I imagine most of you might know at least the basics of keeping your privacy and preventing tracking, since you're on here instead of Reddit.

But I thought it would be sure to expand on it a bit just in case after the US elections. These are easier to use solutions for people who don't know or can't for whatever reason run their own home server, email, etc.

1. don't use Google products (at least, unaltered ones). Don't use Chrome, don't use Search, don't use Android*. The government will use Google to buy profiles of their enemies and possibly do even worse. Use a Fairphone with /e/is or install /e/ on a Samsung, or get a *Pixel and install GrapheneOS. /e/ does at least have an easy to use installer for certain phones (https://doc.e.foundation/easy-installer).

For email, Proton is easy to sign up for and outside of the USA. For messaging, I recommend going with something that won't use a phone number, like encrypted XMPP (removed Matrix from recommendation due to possible encryption issues). For keeping social networks I recommend taking a look at this as well (https://circles-project.github.io/). You can also keep apps updated easily using something like Obtanium. For browser, I'd avoid Firefox too if possible and maybe go with something a bit more hardened, like Librewolf or Mullvad. Also use a VPN. Proton has one, and so does AdGuard for phones, both being easy to install and use.

I'd avoid Apple phones because they can still be tracked easily, but it's still better than an unaltered Android phone.

2. don't use Windows. Use any Linux distro, but not Windows. If you absolutely must use Windows, look into using Rufus to stop the telemetry, and using a non-consumer version of Windows (massgrave.dev/windows_ltsc_links) or look into ReactOS (although in Alpha, apparently still runs many popular Windows applications).

3. turn off any smart features your TV has, and don't use Netflix etc. Eventually they'll target media habits as well if they can. Although I sell a device that uses Plasma Bigscreen to legitimately run things that use DRM in Europe, I'm making a package that'll run on an Odroid C4 that instead includes programs like Lidarr, Radarr, etc and release the package publicly so people can install it easily themselves.

4. block trackers on the router level. Easiest way of doing this for someone not too technology inclined is to just get a Gl.inet router and activate/install the AdGuard Home plugin on it.

These are just some basic quick tips. Stay safe. You still have some months to prepare at least.

It's the simple things really. I've swapped back to Linux as my primary about a year ago, and still I have issues I don't have with Windows.

6 months now, particularly on Linux Mint (Bazzite to its credit hasn't had this issue much) I just can't fit connect to the internet. Linux is the only thing with this issue. By some arcane lucky magic, it somehow fixes itself when I'm fiddling around trying to fix it myself.

Only for the problem to come back next time I boot up my PC on Mint.

I have it connected to a TP link switch, just like other devices. None have the issue, not even a console (Nintendo Switch). Months, fucking months of going through forum posts, articles, social media, and trying out dozens upon dozens of "solutions", both in gui and the terminal - and the problem persists.

Now, I don't think I'm tech savvy exactly, but I'm not tech illiterate either. I understand some simple lines of code, some very basics of networking, etc. I'm patient enough to deal with issues like these for over half a year.

But how the hell is Linux even going to dream of being anywhere near mainstream when one of the most recommended "beginner" distros can't even run a year long without something as simple as the damned internet working???

And it's not just the internet. It's little things that just pop up one day and now you have to solve a puzzle to figure it out. Oh, suddenly you have to print something? Oh, you decided to get a light up keyboard that was on sale? Try to use Steam Link? Get ready to roll the dice on whether it'll take you a weekend to do / use it.

Microsoft is shit. Windows, is shit. Windows 11 is a privacy goddamn nightmare.

But in the end of the day, it just fucking works, those damn bastards ensure that. And even when something doesn't work, it seems, for some unknown reason, most of the online solutions do fix the issue.

Now imagine someone who's less likely to open up a terminal using Linux. They won't. They'll sacrifice their privacy because they might have full time jobs in something not remotely tech related and just wanted to watch some YouTube and don't want to spend the little free time they have fixing their own computer.

