What kind of software should beginners know?

[LoyceV]

Screw software to begin with — what you need at the start is education. You can have a hardware wallet and the most secure devices in the world but you'd still end up screwed if you know what you're doing.

True!

When in doubt, don't click!

Also true! But even experienced users make mistakes with this. Especially Google makes it very hard not to click on a phishing link: both their Search Engine and Gmail love to track every click you make, so instead of showing the real URL, it shows something encoded with google.com in there.

The software that I think would be useful for beginners/non-tech savvy users

• VPN
• Password Manager
• Anti-virus software
• Two-Factor Authentication app

I think we have a different idea of what "non-tech savvy" means: I know people who after 10 or more years still can barely open a word processor or copy a file. They click around without reading anything, and that's how they go from "content consumption" to "content consumption".
For those people, a simple Android wallet on a non-rooted phone could be safer than installing stuff on their PC (which might be filled with virusses already).

[hugeblack]

The most important thing is to learn, using the application will not enhance your privacy if you do not know how it works or at least have basic knowledge of it.
Most of the people download a random VPN application and thus give these companies their data, which they may sell later to parties that use it to track them.

We do not forget that with minimal errors, your identity will be revealed, and therefore you must be careful and constantly learn to ensure a high level of privacy.

Antivirus software is a waste of money and does not add any extra protection.
Also, you must use Two-Factor Authentication in a phone that is not connected to the Internet.

[BernyJB]

Screw software to begin with — what you need at the start is education.

I absolutely agree with this statement. The best security practice (on and offline) is to trust only yourself, and not to rely on software from companies/people that may have "ulterior motives" for offering that perceived security. In my opinion, short of being a security expert, there are simple enough steps you can take to add an acceptable level of security to your life, from being (very!) careful what you click on, to having a dedicated OS (on a pendrive/external drive, or a separate computer if you can afford it) for your crypto.
2FA and other security methods work, and will keep on working for a while, until somebody (a bad guy) cracks them, or a good guy realizes there's money to be made off of them. Best security method is for nobody to even know you have crypto to begin with.

[AakZaki]

Software such as Antivirus will secure your device from malware and some phishing websites so that there will be protection that continues to monitor your device. But it should be understood, the antivirus that is used is better, a premium antivirus with several security features that will help. Free antivirus is also not a problem, but when the free limit is up, many features will be reduced.

In addition, the use of Two-Factor Authentication is very helpful for securing login to accounts such as email and Exchange.

I don't use a VPN or password manager, because some VPN use cases are dangerous when using a free VPN.

[crwth]

Thank you for the replies. I guess I can summarize in some way the replies here.

• Some suggested installing open-source stuff and that's how we can truly assess its trustworthiness
• For paid services, I think the most reputable ones would be the best.
• Using TOR (This would be hard when the user is non-tech-savvy
• Usage of uBlock Origin
• Use of open-source 2FA like Aegis (Android) or Tofu (iOS)

 

Basically, learning about possible stupidity on the internet that could cause you financial/mental harm.

~snip

Thank you for the additional links to resources. This would be helpful for those who are interested in reading it and why good security practice is important.

Screw software to begin with — what you need at the start is education. You can have a hardware wallet and the most secure devices in the world but you'd still end up screwed if you know what you're doing. If the person understands security risks a decent amount already, he/she would know the important software needed.

This in turn would make beginners or non-tech-savvy users into tech users etc. Like the importance of it etc. Basically, not making it basic but learning how to do it is the approach.

~snip

Thank you for the links. This would be helpful for newbies and interested people.

why not just TOR and wallet like electrum. that's just it. some users just don't want to complicate things on their computer. i have some suspicions about those password manager, i'd rather just save them on a txt file or just remember it.

That's kind of hard just saving them on a .txt file because it's easily accessible. Can you encrypt something like this? I think it would make it complicated even more if you try to let a newbie do this kind of thing.

I think we have a different idea of what "non-tech savvy" means: I know people who after 10 or more years still can barely open a word processor or copy a file. They click around without reading anything, and that's how they go from "content consumption" to "content consumption".
For those people, a simple Android wallet on a non-rooted phone could be safer than installing stuff on their PC (which might be filled with virusses already).

I think it's almost the same though, like someone who is not technologically capable of operating a piece of tech. That's sad that they cannot operate the computer very well. Maybe they are too old for it and can't remember how they did it the last time? Probably they are just into watching Netflix or something. Maybe they can watch a documentary about privacy and security with anything tech-savvy related.