Nix user. The declaritive config IS the documentation and I enjoy no longer having to document how to setup my system as much. I don’t enjoy scripting or automating things, but I enjoy the benefits of only needing to do it once via Nix’s config system.
I enjoy engineering: an engineer will spend 3 hours figuring out how to do a 2 hour job in 1 hour.
Same. 80/20 rule. Even reaching 80% of my privacy goals for 20% of the effort was a ton of work. Netting that last 20% for 4x the effort I already put it in just isn’t worth it.
what did you like more about
rclonethan Cryptomator?
I wanted to leave Dropbox and ran across it. I liked the number of supported backends under one tool. I use it to access things beyond Backblaze like gdrive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Proton Drive. Well documented config file format. I was able to manage the config with Nix due to this.
Is it suitable for sync, or is it more for backups
It works great for one way sync. Bisync I never got working well enough to trust it. Bisync is nice for 3-way merges (two devices modifying files on the same cloud drive). Dropbox, gdrive, OneDrive win here. I’ve learned to live without it.
I’m ideally looking for near-ish to real-time sync for contacts, notes, files, and pictures
On a computer the fuse mounted volumes are near live. Cahce locally in a VFS. Anything else you’d have to script probably. There is rclone-watch but can’t say I’ve tested it
With Round Sync you can browse with live refresh when you move between directories, but syncing would be on a schedule. Looks like a 15m interval is the fastest frequency.
Are there any frontends for Linux you’d recommend, or do you script out the functionality you’re looking to implement?
I mostly just mount on login with the VFS cache. Use my normal file browser. One command per mount. Its rare (practically never) that I need to work on something without internet, so I don’t deal with trying to script syncs. I tried in the early days of playing with it, but fuse mounts ended up meeting my needs.
No GUI that I use outside of my normal file browser. The only thing I need to use the CLI for is cleaning up soft deleted files and old versions (Backblaze specific thing).
It might not have the functionality you are looking for as far as app integrations, but my progression was Dropbox -> Cryptomator over Dropbox -> rclone over Backblaze B2.
You can nest a “crypt” remote (end-to-end encryption with your own private key) over tons of cloud providers. You can mount it like a drive in Linux.
Round Sync is an Android client that can schedule cronlike backups. Pretty much set it and forget it on my phone. I delete things on my phone when I need space and every couple years go cleanup what’s in B2.
Dropbox was better priced at max capacity when I used it ($120/yr for 2TB?). My Backblaze bill started at $1/mo and is like $4/mo now. Its been a couple years since I cleaned things out and could probably cut that in half.
Same. None of that self-hosted cloud storage is going to save you from data loss in the event of a fire or theft unless you plan for offsite.
I just use rclone with Backblaze B2, end-to-end encrypted with my own private key, and call it a day.
I have a mirrored BYOD setup for my media server but its all stuff I can download again. Its just an onsite cache with a little redundancy against a failed drive.
Awesome! I remember wearing my first; couldn’t get it off me!
I find tights help to wear skimpier things as I’m self consciousness about my legs and it helps with the exposed feeling. I usually go for something a little more substantial than nylons.
No Nonsense makes reinforced tights that tend to last a little longer.
I love fleece tights as they are very substantial and some have a faux sheer look. They are too hot in warmer months / climates though.
Is that a hybrid gel formula? How does it perform if so?
I can’t keep lacquer nice to save my life unless I don’t use my hands for like the next 6 hours.
Gel is great, once its done its done. The setup keeps me from doing my nails as often as I’d like though.
Looked this up and saw its a hybrid which I’ve never heard of before.
They responded on reddit and walked some of it back as an “oversight”: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitwarden/comments/1tdvnh7/comment/olznwcv/. Allegedly, I’m too lazy to verify.
https://github.com/newhinton/Round-Sync - Android rclone port.
Its done on a schedule but I backup once a day to backblaze b2 using my own keys for full e2ee by wrapping the b2 remote with a crypto remote. Been set it and forget it for about 3 years. Supports many other cloud or self hosted remotes.
Its not in any store last I checked. I use https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium to manage installing and updating.
