I have a threat model, and I stick with it. It means I'm very comfortable where I'm at.
I also acknowledge other peoples threat model don't match mine. Most people aren't as strict as me, and some of you here are far more strict than I.
That's okay, and I'm not going to to crazy trying to control something I can't.
Then I try to apply the same logic to the world. Yes there's a lot going on and being established in laws and practices that we most definitely need to be aware of and raise awareness of. But that being said, I can't control everything so I try to to let things I can't control get to me. The way I see it if they get to me and affect the quality of my life, then they've won even if they don't have my data. So I try to stay sane that way.
Mostly though, I try not to be a weirdo. Yes I'm weird compared to he average. But who wants to be average? That's how I express myself.
I'm not going to put down anybody on social media, but I'm also very clear I'm not and have such a better life for it. Guess what, nobody ever disagrees with me. They don't say I'm wrong. They know in right because they feel it. They just don't have the will power to take the steps I do. So again, I never argue or say I'm right. I say I'm right for me, and let then know it in a non judgemental way.
I'm the beacon. If I'm 100% right and am a jerk about it, they'll reject the message because of me. But if I can show them it is possible to be private and control your data and live a fuller life because of it, then maybe it'll inspire them to take the plunge.
Educate and inspire.
JMP you pay to your account and then they charge it monthly or as needed. For instance the numbers are $5/month. I auto load $15 whenever it drops to $5. You can adjust the amounts and timing but there is some minimum I don't remember.
For data, you prepay for it and then you get charged when it runs out.
JMP is privacy friendly and doesn't really need any info on you at all. I forget their payment methods but that would essentially be the privacy gap.
They are US and CA only so no international travel. They are also VoIP which has its own strings attached that has nothing to do with JMP as a provider, just with the VoIP platform.
I still have a number with JMP but have recently moved to Cape for my primary number. They are US only (so again not international) but seem as private as you can be with a standard carrier. They don't need all your info and they don't store your payment info, though there's no "purse" functionality, you just prepay for the month. I really like some of their features like rotating IMSI number and secondary text only numbers.
There's a referral program so if you sign up with my code we both save $20 off our bills.
Referral code: GCMHTPE2
Not to detract from the recommendations and finding what works for you, I do recommend starting with a simple spreadsheet first. You don't have to stick with it, but it's a good start.
Benefits are you get use to logging your transactions, and you can do this manually or by CSV import.
Not only can it do the math for you, but you can use multiple formulas to summarize various things.
For instance I enter all my recurring bills into the sheet per month, and it calculates my money both on what has posted (how much do I have today) and end of month (how much is left at the end).
I also categorize the transactions then table it. How much have I spent on groceries vs dining out? What percentage of my income is that?
That's where you really start seeing where your money is going and you can start making educated decisions on where you spend.
That stinks. Maybe it's the region or they just haven't found it yet.
I know I've tried to get birds that have been in my yard to come back more (jays and orioles) but no matter what I do they only show up if they want and then leave.
I'm like you though, I default to sunflower seeds because its the great universal, everybody eats them. And it's simple enough that I don't have to think of it on a day to day basis.
As others said, gold finches love them. Thistle seed as a close second. House finches and sparrows will eat them too.
I will also say that how you feed them affects it too. Putting it in a hard feeder or tray is okay, but using a sock (the mesh tubes) will get you more birds.
I hear you on the phone number thing. That's another stupid thing I don't really do. I have a separate VoIP number that I use for any business I need to deal with. No way are they getting my real number.
And speaking of friends and their apps and my phone number, I rarely give anybody my phone number too. I don't need it being harvested by the load of apps they have installed. You're only as strong as our weakest link, and most people don't give this stuff any thought.
I'm coming from the same place. My windows updates are off (that's one of the mods that ameliorated makes) and I have not had a problem with it for a few years now.
I'm not saying that windows should be the choice, but I am saying that when I have to use it (there are legit reasons) then my ameliorated version is fantastic.
