Don’t Forget About Security

This is a follow-up to my article on privacy. If you’ve read that one, you already know why keeping your digital life private is important. But privacy without security is like locking your front door while leaving the windows wide open.

The more you rely on yourself (hosting services, using privacy tools, managing your own devices), the more important security becomes. And you don’t have to be an IT engineer working 24/7 to do it right — just a few smart habits go a long way.

What’s the point of avoiding Google or Facebook if your self-hosted cloud gets hacked over public Wi-Fi?

This post is about hardening your devices and network to make yourself a harder target, without losing your mind over it.

🕳️ Data Leaks Happen — To Everyone

We often hear about huge data breaches — hospitals held for ransom, millions of emails stolen, payment info leaked. But it’s not just corporations or governments being targeted.

In France, there have been cases of leaked Carte Vitale numbers, hospital logs being locked until ransom was paid, and entire networks shut down due to basic mistakes — usually users clicking suspicious links or using weak passwords.

Even if you’re not in the tech world, this affects you and your family. Thankfully, awareness is growing. There are now workshops and training sessions in schools, workplaces teaching people the basics of cybersecurity.

The first line of defense? Knowledge.

🔐 Account Protection: Use a Password Manager

Ever borrowed your parents’ phone to play games and guessed the password instantly? Yeah, we’ve all been there.
Most people use one easy-to-remember password for everything. That’s a huge risk.

You need:

  • Strong, unique passwords for every account
  • A secure way to store them

A password manager helps with both.

Here are some options:

  • 🛠️ KeePass – fully local, no cloud, very secure, but takes some setup
  • ☁️ Proton Pass – easy to use, synced across devices, built by a trusted team
  • 🧑‍💻 Bitwarden – open source, can be self-hosted (see my Docker article)

Whichever you choose, just start using one.

✉️ Login Tips: Use Email Aliases

Another trick: use email aliases to avoid exposing your real email address.

With SimpleLogin (especially if bundled with Proton), you can create unique email aliases for each app or service. Messages are forwarded to your real inbox — and you can disable an alias any time.

Why this matters:

  • Apps can’t track your real email
  • You reduce spam
  • If a site gets hacked, your real info stays protected

⚠️ Don’t use aliases for critical services like your bank or government accounts. Keep those clean and simple.

🔐 2FA: Something You Know + Something You Have

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is non-negotiable. Even with a strong password, accounts can still be accessed if there’s a leak.
2FA adds an extra layer of protection — usually a one-time code generated by an app or sent via SMS.

My advice:

  • Use an app like Aegis Authenticator (Android), Raivo OTP (iOS), or Authy
  • Back up your recovery codes and store them offline (USB, encrypted note, etc.)
  • Don’t rely on SMS 2FA if possible — it’s less secure than app-based codes

🛡️ Local Security: Fail2Ban, UFW & SSH

If you’re running a server (like a Raspberry Pi or VPS), you’re opening the door to attackers. Here’s how to close it:

🔥 UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall)

Blocks unwanted network traffic.
Basic commands:

sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw allow ssh
sudo ufw allow 80,443/tcp

🚫 Fail2Ban

Monitors login attempts and bans IPs that fail too many times (like brute force attacks). Once set up, it’s mostly automatic.

🔑 SSH Best Practices

Change the default port from 22 to something else (like 2222)

Use SSH key authentication instead of passwords

Disable root login remotely

Together, these small tweaks make your machine 10x more secure.

🧹 Clean Up: Delete Old Accounts

Let’s be honest — we all have accounts we’ve forgotten about.

Thanks to GDPR, companies in Europe are supposed to delete your data after 3 years of inactivity. But do they always? Unclear.

Your best bet:

Regularly audit your password manager

Identify unused accounts

Delete what you can

There are also tools that scan your email and show which platforms you’ve signed up for — scary, but useful.

If you can find all that info about yourself… so can others.

🧘‍♂️ Minimalism = Security

At the end of the day, the fewer services you use, the less risk you take on. Maybe it’s time to take a step back and ask:

“Do I really need this app? This account? This subscription?”

People around me are starting to reconsider their relationship with the internet. Whether it’s quitting Twitter, reducing screen time, or switching to open-source alternatives — every choice adds up. Final Thoughts

Security isn’t about being paranoid. It’s about being in control.

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be better than the average user. That’s often enough to deter most attackers, who usually go for the easiest targets.

And remember:

You can’t have privacy without security

The more self-hosting you do, the more secure you need to be

Even small steps — like enabling 2FA or using a password manager — are wins

This post is part personal reflection, part call to action. If you’ve made it this far, thank you — and maybe take one small step today to take back control of your data and privacy.