Safe Online

TLCR: Use FOSS only, avoiding as much Big Tech as possible, hardware & software, on any computational device (see FOSS World). All Big Tech is malware! Don't use single–site Apps on anything (TV; PC; Phone); they're ad–conquered content funnels and personal data extractors. Don't Cloud sync anything that includes personal data. Always use uBlock Origin and only FF. Those allowing intrusions by exposing data should not be surprised when its breached. Stay safe; read on!

Here's a PC screenshot of a typical customized DuckDuckGo search on Firefox using uBlock Origin (UBO) via Linux Mint on my Tech service desk NUC. It's best to use UBO on every device, as it's the frontline defense; think of it like antivirus, which works after infection, whereas UBO is preventative. Most of the award winning Firefox extensions will not impact CPU performance on Linux; but FF on any Big Tech OS will be another matter.

The war on which is the best search engine results always comes down to those who like to finance billionaires, and willingly donate their data to them, versus the few who don't. Indexing is often the excuse for why Big Tech search engines excel, but no search engine works that simplistically. Google does not, and indeed cannot, crawl and index every webpage there is.

DuckDuckGo does not crawl or index pages; it focuses on user privacy by not tracking search queries or storing personal data, pulling aggregated results from a massive cloud of servers, including other search engine results, but without directly crawling websites: Smart! No search engine gets its results directly from any other engine; that myth got started and now runs its Web course like a bad virus.

StartPage pools search results from Google, Bing and others, though indirectly, but with anonymized queries, for those who need to do a second search. But the final top 20 search results, will have as much or more to do with ones Operating System and browser, than which Engine is chosen. I use DuckDuckGo as the default search, on a Linux–only NUC PC; when I search it gives me results that include my bookmarks by seeking keywords to show them too.

And because I have many hundreds of Firefox synced bookmarks (like, many Tech sites), my tech searches often yield better targeted results than Google does. Finding things is not just what Google produces; its downfall is that it sifts through way too many options, and then, users will get those who advertise$ first anyway. Google is not a search engine company, they're an Advertising Company.

All FOSS products will work best with other FOSS products; namely, the Firefox browser (on all PC/laptops & especially phones), and only on Linux based and Small Tech systems. Gnome also has its own Gnome Browser. Another simple Linux only browser is Falkon; it's in most Software Managers.

Even though Big Tech controls some tech functions, they cannot control what happens when it's not directly within their website, App, or closed ecosystem. DuckDuckGo and StartPage are not Google; none of them are each other! They may share Server content, but the only way for Google to collect user data is when a user is on google.com or any Big Tech approved Apps.

DuckDuckGo is among the best Engines, especially once a user knows how to set it up, as mentioned earlier. DuckDuckGo aggregates its search for better results; they use public servers and pull from many 3rd party providers. And now they all/each employ AI on some level, directly or indirectly. Duck.ai can be turned off.

Many will praise one web search engine or another (that weird brand loyalty thing), but the Wild Wild Web is not owned by any one entity, and surely not Google. Before there was Google, there were others; I still remember when Yahoo Search started to advertise as Yahoo powered by Google. Back then we thought: What the heck is Google? (not to be confused with googol).

Alphabet Inc. is not a search engine company; they're an advertising company. Their subsidiary, Google search, gives them a platform for their clients who pay them for advertisements on it. Since Google is an ad company that does not own the internet, it makes good business sense for them to target users toward their paying clients first, and steer users away from anything deemed as competition.

All the Chromium Projects are controlled by Google; even the Brave browser, my favorite: I use it for visual testing on a PC & a phone. There are pieces of the code–base that Chromium Developers must agree not to remove; I assume this includes the portions that allow the browser a back door, should Alphabet/Google wish to exploit it.

One must understand capitalism in general, and the compromises made, to push it all down people's throats. We live in a society that would have been foreign to most of our species throughout time. As money came to replace the trade of goods and services, more people must find evermore ways to make monies, but without producing anything that could be directly traded. Now it's almost all BS jobs.

When my debit card must be exposed online I only do business from an Ethernet tethered Kit–built NUC PC via a wired Ethernet router. I do not use WiFi at home. And at a POS I use my debit card, not a phone. Users trade privacy and safety for seeming conveniences, when it's easier to Tap & Go than fussing with a phone.

