<description><p>Taking backups is crucial in every single context. There is simply no situation where the lack of backups was beneficial. Such situations are always detrimental to people. Backups are also important for businesses, especially ones which are responsible for the lives of people, like hospitals.</p>
<p>Taking backups prevents data loss due to software or hardware errors. Even accidents have a minimal impact if you have a backup. It allows businesses to keep growing instead of being worried about recovering crucial client data. For public services like hospitals, being hit with ransomware is an extremely difficult moment. If the ransom is not paid immediately, it can result in loss of human lives. This is why you either have backups or lose money.</p>
<p>Losing precious memories hurts. Backups prevent this gut-wrenching scenario from ever occurring. With many spectacular backup solutions being free or cheap, there is absolutely no reason to take backups. If you work with new computers and devices regularly, then taking backups makes it easy to migrate and install multiple instances on new devices. This is especially easy with Linux systems due to the simple dotfile method. It also provides version control. If you have old versions of documents and files, it is easy to refer to previous examples for future work.</p>
<p>If there is one thing that people love about backups, it is the peace of mind you get knowing that you have an extremely low chance of losing your important data.</p>
<p>It does not matter if you are a normal person or a massive business; you should spend time and money to back up your data properly.</p>
<p>The 3-2-1 backup rule is a rule that many people recommend following to remember to take proper backups. Here is the meaning of each of the numbers:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Three Copies</strong>: The "3" in the rule means that you should at least three copies of your data. This includes your original data, so you should have at least your original data along with two other copies. The advantage of having these many copies is that it is the perfect balance of simplicity and redundancy.</li>
<li><strong>Two Different Media</strong>: The "2" in the rule means that you should have your backups on at least two different media types. This may include physical (external SSD, NAS) and digital (server you own, cloud storage) backups.</li>
<li><strong>One Off-site Copy</strong>: The "1" in the rule means that you should have at least one off-site copy. Off-site in this case means somewhere other than your main home or regular backup methods. This can be an encrypted external hard drive that you leave at your relative's house, for example.</li>
</ol>
<p>It is important to note that these rules are not a plan for everyone, and are instead meant as a base for your backup plans. The least important data that you own should at least be backed up using the base 3-2-1 backup plan.</p>
<p>When it comes to using Big Tech's invasive services, you have to be extremely careful since they do not respect your privacy at all. At the bare minimum, you should be encrypting the files you upload if they are even of a little importance to you.</p>
<p>A popular program for file and drive encryption is VeraCrypt. To learn how to use it in detail, <ahref="https://yewtu.be/watch?v=cxo8xosH_TI">watch this video</a>. The overall process goes like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Create a new encrypted file specifying the password and other details like total space.</li>
<li><strong>Save the password somewhere safe to not forget it.</strong></li>
<li>Unlock the file using your password.</li>
<li>Copy all your important files to it.</li>
<li>Unmount the file</li>
<li>Upload it wherever you want</li>
</ol>
<p>This makes it difficult to easily access your files from your phone or another device, but it is totally worth it for your privacy.</p>
<p>Services like Mega allow you to pay for more storage, just like Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox. There are privacy concerns with the latter three, however. ProtonDrive is also a good option, but it has had some controversy due to the <ahref="https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/">privacy concerns of ProtonMail</a>. However, I am comfortable recommending it.</p>
<p>BackBlaze is a backup program that is under the <ahref="https://opensource.org/license/mit/">MIT licence</a>. It works really well for most of their customers, so I am comfortable recommending it.</p>
<p>When you are using services you own, you have to make sure that you verify the integrity of your files. File corruption can happen on every platform, but it is much better to verify your files on your server since there may be issues with your setup that causes file corruption.</p>
<p>It is also important to keep a separate drive or storage medium on your services if possible. If anything happens to your main system, it becomes really easy to just wipe the system and install a new one, knowing that your data is safe.</p>
<p>You can also use sync services like Syncthing for small files that you need synced within all of your devices. I use it to sync my password manager and personal notes. It is encrypted and open-source software and works extremely fast. It is so fast that by the time I save a file and open my phone, the file is already updated. This prevents conflicts.</p>
<p>If you are taking offline backups, you should be careful with encrypting your data if you need it. You should first assess whether you need encryption or not. If you live in an area with a lot of robberies, encrypt it, as a robber who is smart enough may steal your drive.</p>
<p>Make sure to get an external hard drive or SSD from a reputable company like <ahref="https://www.westerndigital.com/products?filterByUseCaseName=Backups">Western Digital</a> or <ahref="https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/memory-storage/portable-solid-state-drives/">Samsung</a>.</p>
<p>By buying a product from a reputable company, you get a reliable product that lasts a long time.</p>
<p>While it is important to back up your data, it is also important to maintain your backups. At the end of every month, check your backups to see if your files are still intact. If a specific backup medium keeps showing corruption in files, move it to another drive immediately, since they can fail at any time.</p>
<p>While it is important to take backups, it is also important to make sure you are taking them properly. Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule. If you are using invasive services, encrypt all of your files before uploading them using a trusted piece of software like VeraCrypt.</p>
<p>Try to use services that you own as much as possible, to be completely independent. Make sure to have offline backups.</p>
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<description><p>I have recently been using <ahref="https://github.com/vimwiki/vimwiki">VimWiki</a> to take all of my notes instead of Joplin, and it has been working really well. It has its own <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">Markdown (.md)</a> format, but I use regular <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">Markdown (.md)</a> with it. I use Syncthing to sync all my notes to all of my devices. There is barely any delay, so there are never any conflict issues.</p>
<h2><iclass="fa fa-question-circle"aria-hidden="true"></i>What Is VimWiki?</h2>
<p>VimWiki is a plugin for Vim or Neovim that allows you to create a personal wiki. On this wiki, you can add anything you want. It is essentially <ahref="https://obsidian.md/">Obsidian</a> but more minimal and scriptable.</p>
<p>Since it runs in Vim or Neovim, it is extremely fast, lightweight and has barely any bloat. It runs blazingly fast even on old devices. The capability is also extremely high, since you can edit files at light speed when you learn Vim or Neovim properly.</p>
<h2><iclass="fa fa-user-secret"aria-hidden="true"></i>How Is It Useful?</h2>
<p>Using VimWiki, it is trivial to organise notes, ideas, diaries, to-do lists or even future plans. It supports tables, links and much more. There is even an option to export your <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">Markdown (.md)</a> files to HTML, which allows you to create webpages quickly.</p>
<p>It allows you to do everything regular <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">Markdown (.md)</a> can do and more. For example, you can have checklists with progress on them, like this;</p>
<p><strong>[ ] --> 0% complete</strong></p>
<p><strong>[.] --> 1% - 33% complete</strong></p>
<p><strong>[o]--> 33% - 66% complete</strong></p>
<p><strong>[O]--> 66% - 99% complete</strong></p>
<p><strong>[X]--> 100% complete</strong></p>
<p>You can even have pre-formatted text. This makes it useful to add and explain code.</p>
<h2><iclass="fa fa-mobile"aria-hidden="true"></i>How Do You Use It?</h2>
<p>On my computers, I use Neovim to use VimWiki. When it comes to my phone, I use the <ahref="https://github.com/gsantner/markor">Markor</a> app, which is a <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">Markdown (.md)</a> viewer. It is not the best experience on mobile, but I am willing to give that up for an amazing experience on my computers, since I use and note down things on my computer more.</p>
<p>The reason I am using VimWiki now is mainly to stay in line with me preferring plaintext to proprietary note apps or formats. As I mentioned in my last post, I try to use as much plaintext as possible to prevent distractions and have easy access to my notes wherever and whenever I want to.</p>
<p>To conclude, I switched to VimWiki because I find it faster and easier to use Neovim directly on my computer. I love using <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">Markdown (.md)</a>, so I feel at home when using VimWiki. It is also because I prefer to use plaintext as much as possible.</p>
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<description><p>Almost everything I write is in plaintext or is as close to plaintext as possible. For example, I prepare plans to work on a project, future articles or brand case studies in plaintext before further processing.</p>
<p>The first step of everything I do is plaintext. I store my notes in <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">markdown</a> format. However, the first step is always to write everything in plaintext to get whatever I need to write out of my head. Formatting such as headings and underlines come after the aforementioned initial step.</p>
