Like humans, no software in a world is perfect, and this is why it requires updates. Also, due to continuous advancement in the tech industry leads to introduce new types of viruses.

Due to this, your antivirus could not detect it and leads to destroy or paralyze your security software.

Moreover, Incase if your system is already infected by a malware, it may stop your system from installing a traditional antivirus or anti-malware.

This is where you need a tool like Malwarebytes. Its super-fast inspection identifies attacks before it might infect your device.

Moreover, the best thing about this anti-malware that it offers both Malwarebytes Free and Premium version. The Malwarebytes 3.0 premium version can detect ransomware.

Malwarebytes premium has all the features to replace your traditional antivirus. However, the way Malwarebytes is designed; it must be used alongside with standard antivirus.

Malwarebytes free, on the other side, does not include any real-time protection. However, there are more things that you need to identify whether which version of Malwarebytes is best for you.

For this, In this Malwarebytes review, I will be reviewing different free and premium versions of it in this blog.

What is Malwarebytes?

Bruce Harrison and Marcin Kleczynski founded Malwarebytes back on January 21^st, 2008. The idea of creating Malwarebytes came into existence when Kleczynski’s family computer got a virus in 2004.

Since then, the Malwarebytes team has grown to over 600 members in five locations all around the world.

The best thing about this security software, unlike other antiviruses, it offers 14 days trials, if you are opting for its premium version with all the features.

Another issue that arises regarding this it security and legality. If you are looking for an answer regarding this concern, read is Malwarebytes safe and legit to use.

However, after the end of the trial period, if you do not continue the premium plan, your plan automatically shifts to Malwarebytes free plan, where you can only clean the infected device feature.

However, I believe 14 days trial is more than enough to test all its features and decide whether you opt for this fantastic anti-malware or not.

Malwarebytes Free Pros & Cons

The post Malwarebytes Review 2019: Is It the Entire Solution for your Device? appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

From social media sites to online banking, every domain needs you to create an account with a password.

But when you need to maintain multiple accounts, this is where your brain give up to remember all of your passwords.

One solution to avoid this headache is by keeping simple passwords for every online account. Or keep one strong password for each account with some tweaks.

However, these two techniques lead you to become a victim of identity theft most probably. If I am at your place, I never use these awful techniques.

Relying on a password manager is the best way to create an unbreakable and unique password for every online account without any hassle.

So don’t be a stingy person just to save a penny. Nothing is more valuable than your online privacy. So, start using a password manager right now.

But wait! You do not know which is the best password manager to use in 2019? Well, this is why today I am going to review Bitwarden here.

After reading so many Bitwarden review reddit, I finally decide to provide my ultimate Bitwarden review 2019, so you decide whether this password manager is best for you or not.

What is Bitwarden?

Bitwarden is a free and open source password manager for individuals, teams, and business organizations.

It works as both password storage and generator tool. Bitwarden supports synchronizing between all of your devices, making it easy and convenient to use.

One point Bitwarden makes is that using the same password across all of your accounts is a big security issue.

If your password is compromised for one account, a hacker may try your password on other accounts. Password managers make it simple to use complex and unique passwords across the board.

Is Bitwarden Best Password Manager in 2019

Since Bitwarden came into existence, it gets lots of positive reviews from users due to the password management features it provides.

When it comes to choosing a security tool, it would be great if it’s an open source. The reason why I prefer an open source security tool is that anyone could see the program source code.

It means if there is any flaw in the tool, it can be fixed on an immediate basis. And if the process of fixing bugs is fast, it means there would be fewer flaws that lead to the more secure tool.

Bitwarden Stores Your Passwords in Encrypted Form

Another great feature that Bitwarden offers that It stores all your passwords in encrypted form. And these encrypted passwords can only unlock by you.

Now you may assume why I am prominently talking about this feature since every password manager must store passwords in the encrypted form right?

But what if I tell you that there are very few password managers that already encrypted your passwords on your device before storing it on cloud servers.

And Bitwarden is one of them that offers this amazing feature.

Having your passwords encrypted, hosted in the cloud, with easy access on just about any device you own is a lifesaver.

If you happen to be like me, you bounce back and forth between several devices and synchronizing your passwords securely is something I cannot live without.

However, which OS (operating system) or browser you are using, whether its Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome, or Firefox, Bitwarden has always covered you.

Bitwarden’s Offers to Choose Password Data Base

Option to choose your own database feature is something very rare offer by any password manager.

And this gives the edge to Bitwarden to be one of the best password managers in 2019 since it offers to choose your own database.

This means, if you are not comfortable in using Bitwarden’s cloud storage, you have the freedom to choose the database of your own choice to save your passwords on your different devices.

Bitwarden’s Offers Most Demandable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Feature

Nowadays if you talk about any privacy tool, according to experts one of the must demandable option that must be a tool is Two-Factor Authentication Feature (2FA).

Why 2FA feature matters? Well, it adds an additional layer of protection. How? Well when you try to login in any of your accounts, it requires a secondary code before logging in.

So if someone even knows your private account password, as a Bitwarden user, that person still cannot log in into your account because he/she still requires 2FA code.

Bit Warden Can Import all of your Passwords from Other Popular Password Managers

After reading all the mentioned above features, if you are planning for switching to Bitwarden, the major concern that you may face is how to import your passwords.

Well, you do not worry about it either since Bitwarden provides a way to import all of your passwords.

So, if you were previously using other popular password managers like LastPass, Dashlane, Sticky Password or etc.  you can import all of your passwords from there, which is amazing.

Bitwarden Has All the Ability to Create Strong Passwords

Just like all the top-notch passwords managers, Bitwarden is also capable of creating strong passwords.

According to my testing, when it comes to creating secure passwords, Bitwarden is one of the best if not the best.

It provides you multiple options to choose from in creating passwords for your online accounts. From creating your own password option to use a passphrase instead.

Gives Option to Share Netflix & Hulu Passwords with Friends & Family 1

What’s better than this if you can securely share your Hulu, Netflix, and security alarm passwords with your friends and family? If I tell you that Bitwarden offers such kind of sharing features.

Yes, you read it right, Bit warden now you can share your passwords with others. However, if you are using Bitwarden’s free subscription, you can share your passwords with two free accounts.

Pricing

Bitwarden’s Free Subscription

So far you must be thinking, Bitwarden sounds great, it features encrypted cloud storage. And syncing, unlimited entries, apps for the most popular platforms.

Moreover, it’s open source, has a password generator, and 2FA. Now, for one of the most important questions, how much is it going to cost me?

Amazingly, for all of those benefits I just listed, it is 100 percent free.

Bitwarden’s Paid Subscription

Although, Bitwarden’s free subscription plan has all the basic features that must offer by the best password manager.

But it does not mean it has not offered its premium plan. Like other password managers, it also offers some extra feature if you are opting for its premium feature.

Bitwarden’s premium subscription includes up to 1GB encrypted file storage 2FA with a hardware key, sharing with up to five users, and more than that is all available for a very reasonable price.

What is the Best Way to Use Bitwarden Password Manager to Get Ultimate Privacy

Using Bitwarden password manager is not the ultimate solution to secure your online privacy. Password manager only helps you to secure your online account credentials from being hacked.

Which means it does not secure you from all the privacy dangers. Like if you secure your passwords using Bitwarden and still using Google products and services, your online privacy is at risk.

Google products and services use different trackers to collect every single online activity. If you already de-google your life, your online privacy is still not completely protected.

Since your ISP (Internet Service Providers) also keeps tracks on your online activity. And also shares your data with government agencies without your consent.

Especially when you live in five eyes, nine eyes and fourteen eyes countries. So what is the best way to protect your online privacy?

Well for this, I would recommend you to use these tools and tips to gain your ultimate privacy:

• With Bitwarden, you need to say goodbye to Google and switch to its alternatives. For the best alternatives to Google, see my “How to Degoogle your Life” guide.
• For ultimate privacy use best VPN service (who are located outside 5, 9 and 14 eyes countries). See my guide “What is VPN and How it works” to choose appropriate VPN provider, according to your need.

Conclusion

After using a Bitwarden for a month, the only drawback I have experienced is some extra steps to follow in order to fill in my passwords on my Android and iOS device.

However, once you get done with it, the default auto fill service will make ease for you. By popping out suggestion within the apps while you trying to login.

If you are still using Bitwarden Chrome, it requires few more steps to allow access to services.

In order to fill the username and password, I had to select the password field, swipe down, tap on the notification, scan my fingerprint, and then tap on the username and password.

This makes it a little bit more complex as compared to another top of the line password managers. Overall it free plan has a lot to offer and you can go extra security by opting for its premium subscription.

In short, apart from its some extra steps to follow on its Android and iOS app, Bitwarden without a doubt is one of the best password managers in 2019.

I hope you would find this Bitwarden review helpful to make a decision whether you should opt for this phenomenal password manager. Or keep using your current manager.

Tell me if you are going to use Bitwarden, after reading my blog by commenting “Yes” in the comment section below.

The post Bitwarden Review 2019: Affordable but is it the Best? appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

Reuters reports today that Google will suspend any business it has with Huawei except for hardware and software dealings that comes under open source licenses.

In short, Huawei will immediately lose access to Android updates, and the next upcoming smartphones models will not come with the Google Play Store. And also other Google apps, including Gmail and Google Maps.

Android, on the other hand, is an open source operating system that is free for mobile devices manufactures to use.

However, Google does charge from companies like Huawei in the form of licensing fee to include its Android apps storefront and other apps on their devices.

According to the Verge, Google starts taking these actions after US president Donald Trump declares a national IT threat to US.

But what if I tell you the picture demonstrates by all of these US-based popular websites hiding a reality of the story.

Think logically, is the US Government threaten by Chinese Tech Company?

Is US Intelligence not powerful enough to stop Huawei from stop doing vulnerable actions that are prone to their citizens’ privacy?

Or due to the growing fan base of Huawei, the US government is losing tracking and monitoring of their citizens?