But complete dependency is Big Tech's design paradigm, to hook the gullible; dependency is always exploited and thus potentially dangerous. Equipment like phones are reprogrammed by resellers so they can feed users ads and also spy on them. But too many users are so gullible they actually think they're doing the right thing and even advise others to follow them. But I say, stand on your own foundation; resist being a consumer automaton; opt out of all Big Tech!

Social Media is also a massive data farming conglomerate; it's what inspired AI! But for those wise enough to seek an escape from all Big Tech (or as much as one can do without), avoiding Big Social Media entities is smart. Facebook alone is more intrusive than Google, or even any Dark Web site; their early–day Tech's likely now work for Fed Spy Agencies!

I recommend either no Social Media at all, saving your time–life for more meaningful and enriching endeavors, or if you're still addicted, at least block them via UBO, and use Small Tech SM alternatives like Minds & BlueSky (Me). Please, do not financially enable the billionaire Grifters: Ax the Meta guy; X the Twit guy; Linux the Gates guy!

If it's not Small Tech or FOSS, you will not get optimum results doing anything when mixing Big & Small Tech: Reddit (Small Tech) Subs are treasure trove of empirical evidenced supporting this fact! How any Small Tech will perform on anything controlled by Big Tech, should be assumed compromised. With the exception of Apple, most Big Tech does not make most of their money on phone or PC/laptop sales; they make up those losses with data mining.

For example, Google sells Pixels nearly at cost, knowing that the bigger profit comes from data mining and especially in ecosystem isolation. Pixel phones can be seemingly wiped of the Google OS, but this is allowed because they still profit from the phones use; otherwise they'd make doing that technically impossible. You can bet there's back doors beyond the rooting of an OS.

The personal data that any Big Government would want from their masses, is not what you shop for; only retailers want that data so they can target ads; I call that open data. I do not care if they know what I buy because I use uBlock Origin everywhere so I do not see such ads anyway.

The private data I'm concerned about being mined from me – and you should be too – has to do with my person (real spying): health–related, finance–related, and communication–related. With Big Tech USA now copulating with Big Gov it's past time to be very concerned. Going Low Tech, Small Tech, Dumb (or no) Tech, LSD Tech is more popular than ever, especially among the non–dependent.

Big Tech has never played fairly with anything outside their ecosystems, and I get it; they have many thousands of hands in the one proverbial money–pie. Big Tech App Play Stores may allow users to install FOSS Apps, such as Firefox Mobile or DuckDuckGo Mobile, but Small Tech works better on other Small Tech like Linux; here's a new $130 mini PC with Ubuntu.

It is in Big Tech's financial interest to write code that explicitly but covertly causes small glitches and/or poor performance, when users try any Small Tech products on any Big Tech product; an easy task for them. They must drive users back to full dependency (then addiction) to their ecosystem; the gullible gulp it down like poisoned Kool–Aid!

Android came from FOSS, and though it's not anymore, it is less dominating than MS & Apple when it comes to user ecosystem isolation. Even Pixel phones can have Android replaced (see Linux Geek). But as Big Tech they cannot (and do not) lose money allowing this.

The back doors that all Big Tech mastered, back in the early 00's, can best be seen once a user moves away from them. Try a dual-boot or Winux; Windows with any Linux OS. Then, never use Windows or download anything onto the OS drive. What you'll notice over time is a gradual filling of the OS hard drive, but with no obvious files accounting for it. Also, remove any Windows HDD, wipe & reformat it to EXT4; notice that 20GB+ of space missing but unaccounted for?

One must assume that all Big Tech is spying, but it's not paranoia; Big Tech with ad and service oriented portfolios, are primarily data miners, so it's their duty to do so; they have shareholders to appease. But Big Tech entities all have different profit portfolios. Walmart is #1 money–wise but they're not Big Tech.

Walmart profits by selling goods; as a Plus customer, they already have my address and debit card data. With Prime, Amazon does too. But they got tentacles into many places; Alphabet makes most its profits from Google ads, but they're diversified so AI & Cloud is catching up.

