#deBig-Tech

[valenshawke]

Just rambling about how being online is these days...

For as long as I can remember, I've always been rather fatalistic about online privacy, security, etc.

At the end of the day, if governments (US, Russia, North Korea, etc.), big tech (Google, Facebook, Amazon), or a really determined hacker wanted in on my computer or online accounts, they're getting in eventually. This isn't to say I have anything useful other than the normal stuff people would have.

But seriously, something like 1/3 of the online world STILL uses Windows XP. Trying being online with XP these days and see how long it takes before you get something accessing your computer without authorization (it'll be like 10 minutes at most).

But that usually didn't stop me from taking basic security measures.

I never realized I had actually had a line in the sand with all of this.

Until Microsoft Copilot.

That was the final straw. Like, that broke something in me where I now spend many hours and days since early February essentially de-Googling and de-Big-Teching.

I've moved to Linux (Linux Mint on my daily driver, Kubuntu on my gaming rig, and Debian 12 for my home network) from Windows.

Moved away from Gmail to two different email services.

Switched so many apps on my phone from Google to FOSS apps. And when my phone finally stops getting any kind of security updates, I'll try to flash it with a custom ROM. If it bricks the phone, oh well, I'd have to get a new one eventually. But it buys me some more time with my phone AND isn't connected to Google, all the better.

Been using Collabora over Microsoft Office (trying to find a Google Workspace alternative has been an absolute chore and is still ongoing).

Installed Container extensions in Firefox for Google, Facebook, Amazon, & Reddit.

In the process of moving from Google Drive to two services with servers not in the US.

And the process continues.

I know some of this is a reaction to the lack of control I have in my life right now especially, given whom my employer is. And this is something I can at least exert a modicum of control, even if it is futile in the end.

But if it makes it harder for someone to track me for five more fucking seconds... WORTH IT.

Spite's a powerful motivator.

[valenshawke]

Adventures in deGoogling, Part 989829878940739.

When I installed Linux, I didn't really expect to fully transition into someone that's trying to deGoogle and deBig-Tech as much as I can. Whether it's using FOSS/FLOSS alternatives wherever possible or moving away from many services.

Today, I used transferred all my emails in my Gmail inboxes to my new services and deleted those emails from my Gmail. That's almost 20 years worth of emails (would be more but pre-2008, I was still using email clients on Outlook, then Thunderbird, and the great hard drive crash of 2014 meant those e-mails are lost to the ages) exported out of Gmail and imported to the new service.

I've also cleared out most of my Google Drive accounts (except the main one cause I want to make sure all that's backed up at least twice before I clear it out).