How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour

by | Mar 15, 2017

How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour

by | Mar 15, 2017

“Only the paranoid survive.” — Andy Grove

Andy Grove was a Hungarian refugee who escaped communism, studied engineering, and ultimately led the personal computer revolution as the CEO of Intel. He died earlier this year in Silicon Valley after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease.

When one of the most powerful people in the world encourages us to be paranoid, maybe we should listen.

And Grove isn’t the only powerful person urging caution. Even the director of the FBI — the same official who recently paid hackers a million dollars to unlock a shooter’s iPhone — is encouraging everyone to cover their webcams.

But you obey the law. What do you have to worry about? As the motto of the United Kingdom’s surveillance program reminds us, “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear.”

Well, law-abiding citizens do have reason to fear. They do have reasons to secure their devices, their files, and their communications with loved ones.

“If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.” — Cardinal Richelieu in 1641

In this article, I will show you how you can protect yourself by leveraging state-of-the-art encryption. In a single sitting, you can make great strides toward securing your privacy.

Common sense security for everyone

To be clear, everything I recommend here is 100% free and 100% legal. If you bother locking your doors at night, you should bother using encryption.

“Be prepared” — The Scout Motto

Let’s get prepared.

First, a couple definitions. When I use the term “attacker” I mean anyone trying to access your data whom you haven’t given express permission to — whether it’s a hacker, a corporation, or even a government.

And when I use the terms “private” or “secure”, I mean reasonably so. The reality is that — as long as humans are involved — no system will ever be 100% private or 100% secure.

As long as your phone, computers, and accounts are sufficiently protected, their contents will remain an “encrypted lump” and there’s not much anyone — regardless of how powerful they are — can do about it.

Tip #1: Use two-factor authentication on your inbox

Your inbox is the skeleton key to your life. If an attacker compromises it, they can not only read your emails, they can use it to reset your passwords for pretty much anything. This includes social media accounts and even bank accounts.

The simplest thing you can do to dramatically improve your personal security is to turn on two-factor authentication on your inbox.

Basically, two-factor authentication is a second layer of security when signing in. It usually involves receiving a text message with a special code whenever you sign into your account.

Two-factor authentication substantially reduces the likelihood of your inbox getting hacked.

If you use Gmail, you should activate two-factor auth here.

Now.

Seriously.

I’ll still be here when you get back.

Tip #2: Encrypt your hard drive

Both Windows and MacOS have built-in full-disk encryption. You just need to turn it on.

Read the rest at Medium.

Quincy Larson

Quincy Larson is a teacher at freeCodeCamp.com

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

cb0cb1ef 3fcb 417d 80d8 4eef7bbd8290

Recent Articles

Recent

TGIF: Magna Carta Day

TGIF: Magna Carta Day

I wrote this in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, or Great Charter. In light of current events—featuring a president who aspires to unchecked power, despairs of the rule of law, and has discussed suspending the right of habeas corpus—the posting of...

read more
Default Now!

Default Now!

As of April 2025, the U.S. national debt stands at a staggering $36.2 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that net interest payments on this debt alone will reach $952 billion in fiscal year 2025—nearly a trillion dollars just to service past...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This