<p>So, why do I do this? Why am I so boring when it comes to writing down text?</p>
<p>By writing in plaintext, you drop the fear of losing your files in case you do not have the internet. If you use a notes app that fetches your notes from the internet, then it will be tedious to access your notes when you really need them.</p>
<p>Another unspoken advantage of having offline plaintext files is that you can turn off your internet to avoid all distractions and simply write your heart's desires out.</p>
<p>If you save your notes in a proprietary notes app or use an application like Microsoft Word to write your notes, then you are at the mercy of the creator of the specific file format you are using. If you do not have access to the program in question at any moment, you will not be able to open your notes at all.</p>
<p>Plaintext files are universal. You can open them on any device anywhere in the world. This makes them extremely powerful as you can use them on the slowest of devices without any issues.</p>
<p>If you write text in plaintext files, it is trivial to write without any distractions. This is similar to the operating structure of HTML or LaTeX. You focus on one thing at a time. If you need to do something else with the file, you can use another program to do it instead of having everything in one big file.</p>
<p>You can use scripts to automatically search for content in plaintext files and perform actions on them. This can, for example, be used to automatically look for categories in a plaintext file and convert them into <ahref="../definitions/markdown"style="color:#50fa7b">markdown</a> files.</p>
<p>All in all, I use plaintext files because I can access them whenever and wherever I want on any device. It allows me to future-proof my writing and it also allows me to be more productive.</p>
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<description><p>I believe that everyone should download most of the files they use through torrents as much as possible. This is because of its philosophy to share and contribute. It has numerous advantages as well.</p>
<h2>Myths</h2>
<p>First, let's clear a few myths about torrenting.</p>
<h3>"Torrenting is illegal!"</h3>
<p>No. Torrenting is not illegal. This is the most common myth about torrenting that scares people off. Torrents are a way to share files of all types and this also includes illegal files and copyrighted material. If you get caught torrenting files that are copyrighted, then the owner of the file has the right to take action. However, you torrenting a Linux ISO or a file that is in the public domain and free for anyone to use is not illegal. In fact, it is recommended to prevent censorship.</p>
<h3>"Torrenting is only used to pirate material!"</h3>
<p>While there is some truth in it, <strong>it is not used only to pirate material.</strong> Torrenting is an amazing way to share files with numerous advantages.</p>
<h2>Advantages</h2>
<p>Torrenting has numerous advantages, mainly:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>RELIABILITY: </strong>Files are not hosted on a single source. If a file is popular and being seeded by many people, it is practically impossible to shut down its torrent.</li>
<li><strong>FLEXIBILITY: </strong>You can pause, stop and resume downloads at any time.</li>
<li><strong>SPEED: </strong>Torrents help download a file faster than tradition downloads if you find good seeders close to you.</li>
<li><strong>UNCENSORED: </strong>Files that are being torrented can include material that is being censored by governments. These files can be shared to people living in all countries.</li>
<li><strong>CONTRIBUTE: </strong>If you have a lot of bandwidth, it is trivial to contribute by seeding a file.</li>
<li><strong>ORIGINAL: </strong>Files are in their original format. There can be no modification by a central source.</li>
</ol>
<p>Let us expand on the points. Firstly, torrenting is reliable because files are not hosted on a single source. It is common for websites to be taken down and the files along with it. This causes issues if you are looking for a file urgently but the websites that had the file are all taken down. Secondly, flexibility. If you download files normally from a web browser, closing the browser on accident or your laptop battery running out of charge will stop the download. After you turn it back on, you will have to start the download all over again. This is not the case with torrents as they take random pieces of your file from many people and piece them together after the download is over. This means that the order of the pieces do not matter while the file is downloading and it is easier to stop the download and continue it months later.</p>
<p>Torrenting has a speed advantage. If you are in Asia and the server you are downloading a file from is in the United States, you will have an incredibly hard time downloading it. The speed will be painfully slow. However, if you torrent the same file and it is popular enough, there is a high chance that someone near you is seeding the file. This means that the file downloads swiftly.</p>
<p>Torrenting is also a tool used to combat censorship. If there are any files that a government does not want its citizens to view, torrenting allows individuals from outside the country to share it with citizens of the government in question.</p>
<p>You can contribute heavily by torrenting. After you finish downloading (leeching) a file, you begin a process known as seeding. Seeding is a process in which you start sharing the file you have with other people. This is helpful for many people as, without seeding, there would be no torrents. The whole philosophy of torrents is to be a good person and share the files you have with other people.</p>
<p>Originality is also a factor in torrenting. With torrenting, you can be sure that a file is the same file that you should be downloading and that there is no modification or tampering with the file.</p>
<h2>Things To Remember</h2>
<p>Do not pirate illegal content. ISPs will block your service after a few strikes if they take it seriously. Do not be a leecher. A leecher is someone that downloads a file from a torrent but does not seed it. If most people are leechers, then the torrented file is unlikely to thrive as leechers take and do not give back. Let your ratio reach to at least 1.05:1 to give back how much you take and also to allow for failed downloads to be compensated for.</p>
<p>Be smart when downloading torrents. Make sure you have enough disk space and verify and scan for viruses.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Torrents should be used whenever possible. They are reliable, fast, prevent censorship, allow people to contribute easily, are flexible and cannot be manipulated easily. Just keep in mind to give back to the community by seeding and do not download illegal media.</p>
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<description><p>Oversimplification kills. It is as simple as that. Most of the time, there are simple solutions to a problem that work well which are not used because individuals feel like they need to be more simple.</p>
<p>If you want to get more technical, think about the over-engineering of website builders. Instead of having a simple piece of software that generates static sites and blog posts based on <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/markdown">markdown</a> files, we have ultra-bloated website builders that provide a simple way to make a website at the cost of extremely slow websites and unneeded JavaScript. We also have oversimplified user interfaces in Windows and MacOS. These <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/operating-system">operating system</a> have made bad and oversimplified interfaces a norm, which makes good interfaces such as ones you can customize on Linux seem too complicated or confusing even though it would be easier for someone with no experience in computing to get started with most desktop environments available.</p>
<p>As <ahref="https://lukesmith.xyz/articles/obvious-technical-solutions/">Luke Smith mentions in his post,</a> we never thought about using wheels on suitcases until the 1990s even though children in the Incan empire did have toys with wheels. This is one of the examples where trying to oversimplify something by making an all-in-one or a good solution delays progress.</p>
<p>Oversimplification shifts focus away from the main problem. For example, with website builders, the problem shifted away from being able to make websites fast and easily to give the user information in a swift manner to just making your website pretty. With Windows and MacOS, the focus shifted away from making user interfaces that actually make sense for everyone to use to making user interfaces that are familiar.</p>
<p>On the other end of the same spectrum, overcomplication also has a similar result. A technical example of this is software management. Windows and MacOS (at least how most people use MacOS) have complicated software management which results in difficult updates, confusing software usage and an overall increase in storage usage throughout the years. However, Linux has package managers. One command is all that is required to install a package and remove it. You can clear cache, download an older version, update both your system and applications at the same time and even view all installed packages.</p>
<p>In the end, most things are complicated. We can try simplifying them and that is perfectly fine. However, trying to oversimplify a problem and making it a binary outcome does not work in all cases. There are many factors to take into consideration. Oversimplification leads to no problems being solved. If anything, it creates and solves arbitrary problems that are not important.</p>
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<description><p>I have tried finding open-source and <ahref="../definitions/free-software/"style="color:#50fa7b">free</a> Islamic apps for a long time and it is tiring to do so. Most of the apps are Quran and prayer time apps which are perfect but we do not have apps for other parts of Islam like hadeeths, duas and even Qibla locating. If I do run across an app, its last update is always more than five years ago which is not ideal. There are two Islamic apps that I use on a daily basis that I absolutely love and will never switch from:</p>
