sf.cu > Blog > My New Browser Setup
Posted on 17 March 2023
Categories:
SoftwareI 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.
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:
Let me walk through how each profile is setup.
Firstly, let me talk about common settings between both profiles.
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 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.
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.
I use the following extensions:
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.
For this profile, I use these extensions:
This setup has been serving me extremely well. I will continue using this setup and building on it if any specific need arises.
sf.cu > Blog > My New Browser Setup
Posted on 17 March 2023
Categories:
SoftwareI 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.
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:
Let me walk through how each profile is setup.
Firstly, let me talk about common settings between both profiles.
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 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.
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.
I use the following extensions:
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.
For this profile, I use these extensions:
This setup has been serving me extremely well. I will continue using this setup and building on it if any specific need arises.
sf.cu > Blog > Delete Your Discord Account
Posted on 22 March 2023
Categories:
Software && GuidesAs 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:
The most prominent reason is privacy but lack of use compelled me to actually take the plunge and delete my Discord account.
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.
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:
OpenFeint then revealed all of this data to any mobile game developer who asked for it and advertising networks.
Well, if they collected all of this data, you must have agreed to it, right?
No. The company never asked for your consent. This data collection involved over 100M mobile devices.
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.
Let us go over what privacy issues there currently are with Discord.
... 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.
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.
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.
sf.cu > Blog > Delete Your Discord Account
Posted on 22 March 2023
Categories:
Software && GuidesAs 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:
The most prominent reason is privacy but lack of use compelled me to actually take the plunge and delete my Discord account.
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.
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:
OpenFeint then revealed all of this data to any mobile game developer who asked for it and advertising networks.
Well, if they collected all of this data, you must have agreed to it, right?
No. The company never asked for your consent. This data collection involved over 100M mobile devices.
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.
Let us go over what privacy issues there currently are with Discord.
... 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.
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.
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.
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 H.264 for ultimate compatibility.
All in all, you should learn FFmpeg if you do even a little amount of multimedia manipulation. It will help you out immensely.
+
sf@titan [~/sf.cu]$ cat INTRO.md
My name is Sufyaan and I welcome you to my personal website!
I am a brand designer but my interests are in computing. I love using free (libre) software that follows the UNIX philosophy.
I like to spend my free time tinkering around with my computer and learning about new innovations in both the technology and design industries.
On this website, I post on my blog about a plethora of topics that I am interested in like:
I do not post regularly. I did not create this website for views or money. I simply post what I enjoy and what I find helpful.
If you would like to contribute to this website, please do so on it's Git repository. Any contribution, no matter how small, is appreciated.
Here are links to useful pages on this website:
I hope you find useful and interesting information on this website!
sf@titan [~/sf.cu]$ cat INTRO.md
My name is Sufyaan and I welcome you to my personal website!
I am a brand designer but my interests are in computing. I love using free (libre) software that follows the UNIX philosophy.
I like to spend my free time tinkering around with my computer and learning about new innovations in both the technology and design industries.
On this website, I post on my blog about a plethora of topics that I am interested in like:
I do not post regularly. I did not create this website for views or money. I simply post what I enjoy and what I find helpful.
If you would like to contribute to this website, please do so on it's Git repository. Any contribution, no matter how small, is appreciated.
Here are links to useful pages on this website:
I hope you find useful and interesting information on this website!
