Subverting Malicious Agents: For Dummies

Doing things that "Malicious Agents" would not want you to do? Afraid of getting spied on in this modern day and age of smart everything and cameras everywhere? Suddenly paranoid now because of the "Vault 7" leaks?

Here's how to perform the bare minimum of securing yourself against outside surveillance, protecting your privacy, and generally remaining under the radar.

-Unplug any smart devices (Smart TV, Echo/Echo Dot, Google Home, etc.) when not in use. Fully un plug them. If possible, muffle them in some kind of blanket or other thick wrapping. Ideally, never use or buy these products.
-Your phone is not safe even if it is off. When you are discussing sensitive information, keep your phone away from you, preferably in a separate room, and muffle it as well. Cover the camera at all times, with electrical tape or your fingers or whatever works.
-Tape up any webcam you have when not in use. Ideally, do not use a webcam ever, but it comes standard with most laptops, so tape will work as an acceptable substitute. Laptop microphones are inside the guts usually and thus nearly impossible to block completely, so the best you can do is have it in a separate room, shut, and muffled.
-Do not take your phone with you if you are going to some kind of gathering of fellow subverters (the GPS in it can be used to triangulate your location, and the locations of other people with GPS enabled phones). Encourage them to not do the same. If you need to take pictures (of police brutality, racist acts, etc.), consider getting a (or several) disposable cameras. Digital ones will do if necessary but are potentially hackable and traceable using metadata, so they should be used as a last resort. For communication, consider walkie-talkies or older model phones used as burners.
-Don't give any of your electronics to other people. If they are trusted friends or allies, you may consider it, but it is advised to not do so. Never give anyone you don't know or trust access to your electronic devices.
-If you find a USB on the ground DO NOT PLUG IT IN TO YOUR ELECTRONICS. Find someone with a more disposable laptop, or get a cheap shitmachine from 2006, make sure it is disconnected from EVERY NETWORK AROUND, and then plug it in, if you really think you need to know what's on it. Otherwise SMASH IT.
-Learn self-defense. Karate, boxing, whatever works. Carry mace or pepper spray with you, they're legal for a reason.
-DO NOT OPEN EMAILS WITH ATTACHMENTS unless you can verify and authenticate that they are legitimate. Email the person back and ask if they sent you something - DO NOT REPLY TO THE EMAIL, MAKE A SEPARATE ONE. Even OPENING a compromised email with an attachment can compromise your computer, even if you do not open the attachment physically.
-Change your passwords every thirty days. Is it a pain? Yes. Is it secure? Also yes. A minimum of 12 characters is decent, but 30 characters or more is even better. It doesn't even have to be gibberish, just unrelated words strung together like SplinterItIntoAThousandPiecesAndScatterItIntoTheWinds. The longer, the better.
-Delete closed-source software on your computer (Basically, anything made by a major company that is not open-source). Download open-source alternatives. Open-source means, for the unaware, that the source code of the program is open for everyone to see. This means that vulnerabilities and exploits are VERY EASILY patched out. We know that Malicious Agents have access to day zero exploits for most software and OS's, and sit on them so they are never patched. Open source software does not have this issue.
-If you want to learn something new but don't have the stamina for self defense, consider changing your OS of choice for computers to Linux. Ubuntu is, from what I'm told, the most user friendly. Not only will you learn basic programming and networking skills, Linux is open source, meaning that exploits and security holes are, as mentioned above, much more easily patched out.
-Try to keep your bed out of view of windows. At the very least, keep where your head is located while you sleep out of the line of sight of the outside. It may be paranoid, but sniper rifles do exist. Better to get your foot shot off while you're asleep than your head.
-Do not buy a self-driving car. I know, they're tempting, but they are also vulnerable and there is significant evidence that Malicious Agents can remotely hijack them and cause them to crash, or even cause catastrophic engine failure. Ideally, do not buy a post-2000 car, but if all else fails, definitely do not buy a self-driving car, especially if you are planning subversive activities.

That's all I can think of. If I get any more security advice, I will update this document as necessary.

Happy subversion.