[SOLVED] Softwares to increase privacy, security & 2 OS

[Harsh.Entrepreneur]

Softwares to increase privacy, security & 2 OS
Windows, Android
I have installed some softwares from a website (website name & software name,if i am allowed to share here then please ask), i would like to get some help in understanding which are some of the settings i could tweak which would increase privacy & security for normal & tor web browsing & find some alternatives to windows inbuilt features.
Is this the right forum to discuss & ask for help?
You may recommend me some free offline services for it. I am also trying to find free offline softwares for data recovery from hdd & android smartphones & if theres a way to turn on android phone & enhance its security, privacy too. Is there a way to be more private, secure from ISP while keeping access to internet?
Free Websites, softwares, browser extensions, antivirus, could you recommend something to enhance security, privacy & help me with existing softwares i have downloaded to know which settings i could tweak which i shouldnt?
If this query needs some modification please let me know.

 

[USAFRet]

The best software is actually wetware.
The grey squishy lump between your ears.

All the software in the world cannot prevent problems if YOU do something dumb.

Situation seen here many times:
---------------------
I tried to download <something>
The antivirus was getting in my way, saying some foolishness
My friend told me this file/game was good
So I ignored the antivirus warning

Now my system seems slow

What might be the problem?
----------------------

For that person, the problem is obvious.
The 'free game' he was getting is compromised.
His system is now infected.

Virus, trojan, mining bot....

I have installed some softwares from a website (website name & software name

And what would this be?

 

[Ralston18]

Windows

For Windows all you should need is the included Windows Security software and perhaps something like Malwarebytes free for an occasional scan.

Become familiar with Windows's security and privacy settings/configuration options.

What browsers do you use? Likewise become familiar with their respective security and privacy settings.

Data recovery: Just be sure to have a good working backup routine and the need for recovery software is moot.

However, Macrium Reflect is a good product to help do that.

For the most part you do not need software from third party websites unless there is some specific issue or requirement that needs to be addressed.

Android

I no longer have any Android phones so will defer any related answers/responses to those people who use Android.

 

[hotaru.hino]

If you're goal is to simply have a computer to go on the internet with as much security and privacy as possible, the first thing you need to do is ditch Windows. There's a Linux distribution called Tails that's built with privacy in mind, but you also have to realize the proper usage of it means you won't be able to have anything persistent on it. i.e., whatever you save, it'll be gone once you shut down or reboot the computer.

If what's tying you down to Windows is you need to use some software, then isolate that computer's purpose to only use that software and do your other activities on another computer, again one that's not using Windows.

If that's not feasible, because you only have one computer, then I can suggest the following:

• Avoid third party software to replace what the OS does, especially when it comes to security. Microsoft actually has a good reason to make sure those features work (a secure OS means more confidence). Third party tools may not actually have your best interest in mind (let a few "mishaps" happen and then go "look! our software saved you!"). Case in point: Antivirus software can actively disable or work around security features of the OS in order to make sure applications are "behaving". Plus it's another attack surface.
• Comb through every option in "Settings" and disable what you don't need. However, keep in mind some of the privacy options may also affect apps in general. For example, in Windows 10, you could say "disable the microphone" and think it only affected the Microsoft Store apps... only to find out later all apps (like Discord) are affected.
• You could go through services.msc and disable things you don't need, but making sure you know exactly what that service is doing. Also make a log of which services you touched in the event some app may actually need that.

And stuff for security/privacy in general

• Only install the things you absolutely need to have.
• Your ISP is going to know some things about you regardless of what you do on your end. You're still connected to it after all. You could use tor or a VPN to mask the ultimate end point, but that's about it.
• Cell phones are not your friend when it comes to privacy. They emit stuff all the time by design.
• At the end of the day, simply being on the internet is a security/privacy risk. Ultimately if this is your concern, you should limit how much time you spend on it on your personal devices.