Since Huawei does not corporate much with US government and tech giants like Google to share its user’s data with them, it is something that can not be accepted by a nation who is a part of 5, 9 and 14 eyes countries.

Before I go in-depth into the details, it is essential to explain how this decision will affect Huawei and its users. So read on…

How This Decision Will Impact Huawei Users?

Good news for existing Huawei users that they can update apps, bugs update, and Google Play Store too.

However, when Google releases its next big update for Android, sadly, it will not be able for Huawei users.

Moreover, the upcoming Huawei mobile devices will not get apps like Google Maps and YouTube. However, Huawei can use open source Android system.

Ben Wood, from the CCS Insight consultancy, said the move by Google would have “big implications for Huawei’s consumer business.”

Official Statement of Huawei Regarding Android Ban by Google

“Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry.

Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone. And tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally.

We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, to provide the best experience for all users globally.”

Before Backlisting Huawei, the US Government is a Part of FVEY Countries

Since Huawei is getting massive popularity in the US market from the past few years, it creates huge concerns for national tech giants like Google and Apple due to the following reasons:

• A big part of market share is fetching by Chinese Company
• Losing surveillance on a tremendous amount of population since Huawei does not corporate with the US Government to share their users’ data.

I think blacklisting Huawei by the US government is a clear indication of frustration due to losing mass surveillance of citizens’.

Moreover, this is the only way to stop Huawei from getting increasing market share in the US.

In this way, Google and other national tech giants will regain access to Huawei users’ data by going back to Google devices.

Losing Chinese Giant in the US is More Dangerous for Users Online Privacy

To understand this, 20 years ago, this is what one of the legends of the music industry “Prince” once said:

“Don’t be fool by the internet. It’s cool to get on the computer, but don’t let the computer get on you.

It’s cool to use the computer, but don’t let the computer use you. You all saw the Matrix. There is a war going on and the battlefields in mind. And the final price is the soul. So be careful.”

So it means all the things that are available on the internet is not real. Moreover, there is always hidden propaganda behind it.

Since the US is a part of Five eyes, Nine eyes and Fourteen Eyes countries, the increasing the popularity of a company like Huawei that is not a part of cooperative countries cannot be tolerated at all.

Most of you don’t know what are these FVEY countries. This is why you are unaware of the US government hidden propaganda.

By eliminating Huawei from the US market, US government will once again regain the massive chunk of users.

In short, Huawei is becoming an unbreakable wall for US mass surveillance agencies to achieve their targets. Which is to keep track of citizens online activities and control them accordingly.

If Huawei agrees with the US government on sharing users online data, the scenario would be the opposite.

Sticking to Huawei Devices is the Best time to De-google your life

Apart from US government mass surveillance objectives, you all agree with me that when it comes to online privacy, Google products and services are the worst options to use.

Especially after what we saw in the past that how aggressive Google is to collect users’ data.

At this moment, I think this is the best opportunity to say goodbye to Google and regain your ultimate privacy.

By sticking with Huawei devices and with some patience, I believe, this the best opportunity to live surveillance free life. My Google Alternatives guide will help you a lot in de-Google-ify your life.

Conclusion: Hard Time for Chinese Giant in Short Term

According to BBC technology desk editor “Leo Kelion”:

In the short term, this could be very damaging for Chinese Giant in the West.

Smartphone shoppers would not want an Android phone that lacked access to Google’s Play Store. Its virtual assistant or security updates, assuming these are among the services that would be pulled.

In the longer term, though, this might give smartphone vendors consider the need for alternative to Google OS. Particularly at a time, the search giant is trying to push its Pixel brand at their expense.

As far as Huawei is concerned, it appears to have prepared for the eventuality of being cut off from US.

Its proprietary processors already power its smartphones, and earlier this year its consumer devices chief told German newspaper, Die Welt, that, “we have prepared our own operating systems – that’s our plan B”.

Even so, this move could knock its ambition to overtake Samsung. And become the bestselling smartphone brand in 2020 seriously off course.

The post Reality Check: Fear of Losing Surveillance on Citizens, Makes Google to Restricts Huawei’s Use of Android appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

And this is not the first time that Google did something unethical. There are several incidents in the past where Google caught red-handed in destroying users’ online privacy.

Moreover, the most enticing thing about Google Products, they are free and super handy to use. Similar to other products Google Photos is also free with unlimited to store and backup your images.

But what if I tell you all of your Google Photos are public. Even you share it with a specific list of family members and friends.

Google Photos does not require any permission to access photos.  There is no two-way to answer that you trust Google or not.

If you are concern about your online privacy like me, you should not use Google Photos at all (see my Alternatives to Google guide).

However, I do not want to be biased here, so before discussing why Google Photos is prone to your privacy, let me explain how it works

What is Google Photos?

Just like other Google products, Google Photos is totally free that is most enticing features for users’.

To add, this Google Photos tools offers you feature to upload your images and video content directly on cloud automatically with unlimited space. However, there are some terms and conditions.

The first condition is you cannot upload images more substantial than 16 MP. And if you try to do so, it will automatically down-scaled them.

The second condition is you can only upload a video with 1080p or lower than that. But if you want to store in original quality and also want to upload 4k video, then you can go for Google Photos premium version.

For extra space, Google Photos offers two different packages:

• To get additional space up to 100GB in $2
• For 1TB per month, the price is $10

You can use Google Photos on your desktop. Though, its app is also available on both Android and iOS. The significant advantage of using Google Photos that it offers a single place where you can store pictures.

Furthermore, you need only one account to access your photos from your any device. There are several alternatives to Google Photos.

But it is scarce to find any one of them as a close alternative to Google photos. There is no denying what Google Photos offer is impressive.

Especially when you can find photos by typing location, date, even or keywords in the search bar, like for example if you enter word “car” in the search bar, you will see all of your pictures with a car in them.

This shows how Google products are one step ahead in providing ease of use and embedded with advanced features.

However, in the end, I believe nothing is more prominent than protecting your online privacy.

To rule the online world, Google is always looking for ways to collect as much data of users as possible and target them with ads.

You do not believe me? Well, I would love to explain how Google is injurious to your privacy.

For Google, You are the Product

Have you ever imagine that why Google offers you amazing products free? The Google strategy is simple; it makes you the product, not the customer.

Google is the king of online advertising. And online advertising is the primary resource of its income. For this, it creates super-efficient products by hiring one of the creative minds in the world.

Then, offer all of the products free and tell me who don’t like to use a free service? In this way, Google collects your data to understand your using habits and target you with the most relevant ads.

Moreover, the most unfortunate thing Google is successfully set a trend of using free services and products that offer premium services are overpriced such as Apple.

It seems like Apple’s CEO Tim Cook knows the dark plans of the king of online advertisement regarding releasing Google Photos. During the interview, he said:

“We believe the customer should be in control of their own information.

You might like these so-called free services, but we don’t think they’re worth having your email, your search history.

And now even your family photos data mined and sold off for god knows what advertising purpose. And we think someday; customers will see this for what it is.”

What if tell you what Tim Cook stated regarding Google services is true.

According to to Google’s terms and condition, once you opt-in for its service, you are giving all the right to do the following things with your data:

“Host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works, communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute.”

Although, according to Google officials, they stated that they don’t use your photos or other types of data for advertising and business purposes without users’ permission.

However, on the other side, the record of accomplishment of Google doesn’t allow me personally to trust them with my personal data at all.

Since it success is depend on sharing and analyzing users’ online data. But if you still want to use Google Photos service, you can do some tweaks to make it a bit secure to use by following the steps from here.

Conclusion

After all the information, I provided in this blog, I believe you would make up your mind to not only use Google Photos but every single service offer by Google.

Just imagine for a moment, Google scans your images and figure out what brand you like to wear. Then use it to target with ads of that specific brand you like.

Or since there is a trend of face recognition technology, Google can use your photos to get the access of your private account, which is horrifying.

And time after time it will gradually learns every single habit of yours and eventually start targeting you more efficiently by showing you the thing you are looking for.

What is the Risk of Using Google Photos?

The biggest risk of using Google products is your online privacy. Though the services and tools offer by Google are out of this world when comes to its performance and features.

However, I believe nothing is bigger than your online privacy. Companies like Google uses and shares data with different organizations and spying countries (see my 5 eyes, 9 eyes and 14 eyes guide).

In this way, hackers and cyberstalkers can steal your information and turn your life in to nightmare. In the end, the decision is yours that you still want to use Google Photos or not.

Let me know, how many of you decide to quit Google Photos by mentioning your view in the comment section.

The post Google Photos Privacy: Your Images Are not Safe Delete it Right Now appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

Now it is time to make your life free from Google by switching to its alternatives.

Before writing this blog, there is a reason why i did not tell you to leave Google. If i did that, it would be very challenging for you to leave Facebook and Google together.

Therefore, in the end, you would end up with using both, which would be the worst scenario towards securing your online privacy.

This is why I choose the step-by-step strategy to guide my audience on how to protect their data and stop mass surveillance by these tech giants.

As I mentioned in my previous blog that I am a big fan of Google products even after I know they collect a massive amount of data.

But everything has a limit. At that time, I was unaware of the reliable and best alternatives to Google products. Now the time has come since I finally find some great alternatives to Google products.

For this, I go one step further to explain how you can switch to alternatives to Google proficiently without compromising anything and regain your online privacy.

Form my team I requested two people “Alex” and “John” to use google apps and their alternatives respectively for three months.

This is what I found:

Life of Alex with Google Products

Life of John with Alternatives to Google

Best Alternatives to Google Search Engine

Anyone who is very serious regarding his/her online privacy, using the Google search engine should not be an option at all.

When you use the Google search engine, it records all the information regarding your search habits, including your search intent, IP address and creates your Google ad profile with the help of cookies.

This is why to maintain your online privacy here are some best alternatives to Google search engine:

Duck Duck Go

This search engine is the most excellent privacy-centric search engine alternatives to Google. Since it does not monitor or track users from targeting ads and share information with third parties.

