Take Control of Your Digital Life

In this blog post I’ll share some of the resources I use to take charge of my digital footprint.

1. Use Brave Browser

Brave is an excellent privacy focused web browser built using open-source chromium project. You can use all of your favorite Chrome extensions with Brave browser without any problem.

I use Brave browser in incognito mode for general browsing and use different profiles for work and personal stuff.

Additionally, you can access dark web via “New Private Window with Tor” option.

2. Use a VPN Service

Now as most of the websites are running over HTTPS / TLS, the internet service providers do not have visibility into what data you are transferring to the website. There are still things the ISP can know about your browsing and using VPN can be very effective.

If you are more technically sound then you can host your own VPN server by following this guide.

3. Install OpenWRT + Pi-Hole on Your Home Router

Using custom firmware like OpenWRT or DD-WRT on your home router will give you total control over how your home router operates.

Additionally, using Pi-Hole will block advertisements based on DNS queries sent to the router.

4. Limit Social Media Presence

It’s well known that once you post something online it stays there indefinitely.

The Social Dilemma documentary will make you aware of the impacts of social media usage. I recommend you watch it.

5. Use Unix-based Systems

There are hundreds of Unix distributions out there. DistroWatch outlines some of the popular distributions.

If you are coming from Windows background and want similar look and feel, try Zorin Linux.

6. Use Open-Sourced Tools

Open-sourced tools are great as you can review them to see how they function. Most of the popular libraries and applications are open-sourced and have gone through rigorous security reviews.

Best open source software lists some of the popular open-source products.

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I hope you found this post helpful. Feel free to reach out to me if you have feedback.

~Amit