I’ve been using etesync for contacts to fill the void when I first discovered it wasn’t supported. I don’t really use any of the other features outside of a e2ee cloud sync of contacts.
NixOS. Started with Yellow Dog Linux in 1998.
I don’t do everything through nix’s derivation system.
Many of my configs are just an outOfStoreSymlink to my configs in the same dotfiles repos. I don’t need every change wrapped in a derivation. Neovim is probably the largest. A few node projects for automations I’m fine using pnpm to manage. Nix still places everything but I can tweek those configs and commit in the same repo without a full blown activation.
Something like https://graphite.com/ to create stacked PRs that are reviewable probably would have helped. Can be replicated with local LLMs or remote AI providers with locally configured agentic workflows. Never used graphite personally, but I’ve seen some open source maintainers use it to split up large PRs.
Like, from Yellow Dog Linux? Was my first Linux distro as a kid (grew up with an Apple computer). Red Hat based so checks out. TIL.
There is a praise/validation kink for that.
Firefox Nightly + arkenfox userjs + uBlock Origin + Bitwarden as my daily driver.
Been a couple years since I checked up on arkenfox still being good. I get flagged as a bot all the time and constantly get popups about WebGL (GPU fingerprinting) so I assume its working as intended for my threat model.
Tails when I really care.
Mullvad VPN as my regular VPN with ProtonVPN for torrents.
GrapheneOS / NixOS as my OS.
Proton Visionary for most cloud services except passwords and I don’t really use Proton Drive. I do use ProtonPass for unique emails to every provider.
Kagi for searches / AI.
Etesync for contacts because Proton didn’t sync with the OS last I checked.
Backblaze B2 for cloud storage with my own encryption via rclone (Round Sync on GrapheneOS)
Keypass for a few things like my XMR wallets and master passwords I don’t even trust in Bitwarden.
https://jmp.chat/ for my mobile provider.
Pihole with encrypted DNS to Quad9.
https://onlykey.io/ for the second half of my sensitive passwords (Bitwarden, LUKS, Keypass, OS login). First half memorized.
Its a lot. I burned myself out a couple years ago keeping up with optimizing privacy and this setup has served me well for 2 years without really changing anything. The cloud services are grey areas in terms of privacy but the few ads that leak through uBlock have zero relevance to anything about me.
Was my first thought. “Hetero-flexible” if you will.
Can confirm, it is information they already have. Below is likely the API the telco exposes to the bureau. Each data point queried returns true, false, or a confidence score.
It is intended as an anti-fraud tool. Not saying I agree with it. Something like PGP is sufficient for building out a web-of-trust without needing to share my personal information.
No programming knowledge required.
Graphene only supports Pixels due to the titan chip. The versions with “a” are cheaper. Check when they go end of life to find the cheapest if you care about updates. So probably the 6a or 7a if you want at least 2 years of updates.
Not sure on this one.
The auditor is to make sure you are installing an authentic version of graphene. That it is not a modified version that has been tampered with (e.g., backdoors).
Automatically enables MAC randomization. This can help with being tracked on public networks. Fingerprinting techniques have gotten better though with deep packet inspection and even measuring radio characteristics. I’ve seen demos of two brand new and identical models of iPhones being distinctly picked out due to variances in the radios during manufacturing.
Doesn’t help with advertisers tracking behavior based on IP. VPNs help with “blending-in” by putting multiple users behind the same IP. Provider matters here. Needs to be a VPN provider that won’t just sell your data or cave to law enforcement. Mullvad is my preference. Paid with crypto. RAM only logs. That said, use Tor or I2P for anything you don’t want subpoenaed.
For additional tips:
https://grapheneos.org/usage#web-browsing
Chromium and their particular fork have much better exploit hardening via sandboxing.
My understanding is Firefox has better anti-fingerprinting and uBlock origin via manifest v2 support (or v2 features ported to v3).
The argument often used is malicious ads. Sandboxing and hardening largely mitigates ads that contain exploits, but it doesn’t protect against social engineering, crypto mining, tracking, etc.
So I guess it comes down to your threat model and desired experience.
I personally prefer the uBlock origin experience, but an ad free experience and escape from targeted advertising was my target opsec when venturing into privacy.