<p>QuranApp is a spectacular app that follows the <ahref="../definitions/unix-philosophy/"style="color:#50fa7b">UNIX philosophy</a> and is hosted under the <ahref="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html">GPL license</a> effectively making it <ahref="../definitions/free-software/"style="color:#50fa7b">free software</a>. It has many features like information on every single Surah, multiple translations, audio, mentions of prophets in the Quran and even has a search option using which you can search for any surah or term to get detailed information about your search query in the Quran. For example, searching about 'patience' brings up ayahs which talk about patience and the rewards that come about from being patient.</p>
<divstyle="text-align:center;"><imgsrc="islam/patience.webp"alt="Screenshot of the search term 'patience' in QuranApp"></img><figcaption>Screenshot of the search term 'patience' in QuranApp</figcaption></div>
<p>Al-Azan is another app which also follows the <ahref="../definitions/unix-philosophy/"style="color:#50fa7b">UNIX philosophy</a> and is hosted under the <ahref="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.en.html">AGPL license</a> also making it <ahref="../definitions/free-software/"style="color:#50fa7b">free software</a>. It does one thing well - displaying and informing of prayer times. You can adjust the prayer times based on location, offset and even calculation methods.</p>
<p>However, there is not a single <ahref="../definitions/free-software/"style="color:#50fa7b">free software</a> or even open-source <ahref="https://ahadith.co.uk/fortressofthemuslim.php">Hisnul Muslim</a> application that I have noticed. Most <ahref="https://ahadith.co.uk/fortressofthemuslim.php">Hisnul Muslim</a> apps I have used have the exact same duas since it is based off the 'Fortress of the Muslim' book. Just having a page with all duas with a simple search option and the translation in popular languages is all thats required to get the open-source savvy Muslim community to start using <ahref="../definitions/free-software/"style="color:#50fa7b">free software</a> for their duas.</p>
<description><p>In technology, you should keep it simple as much as possible. The KISS philosophy and the <ahref="../definitions/unix-philosophy/"style="color:#50fa7b">UNIX philosophy</a> especially must be followed if you want quality software. Most pieces of famous software nowadays do not follow this guideline and it is costing millions of people dearly.</p>
<h2>Why Minimal?</h2>
<p>Simply put, a piece of minimal software:</p>
<ol>
<li>Is easier to maintain</li>
<li>Has a dearth of bugs</li>
<li>Runs fast on all devices</li>
<li>Is easily extensible</li>
<li>Helps avoid complications</li>
<li>Contributes to the world</li>
</ol>
<p>Let's expand on the first and second points. Why is minimal software so easy to maintain? Why do developers hate being developers when they are working with bloated pieces of software? Keeping software minimal gives developers the opportunity to easily find code that is slowing down the whole program or is inefficient. It also helps developers find bugs easy. This is because a smaller codebase means that it takes less time to review the code. A group of 10 people can easily perfect a program whose codebase is less than 1500 lines. After that, it is just a work of maintaining the program and making sure that any requests that users have are answered.</p>
<p>Minimal software runs fast on all devices. It is simply no contest. A 1000-line Python program is going to be much faster than a 100K-line C program even though C is much faster than Python. Inefficiencies and lackluster execution of functions in a program can be spotted much more easily in a smaller program. There is a huge disregard for old computers. People simply cannot use old computers anymore because the software that they use is so inefficient that their computer struggles to do basic things. For example, they use Adobe Reader to open PDFs which is one of the worst things to do. Adobe Reader takes an incredibly long time to open considering the fact that they are the ones that invented PDFs. Another example is Word. Why does Word take long to open and write on? It's code is bloated. Think of Zathura. It is a PDF viewer that follows the <ahref="../definitions/unix-philosophy/"style="color:#50fa7b">UNIX philosophy</a> of doing one thing well. Even on the slowest of computers, Zathura takes milliseconds to open a PDF. Think about LaTeX. You do the writing then you compile the document into a PDF. It does everything from linking, referencing, bibliographies much better than Word. In fact, it is so good that many universities require its use for proper formatting and referencing.</p>
<p>Minimal software can be extensible as per the <ahref="../definitions/unix-philosophy/"style="color:#50fa7b">UNIX philosophy</a>. Instead of creating a massive program that tries to do everything, minimalist programs create modules for certain functions. This makes troubleshooting a piece of cake as the initial confusion of finding out what exactly causes the error is practically eliminated. For example, if you are making a login page and the authentication does not work, you know that you should look in the authentication module. However, if you make it all in a single program, it is difficult to root out whether an issue is due to an incorrect variable type or a redundant function.</p>
<p>All of this helps developers to avoid complications. No team wants another error or speed complaint in the middle of another issue. All of the advantages listed thus far help developers have peace of mind.</p>
<p>Finally, minimal pieces of software can be liberated and made into <ahref="../definitions/free-software/"style="color:#50fa7b">free software</a> to contribute to the world. Once the initial stages of bug-fixing and optimization is over, it is just a matter of letting the world find ways to make the program better. An inefficiency that no one would spot otherwise can be ironed out by a top-tier programmer who worked in a plethora of huge companies with decades of experience. It also helps budding developers learn about development.</p>
<h2>Closing The Program</h2>
<p>To sum it up, everyone should use and develop minimal software if possible. This is because minimal software is easier to maintain, debug and optimize due to its smaller codebase. It also runs fast on all devices and avoids complications during development time. Minimal software can also be liberated into <ahref="../definitions/free-software/"style="color:#50fa7b">free software</a> which will allow talented developers to review the program and contribute to the world.</p>
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<description><p>I have decided to switch from a self-hosted Vaultwarden (Bitwarden) instance to using KeePass along with Syncthing to sync it to all my devices. There are numerous reasons why I decided to make this change.</p>
<h2>Security</h2>
<p>The offline nature of KeePass makes it so that it is nearly impossible to crack. Connecting things to the internet makes it trivial for a script kiddie thousands of kilometers away from you to attempt to crack your passwords. A password manager is a place where all of your passwords are stored. Due to this very reason, I decided to upgrade my security by moving to a reputed piece of software.</p>
<p>The encryption algorithm used for your password database is AES-256, commonly known as 256-bit encryption. It is a form of encryption that is so difficult to crack that the only way you can actually hope to obtain someone's password is by phishing them or using external methods. For more information, please <ahref="https://invidious.tiekoetter.com/watch?v=S9JGmA5_unY">watch this video by 3Blue1Brown.</a> It is extremely interesting.</p>
<p>In fact, KeePass is so secure that even the passwords that are stored in your memory while you are viewing your database is encrypted. That way, even a <ahref='../definitions/management-engine'style='color:#50fa7b'>management engine</a> attack will not work. If you want to try viewing the cleared memory sectors to find remnants of your passwords, good luck. The passwords which are stored in your memory are first overwritten to the point of unrecoverability before being cleared.</p>
<p>You can even setup a keyfile (a file you need to use to login), a <ahref='../definitions/security-key/'style='color:#50fa7b'>security key</a>, or both.</p>
<h2>View. The. Code.</h2>
<p>KeePass is open-source under the GPLv2 license, which is the best open-source license for people's freedom. That makes it <ahref='../definitions/free-software/'style='color:#50fa7b'>free software</a>.</p>
<h2>The Encryption Never Stops</h2>
<p>Along with KeePass, I use Syncthing to sync my database. Syncthing also uses cryptographic encryption. This makes it so that anyone who wants to brute-force my database needs access to both my Syncthing password and my KeePass password.</p>
<h2>To Conclude...</h2>
<p>I use KeePass along with Syncthing for three reasons.</p>
<ol>
<li>KeePass is extremely secure. It has industry-standard protection methods and algorithms and its offline nature makes it practically uncrackable.</li>
<li>It is fully <ahref='../definitions/free-software/'style='color:#50fa7b'>free software</a> under the GPLv2 license</li>
<li>Syncthing is also encrypted, which means that an attacker who wants to attack me using the internet needs to crack both my Syncthing password and KeePass password which would take billions of years.</li>
</ol>
<p>I am probably never going to switch back because this system works extremely well. Syncthing is very fast at staying up-to-date.</p>
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<description><p>I just started using <ahref="https://ffmpeg.org/">FFmpeg</a>... and it is <strong>AMAZING!</strong> When I mean amazing, I really mean amazing.</p>
<p>For those of you who do not know what FFmpeg is, it is basically a command-line application that can be installed on all platforms that is basically the Swiss army knife of videos, audio files and images. It merges almost every single codec, encoders and decoders, filters and more in a single application allowing for fast access and modularity.</p>
<p>FFmpeg is one of those tools which have impacted your life without you realising it. Whenever you watch a movie, show or any piece of edited or converted content, there is an extremely high change that FFmpeg was involved.</p>
<p>You may say:</p><p><em>"Bu.. But I use a video editor and online file converters! Those are not FFmpeg!"</em></p>
<p>Most file converters and video editors use at least some FFmpeg. Many websites like YouTube and WhatsApp use FFmpeg directly when they need to compress a video.</p>
<h2>Why?</h2>
