WHY HAVE YOUR OWN SERVER?

There are instances when owning your own server, either for your home or office, is the ideal solution to maximise your digital privacy.

If you have any concerns about your individual or your family’s digital privacy. A server is a perfect solution for some privacy issues.
It doesn't have to be a big/expensive server. A Raspberry Pi can host anything you need.

Interest in having a virtualization management software like proxmox for more services/performance or do you have a large family and therefore many users, you should invest a bit more to achieve your goal. A Raspberry Pi is not a good option for this.

Some examples what you can achieve with your own server

• Create your own virtual private network (VPN)
• Use your own cloud server like Dropbox, Google Drive ...
• Your own email server
• Parental control
• Block advertisements for all your devices, e.g. TVs, IoT devices, etc.
• and much more to keep your data where it belongs - at Home

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What privacy issues has my phone?

Applications like browsers, email services, games, online banking - and plenty more - collect as much information from your device as possible. (There’s money to be made from your personal data and they try hard to gather it all).

When you use your phone, a lot of unwanted digital traffic can be already blocked by your private server. But it is still vital to modify each device so that they connect to your server safely.
Fine-tuning of the connection and privacy settings of your devices should be completed regularly. So keep an eye on our and other important news and keep your devices always up to date!

Android devices are "easy" for privacy fanatics to change. You should think about this before you buy a new phone. Follow the LineageOS supported list and select one of them.

If you don't want to use many applications and would like to test a few things, take a look at Pine64's PinePhone which is mainly based on Linux.

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My desktop has privacy issues too?

Same as your phone: Applications like browsers, email services, games, online banking - and plenty more - collect as much information from your device as possible. (There’s money to be made from your personal data and they try hard to gather it all).

There are a number of solutions you can try. Start to optimize your Mac and Windows computer so that the companies can't catch all your privacy information.
Or, because open source is our philosophy, we suggest to avoid all mainstream companies and start with Linux or BSD.

Software should be open source so that everyone is able to see what happens behind the scene. Windows & Co. do not provide the source code. So you have to trust them. We all know from the past that this is not a good idea.

There are so many Linux and BSD distributions you can choose from. Use them 😉

• Arch Linux - install only software that you really use
• Rocky Linux - Rocky Linux as a production-ready alternative to CentOS, as CentOS has recently been "redesigned" for testing patches and updates
• Qubes OS - desktop system with good privacy and security based on virtualization technology
• EndeavourOS - easy installation of Arch Linux
• Linux Mint - easy to learn for Linux beginners coming e.g. from a Windows computer
• Debian - most Linux distributions are based on Debian. Known for it's stability and it's integration of 100% free software.
• FreeBSD - FreeBSD is an operating system used to power modern servers, desktops, and embedded platforms. Its advanced networking, security, and storage features have made FreeBSD the platform of choice for many of the busiest web sites and most pervasive embedded networking and storage devices.
• OpenBSD - The OpenBSD project produces a FREE, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating system. The efforts emphasize portability, standardization, correctness, proactive security and integrated cryptography. As an example of the effect OpenBSD has, the popular OpenSSH software comes from OpenBSD.

Check distrowatch.com for other Linux and BSD distributions.

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Why are backups so important?

Data loss. It could be a document you’ve been working on for hours being deleted instead of saved. Or it could be a system failure which wipes everything. Or a fire, or theft, or spilt cup of coffee. The feelings are usually the same: horror, fear, regret.

This is a very important step, which is why we included it too. Not only to back up your data, but also to keep your loooong learning journey safe at all times.
Remember to learn how to backup as soon as possible. It can be very annoying to start from scratch again and again. But if you don't have backups, you can also learn faster 😉

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