Although it does record search terms only to improve users experience.

Ecosia

This search engine is a privacy-friendly alternative to Google to plant trees by donating 80% of its surplus income.

How does it work? Well, the process is simple:

1. You use the Ecosia for search
2. Search ads generate income for Ecosia
3. Ecosia uses the revenue to plant trees

Read the interview with Ecosia’s team member Jacey Bingler

Qwant

One of the most secure Google search engine alternatives with ultimate privacy features based in France.

Searx

This is another great alternative to Google search engine with resourceful meta search engine.

Metager

Highly secure engine based in Germany

StartPage

Although this search engine gives you Google search results but does not track users’ online activities or collect personal information.

Most Secure Alternatives to Gmail

When it comes to providing users’ online privacy, Gmail is one of the worst product of Google. The email you send or receive on your Gmail account, all the information collects by Google.

Google can access everything that you put inside your email including text, image, attachment, personal contact and confidential information to analyze behavior and target with ads accordingly.

Moreover, when you keep logged in to your Gmail account, they can easily track your online activities since you use the same browser to search for other things.

Additionally, by tracking this kind of information, they use it for their target ads strategy. In short, using Gmail services, not a single online activities of yours is hiding from Google eyes.

Fortunately, Following are some tremendous secure alternatives to Gmail that you can use to protect your privacy:

Runbox

Offers a free trial for up to 30 days and based in Norway.

Mailfence

This secure Gmail alternative offers free account up to 500 Mb and based in Belgium.

Posteo

Provides ultimate secure mailing service from the lands of Germany and offers a €1/monthly plan with 14 days refund policy.

Tutanota

This is one of the best Gmail alternatives for small startups since it offers free services for up to 1GB.

Privacy Centric Alternatives to Google Chrome Browser

Google Chrome browser is one of the most popular browsers nowadays. The reasons for its popularity are; it is super easy to use and have massive numbers of useful and productive extensions.

Although when it comes to privacy, it is one of the worst browsers right now globally. Therefore, if you want to regain your online privacy, the following are some great Chrome alternatives:

Firefox Focus

Firefox Focus is one of the most significant users’ privacy-focused browsers by Mozilla so far. This phenomenal browser primarily develops for users who are looking for sturdy data protection.

Initially, this secure browser was only available for iPhone/iPad (iOS) users. However, the recent update comes with the new app for Android lovers.

This is one of the best secure browsers to provide data privacy and breathtaking UI interface that will sparkle your eyes.

Waterfox

Without a doubt, Waterfox browser has all the potential to rank in the list most secure browsers. This open-source browser is also a product of Mozilla.

This phenomenal browser is mainly for those users who want all the features like Firefox and Firefox Focus but do not want to lose their freedom.

However, while testing this Waterfox browser, our technical team found out that Mozilla uses telemetry process to collect user data. It means your online activities will be stored until you erase the data.

Brave

Thanks to Jonathan Samson, a genius mind behind the development of Brave browser. Personally, this as privacy evangelist, I need this kind of secure browser. It is based on Chromium mechanism that is speedy, reliable and online privacy-focused. It also contains default ad blocker, which is a great sign of providing online privacy.

The developers behind this one of the best secure browser formally worked for Mozilla. Therefore if you are looking for ultimate privacy box, Brave should be on your list.

Although, the biggest drawback of this secure browser is that it is based on Chromium structure. It means it is built on open source code that is also used by Google Chrome.

However, the security feature it provides covers all its pitfalls.

Palemoon

It seems like Mozilla has multiple options when it comes to providing browsers to its users. Palemoon is also the product of Mozilla but the design on an older version of Firefox (38 ESR).

This is why when you use it, you feel like using the old browser.

The reason why I listed this classic browser still in my most secure browser list is that it supports some old add-ons.

Similar to other secure Mozilla browsers, Palemoon is free from all the vulnerabilities that steal user’s privacy.

For more see my secure browsers to get additional information regarding reliable add-ons and browsers.

Top Alternatives to Google Drive

Google Drive is another product by a tech giant that is highly vulnerable to users’ data privacy. Therefore, it would be disastrous for your privacy if you are still using Google Drive.

To help you out here is some top of the line secure Google alternatives for you:

Nextcloud

From Germany, Nextcloud is one the most secure cloud drive that is self-hosted, open source and great communication platform.

Sync.com

This Google Drive is best for both individuals and the corporate sector since it offers highly encrypted cloud storage services from Canada.

Tresorit

The only pitfall of this Google Drive alternative is that it uses Microsoft servers, which is a concern, especially when you are looking for privacy-centric product.

Although it is one of the handiest and user-friendly alternatives to Google Drive as compared to Sync.com.

TeamDrive

Based in Germany, mainly for business and cooperate sector, that offers encrypted cloud backup and docs synchronization features.

You might be surprised why I did not include Dropbox in Google Drive alternatives list. It is undeniable that Dropbox is one of the most exceptional services but not in terms of privacy.

For further detail read my Dropbox review.

Best Google Calendar Alternatives

The good news is that you can use similar apps to replace both Gmail and Google Calendar. It means you can use one of the following apps for both functionalities:

1. Kolab Now
2. Posteo.de
3. Mailbox.org

Right now I am using Mailbox.org that works great for me. However, if you are looking for more Google Calendar alternatives, I would recommend you to check the following apps:

1. Fruxx
2. Kin
3. aCalender
4. Etar

Secure Google Docs Alternatives

There are large numbers of Google Docs alternatives available in the market. However, not all the alternatives are worth mentioning here since most of them have some pitfalls regarding privacy.

LibreOffice

This secure Google docs alternative is available on all the primary OS including Android, iOS, MacOS, Linux and Windows. Moreover, it is an open source app.

CryptPad

Like its name, this Google Doc alternative is privacy-centric with ultimate encryption and free to use.

Zoho Docs

If you are looking for Google Docs alternative that has a simple and user-friendly interface with amazing features, then I would recommend you to go for Zoho Docs.

To add, if you want more online privacy, for this I would recommend you to log in at Zoho.eu since it has improved privacy policies due to GDPR.

Highly Secure Alternatives to Google Photos

Personal photos are the one that you never want to compromise by Google. Thus if you do not want to put your photos to be compromised, delete the Google Photos right away from your device.

Here are some great alternatives to Google:

Shoebox

This great Google alternative is available on Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows with both free and premium plan.

Additionally, this app is without any ads, which is impressive since it gets very annoying with it.

Piwigo

This app is a free and open source and useful option for replacing Google Photos.

Best Alternatives to YouTube

It is tough to find close Youtube alternative, especially when you are a vlogger. However, if you are still looking for secure Youtube alternatives, check out the following streaming apps:

1. Vimeo
2. Bitchute
3. invidio.us

Many review sites put Dailymotion as a secure Youtube alternative in their blog. However, I’m afraid I have to disagree with them since Dailymotion uses SDK certificates to collect and share user data.

Secure Alternatives to Google Translate

After spending almost a day to find out secure alternative to Google Translate, I found four reliable alternatives:

DeepL

DeepL is one of the best alternative to Google translate that allows you to translate 50,000 characters at once. However, if you go for its premium subscription, you can translate unlimited words at once.

Additionally, the interface is very enticing and super handy to use and also has a built-in dictionary.

Linguee

If you are looking for a Google translate alternative that can translate small phrases accurately, then Lingue must be your choice.

Moreover, Lingue also provides user contextual meaning that translates words more easy to understand.

Top Alternatives to Google Analytics

If you are running an online business or your blogging website, this is must you are using Google analytics to analyze your website traffic.

However, when it comes to privacy, Google analytics is not a right choice since it uses trackers. For this I found some great alternatives to it that you can use for analyzing your website:

Matomo

This alternative to Google analytics is the only analytics service that is certified to protect users’ privacy. Previously known as Piwik, is an open source analytics service that offers users’ anonymity and privacy.

Fathom Analytics

This is also a good alternative to Google Analytics but not as good as Matomo. You can download this open source analytics from Github.

Best Alternatives to Google Maps

For Desktop

The best Google Maps alternative for desktop users is OpenStreetMap

For Mobile Devices

For mobile device users, here are some secure alternatives to Google Maps:

OsmAnd

This map service is available on both iOS and Android that works on OpenStreetMap data. It is an open source app that is considered as a better option than Google Maps when it comes to privacy.

Maps (F Droid)

This Google Maps alternative is an open source app. The best thing about this app is that it works offline based on OpenStreetMap data.

Since you can use this app offline, it is way better in protecting your privacy as compared to Google Maps.

Maps.Me

Maps.me is a great alternative to Google Maps and available free on both iOS and Android. However, it does collect considering amount of data but way less than Google Maps.

MapHub

This MapHub is also using OpenStreetMap data to offer services to users. Moreover, it is more privacy-centric app since it does not track users’ IP addresses and location.

Alternatives to Google Play Store

Currently, the best Google Play Store alternative is to use F-Droid and then go through the Yalp store.

As explained on the official site, F-Droid is an installable catalog of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform.

After you have installed F-Droid, you can then download the Yalp store APK, which allows you to download apps from the Google Play Store directly as APK files.

You can learn more about Yalp and download it from the F-Droid website here. (See also the official GitHub page here for more info.)

Secure Alternatives to Chrome OS

Here are some secure alternatives to Chrome OS for your Chromebook and degoogle your life:

Linux

Linux is the most reliable and secure alternative to Chrome OS since it is an open source and offers a wide variety of features. You can use Linux Ubuntu on your Chromebook by doing some tweaks.

Tails

Based on Linux, this OS is a privacy-centric that routes all the traffic through the Tor network.

QubesOS

According to Edward Snowden:

“If you’re serious about security, Qubes OS is the best OS available today. It’s what I use, and free.”