I always ask non-Techs who hack their phones, to provide me with all the data programmed on every chip in their devices; I want to make sure that there's no back doors coded in any of them. Of course, they have no idea what I'm even talking about. They think everything occurs at the hard drive level, exposing ignorance.

Of course, too many resellers/retailers are scam artists; what they do borders on illegal; sometimes it is. Such retailers exploit gullible people; those who cannot manage money; they're always broke because they naively buy into whatever is sold to them, in whatever market they live inside of.

In the Capitalist West, the Cult of Debt is Big business; the gullible soak it up. I borrowed money for 3 vehicles and 1 house; that was in the mid-1980's; haven't borrowed a dime since. I have no idea what my credit report says and don't care; it's not a part of my world.

Today, people borrow for things that cost less than $25,000. Like for a phone! Insane! I don't drive, but if I did, I'd never borrow money even for a car. Those who do this expose to the world of their inability to manage money. For them, they just don't make quite enough; that is always–always the excuse. Money councilors will request bank account statements for the last 3 years; they usually walk out at that point.

The wise are patient, live well below their income, and in doing so, they do not fall prey to pay–later schemes. Most phones are security updated for 4 to 5 years, even though they're not on the latest OS iteration. And the cheapest plans are those paid for in advance; the longer ahead the better the deal (e.g. Mint).

Phone retailers buy phones from manufacturers then reprogram and repackage them so they appear as factory new phones. Since manufacturers sell most phones this way, they look the other way. All smart Techs tell those they know, never to buy a phone from a service retailer/reseller. Get your phone sent to you direct from the maker of it.

Resellers bundle a phone with the service, then play numbers games to trick the gullible into believing they're getting as better deal. And the gullible are either mentally ill (a possibility), or they're more likely just irrational; victims of the Cult of Debt and cannot admit it to self, so they accept and allow the deception.

But those phones are owned by the reseller/retailer; they do this to create dependency on them; they're not governed by anyone; even if they claim to unlock the phone after a period of time. Try to get a refund, or get warranty service done from a phone manufacturer like Motorola or Samsung (buy direct & unlocked).

Hacked phones are reprogrammed in too many ways to count; people start having technical issues with their phones because they void factory warranties in their hacks, intended to control the phone so buyers have to go through them for everything concerning that phone. Frustrated users will attack the brand on Forums, when it's most likely an issue caused by the hack.

I bought and altered my second ASOP directly from Motorola; an unlocked Power G. As a Tech, I'd never take a reprogrammed phone from a reseller, even for free. And WiFi calling is often disabled on those, which makes sense.

But the gullible, trapped in such dependency, seek a way out of it. Non-Techs online peddle the idea that hacking the phone, again, with another OS, will solve dependency issues. Following that advice, now they have it all figured out, proceeding to teach everyone else how to subvert data mining by replacing the OS. But it doesn't work quite that simply; swapping an OS on anything that started as Proprietary, cannot eliminate the potential for spying. Virgin parts only people!

All ASOP devices can be deGoogled without changing the OS. First, disable Apps that cannot be deleted: open App Info, select one, clear the storage & cache, force stop, then disable, and especially Chrome Browser. Always recheck them following any App updates. Of pass on buying them to begin with!

The Linux Fairphone 5 (Murena in the U.S.) are set apart from all others that I currently know of; the only phone with a 5 year warranty, and like Linux, it has perpetual updates and upgrades. Murena has 2TB capable SD Card capability; no more Cloud anything; that alone is impressive. Release versions on any electronics is only about planned obsolescence that would be criminal in a Just society.

But if you're stuck with a bad one, just delete/disable every Ad–App–Trap; make Firefox the default. It will give warnings but I've done this on Android phones without issue, just don't disable system dependent ones like Android Accessibility or any "System" App. Finally, in FF settings: Open Links in Apps is set to Never.

Run Firefox Mobile with UBO as well. Use FF instead of apps, where possible. Here's a screenshot of Firefox Home page; I save Collections there, or there's the option to save like it's a single–site App, by selecting Add to Home Screen, and here's a screenshot of a created Reddit and a Starbucks App.

