Windows or the terminal on Linux, in fact if you're on linux there's a good chance you already have the python interpreter.
Since the aim of this thread is to provide privacy to your regular not too tech savvy internet denizen i'll keep it reasonably simple. I'm going to assume you're on Windows, but i'd suggest looking into Linux as an OS, Mint is pretty good for your average Linux noob.
http://www.linuxmint.com/
Anyway, if you're not switching OS, i suggest you get this tool:
https://github.com/WindowsLies/BlockWindows
Just download and unzip into a directory of your choice and run BlockWindows.bat as administrator. This will take care of all microsoft sanctioned privacy compromising updates and such. For a more detailed overview of what the batch file does read the README.md on github.
Secondly, you probably want to get a VPN, if you don't feel like paying for a VPN there are multiple options for you however the one i've found easiest to use is CyberGhost http://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_us
I started off with the free version way back when but have since signed up for a subscription it's cheap, the service is good and by signing up you get better speeds. Also the company that runs this VPN service is based in germany which has good data protection laws. However if you do get the free version it will connect you for three hours after which it will disconnect you and you have to manually reconnect again. Sounds rather inconvenient doesn't it? Don't worry though, i've made a solution for you.
Here's where the python interpreter comes in but i've also compiled the script below to exe if you don't feel like going through all that trouble. Before you start the script though make sure you go into the settings of CyberGhost and set it connect at program start up.
import sys
import psutil
import time
import pywinauto
from win32com.client import GetObject
def timer():
while True:
try:
print "[+]Three hours remaining"
time.sleep(3600)
print "[+]Two hours remaining"
time.sleep(3600)
print "[+]One hour remaining"
time.sleep(3500)
print "[+]Restarting process"
wmi = GetObject('winmgmts:')
processes = wmi.InstancesOf('Win32_Process')
vpn = wmi.ExecQuery('select * from Win32_Process where Name="CyberGhost.exe"')
PID = vpn[0].Properties_('ProcessId').Value
p = psutil.Process(PID)
p.kill()
main()
except KeyboardInterrupt:
print "[!]Critical, user aborted script. Exiting."
break
time.sleep(2)
sys.exit(0)
def main():
# Instantiate app
app = pywinauto.application.Application()
app.Start("C:\\Program Files\\CyberGhost 5\\CyberGhost.exe")
# Wait to load
print "[+]CyberGhost started."
time.sleep(2)
print "[+]Starting timer. "
# Start timer
timer()
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
If you choose to run the script from the commandline you will need the pywinauto and psutil modules for this to work. Altenatively you can download the standalone binary from here:
http://wikisend.com/download/566284/vpn_manager.rar
What this will do is just start cyberghost, then cyberghost will connect and before three hours are up it will kill the process and restart it upon which cyberghost will automatically connect again. Pretty simple, but effective. I'm actually thinking of making a VPN monitor for the paid version as well to monitor for disconnects and automatically reconnect but i'll get back to you on that.
Anyway, there's also a few browser extensions i suggest you get: Advanced Add Blocker, NoScript, HTTPS Everywhere, and NoWebRTC.
This last one is optional and requires you to get the python interpreter for sure.
https://github.com/DanMcInerney/elite-proxy-finder
When this script is run it looks for a bunch of HTTP/S proxies you can use in your browser as an added layer of security or just in general if you'd like. It's very easy to use, if you have the dependencies and the interpreter installed you just "cd" to the proper directory type the scripts name into the commandline and it will spit proxies out for you to use.
Anyway, that's about it, if anyone has anything to add feel free. -
2016-02-08 at 7:26 AM UTCGood write up man. Also dat clean python code.
I've bookmarked the vpn service, I think I'll start using it starting today for some extra safety, mainly against potentially exploited web sites.
Btw, about the german data protection laws - you might wanna read up this + the comments -> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/cock-li-server-seized-again-by-german-prosecutor-service-moves-to-iceland/ . In short, turns out that germany has good data protection laws.. for its citizens. And they also cannot into RAID-based storage (hilarious).
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2016-02-08 at 7:29 AM UTCI'm taking my first computer science class this semester. It's not my major but I thought it would be interesting to learn. Our first lab we built a computer (way easier than I thought) and second lab we coded and programmed on linux. I'm still a total noobie when it comes to this stuff but I'm learning and I hope to acquire more skills this semester.
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2016-02-08 at 8:38 AM UTC
Good write up man. Also dat clean python code.
I've bookmarked the vpn service, I think I'll start using it starting today for some extra safety, mainly against potentially exploited web sites.
Btw, about the german data protection laws - you might wanna read up this + the comments -> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...es-to-iceland/ . In short, turns out that germany has good data protection laws.. for its citizens. And they also cannot into RAID-based storage (hilarious).