I use windows at work daily so I am very well aware of out of the box experience. No way I would ever use that for my personal computing.
Ameliorated is something I always recommend and it sounds like while what you are doing is pretty good, there are some shortcomings. I don't know, maybe ameliorated won't work for you either, but its worth a try.
Every business you deal with has an app these days. Grocery stores, restaurants, etc...
Just install and scan to get your discounts and track your points. Yeah... No thanks.
The most viable option is to manage your own firewall and block the outbound traffic.
Only suggesting as a work around for those that want a robot vacuum.
I agree with both of you. Windows is not fine. But it can be made fine with an easy privacy modification.
I recommend ameliorated.io to everybody who needs to use windows. It makes it a viable OS, stripping out the junk, and setting better defaults for security and UI. I run it in VMs whenever I need it.
Wonderful information. Not just the successes but also the challenges and setbacks.
It gives good perspective into the reality of the situation instead of leaving it up to our imaginations.
Thank you for sharing and keeping a cool head through it all.
I'm looking forward to the beta.
I'm coming from a position and stance similar to yours, a paying customer for many years, etc...
I can completely see criticism of the proton platform for various reasons, such as some feature sets, your mentioned slow to market on what seems like priorities to the community, the security stance of eggs in one basket, etc...
I think proton deserves honest criticism on many fronts, and also aren't the answer to everybody's threat model. Fine.
The rest? It's hate.
It's not even stance or opinion. Its hate.
The smallest things are taken and the reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Andy Yens comments haven't been THAT bad compared to the political people he gets associated with. But okay, I can see taking the small concept and saying it's evidence of a bigger picture behind HD scenes. But then there's hate.
But proton set up their organization to prevent a single person (like Yen) from dominating and taking them in the wrong direction, but that gets ignored. Just hate.
Let's talk about a news article where out of context proton "gave away" user info (when in reality it was all the fault of the user). But we'll ignore all the times proton didn't give up information they were asked for. Because that goes against the hate squad.
Again, if somebody doesn't like proton, good for them. Don't use them. Think they are the devil, good for them advise people as to why and to stay away from their products. But most of the hate comments aren't expressing any of that. Its just hate, and if you don't see it too then you are stupid and deserved to be hated too. That's the vocal majority. That doesn't mean its the majority opinion, it just means the loudest voices are saying that.
Sorry, my answer is a bit of a rant saying I agree with you. I'm sure many will disagree and that's fine. But opinions are allowed to be shared both ways.
I also run Win11 with 8GB of ram just fine.
To be fair though, its a virtual machine and not my daily driver. But the main reason it works is because I used an Ameliorated package that basically strips down the OS to what it should be. (ameliorated.io)
I highly recommend it.
Yes, but even imperfect steps are in the right direction. My phone number is out there because of others (within 6 months it was obvious) but I do get FAR better results than before. Simply having a personal number and a number for businesses (JMP VoIP numbers are cheap) broke the biggest connection to my ID from a data broker persecive. Also using dedicated emails for every company/service was big in this.
Yeah, the IMEI is set to the hardware like a serial number for lack of a better description. That's why if you want to protect that, you never put a SIM in your phone. Also, if you go that route you need to buy your phone cash or second hand. IMEIs are logged at purchase so if you buy with a credit card its instantly traceable to your name.
And yes, I presume you are not avoiding authorities and just want some basic privacy. That's all I'm after, I don't need to be a ghost.
This privacy game is a process, and it never stops. But if you take small steps all the time you always make progress. You'll also figure out what your true threat profile is once you hit all the friction points. Its all theoretical until you put it into practice.
I have a threat model, and I stick with it. It means I'm very comfortable where I'm at.
I also acknowledge other peoples threat model don't match mine. Most people aren't as strict as me, and some of you here are far more strict than I. That's okay, and I'm not going to to crazy trying to control something I can't.
