Do you have a home network hardware firewall? Setting one up with an always on VPN is really best. Or do you mean something like Mullvad or Proton always-on VPN with killswitch engaged, then just connecting with Tor browser. That's a good starting point.
nostr:npub1f6ugxyxkknket3kkdgu4k0fu74vmshawermkj8d06sz6jts9t4kslazcka any recommendation for a simple guide on a good Tor + VPN setup for Windows users? I’ve used Tor browser in the past as well as various VPNs so not a super noob but I’m not well versed nor a programmer or anything, so preferably an easier to use service would be ideal.
Discussion
Mullvad gets blocked often so you may run into issues with streaming services, financial sites etc. for that reason, I would recommend Proton VPN. You can sign up with a free account--don't provide a phone number or recovery email--you can use their recommended recover phrase instead--then upgrade to a paid account so you can use btc. If you start with a paid account they require credit or debit card.
If you want to separate your vpn from proton's all-in-one service, then just go with the VPN. I can provide more steps to use their other services to get you away from google mail/drive etc if necessary :)
Also would love to move away from Gmail/drive in the future but atm use it for business services too so I would need to be able to access it. I’m looking into getting a separate cellphone to use as a de-googled device (my daily cell is an iPhone).
Cool cool, yeah... GrapheneOS all the way.
I don’t think I do? Just the basic software (?) firewall included on Windows. I think to start and always on VPN would be best, but I’m also interested in learning more edgewise.
Cool cool. Proton VPN then. Do you have an alias email service you can sign up with that's not attached to your identity?
I don’t believe I do atm. Would you recommend Protonmail at all for that? Can I sign up for their vpn with their mail service?
Yes. Check out the thread I linked to. There are a few replies there that should help you decide which path is best for you rn,
Check out this thread and lmk if you have any other questions :)