<p>The reason I switched is because of its versatility. You can create a single command to record your screen in lossless quality, save the original file in '.mov', the audio in '.mp3' format in another folder, encode a '.mp4' file, transcode it to be played on Android and trim a specific part of the video and send it to a server that you own.</p>
<p>FFmpeg is a difficult program to learn but the rewards are worth it. I currently have a command that records my screen, converts the audio in the recording from stereo to mono and finally encode it in <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/h264">H.264</a> for ultimate compatibility.</p>
<h2>To Close The File...</h2>
<p>All in all, you should learn FFmpeg if you do even a little amount of multimedia manipulation. It will help you out immensely.</p>
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<description><p>If you are a developer, programmer or a coder who works with open-source software, you must have clicked this post in shock. First off, I would like to state that I am not telling everyone to stop making open-source software. What I am trying to say is that GitHub is one of the worst <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/git">Git</a> platforms to host your projects. We will cover why in this post.</p>
<h2>Freedom!</h2>
<p>Simply put, GitHub uses <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/non-free">non-free</a> software and <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/non-free">non-free</a> JavaScript on their website. It is shockingly ironic that the biggest open-source platform for anyone to use is itself a proprietary piece of software. It is also centralised, for-profit and politically active, which are all completely against free, libre and open-source software. These factors make it similar to SourceForge, which was abandoned by most of its users because of this very reason.</p>
<p>If everyone stops using GitHub and moves to better alternatives like <ahref="https://codeberg.org/">Codeberg</a>, <ahref="https://gitlab.com/">GitLab</a> or even a <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/self-host">self-hosted</a><astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/git">Git</a> instance, then GitHub will fall. Many people may be seething at me suggesting <ahref="https://gitlab.com/">GitLab</a>, but the truth is that <ahref="https://gitlab.com/">GitLab</a> is still open-source and uses free JavaScript instead of <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/non-free">non-free</a> JavaScript on their website. It is certainly not the best option, but it is miles ahead of GitHub.</p>
<p><ahref="https://codeberg.org/">Codeberg</a> is entirely <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/free-software">free software</a> and it is a great option for most people. It works in a similar way to GitHub so it is trivial for individuals to migrate. <ahref="https://sr.ht/">SourceHut</a> is also amazing. It is just as good as GitHub and much better for your rights. Self-hosting a <ahref="https://forgejo.org/">Forgejo</a> or <ahref="https://gitea.io/">Gitea</a> instance is one of the best options as it offers complete independence. <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/git">Git</a> is the underlying technology which anyone can use. Therefore, everyone should be independent in using it.</p>
<p>This is the reason I have a website. Everyone should have a website as it gives you independence on the web.</p>
<h2>Embrace, Extend, Extinguish</h2>
<p>Microsoft's strategy against open-source has always been to embrace, extend and extinguish. They have tried to do it before with Linux when it was being popularized among developers. Now, they are using Copilot to do so, which is an AI tool that can autocomplete code for you. The main issue with it is that they trained it all on open-source code without giving any credit to the original developers. GitHub's Copilot is now being used to help code for-profit and close-source programs.</p>
<p>Essentially, this results in open-source programs being used to grow close-source programs.</p>
<h2>Copyleft? What's that?</h2>
<p>Microsoft and GitHub's multiple CEOs have kept on speaking negatively about copyleft. This includes GitHub's founder and former CEO. <ahref="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bAAlPXB2-c">Their OSCON keynote was meant for attacking copyleft and the GPL, trying to discourage the use of free software.</a> Instead, they suggest the MIT license using which many megacorporations exploit people's code without any credit.</p>
<h2>Microsoft Owns It</h2>
<p>There are many people who suggest using alternatives to products offered by big corporations and they are mostly right. Big corporations are able to give you free products because they profit off of your data. They are not trying to be kind.</p>
<p>For example, look at Google. They offer a search engine, documents storage, free email, cloud storage, a video site with billions of videos, a meeting platform and much more. They are not doing this to help people. They are doing this to harvest your data and sell it to the highest bidder.</p>
<p>Microsoft? Windows, Xbox and GitHub are not tools offered out of their sympathy towards you. All of it is for their own profit, whether it be collecting your data in Windows or preventing distribution of truly <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/free-software">free software</a> on GitHub.</p>
<h2>"Don't Do It Yourself!"</h2>
<p>GitHub is perhaps the only Git platform that has no option to <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/self-host">self-host</a>. You do not know what is running on their servers and cannot know what is happening with your code.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Please don't use GitHub. Just use alternatives or self-host it. GitHub does have a lot of projects but if you use it, it brings them closer towards extinguishing open-source.</p>
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<description><p>With regards to technology, the average person would rather buy a new computer when their WiFi stops working instead of taking it to a repair shop or fixing it themselves. They would rather buy a new smartphone when their screen cracks than repair it. They would also rather buy a device because of its looks and arbitrary specifications than one specific to their use case and their interests. They focus on the marketing of a company and become 'fanboys' of a specific company, buying nothing but their products, stating that the company in question makes the best products in the world. Self-servicing and repairability are not even factors in their decision to buy a device.
</p>
<p>As an example, a plethora of technology enthusiasts still buy <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/thinkpad">ThinkPads</a> to this day. When others look at <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/thinkpad">ThinkPads</a>, they think whoever buys them is not making a good decision. They think <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/thinkpad">ThinkPads</a> look ugly. They do not focus on the usability of a device. <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/thinkpad">ThinkPads</a> are used because of their durability, repairability, fast performance, and more. The fact that they are made for businesses means that there is no profit for Lenovo in letting a ThinkPad break early. Instead, they earn money by selling long-lasting and durable devices that last individuals for years on end.</p>
<p>Instead of buying ThinkPads that <em>function</em> amazingly, people go for looks that <em>impress</em> amazingly. A computer is a device designed to perform computation. If you are shelling out a lot of money, you should have a device that performs fast and can be repaired by you.</p>
<p>What I have realized is that you should 'do it yourself' as much as possible. This is why my computer is custom-built. Had I bought a <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/pre-built-computers/">pre-built computer,</a> I would have never known what was inside my computer. This is tedious on smartphones since they are becoming more and more locked down. <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/linux-phones">Linux phones</a> are alternatives but they are not great as of 2023. I hope they become mainstream soon because I want to buy one.</p>
<p>Doing it yourself also helps in terms of software. I used to flash custom ROMs on my old phone and used <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/lineageos">LineageOS</a> extensively. Now, I use <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/arch-linux">Arch Linux</a> on my computer, which is a <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/linux-distribution">Linux distribution</a> that is basically barebones. It has only the packages required to boot up. Everything else is done by you. The advantage of an <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/operating-system">operating system</a> like this is that you know what runs on your system and there is minimal resource usage. If there is an issue, you can easily find out which program it is from and fix it immediately after gaining knowledge.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>You should try to 'do it yourself'. Take control of your hardware and software and know what you are running. It will not only be cheaper, but it will make it easier to fix issues and learn about computing and technology in the long run.</p>
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<description><p>If you use any online account, you should use 2FA keys. It does not matter if it is your Google account that has all of your personal information or if it is some random account you use once in a while. You should at least have 2FA enabled in an authenticator app or preferably a 2FA key. Do not use SMS.</p>
<p>Why buy a 2FA key when you can use 2FA codes or SMS for free? Let us start with SMS.</p>
<h2>SMS</h2>
<p>SMS is inherently insecure. It is not encrypted, and your SIM card is always susceptible to SIM swap attacks. A SIM swap attack is a type of identity theft where a cybercriminal pretends to be you and asks for your number to be switched to a SIM card in their possession. They do this by claiming that their phone was lost or stolen. Most employees working for mobile networks speak with hundreds of people a day. They cannot differentiate people's voices. Even with a small amount of voice modulation, almost anyone can trick them into thinking it's you.