You might be thinking that I do not mention the two primary OS, which is MacOS and Windows here. You believe or not these two major OS are toxic for your privacy since they share users data to mass surveillance agencies.

Best Alternatives to Android

When it comes to Android, the most prominent alternative is iOS without a doubt. However, they are still some privacy concerns for which I do not recommend it. Check out some secure alternatives to Android:

EeloOS

This underrated OS is breaking grounds to protect users privacy and greatly help you in degoogle your life. Check out the detailed interview of one of its creator here.

LineageOS

This Alternative to Android is available for mobile devices, free from Google products but based on Android.

CopperheadOS

This Alternative is no more secure to use since its infrastructure has been compromised. However, previously it was considered as privacy-centric OS and one of the best alternative to Android.

Secure Alternatives to Google DNS

Norton ConnectSafe

• Primary, secondary DNS servers: 199.85.126.10 and 199.85.127.10

Comodo Secure DNS

• Primary, secondary DNS servers: 8.26.56.26 and 8.20.247.20

Open DNS

• Primary, secondary DNS servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

Other Alternatives to Google Products

Alternatives to Google Forms: Jotform

Alternatives to Google Fonts: Font Squirrel, FontSpace and Behance

Great Alternatives to Google Voice:  JMP.chat

Best Alternatives to Google Firebase: Kuzzle and Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Top Alternatives to Google Keep: Standard Notes and Joplin

Secure Alternatives to Google Blogger: WordPress, Medium and Ghost

Will Switching to Google Alternatives is the Only Thing You Need to Protect Your Privacy?

The time has come to degoogle your life by switching to secure Google alternatives product.

I hope the demonstration through infographics above would open your eyes regarding using Google is ultra-pernicious to your privacy.

With the approach of active-passive data collection strategy, using Google products allows tech giants to track and collect your data to the maximum.

Conclusion

What if I tell you that in most of the advanced countries like USA, UK, and Australia, ISPs also trace and monitor users online activity.

And not only they just collect users’ data, but they have all the permissions to sell it to third party organizations that are part of 5, 9 and 14 eyes countries.

Moreover, they also share data to social giants such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.

So what should be the next step after degoogling your life to protect your privacy from above-mentioned threats?

Further, to protect your online privacy from ISPs and Mass Surveillance agencies is by using a VPN service.

VPN or Virtual Private Networks encrypts your data and provides you anonymity while using the internet. It also hides your IP address and location.

See my full guide regarding “What is VPN and How it works” to get in-depth understanding of this tool.

The post Alternatives to Google 2019: Ultimate Guide to Degoogle Your Life appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

And also for those who are looking for socializing and looking for a place of entertainment where you do not need to share your personal information to be a part of that mibbit chat rooms or mibbit channels.

Thanks to IRC (Internet Relay Chat) technology that allows creating a free and handy messaging app like Mibbit.

Unfortunately, this is sad that no one ever does explain about Mibbit app. This is why I am going to explain what is Mibbit and what are the advantages and disadvantages of using it.

What is Mibbit?

It is developed by Jimmy Moore based on the Ajax model. Mibbit is for web browsers chat client with the support of IRC. The first question that comes in your mind is why you need this live chat app?

Well, Mibbit is the easiest way to conduct discussions and meeting where voice communication is not possible.

If you are working in a company, where voice communication is impossible, Mibbit chat is the one.

In this kind of scenario, this client app is the best solution to conduct meetings and presentations. But there are several apps like Skype that also offers similar features like Mibbit.

So why you should use this IRC chat app? Well, doing chat on Skype requires much information to create an account before using it.

But when it comes to Mibbit, it is a most convincing app that doesn’t require detailed information to create a chat.

Even you do not need to install any software as well as for others who are part of chat and can be shared easily. To do so:

Steps

1. Go to mibbit.com, click the big “Chat now” button
2. Type in “Nick” (nickname) as your name or screen name
3. Type the channel (as in the ‘chat room’) as whatever name you want
4. Click “Go,” and you’re done. Chat then loads.
5. For whoever else you want in chat, tell them to go to mibbit.com, click “Chat now,” type in their desired name and use the same name you chose for the Mibbit channel. They will then enter the same channel you are in, and you start chatting away from that point.

This chat app is best for users who do not want to share their personal information. It does not require any login. Yes, you read it right, just type your name or nick and start using it.

Pros and Cons

What does Mibbit Chat Means?

Mibbit Chat means when you make your server to engage with people you want to communicate.

You can create your own chat room for discussions, meetings or want to chat with a large number of people who lives in different parts of the world.

What is the Mibbit Channels?

The only difference between chat rooms and Mibbit channel is that one is for short term discussion and other is for long term discussion based on the topic respectively.

To add, if you are planning to create your own channel on this IRC app, make sure to visit at least after 30 days (Using identified nick that you use while registering for it). Otherwise, it might be expired.

Best Alternatives to Mibbit

If Mibbit IRC is old school for you and you are looking for some recent IRC design app, the following list of apps would help you in finding one:

• Thunderbird
• HexChat
• mIRC
• XChat
• Irssi
• IRC Cloud
• KVIrc
• Zero Chat
• Kiwi IRC
• Chatzilla
• Qwebric
• Colloguy

Conclusion

There is no doubt there are several chat messaging apps available in the market.

But due to Mibbit’s live chat feature, it is still demanded by majority of users who wants go to messaging app to communicate up to 100 people at once.

Therefore, I hope you would find this blog helpful to use Mibbit messaging app. However, if you still find any confusion, fee to contact us by mentioning your comment below.

The post Is Mibbit Best IRC Messaging App? appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

This situation gets even worse when you do not know how to fix it. Similar to “Service Host SuperFetch” and “Windows Modules Installer Worker”, it is also effortless to fix err connection error.

Thus, In this article, I am going to explain step-by-step solutions to fix ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED error.

So without wasting any time let’s find out the solutions and reasons regarding this connection error.  

Reasons for Err_Connection_Refused Error

Usually, this kind of error happens due to the following reasons:

• Websites are restricted by antivirus software or firewall
• Internet Connection is not working
• Using un-updated software
• Extensions and network software are corrupted
• The website is getting updated
• DNS cache
• Uncleaned cookies

Why Err_Connection_Refused Error on Chrome Happen?

While browsing your favorite websites, sometimes you may receive “Err_connection_refused” error on chrome. It happens because when your internet attempt to connect the site is rejected.

Additionally, this err_connection_refused error appears in Google Chrome with the error code 102. However, this error doe not only happens on Chrome browser but also occurs on other browsers too.

Firefox users also may face this issue if a connection to the target website is unavailable. You can face this error with the following names:

• err_connection_refused
• Err_connection_refused error on chrome
• net::err_connection_refused
• failed to load resource: net::err_connection_refused
• err_connection_refused localhost

The best way to explain this connection error is a client-side issue, which occurs due to flaws in the firewall, browser settings, system, faulty internet connection settings or malware.

Due to a website update in process, this error also happens in some cases. However, this error occurs depends on the operating system you are using.

This connection error appears in the following OS:

• Windows 10
• Mac
• Android (only appears who use Google Chrome)

How to Fix Err_Connection_Refused Error

The best thing regarding “ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED” error is that it always causes due to technical issue from the client side or any network misconfiguration.

It means that you did anything wrong while updating your system that affects the network settings. Moreover, in this way, you can solve this issue on your own.

But there is a catch regarding there could be various reasons for which Err_connection_refused error causes. Also, the browser is also unable to tell what is the main reason for causing this connection error.

This is why you need to try several methods one by one until the error gets fixed and you can access your website without any hassle. So let’s find out the best solution that can fix Err_connection_refused error:

1-  Analyze The Website Status

The first thing before getting into the major solutions, check whether Err_connection_refused error is not caused by the contacted web server.

Even if you are assuming that this will not be the reason of connection error, I would recommend you to check if the website you are willing to open is offline and Chrome showing 102 error or not.

To test it, you have two ways of analyzing the website status:

• If the website you are trying to open shows the connection error, try to access other sites. If other websites open without err_connection_refused error, this means your desired page is the actual problem of causing a connection
• The second way to check is by using the tool “Down for Everyone Or just me.” This web tool will provide you overall result regarding whether your desire website is down or not. You can check it by typing the web address in the non-functioning section and click “or just me?”

If your target website is working fine according to the tool mentioned above then try to reboot your router to fix this error.

2-  Reboot Your Router

Rebooting router is one of the most common solutions to fix error related to internet connections. However chances of fixing err_connection_refused are very low, but in some cases, it succeeds to solve it.

And since restarting router does not take hours, it is just a matter for a few minutes. To do so, just unplug the router from the power supply for at least 30 seconds and plug it again.

3-  Clean Browser Cache

For the sake of so-called personalization features, Google Chrome collects many data in the cache. The data collect by Chrome includes, visited domains, static content, domains, and it goes on!

These data cache becomes one of the reasons for err_connection_refused error because they get outdated.

Moreover, due to no longer match between the target site and data cache, your browser shows connection error. To resolve this issue in Chrome is by cleaning the browser cache.

There are two ways to clear the browser cache in chrome. To do so:

Method 1: First open the Chrome browser > Now click on the “three dots” icon on the top right corner of the screen > the menu bar will appear on the screen > select “More tools” option > now select “delete browser data” and wait for the process.

Method 2: In the address bar type   “chrome://settings/clearBrowserData” > it will direct you to clear browser cache option.

In both scenarios, you can directly to clean browser cache option. After clearing on the clear browser data > select “All Time” data from Time range slot and put a check on all the mentioned below options > now click on “clear data” option and wait for the process.

4-  Recheck Your Proxy Settings

Online privacy is one of the most crucial aspects since our world is now becoming data-driven society. Therefore, to maintain online privacy, users use a different kind of security tools to protect their data.

Moreover, the recent incidents of online privacy invasions increase the use of VPN software that uses private servers to encrypt your online data by using a high level of encryption standards and protocols.

