Operating Systems

The operating system is the first piece of software you need to worry about if you care about privacy as it's the lowest layer between software and hardware, the foundation of all of your computing. If your OS isn't designed with your privacy and security in mind, using private software, regardless of the care your precautions, is ultimately a futile attempt at privacy analogous to putting a band-aid on a wound that needs stitches. Out of all major operating systems, there are three that have proven to be well-suited for personal usage over time. These are Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Why not Windows or macOS?

We all know Windows and macOS are classic glowie operating systems that do not provide privacy and freedom by default. They also probably all have backdoors implemented, but that is the problem with proprietary software, as it is impossible to know for sure what it is doing. Windows and macOS also don't respect your freedom. Want to change the operating system? Too bad, you can't. Want to alter the user interface? Too bad, you can't. This provides a uniform appearance to all systems, which works for general-purpose, but we all know customizing a system to one's needs works far better than a one-size-fits-all solution.

What is Linux?

Linux is a free and open source (FOSS) kernel developed by Linus Torvalds. "Wait, kernel?", you exclaim behind your grimy keyboard and thousandfold belly rolls. "I thought Linux was an operating system!" Well, yes, but also no. The Linux kernel is used as a basis for many operating systems, and these OS's also typically use the GNU core utilities and the systemd init system. Though there are exceptions, this creates a relatively uniform experience for how Linux operating systems work under the hood. Linux operating system's are typically called distributions

Most distributions adopt the free software philosophy that Linux was founded upon. The best part of this is that it provides a level of user freedom and privacy that you don't experience on other proprietary operating systems. This is because free software can be modified and distributed and it is far more difficult for surveillance capitalists to find a home on the shaky ground free software provides for them.

Which distribution should I use

For beginners who aren't very comfortable with Linux, I would recommend Fedora or openSUSE Tumbleweed. This is because they are both user-friendly operating systems that provide great security and privacy out of the box. They both do not use telemetry by default and they use modern, secure technologies that safeguard your computer and the data that it contains.

openSUSE Tumbleweed is a rolling release distribution, which means that it's packages stay close to upstream and it has one version that is updated over time. On the other hand, Fedora is a point release distribution (also known as "stable release"). This means that it releases by versions over a period of time, and the software is not updated until the next version of the operating system is released. Fedora may sound less secure for it's slower updates, but really, Fedora only "freezes" some software like the desktop environment, while most software is updated persistently throughout the release's lifetime, blurring the difference between point and rolling release. This is why you may sometimes hear Fedora referred to as a "semi-rolling release."