<p>After gaining possession of your SIM card, the cybercriminal goes to your online accounts and tries to reset your passwords. If they already have your passwords, they may try to login using your phone number and the 2FA code received through SMS. This may seem rare, and it may also seem like it does not work on most people. However, in 2019, <ahref="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/technology/sim-swap-jack-dorsey-hack.html">Jack Dorsey's (the former CEO of Twitter) account got hacked using this exact method.</a></p>
<p>As commonly said by many privacy and security professionals, you are only as secure as your weakest link. Make sure your weakest link is not SMS.</p>
<p>An authenticator app is much better than SMS-based 2FA. This is because authenticator apps usually follow the TOTP or HOTP standard, which is very secure. It basically uses a secret key along with the current time to create a unique code that changes every thirty seconds.</p>
<p>One thing that you should absolutely not do is use Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy or anything as such. This is because the clients are close-sourced, which means that the code is not public. This means that they could be doing anything with your 2FA secret keys. Authy syncs your codes which is convenient but it does not allow you to export your keys, just like other properietary authentication apps. This is unethical as you should have complete control over what is required to access your own accounts. If your Authy account gets disabled, you will no longer be able to log in to most accounts. A much better alternative is:</p>
<p>You should also be taking frequent <strong>encrypted backups</strong> of not only your 2FA codes, but all data that is important to you. Read <astyle="color:#bd93f9"href="../bk/">this post</a> to learn how to take encrypted backups properly. Remember, you should keep your backups as far away from other people's hands as possible. If they have your secret keys, they have your 2FA codes.</p>
<h2>Security Keys</h2>
<p>Security keys are the best form of two-factor authentication. They are physical keys which need to be plugged in to your computer or smartphone in order to be used. They use NFC, USB-C, USB-A and also the Lightning port. This 2FA method makes it so that it does not matter which person gets your credentials because they need access to your key physically in order to login. One drawback of this method is that, if you lose your key, you cannot login to your accounts. This is why people buy 2 or 3 as a backup. It should be noted that, although other methods can be used alongside <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/security-key">security keys</a>, it is not recommended as it is still possible to just use the other insecure methods for a cybercriminal and bypass your <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/security-key">security key</a>.</p>
<p>I recommend <ahref="https://www.yubico.com/">Yubico</a> and <ahref="https://shop.nitrokey.com/shop/product/nkfi2-nitrokey-fido2-55">NitroKey</a><astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/security-key">security keys</a>.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>If there is one thing you take away from this post, it is to make 2FA your baseline security protocol. Use 2FA for <strong>every account that has it.</strong> Do not use SMS, use authenticator apps. If possible, spend money on three <astyle="color:#50fa7b"href="../definitions/security-key">security keys</a>.</p>
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<description><p>This post is to inform you that the grace period for the deletion of my public Instagram account has been completed. My Instagram account has been deleted... forever. I highly recommend you do it too. Read <astyle="color:#bd93f9"href="../sm">this post</a> for more information.</p>
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<description><p>You should only buy metal USBs because they last longer. Metal USBs should be used for everything that a USB is used for. First, let me clarify what USBs are supposed to be used for:</p>
<ul>
<li>Data Transfer</li>
<li>Flashing Opearting Systems</li>
<li>Ultra-Portable Emergency Drive (like one on a keychain)</li>
</ul>
<p>Here is what USBs are not good for:</p>
<ul>
<li>Long-term storage</li>
<li>As a secondary drive for your PC</li>
</ul>
<p>For both use cases listed above, disks like hard drives and SSDs are much better.</p>
<p>Metal USBs are durable. They are not slower than their plastic counterparts and can flash operating systems just as well. However, the real difference appears in its build quality.</p>
<p>Metal is a superior material to plastic. It lasts much longer and breaks less easily. This is especially important for data transfer and having an emergency drive ready-to-go. If it dies or breaks at an unfortunate time, it can wreak havoc on both you and your sanity. This is why everyone should use metal USBs. They last longer and eventually break even with the price you paid for them.</p>
<p>You should try to buy thinner metal USBs. This is because a thin USB can dissipate heat better than a thick one. Metal is a conductor of heat. Because of this, you should try to buy a USB that is able to reduce the heat's effect.</p>
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<description><p>If you find it difficult to maintain strong passwords, then this guide is the only article you need to refer to. In this article, I will talk about an amazing trick to remember and manage all of your passwords.</p>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>It goes without saying that passwords are incredibly important. It is undeniably important to make sure your passwords are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Strong</li>
<li>Hard to guess</li>
<li>Different on every single account</li>
</ul>
<p>However, it seems futile to try using different passwords on every website. It is incredibly hard to remember just one; how can I remember more than 10?</p>
<p>The solution to this undeniably rampant issue is to use a password system. A password system is a set of rules and guidelines that you make and follow to create your passwords. Using a password system, you need not remember your passwords. All you have to do is string together available pieces of data, and you can remember your password immediately.</p>
<p>The most common response I hear from people when I ask them to create a password system is:</p>
<p><em>"I think using the same password on all accounts is better because I don't have a good memory to use a password system."</em></p>
<p>That response always baffles me. The whole point of a password system is not to remember your passwords but to remember a ruleset that will be cemented into your brain after 3 or 4 times of entering your passwords.</p>
<h2>How to Create a Password System</h2>
<p>As aforementioned, a password system is a set of rules that you need to remember instead of all of your passwords separately. An effective password system consists of the following elements:</p>
<ul>
<li>Master Password</li>
<li>Website/Service Differentiator</li>
</ul>
<p>The main format and order of a password system is completely managed by you. First, let us go over creating a master password.</p>
<h3>The Master Password</h3>
<p>I recommend this method of creating master passwords to anyone since the passwords that are created are easy to remember but practically impossible to guess.</p>
<h3>Step 1: Think of a good sentence</h3>
<p>Make sure it is long but easily memorable. The one which pops in your mind when someone asks you to think of a sentence is a perfect choice as long as it is of considerable length.</p>
<p>Example: <code>I love eating 43 and a half coconuts a day, I am not going to lie!</code></p>
<h3>Step 2: Shortening the sentence</h3>
<p>Take the first letter of each word in the sentence and write it as is. Do not change any characters to uppercase or lowercase or use a symbol to represent it.</p>
<p>Example: <code>Ile43aahcad,Iangtl!</code></p>
<h3>Step 3: Make it stronger</h3>
<p>Take the password you have in the last step and make it stronger in a way that you will remember. This step is the one you have to be the most careful in because making it too strong will make it difficult to recollect in the future.</p>
<p>Do not proceed to the next section without doing this step. Recall the sentence in your mind and try to write the same password you got in the previous step. Do this at least 10 times. Wait a few hours, then do it again. Wait until you sleep and do it again. This may seem unnecesarry, but most people underestimate the power of muscle memory. If you login to an account regularly, then you type your password without even thinking about it. The same trick can be applied here.</p>
<p>After a while, you will be able to type your extremely long password without any effort. You just think about it and your mind glides through the keyboard. This is super useful.</p>
<h3>The Service Differentiator</h3>
<p>To make your password different for every website and service you go to, there needs to be a service differentiator. A service differentiator is a special combination of characters you add in your password system to make it unique to the service you are on. It is not very difficult to create a service differentiator and it is easier to remember.</p>
<p>The elements of a service differentiator are the name of the service and length of the name of the service. Below is an example of a name differentiator used for creating a Nextcloud account, Microsoft account and Google account respectively.</p>
<p><code>nextcLOUD!999</code></p>
<p><code>microSOFT!999</code></p>
<p><code>googlE!666</code></p>
<p>As you can see, I added the name of the service in with the first 5 letter capitalized with an exclamation mark and the length of the service three times.</p>
<p>By this point, you can make your own service differentiator easily.</p>
<h3>Creating Your Password System</h3>
<p>It is finally time to integrate your master password into a password system. It is called a password <strong>system, </strong>which means that it is dynamic and changes for every website. A sample password system can be the following:</p>
<p>The password above is 40 characters, yes 40 characters long. No one will be able to guess it and it will take hundreds of centuries to crack. Best of all, it is different for each account.</p>
<p>You can mix the order up. Just make sure you don't keep changing the system and use one system. The best part is that if you need to change your passwords, you can just make another system that will work just as well. By that point, the previous system will be embedded into your brain. So, you can remember multiple strong passwords using this step.</p>
<p>Please note that this is not enough. If you have followed this guide, you have taken a massive step towards protecting your accounts. However, many cybercriminals rely on phishing attacks. Please do not click on random links and please do not enter your information on random websites.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Congratulations! You now know how to create an extremely strong password that is different on each account.</p>
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<description><p>Sudo. It is often used by Linux users to perform commands with root privileges instead of being in a root shell all the time. However, <ahref="https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-22809">there has recently been a vulnerability in sudo due to which people are switching to doas.</a></p>
<h2>What is Doas?</h2>
<p>OpenDoas or Doas is a portable version of the doas utility that is used on OpenBSD. OpenDoas can be installed on Unix-like system which includes Linux. It is designed to be more minimal and has less configuration options than sudo. If you are on a personal computer, then I highly recommend you switch to doas because it has a much smaller codebase which leaves less room for error.</p>
