I used to be annoyed by an old Samsung “smart” TV ('15 or '16 model). Most things didn’t work on it, yet it kept demanding my data and playing ads constantly. So I built my first pi-hole, it stopped most of the ads but broke the TV in the process. Long story short, I went down every rabbit hole I could and no solutions were found. Granted, different brand and era so maybe you’ll have better luck…but the solution for me was simply to ditch the apps altogether

My first thoughts were the DS’s pictochat or maybe PSP. No clue about how to use them like this, I doubt “modern” tools exist (yet). But it’s creative, interesting, and I like the needless extra steps…so I support it

No joke, I was talking about this recently. I feel like niche groups (me included) are just going full-circle back to the DS days

I mean…VM, run Tor as a container within the VM, and don’t change any default settings. Amiright guys?

You can even run the browser in a docker container if you’re extremely paranoid (I’m on the verge)

I’d recommend something like a split tunnel then. And I’m only saying that because I’m not well-versed in networking like this, especially when containers are involved.

But I do have containers routing their traffic through a VPN via gluetun, and it’s worked flawlessly.

I think I’m missing something…why bother with SOCKS5 if you’re using a gluetun container? I’ve never done what you’re trying to do, but I’d assume gluten by itself is the solution

Today, I own 3 CRTs and they don’t make my eyes burn

Nope! I could watch one all day, no clue why

Modern displays make my eyes hurt

I’d like to know too. I’ve never used my TV as a traditional TV, and I hate the “smart” features. Ideally, I’d like a modern 16:9 CRT under 80lbs, but they don’t exist

Have you tried Simplewall? Similar situation, but I’m a Mullvad user, and I haven’t had any issues

Had no idea that existed, I wonder what the security is like

Yeah, that’s why I use TailScale at all. I host services for my close friends to enjoy

The biggest downside, as I understand it, is that it’s difficult to convince others to use your tailnet

That’s a really hard problem to solve. But my advice, and what was working for me last time I tried, was using the Pi-hole as an exit node and forcing as much traffic through it as possible. The only downside to this is that your Pi-hole dashboard will be less interesting because your devices will show as the Pi-hole itself. If you’re already doing that, then my only guess is getting obsessive about domain blocking until it stops, and even that will have its limits.

I second this. And the transition was made easy due to anti-consumer practices. Plus, you can take your media on-the-go for free

They have the money to do it. And historically, the CIA has done similar things globally for decades

Yeah, I text and call them

I get your point, but that’s exactly what I do. When someone say “just use discord”, I drop their product/service/etc. and move on. I’m not saying everyone else should do that, but my life is too short for “support” via Discord

I know interested people don’t like to talk about it…but we, the people, should really be moving away from Discord. A bucket of water doesn’t fix a burning house, ya know?

Then I’d suggest SearXNG. I use public instances because no one has made a way for me to natively host it myself, but I recommend it regardless

Yep

Some day surely Windows and Mac will get something similar to SearXNG, then you won’t have to worry about this stuff

RethinkDNS is a great option unless you already have something in place that you want to use as well.

For example, I have a pi-hole and a server that I’d like to use 24/7. There’s a few ways to do it, but I’m an idiot and need a simple, hard-to-ruin method. So I use the pi-hole as an exit node with TailScale

Yes, I am. To be more specific about the custom ROM, I’m trying to find a direct link to a trustworthy source…because I’ve looked and couldn’t find one myself

Just tried, but I get an “unable to connect” error on all of my devices

Ah, excuse my ignorance please. I only know about Graphene and Lineage

The fingerprint sensor doesn’t work most of the time, the light sensor thinks its in my pocket when its in my hand (and thinks that its in my hand when its in my pocket), the battery started draining rapidly within a year of purchase, and much more. Is there an Oxygen release for my phone? When I checked about a year ago, all I could find was an unofficial Lineage release that seemed sketchy

Pi-hole and Simplewall, everything except my phone is running Ethernet

The Nord N10, I bought it because everyone in the store recommended it at the same time. After my experience, I’m pretty sure they were paid to say that

I’ve got a OnePlus, but it’s the worst phone I’ve had and I’m looking forward to it breaking. Could be my model, but I’m permanently done with the company

I do the same. It’s a fantastic, heavily customizable combo that hasn’t failed me once

Me either, I still keep it though

I’m kinda in the same boat as you. There’s a Windows bloatware uninstaller (I forget the name) that strips many features you don’t want. And I’ve used BCuninstaller to forcibly remove things I didn’t want. Outside of that, you can use your own router with a strict Pi-hole to see a lot of the Microsoft telemetry getting blocked. Not saying it catches all of it, but it works for me

I bounce around a few public Sear instances, its working great for me

There’s a script on github (don’t have the link right now) for an automated whitelist. I was expecting it to break some things or end up useless, but it was the perfect addition for me Edit: https://github.com/anudeepND/whitelist

Which VPN service? I normally use Tailscale with the Pi as an exit node, but I’d like to have simultaneous VPN connection

I made a Win11 machine earlier this year without this issue, but that could’ve changed

Fuggin got em