Asklemmy

Password managers. People will use anything but that: paper, notes app (without any security), using the same password everywhere...

Rebooting your PC really does fix a lot of issues.

But in Windows, you need to go to a sub-sub-sub-menu of the old control panel, click on a button called "choose what closing the lid does", then on "change settings that are currently unavailable" and then disable "fast startup (recommended)", just to get your pc to reboot properly.

I call this one forbidden knowledge because I see it so little in public, but I'm sure it's well known in privacy communities: A password like "I have this really secure password that I type into computers sometimes" is a much stronger and easier to memorize password than "aB69$@m". It seems more often than not I find networks where the SSID is a better password than the WPA key.

If you don't have your files on another physical location you can show me, you don't have a backup, you don't own your files, you basically give your "digital life" to someone else.

People who complain about ads on YouTube. I tell them about ads blockers and they always go "Huh, you sure it works? Sounds good, I might try that" and then proceed to forget about it and complain about ads in a few months time...

Honestly, just Googling (or DuckDuckGo-ing) things. I tend to be the "tech person" that people ask about their computer problems quite often, and 9/10 times I just copy-paste the error code into the search bar and it tells me what to do. I'm not secret about it either, I'm like you can literally just Google it and it'll usually work. But people still seem to think it's magic lol.

An ad blocker, on desktop and phone.

It blocks annoying ads and also protects you against malware (malvertisement).

What annoys me about webcams is that they could have easily used the power line to the camera to light the LED. Then if the camera was on the light would be on.

But for some reason the LED is enabled separately from the camera, so it can be hacked through software that the camera is on but LED is off. Leading to a lot of paranoia. It’s just a non sensical design choice.

Wires:

• Ethernet ~~over~~ preferred over WiFi for non portable desktops
• Audio gear : wired will sound better. Bluetooth headphones have batteries that almost certainly aren't repairable.
• Peripherals, in the sane vein. I just don't get having to charge a keyboard or mouse that sits on my desk all day.

Reboot fixes a ton of issues.

Awk, sed, and grep.

That assumes you can unplug it. Most devices I own have the camera built right into the device, and it can sometimes be hard to find an option that doesn't include it. I have a Webcam cover on my desktop and laptop.

I haven't seen one that would work for my phone, but if someone has hacked my phone, I probably have bigger issues.

Even if you don't use it as a password manager, bitwarden has an excellent pass phrase generator. The only annoyance is when I run into maximum password lengths at times.

I'm surprised by how many people use Overleaf for writing LaTeX instead of installing something locally. It's not that hard, guys. And the experience can be infinitely better as you can actually customize it however you want.

You don't need a fancy computer. There's endless amazing games and they run on a potato. I was just starting Bayonetta and my machine doesn't even spin up. But it does when I open Firefox or my note taking program 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just keep it away from unsafe networks cuz it'll have vulnerabilities.

Always get the version of the gadget with replaceable batteries unless you want a brick in 3-10 years. Additionally, prefer 18650, AA, AAA batteries, and keep some rechargeable ones around.

Majority of "webcam" use is in laptops, tablets and phones, grandpa... No "unplug the damn thing" to be found?

I feel the same way about webcams. I'm paranoid about them too, but you know what's an easy solution? Buy a desktop monitor without one and then buy a USB webcam.

If you're on a laptop, then for the camera just tape a piece of paper over it. As for the internal mic, you might be fucked lol cause I got nothing.

Ok, I hear you. But here's the secret: I don't want to use a webcam at all. If you want to see me, agree to a physical meetup. Obviously that's not the only reason.

SFTP file transfers, I'm guilty of forgetting about it myself sometimes.

Whether it's Syncthing for keeping device data synced and backed up, or just wanting to get a file from point A to point B and using your preferred SFTP client like FileZilla, it can be really easy to forget just how easy these are.