Then I try to apply the same logic to the world. Yes there's a lot going on and being established in laws and practices that we most definitely need to be aware of and raise awareness of. But that being said, I can't control everything so I try to to let things I can't control get to me. The way I see it if they get to me and affect the quality of my life, then they've won even if they don't have my data. So I try to stay sane that way.
Mostly though, I try not to be a weirdo. Yes I'm weird compared to he average. But who wants to be average? That's how I express myself. I'm not going to put down anybody on social media, but I'm also very clear I'm not and have such a better life for it. Guess what, nobody ever disagrees with me. They don't say I'm wrong. They know in right because they feel it. They just don't have the will power to take the steps I do. So again, I never argue or say I'm right. I say I'm right for me, and let then know it in a non judgemental way.
I'm the beacon. If I'm 100% right and am a jerk about it, they'll reject the message because of me. But if I can show them it is possible to be private and control your data and live a fuller life because of it, then maybe it'll inspire them to take the plunge. Educate and inspire.
Good clarification on the JMP setup I missed covering. I can also verify that proton VPN with a local server works flawlessly for JMP calls.
JMP you pay to your account and then they charge it monthly or as needed. For instance the numbers are $5/month. I auto load $15 whenever it drops to $5. You can adjust the amounts and timing but there is some minimum I don't remember. For data, you prepay for it and then you get charged when it runs out. JMP is privacy friendly and doesn't really need any info on you at all. I forget their payment methods but that would essentially be the privacy gap. They are US and CA only so no international travel. They are also VoIP which has its own strings attached that has nothing to do with JMP as a provider, just with the VoIP platform.
I still have a number with JMP but have recently moved to Cape for my primary number. They are US only (so again not international) but seem as private as you can be with a standard carrier. They don't need all your info and they don't store your payment info, though there's no "purse" functionality, you just prepay for the month. I really like some of their features like rotating IMSI number and secondary text only numbers. There's a referral program so if you sign up with my code we both save $20 off our bills. Referral code: GCMHTPE2
Not to detract from the recommendations and finding what works for you, I do recommend starting with a simple spreadsheet first. You don't have to stick with it, but it's a good start.
Benefits are you get use to logging your transactions, and you can do this manually or by CSV import. Not only can it do the math for you, but you can use multiple formulas to summarize various things.
For instance I enter all my recurring bills into the sheet per month, and it calculates my money both on what has posted (how much do I have today) and end of month (how much is left at the end).
I also categorize the transactions then table it. How much have I spent on groceries vs dining out? What percentage of my income is that? That's where you really start seeing where your money is going and you can start making educated decisions on where you spend.
Static sites are the way, especially for a free tier.
Also +1 for Astro from me.
Using an LLM to customize it and set up all the scheduling etc is also very handy.
Excellent. There's a couple quirky sites I hope are fixed.
That stinks. Maybe it's the region or they just haven't found it yet.
I know I've tried to get birds that have been in my yard to come back more (jays and orioles) but no matter what I do they only show up if they want and then leave.
I'm like you though, I default to sunflower seeds because its the great universal, everybody eats them. And it's simple enough that I don't have to think of it on a day to day basis.
As others said, gold finches love them. Thistle seed as a close second. House finches and sparrows will eat them too.
I will also say that how you feed them affects it too. Putting it in a hard feeder or tray is okay, but using a sock (the mesh tubes) will get you more birds.
I never thought of it as salesy before, but I can see that.
They are not selling anything. The tool is free to use. The playbooks are free too. Or you can make your own, but I've never done that.
I've used this since I learned about it on multiple machines, and never need to think about it again other than when recommending it.
Probably the only "bad" thing is you need a legitimate, activated instance of windows.
I hear you on the phone number thing. That's another stupid thing I don't really do. I have a separate VoIP number that I use for any business I need to deal with. No way are they getting my real number.
And speaking of friends and their apps and my phone number, I rarely give anybody my phone number too. I don't need it being harvested by the load of apps they have installed. You're only as strong as our weakest link, and most people don't give this stuff any thought.
