Privacy and Security Resources

Documentation and Official Guides

A fundamental understanding of privacy tools begins with official documentation. Developers create detailed guides that cover every aspect of usage — from basic installation to advanced configuration. Below are the key sources you should start with when studying any tool.

Educational Materials and Articles

In addition to official documentation, there are numerous independent resources offering in-depth analysis of privacy and security issues. Below are articles and guides that will help broaden your understanding of threats and protection methods.

• EFF Surveillance Self-Defense — a practical guide from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on protecting yourself from surveillance. It covers password selection, disk encryption, secure communication, and assessing individual threat models. The material is regularly updated and available in several languages.
• Privacy Guides — an independent project with recommendations for choosing privacy-focused tools: browsers, email services, messengers, VPN providers, and operating systems. All recommendations are backed by technical analysis and selection criteria.
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to Online Anonymity — one of the most comprehensive guides to achieving anonymity on the internet. It describes creating anonymous digital identities, evading deanonymization through browser and device fingerprinting, secure communication methods, and acquiring services without revealing your identity.
• Madaidan's Insecurities — a technical blog with critical analysis of popular Linux security myths, comparisons of security models across different operating systems and browsers, and recommendations for genuinely hardening your defenses.
• CCC Media — an archive of talks from the Chaos Communication Congress, one of the largest information security conferences in Europe. It contains hundreds of presentations on cryptography, anonymous networks, hardware security, and privacy policy.
• Schneier on Security — the blog of Bruce Schneier, one of the world's leading experts in cryptography and information security. Publications cover a wide range of topics — from technical vulnerabilities to the impact of surveillance technologies on civil liberties.

Video Materials

The video format allows for a visual demonstration of concepts that are difficult to explain through text alone. Below are educational videos that reveal the fundamental principles behind anonymous networks, encryption, and privacy protection.

How the Tor Network Works

A detailed explanation of the principles of onion routing, the construction of relay circuits, the role of entry and exit nodes, and the limitations of the Tor security model. Understanding these mechanisms is critically important for using the network correctly and assessing real threats.

Threat Models and Risk Assessment

Before choosing security tools, you need to define a threat model: who are you protecting yourself from, what data is critical, and what are the consequences of compromise. This talk examines a systematic approach to risk assessment that is applicable to journalists, activists, and everyday users who care about their privacy.

Cryptography: Encryption Fundamentals

Fundamental concepts of modern cryptography: symmetric and asymmetric encryption, hash functions, digital signatures, and key exchange protocols. Without understanding these principles, it is impossible to properly evaluate the reliability of any security tool.

GitHub Repositories and Tools

Open source code is the foundation of trust in security tools. The ability to audit code, verify the implementation of cryptographic protocols, and track the history of changes is critically important. Below are the key repositories of projects related to privacy and anonymity.

Communities and Forums

Discussing privacy and security issues in communities is an effective way to get up-to-date information, ask questions of experienced members, and track the latest events in the industry. It is important to remember that any information from open forums requires critical verification.

Vulnerability Databases and Security Research

Tracking known vulnerabilities is a mandatory practice for maintaining security. Vulnerability databases contain structured information about identified issues, their severity, affected software versions, and available patches. Scientific publications, in turn, reveal new classes of attacks and defense methods.

• NVD — National Vulnerability Database — the NIST vulnerability database containing CVE entries with CVSS severity ratings, descriptions of affected products, and links to patches. The primary reference resource for security professionals.
• Exploit Database — an archive of publicly available exploits and corresponding vulnerable software. Maintained by Offensive Security and used for security research and penetration testing.
• CVE MITRE — a program for identifying and cataloging vulnerabilities. Each vulnerability is assigned a unique CVE identifier, providing a common language for discussing security issues between organizations, vendors, and researchers.
• MITRE ATT&CK — a knowledge base of tactics and techniques used by adversaries in cyberattacks. The ATT&CK matrix systematizes observed attacker behavior and helps organizations build defenses based on real threats rather than hypothetical scenarios.
• IACR ePrint Archive — the preprint archive of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. It contains thousands of scientific papers on cryptography: new encryption schemes, analyses of existing protocols, attacks on cryptosystems, and security proofs.

OSINT Resources and Open Source Intelligence

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is a discipline related to the collection and analysis of publicly available information. Understanding OSINT methods is important in two respects: for conducting your own research and for assessing what information a potential adversary can gather about you. Knowledge of OSINT methodology helps minimize your digital footprint.

Privacy-Focused Search Engines

Traditional search engines collect extensive data about search queries, geolocation, and user behavior. Alternative privacy-focused search engines minimize or completely eliminate the collection of user data, do not create behavioral profiles, and do not filter results based on search history.

• DuckDuckGo — the most well-known private search engine. It does not track users, does not create search profiles, and does not sell data to advertisers. It supports Instant Answers and bangs — quick search shortcuts for specific sites.
• Startpage — a proxy search engine that uses Google results without transmitting user data. It offers an Anonymous View feature for browsing sites from search results through a proxy without revealing your IP address.
• SearXNG — an open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple sources. It can be deployed on your own server, providing full control over the search infrastructure. It supports numerous public instances around the world.
• Brave Search — an independent search engine with its own index that does not rely on Google or Bing results. It does not track users and does not profile search queries.

Mesh Networks and Decentralized Platforms

The centralized architecture of the internet creates single points of failure and control. Mesh networks and decentralized protocols offer an alternative model in which participants interact directly, without dependence on central servers. This increases resistance to censorship and reduces the possibilities of mass surveillance.

Tool Directories and Reference Resources

To systematize the vast number of available tools and services, there are curated directories that are regularly updated by the community. These resources help you navigate the ecosystem and choose the right solutions.

• PRISM Break — a directory of free alternatives to proprietary services involved in mass surveillance programs. Organized by category: operating systems, browsers, email, messengers, cloud storage. Platforms and license information are listed for each tool.
• AlternativeTo — a platform for finding software alternatives. It allows filtering by license (free/open source software), platform, and functionality. Useful when searching for private replacements for familiar services.
• Personal Security Checklist — a structured checklist of measures for strengthening personal security. It covers authentication, device security, network protection, data privacy, and physical security. Each recommendation includes a priority level and justification.
• Awesome Pentest — a curated collection of resources for penetration testing: reconnaissance tools, exploitation, post-exploitation, social engineering, as well as training platforms and labs.
• PrivacyTools.io — a directory of tools and services with an emphasis on privacy. It contains recommendations for configuring DNS-over-HTTPS, choosing VPN providers, email services, and browser extensions.

Principles for Working with Resources

When using the materials listed above, you should adhere to several fundamental principles. First, no single tool provides absolute security — each has its own threat model and limitations. Second, combining tools requires understanding how they interact: an incorrect configuration can not only fail to improve but actually decrease the level of protection. Third, operational security (OPSEC) — behavioral practices — is often more important than technical measures: user error remains the most common vector of deanonymization.

Regularly update your knowledge: the field of information security is evolving rapidly, and recommendations that are relevant today may become outdated within a few months. Subscribe to project mailing lists, follow discussions in communities, and critically evaluate all information, including what is presented on this page.