Quick linux awareness rant that I hope inspires a few people

[mowglixx]

#rant #awareness #computers #windows #linux #mac #privacy #longone

 

read this if you respect your own privacy and want to make an informed decision about your data and who see's what you do on your PC

Before reading this in case you don't know what open source means:
https://opensource.org/osd

 

A few weeks ago I switched to Ubuntu for my daily desktop and laptop OS and I'm very happy with it, does what I need it to do and is very snappy and responsive, I realise that other closed source options have been doing some questionable things to their users privacy and therefore has made me look for an alternative.

 

Windows (10 anyway)
All Windows 10 devices report back to Microsoft things like Internet history (Via DNS lookups so incognito does nothing), pointer location, what you click on, what you're watching, what you're reading, what file types you store on your PC, what apps you download (from Microsoft Store only AFAIK), not to mention what you look like in the dark with the use of windows hello and this is sometimes in 3D; the list goes on and is quite frankly troublesome to stop, not impossible but why is it so difficult to stop a 3rd party from having access to your data? The sneaky side of this is that even if you manage to disable all of the snooping telemetry it gets re-enabled after a major Windows update which now thanks to WaaS (Windows as a Service) you can't disable unless you employ a DNS blocking strategy, similar to an adblocker but for the Windows Update servers, or buying an Enterprise/Education license which need volume licensing (non-retail). This is also the ONLY PAID RETAIL OS NOW, Mac stopped charging for their OS's with the release of OS X Mavericks back in 2013 and Linux (With the exception of a few enterprise distrobutions like red hat). Now, don't get me wrong, the data points that are collected are anonymized and not linked to your identity in anyway but with a little digging and enough research into the target I believe this would be possible to link data points and habits to an ID, needless to say I would prefer to have the option to disable ALL tracking with a simple tickbox and for it not to reset when MS decide to roll out a biannual often untested update which in some cases has deleted users files.

Needless to say I'm subjective AF on the matter it's really rubbed me up the wrong way.

 

OS X

OS X ( pronounced OS Ten incase you didn't know *mindblown*) is "Exclusive" to Apple Mac devices through licensing and installation restriction, it is TECHNICALLY piracy in most parts of the world to install OS X on anything but an authorised Apple device such as a Macbook normal/air/pro, Mac Pro/Mini or an iMac normal/pro all of which are really nicely made machines with gorgeous looks, build quality and functionality (purely subjective ofc) the downside of this is that although mac has a specialplace in my heart they typically have terrible specs when it comes to gpu's and if you want one with a half decent GPU it'll cost you an arm and a leg, this should be improving in the coming years as Apple has started adding eGPU access to it's thunderbolt equiped devices and has also started equiping their high end machines like the mac pro with AMD GPU's as they slowly venture into gaming territory with thier upcoming gaming platform that keeps on being rumoured, their privacy options are great letting you opt out of data collection as part of the setup wizard when you first start a new mac/fresh install of OS X.
Long and short OS X is like a controlled linux distrobution with currated apps from a company that has enough shift in the market to get developers on board and paid.
 

Linux, time to spot the difference...
Free, Open Source, Doesn't spy on you, if you don't like it... uninstall it INCLUDING THE DEFAULT BROWSER AND EVEN THE DESKTOP, ability to store ANY FOLDER ON THE OS ON A DIFFERENT DRIVE AS PART OF THE INSTALLATION PROCESS!!!, download a pre-made distrobution or if you have the know-how "roll-your-own" (actual terminology from one of the distrobutions) i've seen!, pain in the ass when you aren't used to the command line... oh yeh theres that, because of the variety in the distrobutions there is no clear winner on this front,

• Ubuntu/Mint
  great for new users that want a simple and friendly experience
• Arch/Manjaro
  great for developers and powerusers
• Debian
  great for a coffee machine if you really wanted to make one, along with ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED TO DO CAUSE IT'S BASIC AF (minimal install size of debian 9 is ~500Mb)
• Kali/Parrot Security
  Industry standard penetration testing tools for hacking testing the security of WiFi/Bluetooth/Storage/WebServers/Routers the list goes on.