What's hilarious is just as I'm finishing this rant, the internet on Mint just magically decided to work again with no issues.

Maybe next time then I'll try yelling at the Linux fairies in my PC to see if they'll do their magic. At this point it's about a valid solution as any other.

I just want the Manjaro Arm to not fizzle the gui's and run Firefox at speeds faster than 1980s era internet...

Or any desktop distro, even gnome or ubuntu

I haven't really done home networking since Windows XP / gnome only Ubuntu days, so rusty is an understatement.

Currently due to the layout of my apartment, I have my main PC in a bedroom connected to a gli.net Velica router, such then connects to the wall, which then connects to a TP-Link Switch (1), which is connected to the internet.

In the living room, where I want to stream to a Raspberry Pi that has Android TV (lineage os), I have the Pi and 2 Nintendo Switches connected to another TP-Link switch (2), which is then connected to another gli.net router, which connects to the wall and then to TP-Link switch (1) which is connected to internet.

How do I set up a local LAN network so that my computer can then stream to the Pi via Steam Link, Moonlight, Sunshine, or any other recommended option?

Layout

Bedroom

 • Wall connection (port 3)
 |
 ∆ Velica Router 2
 |
 § PC

Living Room

 • Wall connection (port 1)
 |
 ∆ Velica Router 1
 |
 × TP Link Switch 2
 |.               |.      |. 
π              ™ Nintendo Switch 1&2

Electrical Box

  • Port 1, Port 3
  |
  × TP Link Switch 1
  |
 🌐 Internet 

Made this before my mom left back to the states, and had written down the recipe for her.

Cut onions, shallots, sweet onions, and garlic into small pieces. Call

Cut sweet paprika into small pieces separately.

Melt butter in a steel pot on low heat, then add onions, shallots, sweet onions, and garlic to the pot and fry until they sweat. Separate and keep the oil to the side, and put the aromatics back in the pot.

Lower the heat to low, then add smetana, cream of tartar, dill, and a touch of salt, whisking continuously.

Turn off the heat, add a touch of coffee cream to sauce, and continue whisking off heat.

Cut bread loafs and brush them with the oil you set aside earlier, and top them with the cut sweet paprika. Put in an oven preheated to 200°C/390°F and bake until crispy.

Prepare the Brussels sprouts by removing their outer leaves and cutting their ends. Add sesame oil to a small bowl, then add a few drops of truffle oil and 2-4 drops of orange bitters and mix together. Brush the sprouts with the oil mix. Roast in the oven as well, sprinkling some salt on sprouts after they are ready and out of the oven.

Heat a decent amount of rapeseed oil in a pan, and fry fish, flipping only once. Fry skin side first well so it crisps up, then only briefly fry the other side after turning the heat off from the oil.

Plate by adding sauce, and topping it with the fish. Add sauce and bread to the side. You can also garnish the dish with edible flowers.

I don't usually write recipes or amounts but recently I've been doing some experiments so I've loosely written what I did at least, in case my wife wants to recreate the dish with my help when going through chemo.

Mix crushed garlic and tomatoes with chipotle, paprika, umami, onion, and garlic powders, citrus pepper, mint, and dried basil. Then mix in some apricot puree.

Cut Golden Squash into discs, leaving skin on.

Melt butter in an enameled cast iron pan or similar until hot, then fry the discs until browned.

Lower temperature to medium-low heat, flip discs, then add sauce mix evenly and simmer for a while.

Make/buy raviolis, preferably a pork with some fresh herb or pine nut filling.

When ravioli is cooked, layer half onto a plate.

Then, add a layer of cheese, preferably kerma, gouda, or port salt.

Turn heat off from the pan with sauce and squash. Layer the squash on top of cheese and cover with half the sauce.

Layer the rest of the ravioli, and add the rest of the squash.

I did the line challenge through the ocean (ultra hand only, no zonai devices, 3 hearts, 1 stamina wheel, no items except those found, no armor, y160-y175)