Due to using private servers through VPN, sometimes it causes a problem that causes a problem in the proxy. And this leads to “err_connection_refused” error to appear on your device screen while browsing.

If you receive a message like the Chrome 102 error, it is recommended to check your own proxy settings and delete registered servers in case of doubt.

For this purpose, Chrome even has its own entry in the browser options, which saves you having to search for the corresponding menu in your system settings.

To do so, open the Chromes settings by entering the “Chrome://settings/” in the search bar > now from the list of options select “advanced” option > list of options will appear on the screen, now select “System” > click on “Open Proxy Settings” and check whether your connection is working fine or not.

For Windows users, Windows users then click on “LAN settings” and uncheck (if necessary) “use a proxy server for LAN.”

Mac users immediately land in the appropriate menu and only have to uncheck all selectable proxy protocols.

5-  Disable Firewall and Antivirus

Firewalls and antivirus are also caused “Err_connection_refused” error to protect your system from malicious malware and viruses. You might use anti malware software like Malwarebytes. Make sure you have read that Malwarebytes is safe to use on your PC or Mac.

However, sometimes this security software unblocks websites without any justifiable reason. Therefore, it creates a problem to establish a connection between your server and site.

So to check whether the err connection problem occurs due to firewall or antivirus, disable them temporarily.

If the connection problem resolves after disabling firewall and antivirus from your device, then look for the appropriate changes that will solve the connection issue.

Moreover, also do not need to compromise on your system’s security at the same time. Or switch to other security tools that are compatible with your internet connection.

6-  Clear DNS Cache

I am little concern about the information regarding that your device also collects data related to your browsing behavior.

Similar to browser cache, a DNS cache collects all your browsing history and online activities to upload those websites, which you use on a regular basis.

This DNS cache makes the process speedy by eliminating the need to contact a DNS server repeatedly.

However, this process is not fruitful in every case. Like for example if any query no longer matches the recent version of the site, it creates the connection problem like ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED ERROR.

So, to resolve this issue just clean DNS cache of your device. For Windows users, to do so:

Open the command prompt > Now in the command prompt type “ipconfig/flushdns” and press enter key.

Err_Connection_Refused Error: FAQ’s

What does it mean when a connection is refused?

Connection refused happens when the port you are trying to connect is not open. It means that you are trying to connect with a wrong IP address, wrong port or maybe the server is receiving signals on the wrong port, or it is not working.

How do I fix Err_connection_refused?

By following the solution mentioned above, you can fix err_connection_refused error on your device.

What does Err_connection_reset mean?

Err_connection_reset is similar to Err_connection_refused error that generally occurs when the website you are looking for fail to create a connection with the desired site.

This error usually happens by making changes in network settings, registry or tcpip.

What is Net :: Err_connection_refused?

It is a form of ERR_CONNECTION_ERROR that occusr in Google Chrome when your internet fails to connect with the server. This error can occur due to problems in the browser or due to network issues.

Conclusion:

Err_Connection_Refused is the usual connection error due to several reasons, which are mentioned below. I hope you would find this guide helpful to fix err connection issue.

Let me know if this guide assists you in resolving to err connection error on your device by posting your comment with “Yes.”

If you still have any confusion, let me know by mentioning your query in the comment section below.

The post How to Fix Err_Connection_Refused Error on Chrome: Ultimate Guide appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

When it comes to the protection of online data, I put my all to protect you from dark online entities.

I provide you a world that is free from cyberstalkers, online abusers and child abusers. I have all the right to say that I am the only cure for all the online world disease that might turn your life in a nightmare.

You search for me on google with “Best VPN services,” “Top 10 VPN”, “Best VPN for Android,” “Best VPN for iPhone”, “Best VPN for Firestick”, “Best VPN for Kodi”, “Best VPN for Mac”, “Best VPN for Netflix”, “Best VPN for Torrenting”, “Best VPN for Windows” and the list goes on.

Unfortunately, no one ever does appreciate me that why the hell I am created? There are millions of blogs and videos available on me.

But sadly, none of them ever explained my phenomenon of how my protocols work.

Most of them failed to elaborate how I can provide connectivity of private network over the public network by using the ability of tunneling.

To add it is heart wrenching no one ever try to explain how I can provide tunneling feature. And no one ever does ask my opinion that if I want to be operated from 5 eyes, 9 eyes and 15 eyes countries.

As a provider of these secure private networking, I believe my users should know how I protect them.

I Am a VPN: Here are the Things You Should Know About Me

With the unending war against online security breaches and threats, majority of people need VPN services.

So what is the best way to explain me? Well, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a superhero in the form of a tool that ensures your online privacy and internet freedom.

Although since the population of the world grows exponentially, you can find me with hundreds of different labels and brands. However, a best VPN service should possess the following abilities:

• Just like Superman, a good VPN service should appear anywhere globally by switching your IP address and location with the help of its servers.
• It should have the ability like Juggernaut to protect your online data with the help of encrypting your internet traffic that makes it unreadable for online hackers, ISP, or surveillance agencies.
• Like a Knight, it should secure and protect your devices from cyber-attacks and risk of public Wi-Fi networks.
• Provide you geo-restricted content no matter at what location you are in the world.

Apart from providing protection and security, a best VPN service should possess the ability to serve censorship or restricted content and blocked domains.

Countries like China, North America, and the UK, a massive amount of people praises my existence for getting a secure, private and unblocked online experience.

Who Am I – What is a VPN

Some of you might know me with the name of Virtual Private Network.In the world full of deadly online privacy incidents; I am the one, which allows you to access the internet with privacy.

And also with the power of unblocking geo-restrictions, you can get the content which is blocked on your location.

In this biography, I am going to share with you following terms that are associated with me:

VPN client

This ability of mine appears in the form of software or app that connects your device to a VPN service. Most of you know this term as a VPN app.

VPN Protocol

This is a kind of technique of mine makes your device able to create a secured connection to a VPN server.

VPN Server

It is a server of mine with a single close point in a VPN network to which you can encrypt your internet traffic.

VPN Service

This term can be explained as overall me as an entity that assists you to use my VPN network. Offer in the form of VPN provider or VPN service such as Surf Shark, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, etc.

How I Work – How VPN Works

A VPN can produce an encrypted connection between your device and a VPN server. Like for example think of connection, which encrypted that work as a secure tunnel.

Now with the help of this protected tunnel, you can access everything on the internet while showing your location of the server other than the original one you connected to.

In this way with the help of my superpower abilities, it gives you maximum level of online anonymity. Provides you giant walls of security that gives you the freedom to access the internet.

How would be the Online World without VPN

The online world without a VPN would be full of anarchy. Everything thing you do on internet will be traceable by the Jokers and Lex Luthors of online world.

Cyber thieves can track or monitor you through your device’s IP address. In short, there is no way to hide your online activity from dark online entities if VPN does not exist.

Since every device that you use for internet such as desktop, smartphone, and tablet, all have a unique IP address.

However, by using a VPN, you can get anonymous in seconds by hiding your real location and IP address. And you do not have to be a worry to find the best version of me since I am also advanced with the time.

Therefore, there are large numbers of VPN providers that maintain servers globally. In this way, you can get a large number of connections and use the internet safely and securely.

Although for this you need first to download and subscribe me on your device, then you can instantly connect to any of the available VPN servers globally.

Yes, that is how I work and provide you ultimate protection while you are browsing online. But why do I exist? What is the reason behind the birth of online world hero like me?

Reasons for My Existence – Why You Need a VPN

Thanks to Gurdeep Singh Pall who sets the pillars of my existence by inventing a peer to peer tunneling protocol or PPTP.

One in four people use a VPN due to following reasons:

• With VPN, you can browse internet anonymously by hiding your location and IP address.
• With Me, you can do online surfing carefree since I am the one who provides you an additional layer of protection by encrypting your internet connection.
• Just Like Batman, I can eliminate third parties, ISP, spy, and government agencies from tracking your online activities.
• With my assistance, you can unblock geo-restricted websites and content.
• You can stream and download content from most disputed media sites such as Torrent, Kodi and P2P download safely and securely.
• With my super bypassing abilities, you can see censor content by preventing regional restrictions.
• With me, you can avail huge discounts on flights by changing your IP address and location.
• Just like Green Lantern, I can protect you from dark online entities (hackers and cyberstalkers) anywhere and anytime-especially while using public Wi-Fi during traveling.
• With me, no one can ever find your financial information, credentials and personal information online.

Since I am the one, who gives my users online privacy and freedom, but this thing is bothering many organizations and spying agencies because I am interfering with attaining their objective to collect your data.

Online tycoons and government agencies, with their high power of spreading a chaos about my safety and legality. But here I have an answer to it.

Am I Safe to Use – Are VPNs Safe

Using VPN safely depends on for what purpose you are using it and which VPN provider you are using. But generally, I am safe to use if you are availing best quality VPN service.

However, it is a headache to identify the best VPN provider since they are hundreds of VPN brands. Even more than that if, you consider free VPN providers too.

But keep this in mind most of the Free VPN providers that are available in the Google Play Store and App Store is full of glitches, bugs and malware that are vulnerable for your online privacy and security.

Therefore, free VPN providers are those who can fool you by creating cheap clone version of mine and horrendous for maintaining for your online privacy.

These are the following reasons due to which I will not suggest you to use my free VPN version:

• They offer your data to third parties.
• Most of them contain malware, and this is very normal with Free VPN providers.
• They can make you fool by stealing your financial credentials and information.
• Traffic leaks are a routine of Free VPN providers such as DNS leaks and IP leaks.
• By providing you-so called privacy, these Free VPN steal your bandwidth and can do browsing hijacking too.
• Most of the famous Free VPN providers set hidden tracking process to collect your data.

According to research, around 84% of free VPN providers on Android leak users’ data.

However, it is a fact that is even knowing the reality of these so-called free VPN; most people use for the sake of saving a tiny amount of money.

Not only Free VPN providers are fraud, but also look out for paid fake reviews and lifetime subscription deals.