<p>However, if you are part of a professional environment with many individuals needing to use sudo, I recommend staying with sudo because it offers more configuration options to be used for groups and users.</p>
<h2>Installing Doas</h2>
<p>Doas is available on almost all major distributions. If your distribution is Debian-based (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Zorin OS), simply type:</p>
<p><code>sudo apt install doas</code></p>
<p>If you run an Arch-based system (Artix, Arco, Endeavour, Manjaro), type:</p>
<p><code>sudo pacman -S opendoas</code></p>
<p>If you use RHEL-based systems (Fedora, CentOS), type:</p>
<p><code>sudo dnf install opendoas</code></p>
<p>Doas should now be installed but it will not work out of the box. There is one line that we need to add to the configuration file.</p>
<h2>Configuring Doas</h2>
<p>You have to configure doas as it is not included in most distributions by default but do not fret! One of its plus points is that its configuration is much better than sudo's.</p>
<p>To begin, edit the /etc/doas.conf file as root.</p>
<p>If you are the only user on your system and do not plan to allow other users to use your system, this line will suffice.</p>
<p><code>permit persist username as root</code></p>
<p>Many distributions have a group (wheel, sudoers) that are allowed to run sudo commands. If you would like to allow that group to send commands as root, type this:</p>
<p><code>permit persist :wheel as root</code></p>
<h2>Using Doas</h2>
<p>Using doas is incredibly simple. Just type doas instead of sudo. For example, if you usually type:</p>
<p><code>sudo pacman -Syu</code></p>
<p>then just type:</p>
<p><code>doas pacman -Syu</code></p>
<p>I also recommend aliasing doas to 'doas --' since it causes issues sometimes if you just use doas. Apart from that, this is it for the setup.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>If you are the only person on your Linux machine, you should switch to doas. It is much more lightweight and is similar to sudo. It has a smaller codebase which, in my opinion, prevents exploits from popping up as often as sudo.</p>
<p>However, if you are in a professional environment, you should stick with sudo.</p>
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<description><p>I know how you felt reading the title. If you are a heavy social media user, you probably said:</p><p><em>"What? Who in their right mind would delete their social media accounts? How are they supposed to live life and talk to their friends?"</em></p><p>Don't worry. That was me last year. I understand your feelings. However, the disadvantages of social media and the perks of deleting it far outweigh its benefits. In this post, I will go over the reasons why you should delete all of your social media.</p><h2><iclass="fa fa-thumbs-down"aria-hidden="true"></i>Cons of Social Media</h2><h3><iclass="fa fa-clock-o"aria-hidden="true"></i>Time-Consuming</h3><p>A study counted 5 billion internet users and it was concluded that, on average, <ahref="https://www.forbesindia.com/article/lifes/how-much-time-do-people-spend-on-social-media-and-why/79477/1">an internet user spends 6 hours and 53 minutes online per day.</a> 6. HOURS. AND. 53. MINUTES. That is almost a whole third of people's daily lives. Another study concluded that people spend more time on social media in their whole lifetime than grooming, socialising (social media !=socialising) and doing the laundry combined.</p><p>It is not as if any of the time spent is valuable. Sure, you may learn one or two 'fun facts, which will make you think that you need social media. You may talk with your friends a lot, which will make you think that your account is required to socialise with people. However, these are all nonsensical excuses that your brain makes to justify getting cheap dopamine. Imagine how much work you can get done, how many actual connections you can make with people, and how many good habits can be formed that will make you happier in the long term than social media.</p><h3><iclass="fa fa-heartbeat"aria-hidden="true"></i>Affects Your Mental Health</h3><p>Whenever people hear that social media affects your mental health, they agree but say that it does not affect them specifically. The most common argument I hear is:</p><p><em>"Yeah, I know that it affects other people. However, I am fine with it. I feel normal and do not feel depressed at all.</em></p><p>All I can say is not to trust what your brain tells you whenever you are dealing with any addiction, not just social media. Think about it. The same brain that is telling you that you should keep using social media for meaningless reasons is the one telling you that it is not affecting you.</p><p>Social media is a constant source of comparison. You open it up, view a few triggering posts, find out that your favourite actor has passed away, and see your friends perfect lives. Before closing the app, you apply filters to yourself and edit the picture as much as possible for your stories to make yourself look artificially good.</p><p>You see, not only is social media fake, it also has an absurd effect on your mental health. It has been proven that many social media platforms track you to show you personalised content. They use human psychology to hook you onto their platforms.</p><p>There are two chemicals in your brain that are responsible for happiness:</p><ul><li>Dopamine - released when you are anticipating something good</li><li>Endorphin - released when you are happy</li></ul><p>In many cases, the effect of dopamine is much greater than the effect of endorphins. Recall back to a young age when you realised you were about to receive a toy that you had been waiting for for a few days. The feeling you got when you realised you would get it soon was more intense than the actual feeling of getting the toy.</p><p>The same trick applies on social media. Many social media platforms show you content that is completely different from the content that you like just before showing you content that you really like. This results in more dopamine being released, with a good amount of endorphin being released as well. To your brain, it has just achieved something great when, in reality, you have not.</p><p>Constantly high dopamine and endorphin releases raise your base happiness levels. This is why things
<p>It is well-known that apps like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and some Google apps collect your data like their lives depend on it (technically, they do). Everything from your name to your IP address and phone number to even the amount of network requests you make or the model of your phone. Not to mention, literally everything you do on the app. This all goes to their servers and is used for more advertisements.</p>
<p>It is pretty safe to say that your digital footprint, as it is called, can be nearly eliminated by deleting your accounts. There are more steps that you have to take to take care of your privacy, but preventing data collection from big corporations is a huge step.</p>
<h3>Fake News</h3>
<p>Fake news. It's everywhere. Even the worst social media addict cannot deny it. You see parody pages that copy the design of famous news channels perfectly and post random news. You see people edit images to exaggerate or divert the subject of an article. There is not much that I need to say. You know what I mean.</p>
<h3>Much Worse Sleep</h3>
<p>The blue-light from your phone tricks your brain into thinking it's daytime. So, when you use your phone late into the night scrolling on your social media feed, it makes you feel less sleepy.</p>
<p>When this happens, do you know what most people do? They pick up their phones again since they cannot sleep, thinking that they will sleep in 30 minutes when they are sleepy. This cycle goes on. Many individuals of Generation Z do not sleep the whole night for many days on end and instead take naps in the afternoon. Does this sound healthy to you?</p>
<p>And no, using a blue-light filter does not fix the issue. It only slightly reduces its effect.</p>
<h3>Decline In Physical Health</h3>
<p>When you spend hours and hours a day sitting down with no exercise or action apart from flicking your thumb, what do you think will happen? You may experience the following effects:</p>
<ol>
<li>Weight Gain</li>
<li>Back Pain</li>
<li>Bad Posture</li>
<li>Neck Pain</li>
<li>Eye Strain</li>
<li>Increased Risk of Heart Disease</li>
</ol>
<p>Many individuals who use social media are experiencing these problems, which are usually experienced by older people, at ages like 25.</p>
<h3>Horrible Productivity</h3>
<p>When you are working and are in the zone (a phase in which you do high-quality work without even thinking about it), any minor disturbance will move you out of that state. A notification about someone liking your post can shake you out of the zone. In the long-term, this will waste hours of your time.</p>
<h2>Getting Rid of It</h2>
<p>So, you are ready. You want to quit social media and break this horrible addiction. You realise the effects it has on your life. However, you do not know where to start. If this is the case, check out <ahref="https://www.staygrounded.online/p/the-air-method-phase-i">'The AIR Method'</a>. If you would like to read how I did it, please refer to the steps below. Referring to the steps I took may help you understand your weak points and how to combat them.</p>
<h3>1. Alternative Contact Details</h3>
<p>Make a list of all of your friends and cross out the ones that you know can be reached on other chat applications. Ask the rest for alternative contact methods. This may be through apps like Signal, Session, XMPP, Matrix, or WhatsApp. Just make sure that it is not another social media app.</p>
<h3>2. Download Your Data</h3>
<p>Download your data to refer to in the future. Most social media platforms include chats along with it so that you can refer back to the chats if needed. A website like <ahref="https://justgetmydata.com/">JustGetMyData</a> will allow you to quickly get to this section. Most websites place it in places which are difficult to access to prevent people from deleting their accounts.</p>
<h3>3. Start Using Healthier Apps</h3>
<p>Quitting social media 'cold-turkey' (abruptly) may work for the first few days but it will cause you to fail completely. It is better to slowly reduce your usage by using healthier apps.</p>
<p>If you haven't already, start using RSS feeds. There is nothing wrong with using old technology. RSS provides you with a similar feed to social media but with content you actually like and want to read. It is managed by you, not an algorithm. You read what you want and stop. There is no algorithm or endless feed that compells you to keep using the app.</p>
<p>I am going to make a post about RSS feeds soon. It will be updated here.</p>
<h3>4. Announce</h3>
<p>It is also important to announce that you are deleting your accounts. This may not be necessary if you have less than five friends you talk to on your accounts but it is important if you have many friends. This announcement will allow your friends to contact you and tell you their alternative forms of contact. It will also allow people to know that you are leaving for good.</p>
<h3>5. Take The Plunge!</h3>
<p>The moment you have been waiting for. Click on the delete button.</p>
<p>This is much easier said than done, however. Most social media accounts have a grace period during which if you login to your account, your account deletion will be cancelled. For Instagram, the grace period is 1 month. To combat this, I did the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Removed all recovery options (phone number, 2FA) from my accounts and changed my email to one from <ahref="https://temp-mail.org/">TempMail</a> to prevent password reset</li>