Thank you, one of the reasons i also chose this VPN service was because of the fact that while it may be free it doesn't assign you a set amount of data like most free VPN's do, instead they just give you a little less bandwidth which obviously is better if you intend to use their service for a while. Thanks for the article and thanks for the compliment on my code as well. I try to make it a point to write clean code as far as i'm able to for obvious reasons.I'm taking my first computer science class this semester. It's not my major but I thought it would be interesting to learn. Our first lab we built a computer (way easier than I thought) and second lab we coded and programmed on linux. I'm still a total noobie when it comes to this stuff but I'm learning and I hope to acquire more skills this semester.
Cool, it's certainly interesting and i can tell you it will only get more interesting the more you advance your skills. Also which language did you write the program in if i may ask? -
2016-02-08 at 6:34 PM UTCStop paying for internet and PI becomes redundant
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2016-02-08 at 6:46 PM UTC
Thank you, one of the reasons i also chose this VPN service was because of the fact that while it may be free it doesn't assign you a set amount of data like most free VPN's do, instead they just give you a little less bandwidth which obviously is better if you intend to use their service for a while. Thanks for the article and thanks for the compliment on my code as well. I try to make it a point to write clean code as far as i'm able to for obvious reasons.
Idont remebmer the name but here's a picture of the first page of the assignment. I think C+ I know that last semester I took a game design class. It was soooo fun! We used unity and the coding was in C# . I didn't really like C# but I thought it was simple but the debugging part didn't quite work right. I used unity and monodevlop to develop some simple games from scratch. "Roll a Ball" and even Pacman. But anywho check out the picture and maybe you can tell me what language we used. It's just the first page of like 4 that we had when working in the lab. ....it wouldn't let me attach image but check out imgur link,
Cool, it's certainly interesting and i can tell you it will only get more interesting the more you advance your skills. Also which language did you write the program in if i may ask?
http://imgur.com/o9x3cIh -
2016-02-08 at 6:49 PM UTC>Ubuntu
>Unity
Uhh python? JS? Lol.
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2016-02-08 at 9:29 PM UTC
Idont remebmer the name but here's a picture of the first page of the assignment. I think C+ I know that last semester I took a game design class. It was soooo fun! We used unity and the coding was in C# . I didn't really like C# but I thought it was simple but the debugging part didn't quite work right. I used unity and monodevlop to develop some simple games from scratch. "Roll a Ball" and even Pacman. But anywho check out the picture and maybe you can tell me what language we used. It's just the first page of like 4 that we had when working in the lab. ….it wouldn't let me attach image but check out imgur link,
http://imgur.com/o9x3cIh
Can't tell from the page you posted since to me it just looks like an introduction to terminal commands. Intereacting manually with the terminal is not programming lol. But perhaps you wrote a bash script to automate some of the commands/terminal operations? -
2016-02-08 at 9:32 PM UTCThe next page we programmed smarty pants
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2016-02-08 at 9:33 PM UTCLike I said there is more than one page, don't be so rude, it goes on to programming. That was just the introduction page. geez
http://imgur.com/CV6qCq2
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2016-02-08 at 9:37 PM UTChttp://imgur.com/CV6qCq2
Didn't mean to post twice. Slow ass computer. But yeah, I'm new to this whole computer science stuff. I know it's probably basic knowledge to some of you but I hope to continue to learn more so I am not such a noob. -
2016-02-08 at 10:51 PM UTCWhere was i rude? If i were that wasn't my intention, also g++ is the compiler for C++ so it'd be fair to say you coded in C++, also bash is an actual programming language to make shellscripts i didn't mean computer bashing or keyboard bashing silly. <3
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2016-02-08 at 11:48 PM UTC
http://imgur.com/CV6qCq2
Didn't mean to post twice. Slow ass computer. But yeah, I'm new to this whole computer science stuff. I know it's probably basic knowledge to some of you but I hope to continue to learn more so I am not such a noob.
...Mayberry?
<3 -
2016-02-09 at 12:04 AM UTC
…Mayberry?
<3
KreepyK i tthought. -
2016-02-09 at 12:18 AM UTC
KreepyK i tthought.
They're the same person. -
2016-02-09 at 12:23 AM UTC
They're the same person.
No mayberry is azn i thoght. -
2016-02-09 at 12:55 AM UTC
No mayberry is azn i thoght.
Oh.
Bring azn back then. -
2016-02-09 at 4:11 AM UTC
Where was i rude? If i were that wasn't my intention, also g++ is the compiler for C++ so it'd be fair to say you coded in C++, also bash is an actual programming language to make shellscripts i didn't mean computer bashing or keyboard bashing silly. <3
It's all good, I was being kinda defensive. -
2016-02-09 at 4:11 AM UTC
They're the same person.
uh, no. -
2016-02-25 at 7:31 AM UTCHey Sophie. I tried using the Cyberghost VPN but the free tier doesn't support using VPN protocols and offers no client for Linux. Have you used any other VPNs that you'd recommend?