In short, even some paid version of mine is not powerful enough to secure you online. So this is clear that high-quality VPN is entirely safe but not every VPN services safe to use at all.

Am I Legal to Use – Is VPN Legal?

Always one thing you should keep in mind that the use of VPN is legal when it comes to your online privacy. Even for the corporate sectors and security usage for different institutes.

And this is a kind of fact that never be change anytime soon. If you live in a democratic region, you have all the right to use me to maintain your online security.

However, they are still multiple countries especially in Middle East such as China and Saudi Arabia where the use of VPN is ban.

But to understand this VPN restriction issue especially in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia is due to restriction on using social platforms and things like Porn-streaming.

Although after all these restrictions in these countries, they cannot deny the existence of a VPN to protect online privacy rather than using it to bypass restricted government websites.

The same case goes with Russia and China. The Chinese government uses “Great Firewall” to block me and websites that offer ways to get access to some of the Best VPN providers.

After all these restrictions they are still some VPN providers who are helping people in China to protect their Online privacy such as VyprVPN, NordVPN, PureVPN, and ExpressVPN.

To add, the parameters of VPN legality changes when it comes to for which purpose you are using it.

Like, suppose a VPN as Jason Tod (Robbin). He protects people of Gotham by battling against one of the most deadly villains of the DC universe.

However, when Joker turns him into Red Hood, he becomes a powerful enemy of Batman and harms people of Gotham.

The same scenario goes with use of a VPN. Using of VPN for online privacy and security purpose is legal to use.

Even for the enterprises, businesses, banks and data centers who deal with confidential data have all the rights to use VPN.

But at the same time, if you use VPN to unblock the content that is restricted by the government or to spread violence by downloading inhuman content and spread it, it is totally illegal to use.

How You Can Setup Me To Protect Your Online Privacy? How to Setup a VPN?

There is no exact guideline to set up a VPN since it varies for different devices and also depends on the VPN provider you are using.

But when it comes to best VPN providers in the industry, most of them offer simple setup process for all types of devices and operating systems.

Here is the example of a standard process to set up a VPN:

• First, select look for best VPN service according to your location and subscribe for it.
• After purchasing it, download its app according to the device and OS you are using.
• Once the VPN app installed on your device > Open it and login with credentials you get at the time of subscription.
• Now select the server you want to connect and wait for the connection
• After the connection process is complete, use internet with a secure and safe manner

Note: In Operating Systems such as iOS, Android, MacOS, and Windows, you can also configure me by using built-in VPN capabilities on your device.

These OS use IPSec/IKEv2 or IPSec/L2TP protocols, rather than OpenVPN, which requires the use of apps.

All you need to download the VPN configuration setup files from your VPN provider if you really want to use this route.

Although the best way to use my services is through a VPN provider app or client since it gives all the features and unbreakable security.

Why is VPN Most Demanded Super Hero for Online Privacy Nowadays?

While reading this blog, out of thousands of questions running in your mind, there is a high probability that one question keeps hitting you regarding “Why VPN is necessary for online privacy?”

Before answering this question, I want you to know that the best version of mine (VPN) should be able to provide both security and privacy.

Since the world is advancing and majority of things are now connected with internet, online privacy is a need of every citizen.

Let me tell you that without me, your government and ISP can track and collect your data. From browsing websites, comments on social media to your online shopping history and the list go on.

In the world where data is fuel to run businesses and to control citizens, many countries give instructions to internet providers to keep a log of users’ online data.

And if you really want to online privacy, I am the one (Best VPN Provider) who is the only complete solution for it.

With my abilities, an ISP can only track that you are online with the help of a VPN server. Since your all online activities are encrypted and secured by me, makes entirely unreadable to third parties.

Moreover, for the encryption power of mine, all credit goes to Ancient Greeks and Roman who gave the idea of this super useful idea.

With a VPN, using Public Wi-Fi is entirely secure to use. Hackers can easily steal using Public Wi-Fi networks without a VPN leads to a risky situation since your data.

The data includes your personal information, financial credentials, passwords, etc. I guess now its time to praise my efforts to keep you protected from the online monsters.

Will I Make You Completely Anonymous All Alone? – Is VPN Capable of Making You Entirely Anonymous Online?

Just like Batman who needs the assistance of Robbin and Catwoman to save the people of Gotham, only using VPN does not make you 100% anonymous while you are online.

In short, it does not matter how efficient VPN service you are using; it will not give you 100% anonymity.

Since we cannot deny the fact that mass surveillance agencies like NSA are much powerful to break into our online data, it is nearly impossible to sustain 100% online anonymity by using just a VPN.

However, it is not impossible to attain 100% anonymity. By following some necessary steps, you can increase your anonymity to the maximum. Here is how:

• Use secure browsers for browsing on the internet. There is no doubt that most renowned organizations browsers are the most prominent data thieves.
• The primary objective of collecting your data is to retarget with ads of those that you are interested in. Use reliable ad blocker to increase your online privacy with a VPN.

One more thing that most of the beginners ask regarding when it comes to how to use the VPN service in right way. By missing some basic things could lead you into danger.

Like for example:

To avoid this kind of situation when torrenting with VPN, you should turn on the VPN connection first before starting the Torrent app.

You should turn on the internet kill switch set so that if the VPN disconnects your internet will shut off and you will not leak your information.

Also, use p2p servers. You can check ipleak.net to see if you are really secure. Once you are done torrenting turn off the torrent app first, then the VPN app.

I have not received any notices while Torrenting likes this. Your internet service provider could detect you by the websites you visit and the download traffic from the Torrent app.

How VPN Encrypts Your Data and What is VPN Protocol

In a world where 100’s of a different version of mine available in the form of VPN providers, they provide multiple different VPN protocols via their client/app.

But what exactly VPN protocols are for? In simple words, VPN Protocol is a mechanism to create an encrypted and secure connection between the VPN server and your device for the transmission of data.

Here is the information regarding most popular VPN protocols nowadays:

PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol)

PPTP is the first ever tunneling protocol and play a vital role in the creation of a VPN. It is the oldest VPN protocol that is built in on popular operating systems.

However, since hackers and surveillance agencies are getting more advanced, PPTP is no longer consider as a safe protocol to maintain online privacy due to serious security vulnerabilities.

L2TP/IPSec (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol with Internet Protocol Security)

L2TP/IPSec is not the best but good choice. But without any doubt, it is way more secure than PPTP. The major issue with this VPN protocol that it does not always offer best performance in term of speed.

And this happens because of data packets are double-encapsulated. L2TP are commonly used with smart or mobile devices and also comes built-in on several OS.

OpenVPN

OpenVPN protocol is the most advanced and secure so far. This protocol can be used on all type of devices.

Since OpenVPN is an open source platform, specially develop for several types of authentication methods.

This VPN protocol has a versatile nature that can be useful for different types of devices. Moreover, it is full of amazing features and support of any port with TCP or UDP perform exceptionally well.

It also provides unbreakable encryption by using TLS protocols and the OpenSSL library.

IKEv2/IPSec (Internet Protocol Security with Internet Key Exchange)

IKEv2/IPSec version 2 is a fast and secure VPN protocol. It is automatically pre-configured in many operating systems, such as Windows, Mac OS, and iOS.

It works very well for re-establishing a connection, especially with mobile devices. The one downside is that IKEv2 was developed by Cisco and Microsoft and is not an open-source project, like OpenVPN.

IKEv2/IPSec is an excellent choice for mobile users who want a fast, light-weight VPN that is secure and can quickly reconnect if the connection is temporarily lost.

SSH (Secure Shell)

Secure Shell or SSH creates the VPN tunnel through which the data transfer happens and also ensures that the tunnel is encrypted.

SSH connections are created by an SSH client and data is transferred from a local port on to the remote server through the encrypted tunnel.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) & TLS (Transport Layer Security)

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) create a VPN connection where the web browser acts as the client, and user access is restricted to specific applications instead of the entire network.

Online shopping websites and service providers most commonly use SSL and TLS protocol.

Web browsers switch to SSL with ease and with almost no action required from the user, since web browsers come integrated with SSL and TLS.

SSL connections have https at the beginning of the URL instead of HTTP.

WireGuard

WireGuard is a newbie in the VPN protocol family that has the objective to offer more efficient security and performance in comparison with existing ones.

Although it still not comes in the execution process since it is in development and auditing process. Very few VPN providers are testing it.

One thing you should keep in your mind that each VPN has its advantages and disadvantages from all of the above-mentioned VPN protocols.

OpenVPN is the most widely accepted and recommended VPN protocol since its secure and offers excellent performance. Moreover, the best thing about Open VPN is that it is an open source platform.

But when it comes to your VPN provider, it gives you options to select the protocol you want to use. However, if you are using a VPN on your mobile devices, you might have limited VPN protocols.

Specifically with iOS devices that use IKEv2/IPSec only. However, the best option so far when it comes to VPN protocol is OpenVPN where there are different protocols are available.

How VPN use Encryption to Secure Your Online Privacy

Since I am the only one who can secure your online privacy, I use the most reliable encryption. Most of the best providers of VPN use AES (Advanced Encryption Standards).

There are two main AES standards mostly use by VPN providers are the 128-bit and 256-bit key length.

And most of the VPN providers use 256-bit encryption but guess what 128-bit is more secure and well structure, even with quantum computing.

It means having high values does not says it is always more secure from the lower one. The major drawbacks of 256-bit AES are taken high battery usage and perform slower than 128-bit AES.

Apart from AES encryption standards, some VPN providers offers other encryption standards. Like for example Camelia and Blowfish, which are very rare to find.

What Kind of User Information Logs Should not Possess by Best VPN Service

(Source: Thebestvpn.com)

This should be the most notable criteria that should be taken into consideration while choosing a VPN.

Before explaining what kind of information log should not possess by Best VPN service, in simple words there two different main types of VPN logs:

Personal Identifiable Information Logs

Personal identifiable information logs mean everything you do online including your IP addresses, location, time in and time out, browsing history, meta data and the list goes on.

