With great power comes great responsibility.
Bitcoin has the world’s most secure network, and there are literally billions of dollars worth of Bitcoins waiting for those who are capable of hacking the protocol. However, this task isn’t as simple, since Bitcoin is composed of something called SHA256. SHA which stands for Secure Hash Algorithm, is a cryptographic hash function with military-grade encryption, and the odds of cracking a private key are next to zero.
With Bitcoin, security breaches do not actually happen on the protocol itself, but because of the carelessness of the third parties.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are putting the financial power back to the hands of the individual. This power requires a high degree of personal responsibility and awareness.
This means that the individual is forced to be aware of their own possessions as they are personally 100% responsible to protect their own private keys.
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How To Make Your Computer Ultra Secure.
1. To make your computer ultra-secure, we will first have to get rid of the biggest virus in the world: Windows.
2. We will then replace this virus, with a free fully encrypted Linux based open-source operating system, such as Ubuntu.
3. On top of this, we will anonymize your whole computer by routing all the network traffic through Tor. We will accomplish this using an open-source program called Anonsurf. This way whenever you connect to the internet, whether you are using a wallet, browser or any other application, you are completely anonymous and hidden from malicious hackers.
Why Linux is more secure than other operating systems?
Linux is not just a random operating system, in fact, it’s the world’s most popular choice when it comes to servers, basically, our whole internet runs on Linux, while the average joe is still stuck with the Windows. We will not go too deep on describing why exactly Linux is considered far more secure than Windows or Mac. But here are a few obvious reasons.
1. Open Source
Linux is an open operating system, the code which can be read by everyone is also maintained by a large audience.
2. Architecture
Linux operates in many different environments, it’s architecture is more complex that in windows. Due to its different consoles, packages, and multilevel component arrangements, it’s more difficult for viruses to access the system files.
3. Administrator rights
Windows users have by default administrator rights to access everything in the system. If a virus penetrates through the system, it can quickly access it’s most important parts. In Linux, users have lower access rights, and in theory, viruses can only touch local files and folders, while the system remains safe.
Why we need privacy and how can Anonsurf help?
Some people might wonder why privacy important in the first place? Well, the core answer to this is very simple, see it’s not as much about hiding something, but the fact that if you don’t have privacy, you don’t have the ability to speak. And money by in itself is actually a language that we all speak when you buy something with your dollars or Bitcoins, you are creating a vote.
There are many reasons why someone involved with cryptocurrencies prefers to stay anonymous, whether you wanna transact without being watched, or just simply want protection from other hackers. After all, privacy is a human right, and there should be no need for an explanation if someone prefers such.
What is Anonsurf and how does it work?
Anonusrf is an open-source project which uses TOR iptables to anonymize the whole system. Anonsurf gives users full control over their network, by having the ability to either starting or stopping the l2p project. This way user can freely do experiments in Linux running anonsurf in the background. You can, for example, run a wallet app, browser, or any other application without leaving any traces of your real IP address. Anonsurf repository consists of both Anonsurf and Pandora packages. Pandora overwrites the RAM when the user shuts down the computer and also clears the cache. That means it also wipes all traces of the user’s work from the system. This can be run both automatically and manually.
What about VPN, you might ask?
The thing with VPN is that the operator can read you like an open book, everything you do is very clear and visible to them. And if you happen to run VPN on top of TOR, even then if you by one way or another connect your name to the VPN provider, your data is in no way hidden, it’s more of just protection against hackers at that point going forward. However there is a place for VPN as well, for example, it can be an extremely powerful tool on top of TOR especially if you have not yet revealed your real identity to the internet by behavior.
Check the Best Bitcoin VPN Service Providers.
Getting Started.
To get started with this project, we suggest you obtain another laptop or pc which you can then play around in case something goes wrong. In practice, it also makes sense to have a separate machine that is specifically designed for handling cryptocurrencies only. After you get a hang of Linux, you may want to which it to your main operating system.
Steps to make your computer ultra-secure.
- Download the Ubuntu ISO file.
- Make a bootable USB.
- Boot from the USB.
- Install Ubuntu.
- Prepare Ubuntu
- Install Anonsurf
Download the Ubuntu ISO file.
To get started we must download the original Ubuntu ISO file.
Head on to the Ubuntu website and grap that file.
https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
In this tutorial, we are using Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS
We recommend you verify that file as well. Here is a tutorial separately for that.
Make a bootable USB.
Make sure the flash drive is at least 2GB.
Format the flash drive to either FAT32 (Windows) or MS-DOS (FAT)(Mac).
Use UNetBootin or Rufus to make the flash drive recognizable.
