In this blog post I’ll share some of the resources I use to take charge of my digital footprint.
Brave is excellent privacy focused web browser build 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, personal stuffs.
Additionally, you can access dark web via New Private Window with Tor option.
You can download Brave browser by visiting https://brave.com/.
Now as most of the websites are running over HTTPS / TLS; the internet service providers do not have visibility in to what data you are transferring to the website. There are still things the internet service provider can know about your browsing and to be safe from it using VPN can be very effective.
There are lots of VPN providers out there and you can choose once you feel most trustworthy. If you are more technically sound then you can host your own VPN server by following instructions from this link.
Using custom firmware like OpenWRT / DD-WRT on your home router will give you total control over how your home router operates. Trusting the firmware from manufacturer may or may not be best choice when it comes to vulnerabilities in router firmware.
Additionally, using Pi-Hole will block the advertisements based on the DNS queries sent to the router. To take advantage of Pi-Hole and install it on your router please refer to Pi-Hole documentation found here.
It’s well known thing with the data hungry tech companies once you post something online it stays there indefinitely.
I’m not the person who did research on impact of social media on people’s life but The Social Dilemma will make you aware of the impacts of social media usage. I recommend you watch that documentary.
It’s widely known that companies perform your social media feeds to make decision on whether to hire you or not. Limiting your social media presence could help you get the job or at-least save your precious time.
Windows is still a dominant operating system to this moment but Unix based system have become very mature and maybe more easy to use than Windows.
There are hundreds of Unix distribution out there. https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major outlines some of the popular distributions. If you are coming from Windows background and continue to see similar look and feel, then try Zorin Linux.
Unix based system will allow you to customize your operating system to your liking and are generally not prone to widespread double clicking malware form of compromises.
Open-sourced tools are great as you can review them to see how they function. Most of the popular libraries, applications are open-sourced and have gone through rigorous security reviews.
Depending on your needs you can find open-sourced alternatives to almost every commercial paid application our there. And the best part is for almost all open-sourced application you don’t have to pay anything.
Best open source software in 2022 lists of some of the popular open-source products that you might find helpful.
I hope you found this post helpful. Feel free to reach out to me if you have feedback.
~Amit