B. USE VPN’S AND BROWSERS It is recommended to use a virtual private network, or VPN, while conducting your investigations. A VPN is used to obfuscate your computer’s online “identity” while accessing websites and resources on the web, in essence creating a layer between your computer and the website you are accessing. Although some east-European countries have banned the use of VPN’s, countries in the SADC bloc have no legal prohibitions against using a VPN to access the internet. In simplified terms, when you access an online resource your device sends a request to the website through your internet service provider. This request contains certain information about your connection, including the return address. The response is then sent back to your device. When investigating a malicious website, or conducting an investigation, it is prudent to use a VPN to limit the amount of information linking back to your device or your organisation. However, it is also important to note that a VPN can only be used where there are blockages of certain online platforms. It cannot assist if there is a total Internet blackout. • Adding anonymity. A VPN adds another layer to this exchange between your device and the online resource. Your device’s request is sent to the VPN provider first, which in turn sends the request to the online resource you requested. The response is then sent back to your VPN provider, which forwards the information to your browser. If the website you’ve accessed is monitoring the devices accessing it, they will only be privy to the details of the VPN provider, and not your device. The trade-off is between speed and privacy, with VPN’s being slightly slower as a result of the additional layer of communication. • Encrypted communications. Additionally, a VPN encrypts the traffic between your device and their servers. Any attempts at intercepting the communication would be futile as the information can only be decrypted by either the VPN provider or your device. A SURVIVAL TOOLKIT FOR JOURNALISTS • Circumventing geoblocks. VPNs are also useful for circumventing geo-blocked online resources. Some websites are only accessible to users within their country, and some VPN’s can be geolocated to a specific country in order to circumvent such blocks. An important consideration when choosing a VPN provider is the level of recordkeeping maintained by the VPN provider. Some free VPN providers will maintain access logs, meaning a determined challenger could pursue the legal process required to obtain these access logs. Ideally, you want to ensure that your VPN provider does not maintain any access logs on your activity. It is always better to make use of a paid VPN which is contractually obligated to destroy your access logs. NordVPN, TunnelBear and ExpressVPN range between $3 and $10 per month, but the expense is well worth the utility and the peace of mind. However if you do need a free, reliable free alternative is ProtonVPN, from the same developers as ProtonMail. While you might see reduced speeds and less VPN servers than the paid options, it is a secure and cost-effective alternative. Some examples of VPNs are Psphion (https://psiphon.ca/en/download.html), TunnelBear (https://www.tunnelbear.com/), and NordVPN (https://nordvpn.com/) just to mention a few. Page 13