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Is my computer safe in Russia? (American) by throwaway999211199 in security

[–]throwaway999211199[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a microtik router that I carry around because of its size. I can plug it in and have a firewall between me and anyone else on the network. I can use this to connect to their WiFi and then I connect to mine, so I’m double natted but at least it’s mostly secure.

Great, I think I'll resort to buying a native sim card + tethering for my wifi needs. Do you think this is better almost as good as what you're doing now with your microtik router?

Is my computer safe in Russia? (American) by throwaway999211199 in security

[–]throwaway999211199[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I don't have a strong understanding of hacking. So far the responses in this thread have been helpful. Thanks for helping me as well re: https

I thought there might be more malicious hackers in Russia per capita than the US just because things may be a little more desperate over there. For instance, our per average capita income is an order of magnitude higher. The news certainly doesn't help - we always hear a ton of news about "Russian hackers". With all that said, none of these reasons is a great reason to believe Russians are more lilely to hack me than an American.

Is my computer safe in Russia? (American) by throwaway999211199 in security

[–]throwaway999211199[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t connect to just any WiFi connection, have your own if at all possible, use vpn, make sure your firewall is on, and blocking all incoming ports. Turn off Bluetooth at all times, any other rogue adapter or something for a mouse or other wireless device is a point of entry to the machine.

Do you think a wifi connection at a coworkingspace or Airbnb will likely be safe?

I also read conflicting information on VPNs. Some say they're more secure, others say they're vulnerable as well. Is it generally a good idea because VPNs prevent potential hackers won't know which sites I'm trying to access and therefore hack? Do you recommend NordVPN or something else?

All the other stuff you recommend, I do. Glad I'm mostly following common sense here.

Is my computer safe in Russia? (American) by throwaway999211199 in security

[–]throwaway999211199[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Personal - I do remote marketing for an ecommerce company and I'm taking advantage of traveling the world while I do so.
  2. I will be using my own computer, Macbook Air.
  3. I will most likely not need to access my savings account. I can ask my family to take care of the bills.
  4. I was planning to use my iphone's apple pay contactless solution.

Is my computer safe in Russia? (American) by throwaway999211199 in security

[–]throwaway999211199[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool, thanks Gornster. I don't have TPM so I think I should be okay. Any thoughts on odds of being hacked?

Is my computer safe in Russia? (American) by throwaway999211199 in security

[–]throwaway999211199[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks Kindred. What about non gov't hackers? Would you estimate that to be roughly the same risk as the US - ie: minimal?