@ Nëïgsëndöïg Cöcülës
2025-04-04 20:56:20
Everyone who sees it knows at this point that the matrix of control comes from the overdependence of proprietary software to do our everyday tasks. You can think of this like us being the cling wrap that will just not let go of these pieces of garbage software that don't allow you to see what is in their source code, and how they work. This will tend to lead to the unlawful collection of data (violating the most basic of privacy laws, despite unenforceable contracts that are enforced regardless), bad OPSEC that sees you being stalked and harassed over nothing significant. In the worst of cases, if you speak your mind where you aren't necessarily supposed to be able to do that, and you get doxxed, the worst cases could be far worse than one could imagine.
The solution to this, on the other hand, is using almost exclusively free/libre open-source software and GNU/Linux operation systems. If you're using certain proprietary software, hardening it to give as little data as possible to the entity responsible for it will also work, as long as you know which ones to use. This is a hard pass for a lot of people, but if you want to escape the control matrix of proprietary software, Winblows, HackOS, iHackOS, iBloatOS and stock Google AI Fever Dream, then researching which Free Software (notice the spelling) to use is your first bet. I had already done this for the past four and a half years, and will continue to do it as long as I live, seeing what new Free Software compliant applications and libraries come into the spotlight once things get locked down into walled gardens like what HackOS, iHackOS and BlindnessOS do on a regular basis.
Each of these pieces of software will be in a categorized list with a brief description of what the software is used for. There is a lot to take in, so research this yourself and see if these are right for you. These are the applications I personally use on a regular day-to-day basis, and they work for my needs.
1. Operating Systems (the core to your device)
* GNU/Linux operating systems (for PCs) or GrapheneOS (for de-googled Android phones)
To be fair on this one, GNU/Linux is the combination of the Linux kernel with the GNU toolchain, which in turn allows any developer to make an operating system that is FOSS, not necessarily Free Software, especially with the Linux Kernel's proprietary bits of code. The Linux kernel is also used in the Android Open-Source Project (AOSP), and is used as the base of operating systems for Android phones such as GrapheneOS, the only AOSP custom ROM I would recommend based upon the research I had done on this (even if very little).
My recommendations on the Linux side of things are almost any Arch-based distribution (with the exception of Manjaro), Debian-based distributions like Linux Mint Debian edition, regular Debian, AntiX or Devuan, or a Fedora/RedHat-based distribution like Nobara Project (if you're a gamer), OpenSUSE (if set up properly) or even Bluefin if you want an atomic desktop (I wouldn't recommend Bluefin if you want to monkey with your operating system and DIY on many aspects of it). Once you learn how to set these up securely, privately and properly, you're on your way to starting your journey into digital liberation, but there's far more to go on this front.
2. Web Browsers (How you surf the internet)
* Firefox Forks
This one is self-explanatory. I harden all the Firefox forks I use (LibreWolf, Waterfox, Cachy Browser, Floorp and Zen as some examples) to the nines, despite being unable to do anything about my fingerprint. This is why I use multiple browsers for specific purposes to counteract the fingerprint spying due to weaponized JavaScript. There are ways to circumvent the fingerprint-based espionage, and make sure the site fingerprint.com doesn't know that one's lying about what their user agent is, though it's not very easy to fool that site, as it's used by 6,000 companies.
* Brave Browser
This is the only Chromium-based browser I would recommend, as it's better when hardened against all the other Chromium-based browsers, including Ungoogled Chromium, which is almost impossible to harden due to security vulnerabilities. Despite that, Brave has some of the best features for a Chromium-based browser one can feel comfortable using, even though you'll have similar issues with Firefox-based browsers that aren't actually Firefox (and Firefox has its own issues regarding espionage from Mozilla)
3. Office Suites (If you need to do professional office documents)
* LibreOffice
A fork of Apache's OpenOffice, made better with many features missing from even OnlyOffice and OpenOffice, this suite of applications is the go-to Free Software office suite for many people looking to switch from the proprietary software nether to the diamonds of free/libre open-source software. Though one may need to perform some extra steps to set up compatibility with G-Suite and Microsoft Office past 2015 potentially, it's still a good thing that people trust LibreOffice as their one-stop shop for office documents, despite being completely different from your standard office suite fare.
* OnlyOffice
The competitor to LibreOffice with the ease of Microsoft Office and G-Suite compatibility, OnlyOffice is another office suite that can be good for those who need it, especially since anybody who had used Microsoft Office in particular will be familiar with its layout, if not for a slight learning curve. As someone who's used G-Suite more (due to schooling that stunk worse than a decomposing rat in New York City), that's part of the reason why I switched to LibreOffice, though I tried some others, including OnlyOffice and Abiword (since I use a word processor a lot). This one is another solid option for those who need it.
* Wordgrinder
For those who like to use a terminal emulator like I do, Wordgrinder is a word processor with a terminal user interface (TUI) designed with just focusing on typing without distractions in mind. .wg is the file extension for documents made using Wordgrinder, especially since nowadays most word processors are cloud based. For those who live in a terminal, this is a good option to your terminal UI-based toolbox
4. Text editors
* Vi, Vim, Neovim and other Vim-like editors
The classic VI Improved (Vim), a fork of the TUI modal editor, vi, with keybinds that will be confusing at first, but with practice and patience, bring about muscle memory to stay on the keyboard, and not necessarily touch the mouse, keypad on the right hand side, or even the arrow keys. These keybind skills will stay with one for the rest of their life once they learn how the modes in vi, Vim or vi-based editors work. It's a classic for those working in the terminal, and a staple in FLOSS text editing and coding tools once customized potentially to the nines to your particular style.
* VSCodium
The Free Software fork of Code OSS by Microsoft, but made to be similar in function to VSCode without Microsoft's espionage baked into it. It has almost exactly the same features as VSCode that one would need, and even any VSIX files from VSCode will work in VSCodium. This one is an easy switch from VSCode for those who use it, but don't want the forced telemetry.
* Emacs
The competitor to Vim, Emacs is an editor that is FLOSS in every way imaginable. It is one of the most customizable editors anybody could have ever conceived, though the programming language used in Emacs is a dialect of Lisp the developers had made themselves. There are more keybinds to memorize compared to Vim, though Vim keybinds can be added using the Evil Mode package in any Emacs package manager to get the best of both worlds in Emacs. Once one gets a handle of the steep learning curve for Emacs, it's customizable in every imaginable way almost.
These four categories will get you started on your privacy journey, though I covered things a developer might want. I have plans on more lists to compile once I get my ducks in a row on what I want to cover here on Nostr in a longform format. Feel free to let me know if you have recommendations for me to write about, and I can do some digging on that if it isn't a rabbit hole.