I'm coming from the same place. My windows updates are off (that's one of the mods that ameliorated makes) and I have not had a problem with it for a few years now.
I'm not saying that windows should be the choice, but I am saying that when I have to use it (there are legit reasons) then my ameliorated version is fantastic.
I use windows at work daily so I am very well aware of out of the box experience. No way I would ever use that for my personal computing.
Ameliorated is something I always recommend and it sounds like while what you are doing is pretty good, there are some shortcomings. I don't know, maybe ameliorated won't work for you either, but its worth a try.
Company apps.
Every business you deal with has an app these days. Grocery stores, restaurants, etc... Just install and scan to get your discounts and track your points. Yeah... No thanks.
The most viable option is to manage your own firewall and block the outbound traffic. Only suggesting as a work around for those that want a robot vacuum.
I agree with both of you. Windows is not fine. But it can be made fine with an easy privacy modification.
I recommend ameliorated.io to everybody who needs to use windows. It makes it a viable OS, stripping out the junk, and setting better defaults for security and UI. I run it in VMs whenever I need it.
Wonderful information. Not just the successes but also the challenges and setbacks. It gives good perspective into the reality of the situation instead of leaving it up to our imaginations. Thank you for sharing and keeping a cool head through it all. I'm looking forward to the beta.
People like to hate.
I'm coming from a position and stance similar to yours, a paying customer for many years, etc... I can completely see criticism of the proton platform for various reasons, such as some feature sets, your mentioned slow to market on what seems like priorities to the community, the security stance of eggs in one basket, etc... I think proton deserves honest criticism on many fronts, and also aren't the answer to everybody's threat model. Fine.
The rest? It's hate. It's not even stance or opinion. Its hate. The smallest things are taken and the reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Andy Yens comments haven't been THAT bad compared to the political people he gets associated with. But okay, I can see taking the small concept and saying it's evidence of a bigger picture behind HD scenes. But then there's hate. But proton set up their organization to prevent a single person (like Yen) from dominating and taking them in the wrong direction, but that gets ignored. Just hate. Let's talk about a news article where out of context proton "gave away" user info (when in reality it was all the fault of the user). But we'll ignore all the times proton didn't give up information they were asked for. Because that goes against the hate squad.
Again, if somebody doesn't like proton, good for them. Don't use them. Think they are the devil, good for them advise people as to why and to stay away from their products. But most of the hate comments aren't expressing any of that. Its just hate, and if you don't see it too then you are stupid and deserved to be hated too. That's the vocal majority. That doesn't mean its the majority opinion, it just means the loudest voices are saying that.
Sorry, my answer is a bit of a rant saying I agree with you. I'm sure many will disagree and that's fine. But opinions are allowed to be shared both ways.
I also run Win11 with 8GB of ram just fine. To be fair though, its a virtual machine and not my daily driver. But the main reason it works is because I used an Ameliorated package that basically strips down the OS to what it should be. (ameliorated.io) I highly recommend it.
Adding Tempo as a mobile app.
Yes, but even imperfect steps are in the right direction. My phone number is out there because of others (within 6 months it was obvious) but I do get FAR better results than before. Simply having a personal number and a number for businesses (JMP VoIP numbers are cheap) broke the biggest connection to my ID from a data broker persecive. Also using dedicated emails for every company/service was big in this.
Yeah, the IMEI is set to the hardware like a serial number for lack of a better description. That's why if you want to protect that, you never put a SIM in your phone. Also, if you go that route you need to buy your phone cash or second hand. IMEIs are logged at purchase so if you buy with a credit card its instantly traceable to your name.
And yes, I presume you are not avoiding authorities and just want some basic privacy. That's all I'm after, I don't need to be a ghost.
This privacy game is a process, and it never stops. But if you take small steps all the time you always make progress. You'll also figure out what your true threat profile is once you hit all the friction points. Its all theoretical until you put it into practice.