If you're too unskilled to avoid Apps, I recommend installing all Fossify apps to replace ones current options, which cannot be replaced with the FF Browser option. There's a growing FOSS market for (free & paid) versions of everything from maps, to email and calendar options like Proton; here's a screenshot of mine.

I cannot even imagine all the possible chip-level spyware and additional bloatware they install on them; to have a Tech who works for the resellers; people I do not know, modifying code and reprogramming my personal phone? Yea, that's never going to happen! It shocks me that people are that gullible!

Not only would I not take it for free, I would not use it with my personal data on it, even if the service was also free; these phones are little more than portable malware devices. It's called critical thinking and original thoughts; i.e. do not be a follower drone automaton of anyone else.

And don't trust anonymous users; they're likely a Big Tech Troll, or AI Bots, or worse, those who need an audience to expel their great wisdom upon, anonymously of course, as they do not want to be held $$ accountable if their advice screws you!

Any hardware made by any Big Tech entity, such as Apple products/services, MS laptops/PC's, Google Pixel phones and Chromebooks; these have all been compromised at the chip level, so simply rooting a phone or laptop, does not exclude it from tracking or spying. Indeed, the ADB and Fastboot Drivers used to hack all Android phones were written originally by, yep, Google Techs.

But non–Tech users don't know; they pretend–play hackers on subs like Reddits degoogle, who think they're sticking to the man, in this case, Google. As an actual FOSS Tech, beware of anonymous user advice by attention–seeking individuals hungering for upvote approval. If they peddle any Big Tech hardware (e.g. rooting Pixel phones), they're either amateurs, or a Big Tech Troll.

Operating systems are not where meaningful privacy is lost; rooting a phone or laptop to install another OS, only allows a user to change the OS, which is the surface of tech devices; same with a MS Surface laptop that one installs Linux on. A user cannot just wipe Big Tech from their own hardware.

Big Tech hardware makers, like Surface or Pixel, would not allow users to change the OS if that cut their access to their hardware. The fact that they do, says more than anything else to actual Techs. In fact, a rooted phone is far more likely to be foreign spy–hacked than one monitored by Big Tech.

Real spying is not done on the Operating System level of any motherboard. Alphabet and Agents know were every modern phone is at right now, rooted or not. Don't get your Tech knowledge from TV fiction or from anonymous non-Tech consumers. A user can buy a Surface, install a new hard drive, then put a Linux Distro on it. Then, reinstall Windows on that new drive without doing anything else; try it! Why? Because MS (or Alphabet) owns the motherboard and all its soldered components; hard drives (and RAM) run only the OS.

Now, if phones are used primarily as portable devices, and not replacements to (uncompromised) laptop/PC's, they're great. I've had zero issues with this unit. Typically people use far too many propriety Apps, which gag and corrupt the device, then complain it's junk. I'm on my second Motorola (mid–21 & mid–24), but my next unit (mid–27) will be a Murena.

If one needs a phone to be a laptop (bad idea), premium phones are the only option, and even then those cannot keep up all the time. And they're equally unsafe. But that's why reviews for phones are all over the map; users want a $1300 phone for under $200, and when it does not preform the same they bitch. I will not even consider a phone without an SD Card slot; my SD Card is the centerpiece of my phone/s. As a Safe Tech I'd never consider signing any contract for phone service; do not give your payment credentials to such businesses; use only no contract phone plans.

What makes phones insecure is that they're airwaves dependent (Cellular mainly & WiFi). Amazingly, people still insist they are more secure, but phones can be hacked 🎥. One way to add a bit of security to some features, is to Shelter Apps. Aside from all of that, they're still just Ad–App–Traps.

Any signal traveling by air is more vulnerable than hardwired tech. This has been the case for a few decades, but with wireless now ubiquitous, most Tech companies played it down; they still do. There's people who once argued with me (on Reddit) that phones are the safest devices there are; they are either simpletons, or they're (more likely) employed, where wireless tech is their income and cannot afford for this truth to be mainstream.

But this is why I've been warning people about an over dependency on phones; they are not computers. Single–site App sandboxing helps, but it's what takes place in between the phone itself and the tower they rely on for all communication. There's no way I'd give my debit card info to any App/Play Store. And all this assumes one can trust App Developers themselves!