Basically if you need it there is a distro for it, my partner Kirsty was complaining about not having [ctrl+alt+delete] to close a crashed app I had to explain to her that it's only the app that has crashed so she can just open system monitor from the "start menu" (as to not to confuse her with the lingo, am I right sysadmins?) and I just said linux is open enough that if she just googles the issue or if she wanted to she could just setup her own [ctrl+alt+delete] or whatever key combo she wanted to open the app Just like Windows™.
I've lost steam over this now so just to get somebody to try it out, here is acouple of links to get you in the experimenting mood...

 

Virtualbox
allows you to make virtual PC's on your PC!
- All OS's: https://www.virtualbox.org

 

Ubuntu
free secure OS for humans, based off debian
Ive included 2 links for different flavours that will make the learning curve a little less steep...
- Windows users: https://kubuntu.org
- Mac users: https://ubuntu.com

 

Debian
great little OS for pretty much anything or if you like to craft your own
https://www.debian.org

 

POP! OS
For the gamers that can't live without steam, based off debian
https://system76.com/pop

 

Manjaro
still linux but based off of arch, a different type of linux
https://manjaro.org

 

Arch
Not recomended for beginers but to quote Kanye West "That that don't kill me, can only make me stronger"
https://www.archlinux.org

 

Kali Linux
Penetration testing and advanced hardened security.
AS SEEN ON TV 
"Bonsoir, Elliot."
https://www.kali.org/

Parrot Security
More friendly version of penetration testing with all the tools to "test" wifi security.
https://parrotlinux.org/

 

Qubes OS
Recommended by Ben Snowden and the Guardian project for anonimity while online and is arguably the safest way for journalists and informants to communicate to MI5 and/or to news sources from within unsafe/censored countries suchas communist china, russia, north korea and palestine.
https://www.qubes-os.org/

 

The Guardian Project

Highly recomended even just for a read

"Guardian Project creates easy to use secure apps, open-source software libraries, and customized solutions that can be used around the world by any person looking to protect their communications and personal data from unjust intrusion, interception and monitoring.
Whether your are an average person looking to affirm your rights or an activist, journalist or humanitarian organization looking to safeguard your work in this age of perilous global communication, we can help address the threats you face."
-taken from the about page at the time of writting (20/09/2019).
https://guardianproject.info

 

PS did you notice I forgot the most popular Linux OS of them all?
made by Google (we won't go there today...)

Android
https://www.android.com

free, open source, auditable, securable and customisable.

FOSS FTW!

Edited September 20, 2019 by mowglixx
Clearing up formatting

[PlayStation 2]

Writing a wall of text won't inspire anyone. If you wanna convince anyone to switch to a Linux distro, it would be a lot easier to write it out in a form that's a lot more digestible.

[mowglixx]

11 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

Writing a wall of text won't inspire anyone. If you wanna convince anyone to switch to a Linux distro, it would be a lot easier to write it out in a form that's a lot more digestible.

Fair point edited now, any better?

[kokakolia]

Step 1: Install Ubuntu

Step2: Get flustered with stupid bugs, performance slowdowns and the realization that most useful software and games don’t work

Step 3: Install Windows 10.

[mowglixx]

13 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

Step 1: Install Ubuntu

Step2: Get flustered with stupid bugs, performance slowdowns and the realization that most useful software and games don’t work

Step 3: Install Windows 10.

hahaha, very tempting at first tbf

[kokakolia]

13 minutes ago, mowglixx said:

hahaha, very tempting at first tbf

I tried Linux several times and perpetuated that cycle. I would say that Ubuntu and Linux Mint are OK. But just OK, not great. And that’s assuming you’re just browsing the web, which is fine for most things unless you have to do work. 

[lloose]

I see these kinds of posts all the time and don’t they convince anyone to switch to Linux. They all mention a huge list of why Windows and Microsoft is terrible and why Linux is the perfect solution. None of the things said about windows is backed with any sources, and all of the negative points about Linux are completely ignored. If you want to write something that draws people to Linux, don’t start by trying to make people feel bad for using something they love. Give the positives about Linux and if people want to try it they will. Be honest with the negative points too. People are going to have issues with it and when they do, they feel lied to and generally go right back to Windows. I love Linux and have been using it for a long time. People have their own reasons for switching, and doomsday opinion rants like this don’t do much to convince people. 

[kokakolia]

On one hand this post is preaching to a choir of technically inclined people who care about the operating system they use. Most people don’t care. Most people just want to use their favourite programs. 

 

On the other hand, it’s a good time to try Linux because almost everything can be done on a web browser, so it’s less of a bother to use an unpopular OS.