How to Increase your Privacy and Take Control of Your Computer and Software

Is personal privacy and control of your data important to you?

If you buy a personal computer today, the preloaded operating system will be Microsoft Windows 11 or Apple’s macOS or you might opt for a Chromebook running the Chrome OS, which is what schools most often buy. Most of you take this for granted and then use your computer for work, school, hobbies or entertainment. In every case though, these computers are privacy nightmares and make it difficult not to share much or all of your data with Microsoft, Apple or, especially, Google. If you’re not concerned with personal privacy or controlling your data, the rest of this article probably isn’t for you, but if the thought of someone else, somewhere else, having and controlling your data makes you uncomfortable, there is another option, it’s the open source operating system called Linux.

What is Linux?

Your computer operating system is the software you use to interact with the computer itself. Graphic operating systems like Windows or macOS are proprietary, the companies don’t let you look inside to see how everything works. Linux is an open source operating system, it’s non-proprietary and, if you’re a real techie, you can dig in and examine the source code.

You already use Linux every day

Though you may not be familiar with the name Linux, you use it all the time. Most of the servers hosting websites and the majority of all of the other equipment on the internet run on Linux. The router connecting your home computer to the internet runs Linux. Linux is all around you on things you never think about, even the auto manufacturers are moving to Linux to control vehicle features and what you see on the touchscreen. It’s everywhere.

Who uses Linux on their home computer?

For a long time, the only users who had it on their home computer were the geeks who learned and wrote text commands to run the computer because there was no graphic interface. It was also hard to install, but not anymore. Linux now has a graphic interface like Windows or macOS (the photo at the top of this page is the desktop) and the installation is no more challenging than setting up a computer running Windows. The users still tend to be more techie than the average user, but that’s due to the long established base of users on Windows and macOS and the multi-billion dollar corporations promoting those systems. Linux users grow organically, it’s someone who sees problems with their current OS and wants an alternative.

Should you be a Linux user?

• Do you think your data is yours and not the property of a corporation like Microsoft or Google?
• Would you rather keep your data private on a local drive or backup system than in “the cloud” which is a fancy label for someone else’s computer?
• Would you rather have an OS that is free and software applications that are also free?
• Would you like an OS that runs on older computers, not needing the latest, expensive, high powered model?
• Would you prefer your child’s data not be handed over to Google from that Chromebook?

If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, Linux might be for you.

Does Linux have the software applications you need and use now?

If you use a computer all the time for work, school or business, you may be using a specific application that does not run on Linux, however, there are many applications that can substitute.

LibreOffice has individual applications that do what all of the Microsoft Office applications do; Writer for Word, Calc for Excel, Impress for PowerPoint and more. The files from the MS apps can be opened in LibreOffice and vice versa. For Adobe apps there is GIMP for Photoshop and Inkscape for Illustrator, the web browsers Firefox and Brave are there and Thunderbird for email and many more apps, too. Lots of text editors if you want to do programming, games if you’re a gamer, it’s quite an array.

Schools should use Linux to increase privacy for your child

Schools will be quick to tell you that Chromebooks with Google’s Chrome OS are really cheap compared to other computers. Did you ever wonder why that might be? What value does Google get from everyone’s child using the operating system that stores all of your child’s data in Google’s cloud? Think about that.

As noted above, you don’t need expensive, high powered computers to run Linux and it’s a great platform to teach students programming, networking and all sorts of IT related skills. As I said, the entire internet essentially runs on Linux.

Like so many things, Linux is not for everyone

Privacy issues may not concern you, but Linux is about more than privacy, it’s open source which translates to free, both the operating system and most of the applications you can run on it, but at the same time, it requires a little initiative from you to install it and learn how it differs from what you’re using now. Only you know if that’s you.

Easy to try without any installation

You can download Linux, create a bootable flash drive, plug it into a USB port and when you start your computer you can boot from that drive and run Linux without touching anything on your current drive, like a test drive at a car dealer. It’s hard to get a real feel for it, though from a short test.

If you don’t have the cash for a new computer, but someone has an old one they’re not using, load Linux on it and off you go.

I’m using it right now

I’m writing this article on my Linux laptop, those screenshots you see are from this computer. It’s an alternative that works and if you’re a student or anyone that wants to learn about computers and IT, it’s a great way to learn on your own. If you’ve heard about microcomputers like the Raspberry Pi, you can load Linux on those, too. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get your feet wet in STEM topics of all sorts.

You don’t have to, but why not take a look?

You certainly don’t have to learn about Linux or anything else, if this sounds like too much work, forget it, but when the cost is zero and there are many potential payoffs in increased privacy and control and more opportunity, what have you got to lose?

Ubuntu Linux – this is one version I’m using, but there are many others.
Linux Mint – Another very popular version with a similar layout to Windows