This kind of information mostly maintained by free VPN providers, but it vanishes the meaning of using a VPN service.

Moreover, the paid VPN services do not keep logs of personal identifiable information. Most of them keep non-personal identifiable information.

Non-Personal Identifiable Information logs

Also known as connection logs that includes time, date, connection data and in very rare scenario IP addresses too.

This kind of information logs is maintain to resolve connectivity bugs, issues with the servers and to provide a secure connection to you.

It means keeping this kind of data is good since it ensures that your information is secure regularly. And in case of any loopholes, it can be resolved on an immediate basis.

No Logs

There are massive amounts of VPN providers who claim to follow “No logs” policy. However, in reality, there are few of them that neither keeps personal identifiable nor non-personal identifiable information.

So what kind of User Information Logs Should not Possess by Best VPN Service? Well, the best VPN service should not possess personal identifiable information at all.

However, as I mention above that collecting non-identifiable personal information log is good to keep by VPN providers since it helps to maintain the service efficiently and fix bugs on an immediate basis.

Sadly, there is still some VPN provider who claims to be “No logs” policy in their pros and cons sections. Moreover, also use it to promote their brands to be the best VPN providers in the world.

But most of them falsely claim that they follow no logs policy. So it is necessary to keep these logs types in mind when choosing a VPN service.

The Best Way to Get My Fast Speed and Performance

There are several things to keep in your mind to get the best speed and performance while using a VPN.

The first thing that most of the users do not bother to care about is to connect with the closest server to your location to get speedy performance while using a VPN.

Like for example if you are located in Germany and you are looking to unblock the content, which available in Canada, you should choose a server of Alberta instead of Ontario or Toronto.

Moreover, the sign of best VPN service is that it does not lose its speed when it is connected to VPN server. Although there a large variety of cheap VPN services available in the market that significantly suffer their speed.

This is because of poor distribution servers among its users. Here are some useful tips to get maximum performance and speed while using VPN:

• Always use a paid and reliable VPN service. For this check out the VPN reviews on top-notch sites and also read users reviews too.
• If possible connect to the nearest server available from your location.
• If the above two option fails to improve your VPN performance, try to change the VPN protocols.

Note: Remember that the performance of VPN also depends on the device you are using, your internet connection and your internet provider throttling connections.

Am I The One Who Can Unblock Streaming Content For You?

Apart from getting your online privacy secure through VPN, it is highly in demand to stream unblock content globally.

Nowadays there is a lot of content available on the internet, which is geo-restricted to some specific locations, regions or countries.

And this is a painful situation for millions of users who love to binge content from other regions. For this, a VPN offers the tunnel feature to use any VPN server location globally.

It means with the help of VPN you can see all the restricted you want by using a VPN server of that location.

Like for example if I want to see a movie that is only available on US Netflix, with the help of VPN, you can choose a US server, and it automatically unblocks the US Netflix content in seconds.

Most of the popular uses of VPN to unblock content are:

• How to stream Kodi via VPN
• To stream Netflix Content (such as US Netflix) through VPN
• How to stream BBC iPlayer outside UK through VPN
• How to stream Amazon Through VPN
• To Watch Hulu Through VPN

There is a massive amount of users who avail VPN services to unblock streaming sites. And channels that are geo-restricted at their location.

Why I am not Comfortable in 5, 9, 14 Eyes Countries

Think logically, VPN providers that are located in mass surveillance countries, are they really protecting your online privacy? The answer is straight no.

5, 9, 14 eyes countries and its cooperative allies are not the suitable place for any VPN provider to operate from there.

It simple words if any VPN provider operating from these “Eyes” countries make my existence meaningless.

These mass surveillance countries are always invading your online privacy. This is why you should only go for VPN providers that are not located in these mass surveillance countries.

For this, here is the information of 187 VPN providers regarding from where they are locating. And if your VPN provider keep logs or not.

So, if your VPN provider does keep logs, you can switch to secure alternative on immediate basis. And regain your online privacy:

(Source: BestVPN.co)

Conclusion

After reading this detail blog, I hope you would now understand the utmost need of VPN to maintain your online privacy.

And how VPN works by using different data encrypting process, protocols, private servers and the other data protecting mechanisms.

Since the mass surveillance countries and agencies are getting so aggressive to collect users data. The demand of VPN in future will be all time high.

However, there is a catch that the demand for VPN increases for not so right reasons.

There are three main reasons for VPN demand. Which are mass surveillance alliances collaboration with private organizations, social media tracking and online censorship.

In past few years, most of the countries are banning or restricted domains that also leads to attain the objective of destroying the net neutrality by government agencies.

In this way, they will get more control on users’ and make their puppet.

It means they will get all the control; you see what they want you to see. You buy online things what they want you to buy and much more.

And this has been in process for a long time (programs like XKeyscore is one of the biggest example that spy on you for years).

So, going online without using a VPN really leaves your online activities exposed to dark online entities.

People Also Ask For (FAQ’s)

What is VPN and Why do I Need It?

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Do I Need a VPN at Home?

How Do I Get a VPN

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Is VPN really necessary?

Do VPN really work?

Can the government track a VPN?

Can a VPN really protect you?

What is the best VPN?

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How do I stop my VPN from disconnecting?

What happens when VPN disconnects?

The post My Name is VPN & I am The Unsung Hero of Your Online Privacy (What is a VPN?) appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

And another reason of losing online privacy is due to the habit of not reading the privacy policy and transparency report (if provided) of the apps you are using.

On the other hand, we all are dependent on the apps since it makes our life more comfortable.

Just like services like Dropbox app, one of the biggest file and data sharing and cloud storage solutions.

But due to increasing cyberstalking and hacking incidents, two questions come into my mind which are:

• Is Dropbox safe to use?
• Is Dropbox secure platform to share your confidential files and data?

For this, apart from usual security measures to review an app, I will consider two significant parameters to identify whether “Is Dropbox safe and secure to use?”. The two principal parameters are:

• The privacy policy of Dropbox (what kind of users information and data it collects to use its services)
• Transparency report (upon request does Dropbox provide users data to 5, 9 and 14 eyes countries)

For this I spend all most 48 work hours to figure it out is Dropbox secure and safe to use or not.

Unlike usual apps review, Onlineprivacytips.co go one step further to offer a complete report on app safety and security.

What is Dropbox and is it safe?

Dropbox is a cloud base file sharing app, and how secure this app is, depends on the way you use it.

The first safety concern regarding this file sharing app is that it requires id and password to use it.

The concern is not really about creating an account, but it links your account with other accounts.

So in case of any of those accounts hacked, since it’s a cloud base system, it eventually deletes your data and copies it and save it into someone’s system.

And this is where even you have set a strong password for your Dropbox account. But there are still some major drawbacks of Dropbox that you should consider before using it.

Dropbox app might look very simple to use for most users, but they do not about what kind of security to your data it provides.

This is why it is really important to find out how Dropbox works:

How Dropbox Transfer Your Files

One of the major concern regarding “Is Dropbox safe and secure to use” is how it process to transfer users data.

This thing cannot forgo that cyber thieves can detect data over a network and use it to harass you.

And it is way easier to steal your data that transmits over a public network.

Dropbox service uses multiple protection layers in the process of transmitting data. It uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)/TLS (Transport Layer Security).

This layer of protection encrypts data and transfer between Dropbox servers and applications.

This layer of protection creates a secure tunnel based on 128-bit AES encryption that is nearly impossible for hackers to decrypt the data over the network.

How Dropbox Safes your Data Which is Already on its Servers?

Files during transfer get SSL/TLS security over the Dropbox server. However how Dropbox safe your files data which is already available on its servers?

Well, the files that are already on Dropbox cloud servers are secured by 256-bit Advance or military grade encryption.

This means there is no way that data hackers can access your files, which are available on Dropbox servers.

256-bit AES level encryption is the most secure way to encrypt your data since it uses hard to break algorithms and only a secret key decrypt the files in the server.

After what I reveal here, it seems like technically using Dropbox is entirely safe and secure to use. But in reality, it is not.

Online privacy is not depended only on the elements of security used by the app to offer its services.

But also depends on the way it collects your data and upon request of mass data surveillance countries whether it provides your data or not

Privacy policy and transparency report also reveal some significant security concerns that will greatly help users whether the app is safe and secure to use or not.

Unfortunately, most of the users do not bother to read privacy and transparency policy of the app we are using, and in the result, we end up with being compromised our personal data.

Dropbox Transparency Report That they Share Your with Data Surveillance Countries

Offering transparency by the app that provides service like Dropbox is phenomenal. However, this is also true that Dropbox is registered in the US and is subject to deliver users data according to the PATRIOT Act.

This means that if US agencies demand your data and files, Dropbox will oblige to provide it regardless of you want to share it or not.

This means apart of using one of the most secure tunnels and encryption tool to protect your data; your data is still not safe and secure at all.

As per the mentioned below graph that is a part of Dropbox Transparency report, the increasing requests by government agencies and mass surveillance alliances is another massive evidence of that your not data is not safe and secure on Dropbox servers.

One more thing that concerns regarding “is Dropbox secure to use” is that it is located in the US that is a part of 5, 9, 14 eyes countries.

This is something that cannot be avoided when there is a question regarding Dropbox safety and security.

The objective of securely transfer your files and stores on Dropbox entirely vanishes since your data can be share to mass data surveillance countries.

This is why Edward Snowden called Dropbox service “Hostile to Privacy”:

“We’re talking about encryption,” Snowden said during a remote interview for the New Yorker Festival in 2014. “We’re talking about dropping programs that are hostile to privacy.

For example, Dropbox? Get rid of Dropbox; it doesn’t support encryption; it doesn’t protect your private files.”

Dropbox Privacy Policy

If you are still not satisfied with the evidence that concludes that using Dropbox is neither safe nor secure.