It is possible to hack a hardwired PC, but not nearly as easy as it is, via the airwaves. In this particular article, China is doing it. One would have to have physical contact with equipment, and even then with everything going buried fiber optics, hacking that would require skills well beyond mere Tech hacking.

Ad–App–Traps intentionally go to one site; it's just like bookmarks in any web browser, except that the App Developers dictate the terms of interaction; that's by design. Using Firefox (on Android & Linux) with uBlock Origin, phone owners have much more control. Since I do not use or recommend anything from the Apple closed ecosystem, I have no experience with how Firefox works on their products.

Because Ad–App–Traps funnel users to their site only, and controlling the interaction narrative, the phone owner cannot block ads or otherwise modify the App; this means the App keeps the door open so rotating Ads can be sent to the App; multiply that times every App on the phone, 24/7. What takes place "out of sight" with Apps would terrify users: Even those paid for!

Using Firefox for Android with UBO, I use it like I do with a PC/laptop. Phones are good portable devices but they do not replace a PC/laptop. Phones are best for navigation, communication, clock & calendar, weather, music, and taking quick pics; I sync pics with Amazon Photos App, but mostly for sharing (e.g.), not just backup. I USB–tether my phone to a PC occasionally to transfer photos out, and new ripped music/pods in.

I stream nothing on a phone; I play downloaded music files & Pods with Musicolet. I'd never buy a phone without an SD card slot. My Moto has within a 1/2 TB SD Card; it has my current 16,479 song library on it, all in FLAC format and with album art, taking about 350 GB of space. My photos take about the same space, and I use a tripod and handlebar mountable Action Cam for longer videos.

I've been checking out for free, via the many Public Libraries I've been to over the last few decades, music CD's, and ripping them Asunder, either in the Library, or at home if it's my local PL. Got a CD/DVD USB drive in 2010 that I still use today. And a DVD rips to MP4 via Handbrake; this has netted a huge personal library.

Thankfully, some youth are ditching Smartphones; buying talk & text only phones, or some the size of standard phones today but have no internet access. I think they know that Smartphones reduce brainpower just sitting there. I was mid–30's before modern tech was even common, so it's easy to do without any of it (I'm That 70's Show ;–). But most are consumer drones and fully indoctrinated by the ad/media world; I imagine avoiding Tech is harder for many, than for this old Tech Geek!

For PC's & laptops, avoid Big Tech Operating Systems (OS) like MS & Mac; stay in Linux Lane; even there one must install all things via the builtin Software Manager that comes with the Distro. There's too much compromised out in the Wild; using command line should be limited to experienced users; I myself use it but only to install what's already in the Software Manager, only all at once, and only on a new OS install; here's a plain text guide.

Big Tech must/will always make any/all Small Tech clash, for one simple reason; they want everyone to use proprietary products, because they make zero monies from FOSS products; in fact they lose money. MS wants you to use Edge and iOS Safari, but since Chrome is popular, Big Tech has worked with the Chromium Project to keep back doors open in its base–code; they must; there's too much money at stake. It's why Chrome works good on any OS. But LibreWolf or Firefox is safer.

So, if a user has (an array of) issues or glitches with, say, Firefox on Windows or Apple, this is expected, since they want the experience with Firefox to be negative so the user will go back to the web browser they manage (Edge & Safari, or even Chrome as it's tweak–able): This is just good business. I can prove this; just go to Reddit Firefox for a perpetual scroll of empirical evidence.

Add to that; if frustrated users will complain about Firefox (or any other non–proprietary product) all over Social Media, all the better for them; free advertising. Heck, why not just have your many thousands of employees pose as users and do just that. Hmmm...

Ad–App–Trap TV's outsmart users to do their bidding. Ad–App–Traps are content funnels and data extractors, where the user is their product; they heavily restrict where users can go while using them; Apps tightly control all communication, and restrict how users interact with the Wild Wild Web. Most are drones who comply with this collective, and why it's so successful.

