essays-ccs/favorite_apps_and_services.md

Favorite apps and services

Goals

• Privacy conscious ( end-to-end encrypted )
• Decentralized, no reliance on cloud providers like google, microsoft, apple, spotify, netflix, etc.
• Self-hosted and self-reliant, simple files preferred.
• Make sure no sites / services are US based.

Media

• Download all music / movies locally, using torrents behind a vpn.
  • Use AirVPN, Mullvad, NordVPN, ProtonVPN
  • Use qbittorrent or transmission for a torrent client.
• Use MPV or VLC, open source media players to play media.
• Use plex for streaming to other devices, point it to your torrent downloads folder.

Documents

• Write all documents and notes in markdown.
  • Use typora, marktext, or vscode as markdown and code editors.
• Spreadsheets in libreoffice.
• Install syncthing, and put all your documents in a synced folder.

Tasks

• Use a todo.txt file for a personal task list, synced with syncthing.
  • qtodotxt as a desktop client, simpletask cloudless for android.
• For shared task lists, use etherpad.

Collaboration

• Self-host an etherpad instance, and share the document.

Passwords

• Use keepassxc.
  • Install the firefox keepassxc plugin.
  • Use a long master pass phrase, with at least 10 words.
• Sync your password file everywhere you need using syncthing.

Chat

• Use Signal or Matrix / Riot.
• Use Thunderbird for email, e2ee with pgp if possible.

Social Media

• Mastodon, GNU Social.

Browsing

• Use Firefox or TOR browser, with the addons:
  • uBlock Origin
  • HTTPS Everywhere
  • Privacy Badger
  • uMatrix
  • Decentraleyes - Local CDN emulation, to avoid large CDNs.
  • Facebook Container - As suggested, this keeps all Facebook stuff in it's own Firefox container.
  • Google Container - The above, but for Google.
• Startpage or Searx as a search engine

Operating system

• Use Linux, preferably Arch Linux or a variant.