The ultimate guide to fighting online pirates

Should you tape over your webcam? Is it OK to use your computer’s operating system, or do you have to run Tails? And what the hell is Tails? Unless you’re a high-profile target — and we hope you’re not — you can take some simple steps to block hackers.

Try two-factor authentication ‘Factor’ No. 1 is your normal password. No. 2 is a one-time code that’s texted to you. All major internet-based services — e.g. Google (google.com/landing/2step), Twitter (support.twitter.com), and Facebook (facebook.com/help) — offer this feature. It’s the most basic step you can take to protect yourself.

Download an authentication app Google Authenticator (support.google.com) bypasses the need for a code to be texted to you. The app syncs with Google’s servers and generates a code that exists only there and on your phone — nothing is sent that can be intercepted. Another app, Duo Security (duo.com), is free for consumers. Facebook and Twitter have in-app authenticators; Snapchat uses Google’s and Duo’s.

Put a security code on your cell phone account Two-factor authentication makes it hard for hackers to hit most people. But it has a flaw: If hackers call your cell phone provider and trick a representative into changing your SIM card number to one in a phone they control, they can capture those authentication codes and lock you out. Major cell-service providers will let you add a PIN code or password to your account, which anyone would need to make changes.

Clear your cookies Browser cookies don’t just enable the creepy ads that follow you around the internet; hackers can intercept them, too. Documents from Edward Snowden’s cache showed that the National Security Agency has even used cookies to identify and track its targets. Clearing cookies resets this process and forces snoops to restart. Look for the option in your browser’s settings menu. Go a step further and clear your entire browsing history, which will get rid of cookies and any stored files.

Beware public WiFi Before you’re even online, your laptop is talking to the WiFi network, and that dialogue is vulnerable to attack, says Nico Sell, co-founder of encryptedmessage app Wickr. That goes for encrypted sites, too: Just because you see “https” in a web page address bar doesn’t mean you’re safe. Yong-Gon Chon, chief executive officer of consulting firm Cyber Risk Management, says using public WiFi is “like your computer having a one-night stand— you don’t know what you’re going to walk away with”.

Message on an end-to-end encryption app Many messaging apps provide end-to-end encryption, so anyone intercepting traffic (including the app’s maker) sees or hears only gibberish. Try WhatsApp (whatsapp.com), Signal (whispersystems.org), or Wickr (wickr.com). WhatsApp and Signal can be compelled by law enforcement to produce information about who’s talking to whom. Wickr can’t; it runs on a type of network that prevents the company from keeping those records.

Tape over your webcam In June, Mark Zuckerberg posted a photo of himself at his desk on Facebook in celebration of Instagram’s reaching 500 million active monthly users. Later, someone pointed out on Twitter that Zuck’s MacBook had tape over its camera and mic jack. Security experts have long urged potential targets to do this to prevent adversaries from secretly recording every move and sound.

Invest in an audio jammer These are whitenoise machines on steroids, calibrated to project speech-like garble in the same spectrum as a person’s voice to foil eavesdropping devices.

Go all cash Bank and credit card statements provide a vivid record of spending and travel habits; retailers send price, location, and time information to financial institutions. The good news is debit and credit transactions are processed so quickly that stores don’t share more than they have to. They jealously guard the more granular information they collect — specifically, the products you buy — in the hope of monetising it someday. So at some point in the future, those statements will be even more vivid.

Run Tails You can boot up Tails, a free, open source operating system (tai ls.boum.org) , on a PC or a Mac. It routes browser and e-mail communication via the Tor network, which anonymises it to defend against traffic analysis. If a program tries to connect to the internet directly, and not through Tor, it’s blocked.

Buy a bug scanner Bug scanners seem like something out of a spy movie, but with surveillance equipment getting tinier and tinier — fitting into car keys and electrical outlets, Snowden says — real security pros use them. If you’re concerned that your home, foreign hotel room, or office is being monitored, check out the penstyle radio-frequency bug detector from KJB Security Products (limited quantities at walmart.com).

Dismantle your smartphone In an earlier interview, Snowden showed how to make a smartphone ‘go black’ using tweezers to pluck out cameras and mics. His decision was not unreasonable, considering his predicament, but it might be more aggressive than you need to be. Still, going full-Snowden would be a great conversation starter, one you could be confident no one else would listen in on.