Following are some privacy policy aspects that will help you to understand why I am not in favor of using it.

Before revealing what kind of data Dropbox collects and share with whom, another reason for discussing privacy policy here is to create awareness regarding how important it is to read it before using any app.

What Kind of Data and Information Collected by Dropbox Service

According to Dropbox privacy policy, following kind of data and information is start collecting by the app once you sign in with its service:

(Source: Dropbox Privacy Policy)

They also assure that they share data with a third party app for the sake of so-called analyzing how user use their app and help to improve it and even use your data for marketing purposes:

(Source: Dropbox Privacy Policy)

Breaches and Scandals of Dropbox

When it comes to users data privacy, Dropbox does not contain any outstanding reputation. However it is true that the majority of data breaches happen due to users nonserious attitudes.

But they are a couple of past breaches and scandals that shows Dropbox is not that secure to use:

• This is something usual by Dropbox of molding privacy policy to get all the control to use or share user data. However, the primary objective of using Dropbox is data safety and security.
• There was a notable glitch in Dropbox desktop device that deletes users files instead of copying
• There is another major bug in Dropbox app, discovered by IntraLinks that includes exploitation of users privacy and private data links. However, Dropbox officials continuously claim that it is not a bug.
• Here, it should also be noted that an incident that made headlines when hackers threatened to have 7 million passwords held ransom has been proven to be false. It has since come out that most of those passwords were expired and not from Dropbox.

Dropbox Reviews

Here are some users’ reviews that will help to understand “Is Dropbox secure to use or not”:

This guy on Quora explains even the Dropbox seems like secure to use, but in reality, there is no privacy since Dropbox engineers can see your data whenever they want:

Another guy explains why Dropbox is not safe to save your personal data:

On sub-Reddit where one user asks regarding storing your personal images on Dropbox is safe or not. Surprisingly, one guy gives him a suggestion on how to use it securely instead of not using it:

Conclusion – Is Dropbox Safe and Secure to Use?

Without a doubt, Dropbox is one of the popular cloud base sharing and storing platform in the industry. However, this data sharing service is far away from providing safety and security to users’ data.

Furthermore, since Dropbox uses cloud base system, you have to heavily dependent on other users using habits.

Think logically would you trust your relatives or friends when it comes to secure your personal data? Oh well, you do not.

This is because studies show that 95 percent of major data breaches occur because of mistakes we humans make. And no amount of training or caution will prevent every last slip up.

Additionally, the organization who owns Dropbox is located in the US. Which is a part of 5, 9, 14 Eyes countries.

After all the evidence and vulnerabilities I mention in this blog regarding “is Dropbox safe?”, the answer is no.

This review shows it does not how old you are in the industry; it does not mean that you are providing safe and secure services. However, in the end, the decision is yours whether to use it or not.

Let me know after reading this review; it will change your mind to use a secure alternative to Dropbox? Alternatively, will you still stick with it? Let me know by sharing your comments below.

The post Is Dropbox Safe? Does It Share Users Data with 5, 9,14 Eyes!! appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.

If you are sensing that your Windows device is getting slower without any reason, it may be because of Windows Modules Installer Worker high CPU usage.

But there is no need to be panic because it is a standard Windows problem similar to Service Host Superfetch. And just like superfetch there are ways to fix it.

In this article, I will provide you detail explanation and solutions regarding “tiworker.exe Windows Modules Installer.” So without wasting anytime, let’s see how to fix this issue in Windows 10.

What is Windows Modules Installer Worker?

According to Wikipedia, Windows Modules Installer Worker Windows 10 is a tool and API (Application Programming Interface) with the primary objective of looking for updates, maintenance and fix bugs.

In simple words, in Windows 10 has the feature to install updates through Windows Update. Thus the process of updates and fixing bugs perform by Windows Modules Installer Worker.

But this process sometimes takes the high disk to look for updates. Therefore, due to availing high percentage of CPU resource, your system becomes unresponsive.

In this way your system getting a choke or entirely unresponsive. However, this Windows Modules Worker High CPU problem has a fix.

Why Windows Modules Installer Worker Windows 10 Using High CPU Resource?

Unfortunately, Windows Modules Installer Worker is one of those features of Windows that take usually take high CPU resource.

It means it’s a part of a process that meant to take High CPU resource since it is responsible for updates and bug fixes.

But there is good news for you to regain your system ultimate performance by turning it off. By turning off to look for updates automatically, you can get rid of slow issues.

Although, you can manage it since without regular updates you might face problems in running apps.

Therefore, when you do not want to use the system for gaming or using heavy apps, you can look for updates manually despite using automatic option that takes high disk usage in Windows 10.

There are several ways to fix this problem although you do not need to use all of them to fix Windows Modules issue.

If the first method successfully fixes this Modules issue, you do not follow other mentioned methods. However, if it does not, then try different ways until you find a solution for Modules Installer.

How to Fix Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU

If you follow these methods step by step you can efficiently resolve Windows Modules Installer Worker high CPU issues:

Also, tell me whether this blog is helpful for you or not by posting “Yes” or “No” in the comment section. And if you have any query other than it, you can also post a comment; I would love to hear from you.

Change Windows Updates from Automatic to Manual

It is one of the easiest methods to fix Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU by changing Windows updates from automatic to manual. To do so:

1. First, open your system > now press “Windows Key” + R > the “Run” box will appear.
2. Now in the Run box type “services.MCS” and click on “”
3. A new list of menu “Services Local” will appear on the screen > Now search for “Windows Modules Installer” and click on it
   
4. A new pop-up will appear on the screen > search for “Startup Type” > Change it from “Automatic” to “Manual” and Click “”
   
5. Now go to “Services (Local)” again > search for “Windows Update” and change it from “Automatic” to “Manual”
   
6. Now go to Control Panel and search for “Windows Update”
7. Double click on “Windows Update” option > a new window will appear on the screen > go to “change settings” option and click on it.
8. From the list of change settings option select “Check for the update but let me choose whether to download and install them” > Click OK and close all the windows.
9. The last step is to restart your Windows device, and it will automatically set updates to manual. Thus, you will not experience the “Windows Modules Installer High CPU” problem again

Note: After applying this method, make sure to check updates on a regular basis. Since your Windows will not update automatically. And without regular vital updates, you might face several issues.

Fix tiworker.exe Windows Modules Installer Worker

This can happen that even you change the Windows Update settings from automatic to manual, the task manager still shows “Windows Modules Installer Worker” still using high CPU usage.

In this case, the issue is regarding with “tiworker.exe” file. It is an executable file for Windows Update.

Although you can also fix this issue by following these steps:

1. For Windows 10 users click on Windows icon locate at the bottom left of the screen and type “troubleshoot” option and select it. For users who are previous version of Windows simply go to Control Panel and search for “Troubleshooting” option.

(Windows 10)

2. Now the list of options will appear on the screen > Search for “View All” and select it.
3. The list of services will appear on the screen > navigate “System Maintenance” and click on it
4. The system will automatically start detecting the issue with the system and proceed further to resolve the issue.
5. Once the process is complete > restart your Windows device and check whether “Windows Modules Installer Worker” problem resolves or not.

Apply Clean Boot

This might be your cases that above-mentioned methods fail to resolve this Windows Modules High CPU issue.

But there is still another way to resolve this issue by applying a clean boot. Clean boot option is available in every Windows version, which you can perform via Microsoft Configuration tool.

The primary objective of this tool is to clean unwanted and temporary files from your system.

By deleting them, you can release some amount of space. Moreover, it will free up your CPU from unwanted services and processes. To do so:

1. First click on the start menu or Windows icon located at the bottom left of the screen
2. Now type “msconfig.exe” in the search bar and click on it
3. The new window “System Configuration” will appear on the screen > select “Normal Startup” and click “”
4. Now after the process is complete, restart your Windows device and hopefully “Windows Modules Installer Worker” problem resolves on your system.

Change Your Internet Setting to Fix Windows Modules Installer Worker

This method is the last option to fix this issue. Otherwise, it would be best if you upgraded your hardware since it is not according to your system’s apps configuration requirement.

This solution for fixing “Windows Installer High CPU” usage has two scenarios:

• Scenario 1: Using Wi-Fi Network
• Scenario 2: Using Ethernet Connection

Using Wi-Fi Network (Scenario 1)

1. First hit the Windows button and click on “Gear Icon (Settings)”
2. Now from the list of options select “Network and Internet” option
   
3. The new menu of “Network & Internet” will appear on the screen > select Wi-Fi > and now click on “Advanced”
4. Now the new window will show metered connection > Enable it
   
5. Now restart your Windows device and check whether “Windows Modules Installer Worker” problem resolves or not.

Using Ethernet Connection (Scenario 2)

1. First press “Windows Key + R” key > it will open the Run box window
2. Now type “regedit” in the Run box and click “OK.”
   
3. If you see User Account Control (UAC) > Click “”On the open window, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion > NetworkList > DefaultMediaCost. Then Right-click DefaultMediaCost and select Permissions.
   
4. Click Add… Then type your user name into Enter the object names to select and click Check Names > Click OK.
   
5. Double-click on Ethernet. Then set its Value data to be two> Click OK and close Regedit Editor window.

6. Now restart your Windows device and check that “Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU usage will be gone.

Conclusion

Problems like “Windows Modules Installer Worker” and “Service Host Superfetch” on Windows OS are something that seems to be complicated problems to resolve.

Although in reality, they are very easy to resolve by following the above mention methods.

Additionally, keep that in mind that do not forget to check for updates on your Windows 10 after changing settings from automatic to manual.

Otherwise, if you do not update your Windows 10 device, you might face some severe performance issues.

I hope this article would help you to resolve this Windows Installer issue. However, if you still want to ask something or having difficulty in fixing the problem, feel free to post your query in the comment section.

The post Steps to Fix Windows Modules Installer Worker: High CPU Usage in Windows 10 appeared first on Online Privacy Tips.