resources
through my short (although it feels like its been very long) life, one of my biggest struggles has been finding out just how to do things. over time, i've gathered some resources that i hope can help you on whatever journey you are taking through your own life. i don't know much about anything, so the topics i have here are only a small handful, but i hope they are useful to you anyway ^_^
eventually, i'll split these topics each into their own individual pages, but for now i'm going to keep them all on this one page.
privacy online
intro
today, most of us have been raised spending almost all of our time online. it's easy to forget how to keep our personal data safe online, or to dismiss it as something "not important". this is far from true!
social media... it's something almost all of us use. instagram, facebook, tiktok, twitter (no, it's not X, i will die on this hill), etc... while you're spending all of this time on these sites, something is happening behind the scenes. i'm sure you've heard that if you're not paying for something, you're the product, and while this isn't always true, it's surely true here. social media sites gather all of the information that they possibly can about you. this is also done by google, amazon, walmart, and many other big corporations when you use their services. everything you click, search, watch, or look at, is shared between companies who pay to have your information. when they have this information, they use it to "target" you and guess what you like, so that you're more likely to click on their ads and buy their products.
this might not be concerning to you yet - but i encourage you to care at least a tiny bit. if you go into your account settings on these platforms, you can see just how much information they have on you. when i did this, it really shocked me. it prompted me to change my online habits, to stop making myself a product, and to stop giving corporations more power.
the basics
keeping your data safe online goes beyond finding better alternatives to sites and software that sells your information. there are some key points you need to keep in mind such as being careful with how much information you put out about yourself publicly, creating safe passwords, avoiding scams, etc. i'll attempt to discuss some of the most important things that i do to keep myself safe!
passwords
passwords are some of the first things you learn about when you start to use the internet. for some of us, we use the same passwords (or variations of the same password) for every website or app. due to the fact that i started to use the internet before i was even ten years old, i definitely did that. when you use the same password for multiple logins, a data breach may occur on one of the websites you use. this has happened with so many companies, none are immune to it. once that password gets into the wrong hands, it can be used to access all of your other accounts, even on other sites. as a general rule, you want a password that is: different for each site, at least 20 characters long, and comprised of symbols and numbers and letters. it can be time consuming and seem like a daunting task, but changing your passwords and managing them doesn't have to be hard!
the simplest way to manage passwords is with, well, a password manager! i personally use proton pass. i'll list some other options as well, but here's why i love proton pass: it's free to store as many passwords as you want, and you can create ten free email aliases (more on that later)! proton is a very trustworthy company, i use them for email and vpn too! proton pass has an app, website, and a browser extension that can do autofill. it also will generate strong passwords for you, and you can create notes for things like credit card information.
(will write about bitwarden and other stuff)
alternatives
how can you start? great question! firstly, and one of the most easy things to do, is to stop using google. there are lots of alternatives to google products! it is also important to try to stop using services from other big corporations, too! here are some of my favorites:
youtube
unfortunately, youtube has a monopoly. there is a great frontend called invidious. this website allows you to use youtube without an account, but you can still make playlists, subscribe to channels, and have a watch history - all while escaping tracking and being completely ad free! invidious runs on instances (something you will see more on later), which are basically individuals who host the website on their own servers. this splits up the cost of maintaining the site, and it gives power to the users. my personal favorite instance is tux :3
another alternative to this is peertube. i personally don't use peertube, but i'm putting it here to have it as an option for you. peertube also functions on instances, except it is an entirely different video service.
google search
there are many alternatives to google's search engine. my personal choice is duckduckgo, which i find to have good and relevant results. you can turn off ads, minimize tracking, and be a lot more invisible than you would be on google.
another option to google search is brave. brave i have found to also yield good results, but i personally dislike the founder (brendan eich, tldr he is a massive bigot and cryptoguy) so i don't use the engine. aside from that, it's still a far better choice than google.
an alternative that i have not personally used but have seen others speak positively about is searxng. i believe that searxng also runs off of instances, but im not 100% sure. there are no ads and you are anonymous.
gmail
i personally use proton mail as opposed to gmail. proton mail has a quick and easy method to automatically import and forward your gmail emails to your new proton mail account. proton mail uses end-to-end encryption, has no ads, and blocks trackers for all incoming emails.
google chrome
i cannot reccomend in good faith any other browser aside from firefox. i know there are alternatives like opera, brave, or even duckduckgo's own browser, but none compare to firefox in terms of privacy. if you are still using google chrome as a browser, please please download firefox now, even if you don't use any of the other alternatives i list on this whole page. google chrome monitors all of your online activity and takes up a ton of resources on your computer. i personally use librewolf, which is a version of firefox that has automatic settings for improved privacy. if you choose to download normal firefox instead of librewolf, you must edit your settings to be more privacy oriented.
windows
switching from windows as an operating system is something that is actually quite simple, but can seem like an extremely scary or daunting task. i definitely plan on dedicating an entire page to this subject alone, but i'll have this section here as a shorter version. as the years go by, windows has become less and less usable for the average consumer. with the amount of bloatware and adware that is nearly impossible to remove on their operating systems, your storage becomes full of useless junk that you'll never use, and never asked for in the first place. windows also has shown signs of planning to introduce spyware, monitoring everything you're doing on your system and potentially sending it back to advertisers. linux is something that can fit anyone's needs, with hundreds of distributions to choose from. to keep it short, i use linux mint, specifically linux mint debian edition. mint is super easy to install, doesn't take much time to get used to, and will allow you much more freedom and will allow you to escape from the windows ecosystem. with switching to linux, there is a catch - much of your software will not work on your new operating system. there are many ways around this, with free and open source alternatives to your favorite software (such as libre office instead of microsoft office) as well as ways to emulate certain windows software with wine. again, very big subject to dive into, and i have much much more to say, but i'll hold off for now lol. look into linux!
this can also apply for most social media, really! it can be a bit hard to understand at first, but i really reccomend checking out the fediverse! the link i just put is a really good site that explains fedi, but i'll try to explain it quickly here. you've used email, and you know how everyone can use a different website and app, but they all connect together and can communicate? fedi is the same, but with social media posts and profiles! the most popular website for it tends to be mastodon, but there are other options like pixelfed or akkoma and even more! it's also really good for your mental health to get off of regular social media, where the algorithm is in control. fedi inherently has no tracking, no algorithm, no ads, and is not owned by a corporation! i have a profile over at @derpyhoofs@equestria.social, try setting up an account and follow me there! ^_^
art software
as an artist, i've heard of a ton of different options for art software. at first, i used a cracked version of paint tool sai, and then i bought it, but i didn't like it much. then, i switched to clip studio paint and went from a cracked to a paid version again. i found csp to be confusing, but well-made, and i didn't really plan on switching again. but alas, when i switched to linux i decided i should find a free and compatible alternative that didn't require wine to emulate. this is where krita comes in! krita is free, works with windows and mac and linux, and is an amazing program! it's open source so that's also a plus! it is a little hard to learn at first, but once you configure your settings you'll fall in love with it! another alternative to paid art software is firealpaca, and it's pretty cool as well if you find you don't vibe with krita. try exploring different software for your art, it can actually make drawing a lot more fun!
