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We’ll take another look at our core internet traffic model, this time using the new tools and behaviors we’ve learned in other videos.
Further Reading:
Mozilla Thunderbird (email client)
Enigmail (Thunderbird Plugin)
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Let's return to our illustrated
model of Internet traffic.
0:00
We've explored quite a few concepts since
this model was first introduced, so
0:04
let's see how they work in practice here.
0:07
While not everything we've covered
will be directly applicable,
0:10
we'll still get a reasonable view of how
our new tools can improve the privacy and
0:13
security of our lives online.
0:18
Returning to our scene in
a coffee shop in Portland,
0:20
Oregon, our laptop is still
connected to an open WiFi network.
0:22
You may recall that the open WiFi
allows anyone else on the network
0:27
to see our traffic.
0:30
But now that we've taken this course,
we know that a VPN is a great solution.
0:32
We've already researched a VPN service
that fit our needs and budget, so
0:37
we'll just enable it for our connection
and now our traffic is private and secure.
0:41
You'll notice now that all of our
traffic is routing through the VPN,
0:46
whether it's going to Google,
Facebook, or any other site.
0:50
This means that the only activity anyone
attempting to eavesdrop will see will
0:54
be to the VPN and back.
0:58
You may also notice that this
applies to the ISP as well.
1:00
Comcast or Verizon or
1:04
whichever provider the coffee shop uses
will only see requests for the VPN.
1:06
This is a nice property for
privacy protection
1:10
where some legislation may make it legal
for ISPs to sell your browsing history.
1:14
It's worth noting here that a VPN service
does have access to your browsing activity
1:19
if you use their network.
1:23
What they do with that information,
including if they even keep records of it
1:25
at all,
is dependant on which service you choose.
1:29
This is why I suggest
you do your research.
1:32
If a VPN service is free to use, there's
a good chance they are selling other data
1:35
about your traffic in order
to run their business.
1:40
If you pay for their service, and
you've researched their policies,
1:43
you may find that they likely have
more to gain from your trust and
1:47
word of mouth by actually
keeping your info private.
1:50
As someone once described it to me, using
a VPN is essentially moving your trust.
1:54
Now let's return to our friend
sending us an email from home.
2:00
The main vulnerability for this flow was
that the email service was insecure so
2:04
messages to and
from that service were exposed.
2:08
Let's expand this scenario to say that
your friend used the same username and
2:12
password with this email service as they
did with another site that was reported
2:16
on haveibeenpwned.com.
2:20
This means that potentially anyone
with access to that breached data
2:23
could log into our friends account and
even impersonate them in an email to us,
2:27
severely compromising the authenticity
of the email messages.
2:31
But luckily, we told our friend not only
about the have I been pwned site, but
2:35
also showed them our
favorite password manager.
2:40
So they immediately changed their
password and generated a new,
2:43
super strong one to replace it.
2:46
But they didn't stop there.
2:48
They also installed Thunderbird with
Enigmail, so now they can encrypt their
2:50
emails for us and be absolutely certain
that no one else will be able to
2:54
read the content, even while using
the same insecure email provider.
2:59
They also used a cool feature to
cryptographically sign the email, so
3:04
we can be absolutely certain that
the message really originated from them.
3:08
Nice.
3:13
Now I'm using the phrase
absolutely certain
3:14
to describe certain
cryptographic properties.
3:17
While it's true that someone could
come along and invent a crack for
3:20
the crypto and render this statement
false, the world has actually been using
3:23
variations of the same strong
cryptography for decades.
3:27
So until such a crack arrives, be
confident that these are in fact tried and
3:31
true solutions to protecting
your privacy and authenticity.
3:35
Now that we've looked back at our original
view of common Internet traffic and
3:40
made some improvements,
we're a lot safer and more secure online.
3:44
It didn't take much.
3:49
Just a VPN for us and a password
manager in email client for our friend.
3:50
But we actually protected ourselves
against many of the common threats we've
3:55
covered in this course.
3:58
Both the VPN which utilizes HTTPS and
4:01
the signed email are strong defenses
against man in the middle attacks,
4:03
as well as encryption strategies
to protect our privacy.
4:08
Our friend also upgraded their leaked
account credentials, which could have
4:13
allowed someone to impersonate them
to create a spear phishing attack.
4:16
Just a few easy to use tools made
us significantly more secure.
4:20
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