The Web has an estimated 2 billion active sites on it, but the average TV or Phone comes with fewer than 2 dozen single–site Apps, mostly within that brands ecosystem. The Wild Wild Web has been fully tamed by Big Tech, and everyone presses into it. To be free again, one must first abandon the single–site Ad–App–Traps on everything. Even Web China is more liberated than Westerners stuck in Ad–App–Traps.

Be a smart user and get an App Free TV; or just don't allow it to connect to the Web unless it's temporary for manual updates. All modern big screens can be a PC monitor; all come with HDMI Inputs, and all modern PC's come with HDMI Out. Just get a proper cable. Even an Ad–App–Trap TV is safe if there's not a Web connection to it.

That's where a NUC PC will excel; it's called a media PC but can be used like any PC; I'm on one now. Utilizing DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials offers many privacy and security features; I use its the email option; it also prevents spam. The DDG phone browser has app tracking protection for the entire phone, all free.

The Starlabs Byte is awesome; it's configurable with Linux OS's to choose from. That and a media keyboard and you're set. Connect an antenna for local stations as a cordcutter. Play everything (full screen) via the Firefox browser with UBO running, and gone are the days of streamed ads.

I have Amazon Prime basic; Hulu basic (13 months $99); Paramount+ basic (free with a Walmart+ account); and Pluto On Demand. It also works with Peacock & Netflix basic, and YouTube. UBO cuts out all ads; I've never seen one. I'm on Linux Mint using Firefox; your experience will differ if you mix any FOSS with anything Big Tech. If I'm ever prevented from streaming my way, I'll just cancel!

I've been a side–gig Webmaster since 2008 and side–gig techie since 10. As a self-learner most of my life, I taught my teen self woodworking and later as a carpenter, building new homes as an employee; then I became a General Contractor (employer in 94) at 26 years old, and off & on self-employed since then.

Knowing I was not going to be able to labor like that forever, and tiring of the Industry and the business (E.g.), I thought it time to learn new skills; computers (like all electronics) were tangible things I'd dismantle & reassemble; I could tinker with them, like installing Linux on dead PC's donated to me (in the early aughts). I'd replace the HDD with a SSD; back then I'd install Ubuntu.

Learning basic code from sites like W3 Schools, CodePen and others, allowed me to build simple websites; that and Ctrl+U to peek when I saw something I liked. I began on the now–defunct Geocities then later I paid GoDaddy, then even later I used (and still use for a decade now) the awesome FOSS Host Neocities.

What began as free Tech help for friends, led to evermore seekers; it became a side–gig. I was a cheaper alternative to The Geek Squad, whenever they were nearby, but some had things on their hard drives they did not want the Geek Squad employees to see. They did not need an appointment either.

I ran free ads in Craigslist, and was busy for a long time. I was building simple websites for people, as well as fixing computers, profiting from the Windows fiasco; the blue screen of death, ransomware, etc. It amazed me how much cash people were willing to pay to get their "data" from a ransomed PC; people never backup data; their "faith" in Big Tech is naively misplaced. But what unfurled was the psychology behind the Tech.

Most people are too easily led by Ad World. Add to that the needy hunger to be accepted by others, even though most others rarely give a crap about anyone else but self. And brand loyalty always fascinated me; a cult–like devotion to a product/brand that one does not own, or work at, or profit from; and worse, that business doesn't know they exist. That's pathetic!

Other small advantages are free but limited cell phone service; half off discounts with Walmart+ & Amazon Prime accounts. I do not own a car so literally everything gets delivered. I never go out and bring anything back except takeout. I Micro-Mobile!

We all have choices to make in this life; are you going to swallow everything put in front of you? Or are you going to think outside that box? Please, gain critical thinking skills and individual thoughts; be self-aware; ask yourself if you are just mindlessly copying everyone else in proximity.

Do research and try to make wise choices, for those around you now, and for Earth, and for all future generations. Do you think it's fine to support planet destroying billionaires, or will you do without some conveniences?

People who only compare some Big Tech product or service to a Small Tech competitor, and chooses Big Tech, are admitting they don't care, so long as life is convenient for them in the now. They will sacrifice nothing, and that's a big win for the wealth–desperate Cons & Grifters!