<li>Generated a random 128-character password in <ahref="https://bitwarden.com/password-generator/">Bitwarden (my password manager)</a></li>
<li>Changed my account password to the new password</li>
<li>Deleted my account</li>
<li>Immediately delete all records of the password and restart your device to clear it from your clipboard</li>
</ol>
<p>These steps were drastic but they practically cemented the fact that my account was going to be deleted, no matter what.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>There is not much left to say. I am much, much happier without social media. I have more time on my hands and I am still getting the information I want from RSS feeds without an algorithm trying to pull me in. Big corporations have much less data about me, I have a lot of time and have produced a lot of work. In terms of academics, my overall percentage in school has increased by over 20%. I find difficult subjects easier and easy subjects a piece of cake.</p>
<p>All in all, if you care about yourself, delete your social media. It is a hellhole that is getting worse by the day.</p>
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<description><p>As mentioned in the title, I have deleted my Discord account. This was obviously not without a reason. There are two reasons due to which I deleted my Discord account:</p>
<ul>
<li>Privacy</li>
<li>Lack of Use</li>
</ul>
<p>The most prominent reason is privacy but lack of use compelled me to actually take the plunge and delete my Discord account.</p>
<h2>Privacy</h2>
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>Discord is a hellhole for your privacy. Avoid it at all costs. In this section, I will show you the various things that Discord tracks.</p>
<h3>DISCORD'S HISTORY</h3>
<p>OpenFeint was a mobile social network for gaming. The Founder of OpenFeint was Jason Citron, the current CEO of Discord. OpenFeint received a class-action lawsuit for storing data like:</p>
<ul>
<li>Unique Device Identifiers</li>
<li>Exact GPS Location</li>
<li>Internet Browsing History</li>
<li>Facebook and Twitter Profiles</li>
</ul>
<p>OpenFeint then revealed all of this data to any mobile game developer who asked for it and advertising networks.</p>
<p>Well, if they collected all of this data, you must have agreed to it, right?</p>
<p>No. The company never asked for your consent. This data collection involved over 100M mobile devices.</p>
<h3>PRIVACY ISSUES</h3>
<p>So, when you have the CEO of a company that did all of this data collection become the CEO of another company, what do you think he is going to do? The answer is obvious. Of course he will do the same thing.</p>
<p>Let us go over what privacy issues there currently are with Discord.</p>
<ol>
<li>
<b>All messages, including direct messages are unencrypted.</b>
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>Do not share any sensitive information on it. It can be detrimental if you store a password on their servers as any Discord employee can view it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Discord collects every single thing you do.</b>
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>Do not be surprised if they log the amount of times you breathe while using Discord. It is stored with your User ID, an event ID, a timestamp and a detailed explanation of everything you do.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Discord collects information about game executables.</b>
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>After scanning your game executables, Discord basically will have a tally of what games you play. If they are doing it for game executables, there is no doubt that they are doing it for other apps as well.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Government agencies, gather round!</b>
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>Discord's privacy policy states that your data will be given to any government organisation that asks for it. </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>The privacy toggles in the Discord app do nothing.</b>
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>All they do is tell the server to delete the data as soon as it receives it. There is no verification, let alone an audit to verify this.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Your messages are with us... and everyone else.</b>
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>When you delete your Discord account, your messages are still kept and your profile will simply be replaced by “Deleted Account”. If you used Discord for even more than a few days to talk with friends, your messages are more than enough to deanonymize you.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Oh, and don't do it yourself.</b>
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>You will get banned for using tools to delete messages on Discord.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h3>ALL IN ALL...</h3>
<p>... this is not all that Discord does. If we know that Discord does all of this, there is obviously more that they are doing that we do not know. You should always assume closed-source pieces of software are tracking you and sending your information to a third-party.</p>
<h2>Lack of Use</h2>
<p>I was not using Discord anymore so I deleted it. The reason is that my previous account got banned for botting when I did not do anything. I made a new account, chatted with three or four of my friends. Afterwards, the CounterHawks Discord server got banned. Due to this, I realized there is no use for my account and that there is no reason for me to support Discord.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>I do not use Discord anymore and probably never will. Previously, it was difficult to delete my Discord account but Discord themselves have done all the hard work for me.</p>
<p><ahref="mailto:sufyaan@counterhawks.com?subject=Delete%20Your%20Discord%20Account">>>> Reply To Me</a></p></description>
<description><p>I have a new browser setup on my desktop to increase my privacy and convenience. It is divided into two profiles that perform differently based on what I need to do in the moment.</p>
<h2>What is it?</h2>
<p>I use Librewolf as my browser. It is a fork of Firefox that is enhanced for privacy without heavily impacting user experience. I divided it into two profiles:</p>
<ol>
<li>Accounts (instances in which I need to login)</li>
<li>Browsing (general website browsing)</li>
</ol>
<p>Let me walk through how each profile is setup.</p>
<h2>Profile Setup</h2>
<p>Firstly, let me talk about common settings between both profiles.</p>
<h3>Common In Both</h3>
<p>On both profiles, I have my settings to optimize my privacy. On Firefox-based browsers, it is very easy to use these settings because most of them have little impact on convenience. I use Brave Search as my search engine and will switch to my own SearX instance when I get a good server. In terms of extensions, I have the 'uBlock Origin' extension installed setup to block JavaScript and remote fonts by default. I have the default lists along with all the others unchecked by default apart from language lists. I block every single domain from Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other websites which are known for tracking. If a website breaks, I whitelist that website in particular.</p>
<h3>Accounts Profile</h3>
<p>My accounts profile is optimized to work well with day-to-day logins and important websites. I use this profile for all websites where I can login like Google or Microsoft.</p>
<p>I use the following extensions:</p>
<ol>
<li>
Cookie AutoDelete
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>Enabled with whitelisting to auto-delete cookies for websites which I open by accident.</li>
<li>Using extension instead of Librewolf's built-in setting because it currently does not work for me.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
Containers
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>For multiple accounts</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h3>Browsing Profile</h3>
<p>My browsing profile runs in permanent private browsing mode so my cookies, cache and browsing history are automatically deleted when I close my browser. I use it for general web browsing like watching videos, viewing articles and more. I have most of the content I like in an RSS feed but this profile is useful for some websites which either do not have an RSS feed or I only need to use once.</p>
<p>For this profile, I use these extensions:</p>
<ol>
<li>
Dark Reader
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>'Invert Listed Only' mode turned on because most websites I use have dark mode turned on already.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
LibRedirect
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>To redirect common websites to their free, libre and open-source frontends.</li>
<li>
Some examples are:
<ulclass="nested-list">
<li>YouTube --> Invidious</li>
<li>Twitter --> Nitter</li>
<li>Reddit --> LibReddit</li>
<li>Medium --> Scribe</li>
<li>Wikipedia --> Wikiless</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>I highly recommend everyone to do the same because these frontends are lightweight and do not use JavaScript which makes them load swiftly.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>This setup has been serving me extremely well. I will continue using this setup and building on it if any specific need arises.
</p>
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<description><p>In this article, I will show you how to encrypt emails. You can encrypt emails on almost any device. In this article, however, I will be focusing on Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo. I will also be focusing on making ProtonMail encrypt emails with Gmail.</p>
<h2>Myths</h2>
<p>Firstly, let us dispell a few myths. The first myth is a big one.</p>
<h3>Gmail's Confidential mode does not encrypt your emails</h3>
<p>Yes, you heard that right. Gmail's confidential mode does not encrypt your emails. Whenever I speak about email encryption, I hear something along the lines of:</p>
<p><em>“Why are you making things so complicated? Just use Gmail's confidential mode! It encrypts your emails for you!”</em></p>
<p>No, Gmail's confidential mode does not encrypt emails. It simply puts a password on your email.</p>
<h3>ProtonMail does not encrypt emails sent to non-ProtonMail users</h3>
<p>This is also a huge myth. ProtonMail encrypts emails sent to other ProtonMail users. However, they do not encrypt emails sent to or received from non-ProtonMail users. It collects less data about you and it stores your emails with encryption on their servers but the email itself is not encrypted on the other person's end.</p>
<p>Encryption for non-ProtonMail users works on a user-to-user basis. You have to have the encryption keys of the other person if they are a non-ProtonMail user and they also have to encrypt their emails manually. We will learn how to do this in this guide.</p>
<h2>Online Email</h2>
<p>Encrypting your emails online is a simple process.</p>
<h3>Step 1: Get the Mailvelope extension</h3>
<p><ahref="https://mailvelope.com/">Mailvelope is a free, libre and open-source browser extension</a> which allows you to not only encrypt emails using public keys but also has a keyserver which has a list of other people who use Mailvelope. Emails sent to other people using Mailvelope will automatically be encrypted.</p>
<h3>Step 2: Set it up</h3>
<p>Open the extension and generate your keypair if you do not have a keypair or import your keypair if you do have one.</p>
<p>Encourage all of your friends to get the Mailvelope extension. Afterwards, you can import their public keys. Henceforth, all emails will be encrypted. Many websites also give their own public key along with their emails so that you can encrypt them as well. If you have friends who use ProtonMail, go to the ProtonMail import section of this post.</p>