The process is very simple, and there are endless amounts of tutorials on how to do this.
Do a google search: How to make a bootable Ubuntu flash drive.
And you will find plenty of resources.
Boot from the USB.
Insert the USB on the plug, restart your computer and open the BIOS settings, from there find the “Boot Order” section, select the USB drive option.
Depending on the BIOS, you will either move the USB flash drive to the top of the list or simply choose it by clicking Enter.
You should soon see Ubuntu screen with 2 choices.
At this point, you can Click Try Ubuntu if you want or if you are ready, Install Ubuntu.
Before continuing, make sure you are using a separate hard drive or computer
You are responsible for your own computer and your own data!
Install Ubuntu.
1. Choose Keyboard.
Leave as default, unless you wanna choose something else.
2. Updates and other software.
Click Normal installation, and Download updated while installing Ubuntu.
Note that an internet connection is required.
3. Installation Type.
Click Encrypt the new Ubuntu installation for security.
Make sure you Use LVM with the new Ubuntu installation.
3. Choose a security key:
Here you will set up your encryption key.
No one can access the hard drive without this key, so write it up somewhere safe.
Make sure you click “overwrite empty disk space” this is a crucial part of the installation.
Click Install Now, and Continue.
Btw, did you know?
Overwriting empty disk space is actually the only true way of emptying a hard drive.
(Unless you don’t wanna use a power drill.)
4. Your geographical location:
Choose your country or country region. This determines your time, currency, number format (period or comma), and so on.
5. Your username and password:
Determine your own username and password. The password here will be your sudo password as well.
6. Processing the Installation.
Wait for the installation process to complete.
Final Result.
Once finished, the system installer shows Installation is Complete dialog.
Click Restart Now, unplug your USB installation media, and let your computer boot to Ubuntu.
Congratulations! You have now successfully installed a fully encrypted Ubuntu that even hackers cannot crack without your encryption key!
Prepare Ubuntu
1. Unlock Disk
To access the hard drive and system, you must enter the encryption key.
2. Login
Here you will choose the user, which you created.
After a successful login, you will see this.
Click through the next button, until you see the “help improve Ubuntu” section.
Click “No, don’t send system info”, and finish the introduction window by clicking next, and Done.
3. Updating the Ubuntu
Now that we have successfully logged in, we are going to update the whole system.
Using the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
First start by pressing: Ctrl + Windows key + T
This will open up a terminal for you.
You can also do this by clicking the “activities” tab on the top left corner, and type: terminal.
From here you will type: sudo apt-get update, and hit Enter.
It will then ask your user password, type it, and press Enter again.
After Reading package lists, type: sudo apt-get upgrade, and hit Enter.
When it asks “Do you want to continue? Hit Y, and press Enter.
Once you have successfully updated the system, type: reboot, and hit Enter.
Install Anonsurf
Now that we have successfully updated our whole system, we can continue to the most exciting part of this tutorial.
We will anonymize the whole computer, by routing all the network traffic through Tor.
This will create an even more ultra-secure computer!
We will do this by using a program called: anonsurf.
Github link: https://github.com/Und3rf10w/kali-anonsurf
Commands used:
sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/Und3rf10w/kali-anonsurf
cd kali-anonsurf/
sudo ./installer.sh
To get started, hit Ctrl + Windows key + T, as we did before.
type: sudo apt-install git
It will ask if you want to continue, hit Y
After the installation is finished type: git clone https://github.com/Und3rf10w/kali-anonsurf
Continue by typing the following command: cd kali-anonsurf/
This will change your folder directory.
Now type: sudo ./installer.sh
After the installation is finished, type: anonsurf
Then type: sudo anonsurf start
And that’s it!
Your whole system is now routing all the network traffic through Tor.
You are completely anonymous!
You can test it right away by opening firefox and typing “what is my ip” on duckduckgo, like this.
Or you may use websites that show your external IP, such as www.ipleak.net
Note: Sometimes the connection doesn’t pick right after starting anonsurf, if this happens to you. Try stopping it by typing sudo anonsurf stop, then go and test if you can connect normally to the internet, if so try to start it again, and see if it works.
Alternatively, you can also try typing: sudo anonsurf restart
You can also change the tor identity whenever you want, by typing: sudo anonsurf change
Other useful commands can be found simply typing: anonsurf on a terminal.
Remember, the program must always be used under Root privileges, meaning you will have to type “sudo” and hit your password whenever you try to change your network settings.
That being said, your computer is now officially one of the most ultra-secure ones in town.
You may also like our other articles such as How to Trade Cryptocurrencies
If you are new to cryptocurrencies, check our article What is Bitcoin?