Is digital privacy a luxury? No, it is an architectural choice.
It’s Boxing Day (Santo Stefano) and, being unable to sit idle, I decided to take back my digital keys. 🗝️
It all started with a paradox: I wanted to change my Wi-Fi password, but I was "held hostage" by my solar panel inverter (no password, no local access, only proprietary cloud).
That’s when I decided I had to become the sole master of my information again. I already had a hunch, but there it is.
Many think that to protect oneself, you have to become a digital troglodyte. Error. The problem isn’t technology, but our competence and the control of the servers on which the data runs.
Investing time in privacy is a civil act.
Because privacy is freedom, and freedom implies individual responsibility. To be free means to stop delegating our identity to third parties.
As a tech enthusiast, I started building my "Digital Fortress" on Debian.
🎯 Why start with DNS, Cloud, and Payments?
Because these are the three faucets from which our most intimate data flows: where we go (DNS), who we are (Cloud), and how we live (Payments).
Here is my plan:
🛡️ Block 1: Sovereignty (Data & Finance)
I turned an old laptop into a home server:
• AdGuard Home (DNS): Browsing filtered at the root and encrypted queries, invisible to the ISP.
• Syncthing (Cloud): P2P synchronization of photos and documents. Files remain under my physical control.
• Bitcoin & LND (Next step): Lightning node for instant and private payments without intermediaries (now I just need to find someone to pay me in Satoshi! 😅).
💰 Cost: ~€250 (Hardware + 2TB SSD). An investment that eliminates subscriptions and surveillance. In reality, I recycled an old laptop that works excellently with Linux Debian.
🧠 Block 2: Private AI (The future with Ollama)
The goal is cognitive independence: running LLMs locally so as not to send thoughts and code to Silicon Valley.
⚠️ Note: This is where things get serious. You need computing power (GPU/RAM). The hardware investment will be significantly higher and the technologies are constantly evolving. We shall see.
In 2026, my goal is to take back my privacy. It is possible and costs little. If we don’t do it, it’s only for convenience... then let’s not complain. 🛡️
#Privacy #DigitalSovereignty #Debian #AI #Ollama #SelfHosting #CyberSecurity #FreedomTechnology