<h3>Step 4: Send encrypted emails!</h3>
<p>Whenever you go to compose an email, there will be a button like the image below. Just click on it and there will be a popup to compose your encrypted email. Just fill in the info and send your email!</p>
<p>Firstly, I would like to give a disclaimer. There is no way to use PGP encryption on iOS. Most encryption that is used on iOS is either paid or unavailable. On Android, you cannot encrypt emails using the native applications for Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo. Even if there is such a feature, you should not use their official clients due to their invasive tracking. To encrypt emails, we will use an email app called K-9 Mail. I believe that everyone should use K-9 Mail even if they are not encrypting their emails. It is a fantastic app.</p>
<p>K-9 Mail is a free and open-source email app that has a lot of features. I believe that no one should be writing emails on their phones but it is a great app to have just to make sure there is nothing urgent in your inbox.</p>
<h3>Step 1: Get the app</h3>
<p>K-9 Mail is on the Play Store, but do not get it from there. <ahref="https://f-droid.org/">Get F-Droid</a> and make it a habit to download apps you use and the alternatives to them through F-Droid. <ahref="https://f-droid.org/packages/com.fsck.k9/">K-9 Mail is available on F-Droid</a> and is a popular app there.</p>
<h3>Step 2: Set it up</h3>
<p>Follow the guide to enter your email address and get it working through K-9 Mail. I have tried Gmail and it works flawlessly. Other email providers will work well but some may not work at all.</p>
<h3>Step 3: Get the OpenKeychain app</h3>
<p>OpenKeychain is an app that allows you to import and manage PGP keys. <ahref="https://f-droid.org/packages/org.sufficientlysecure.keychain/">It is also available on F-Droid.</a></p>
<h3>Step 4: Generate/Import your key</h3>
<p>Generate your key by pressing the option to create a key or import the key file.</p>
<h3>Step 5: Setup K-9 Mail</h3>
<p>Go back to K-9 Mail, go to settings, go to your account that you added, go to end-to-end encryption and enable it. Select your key. Turn on autocrypt mutual mode. That is it! You should see a lock icon whenever you are sending an email to someone if you have their PGP public key. If you need to import more keys, just go to the OpenKeychain app and import them.</p>
<p>You can now send these keys to anyone to import into their PGP keychain. They will then be able to encrypt emails when sending them to your ProtonMail address!</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>That is it! You have setup encryption on your emails. This is a great step as email itself is very unsecure, so this will boost your privacy and security by a lot. Sharing passwords through email has never been safe but encryption allows you to do it with a good range of security.</p>
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<description><p>In this article, we will discover why it is horrible to keep cryptocurrency on exchanges. If you do not have time to read this article, please stop keeping your cryptocurrencies on exchanges. If you do, your crypto may get stolen or lost. If you are interested in the details, please keep reading.</p>
<h2>Lack of Ownership</h2>
<p>When you keep cryptocurrencies on exchanges like Coinbase, they have your private keys. Anyone who has your private keys can manage your wallet as if it is their own. They can send, receive and do whatever they want with your wallet. Even if the exchange you are trading on is trusted, <ahref="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mt-gox.asp">if they shut down, you will lose your crypto.</a> This happened a few times before and thousands of people lost all of their crypto. This is why exchanges should be used for what they are good at; purchasing crypto. Keep exchanges only for one purpose.</p>
<h2>No Regulation</h2>
<p>Currently, the whole crypto exchange industry has a severe lack of regulation. The fact that exchanges have your private keys means that <strong>they can freeze your account which would cut off your access to your own crypto.</strong> Governments can request such freezes. This may seem improbable but <ahref="https://www.ccn.com/south-koreas-biggest-cryptocurrency-exchange-investigated-by-local-police-market-drops/">it happened in South Korea.</a></p>
<h2>Hacking</h2>
<p>Even if the exchange you are trading on is secure, they may store your private keys in plaintext. This happens much more than people think. If this happens, hackers can easily take control of people's wallets and send all the crypto to themselves. If a hack like this happens through Bitcoin, it can at least be tracked. However, many hackers convert their crypto to Monero which cannot be tracked. If this happens, you will never get your money back unless the hacker decides to return the money.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>To sum it up, you should never store your crypto on exchanges because you do not own your own crypto. There is little regulation and your account or the exchange can also be hacked. All of these pose serious risks to your crypto. Just get a wallet like Electrum or Monero and start using it.</p>
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<description><p><em>“Ah, yes. Graphical-user interface (GUI) apps. They are so comfortable and easy to use. You just click some buttons and get your computer to do what you want.”</em></p>
<p>That was what I thought before I learned how spectacular terminal applications are. <strong>I do not use a calendar or email GUI app. I use its terminal equivalent.</strong> Specifically, I use Calcurse for my calendar/todo, neomutt for my email, sxiv for my image viewing, mpv for my video playing and even Joplin (CLI) for my notes. I am still actively looking for more apps like terminal file managers (lf, ranger, mc) and terminal versions of GUI apps I use (Bitwarden?). What compelled me to switch?</p>
<h2>The Right Tool For The Right Job</h2>
<p>Firstly, I realized that apps that allow me to use my keyboard and reduce mouse usage to as little as possible saved me a lot of time. By a lot of time, I don't mean a few minutes. I mean hours in the long run. Moving your hand to your mouse and clicking a button takes at least three seconds. Multiply that hundreds of times a day and 365 days an year. That leads to a lot of time wasted just moving your hand to your mouse.</p>
<h2>Fast. Very Fast.</h2>
<p>The speed of terminal apps have helped me get a lot more productive. Getting myself to start working immediately helped me a lot. I use Neovim for my text editor, and whenever I need to write text, its much faster to press a shortcut to open a blank file in Neovim than to open a GUI equivalent. It is also much faster to press a shortcut than to open my applications menu and search for my calendar app and wait a few seconds for the bloated app to open up. Terminal apps are just more lightweight. As a result, they operate faster and save me more than just a few seconds.</p>
<h2><em>"Professionals Have Standards"</em></h2>
<p>CLI apps are more standardized. With a GUI, the procedure for solving an issue or using the application's functionality is similar to this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Click 'button1' on the top right.</li>
<li>Hover over 'dialogue2'</li>
<li>Click on 'button3'</li>
<li>Scroll down to 'setting4'</li>
<li>Change the value to False.</li>
<li>Click on Apply and OK.</li>
</ol>
<p>This is the sole reason that you see the terminal being used so much in Linux. It's easier to say “Open your terminal and type this” than to blabber a long list of instructions that will become redundant if the application in question decides to change their UI in an update.</p>
<h2>Run Them on a Potato!</h2>
<p>Due to the lightweight nature of the command line, your tools can run on just about any computer. It does not matter if your computer has a Pentium processor or a 12th-generation i9. GUI tools have system requirements and if it is a robust tool with a fancy interface, chances are that the requirements just for the app to look good knocks that tool off your app list on your 10-year-old computer.</p>
<h2>Exponential Learning Curve</h2>
<p>While GUI apps are simple to use initially, your speed using the apps remains slow all the time. Sure, you may learn where every button is and be able to open any setting you want quickly, but that speed is nothing compared to one of a command line. With a command line, your speed is slower than a snail at first. However, after some time of using the program, you can do things at a similar speed as a GUI app.</p>
<p>If you daily-drive a terminal program, it takes only a few days for you to become faster at it than using a GUI program. After that, you will be able to understand your most used commands and use aliases to shorten them.</p>
<p>For example, if you view your free space regulary, instead of typing a 50-line command to print your free space, you can just alias that command to 'free-space'. Doing this will make it so that whenever you type 'free-space', it performs the aforementioned 50-line command and displays the output. This will save your more than just a few hours of time.</p>
<h2>The Choices Never End!</h2>
<p>With terminal apps, you have a plethora of choices. I can almost guarantee that an app with functionality you wish existed does exist in the form of a command line application. There are obscure apps with spectacular functionality which can change your computing experience that you will miss out on if you stay away from the terminal.</p>
<h2>Bathe In Possibilities!</h2>
<p>When it comes to GUI apps, you have to be honest. They do not have 100% functionality. It is simply implausible to fit every single function in a GUI app. Doing so would result in a lot of code to maintain, an extremely heavy app and a confusing layout. However, with a terminal app, all you have to do is type: </p>
<p><code>man command</code></p>
<p>or</p>
<p><code>command --help</code></p>
<p>and get the complete functionality of the app, all within less than 5% of the app size of its GUI equivalent.</p>
<h2>Skip The Middlemen</h2>
<p>All GUI apps are basically middlemen for the command line. They essentially use the command line for you. When you ditch the GUI and go straight for the terminal, you talk directly to the computer in a way in which the computer understands.</p>
<h2>First Impressions Matter</h2>
<p>When people first look at the terminal, it becomes set in their mind that it is difficult to use and that mentality stays for an extraordinarily long time. Due to this, they never experiment or even open the terminal application. If they run into an issue which requires the use of the terminal to fix, they decide to just live with the issue instead of using the terminal. However, if people use the terminal for a few weeks, they realize that it outpaces almost every other GUI app in almost everything.</p>
<h2>Nothing is Perfect...</h2>
<p>... including terminal applications. Terminal applications are amazing. They allow me to do so much. However, there are extremely rare cases in which I have no choice but to use a GUI. This is if the GUI application in question requires you to use only their app. There are also some specific use-cases in which GUI apps just make more sense. Video editing, advanced photo manipulation and 3D modelling are great examples.</p>
<p>...terminal applications should be used as much as possible. They are swift. They can be used quickly and also use less resources and space while running on just about anything. They are not as difficult as they look and can be used for uses which GUI apps do not have. They cannot be used all the time because there are rare exceptions in which GUI applications have to be used. However, these are so little that I do not mind keeping GUI apps just for these use cases.</p>
