Table of Contents

Web

Browser

Your browser is the first exposed.

Another good solution is to use the Tor Browser which is based on Firefox and pre-configured with the best settings for your privacy and uses the Tor network by default. No technical knowledge is required.

If you are using a public computer I recommend you Tails.

Firefox preferences

User preferences

Privacy

Browsing advices

Social networking

Email

Instant messaging

Alternatives to well known spied systems:

System

Of course, this list is not exhaustive.

/etc/hosts

The content of my /etc/hosts file is based on this very good example.

DNS

Choose the Domain Name Server you want to use.

Solution 1

Probably the best solution. Lets you add your DNS servers with a higher priority than the DNS servers provided by the DHCP.

resolvconf is a set of scripts and hooks managing DNS resolution.
The configuration of the internet connection is specified in the file /etc/resolvconf. It is possible to edit this file, but any change manually done will be lost as it gets overwritten next time something triggers resolvconf.
A solution is to use the file /etc/resolvconf/resolv.conf.d/head in order to ensure a DNS server is always the first one in the list.

# apt-get install resolvconf
 
# cat /etc/resolvconf/resolv.conf.d/head
# Dynamic resolv.conf(5) file for glibc resolver(3) generated by resolvconf(8)
#     DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE BY HAND -- YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN
# French Data Network DNS resolvers
nameserver 80.67.169.12
nameserver 80.67.169.40
 
# resolvconf -u

Solution 2

If your interface is configured statically then you can change your DNS by this manner:

# vim /etc/network/interfaces

Add this section:

iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.11
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.1
dns-nameservers 80.67.169.12 80.67.169.40

Restart the interface and check:

# ifdown eth0
# ifup eth0
# exit
$ nslookup cedricbonhomme.org
Server:         80.67.169.40
Address:        80.67.169.40#53

An alternative is to use the NetworkManager.

Services providers