this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023
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Hello everyone,

There are a few basic things in my current setup that I'm not very comfortable with. Since we're on blackfriday -> cybermonday I think it would be a nice season to make some changes [cloud - e-mail - calendar - cloud - DNS] Here's the deal:

E-mail / Calendar Strategy

  • Using tuta for more than 2 years but I still rely on my gmail address for many things; issues with Tuta:
  • troublesome to export/make backups (worse since I have many folders, would be folder by folder)
  • not a fan of not having an e-mail client on my desktop (not issue in mobile phone), also don't love the calendar

What would be ideal:

  • a nice mail provider, possibility of easy backups, possibility of using e-mail client (this one is not a hard requirement)
  • Calendar, end-to-end encrypted: a hard requirement since I store some sensitive data there. Should be easy to see on mobile (e.g.: dedicated app); for desktop it does not matter much to me I guess the calendar requirement excludes nextcloud and most providers, as well as calDav stuff and similar
  • I wouldn't mind if it would be 2 products working side by side if no alternatives are available (calendar and e-mail, but not ideal)

Backups and Cloud Storage (for redundancy)

  • I have 1 cold backup at home, another at someone else's home (both encrypted) but to be safe I'd like to also have a trustworthy cloud Cloud: -end-to-end encrypted or -> next bullet
  • compatibility with cryptomator is a big plus (though I want to avoid Apple/Google/MS/Dropbox)
  • possibility of mounting the cloud storage as drive on my computer (not hard requirement this one)
  • could be 2 products side by side (not ideal though): a storage solution for entire backup (wasabis and stuff) and a cloud solution (day to day usage)

DNS for filtering

I'd like a solution to have all traffic filtered (malware, ads) system wide on my laptop/desktop I have used adguard in the past; open to all other possibilities. I also have mullvadVPN; wouldn't using a different DNS defeat the purpose of the VPN? Or when VPN is on, the DNS is always the one of the VPN? Possibilities:

  • controlD (i have seen people vouching for it)
  • NextDNS (system settings)
  • MullvadDNS (system settings)
  • adguard desktop app

Malware / Virus / etc

I have a linux desktop and macOS laptop. My doubts are regarding macOS. I've seen so many new antivirus ads that it almost makes me think that I should have one. I have malwarebytes installed for occasional runs and CleanMyMacX (I have doubts regarding its security claims - I use more for system management)

  • Should I opt for an antivirus program? If so, which would be advised intego is showing up all the time weirdly)

This time of the year is when I can gear up, since financially I haven't been at the top.

For those that will answer, thank you so much in advance!!!!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You’re correct in that you shouldn’t mess with the DNS settings when on the vpn. Off vpn, I have had good experiences with Control D ans Aha Blitz on browsers and mobile, with the latter allowing you to actually select the granular filter lists yourself. I recently switched to Mullvad’s DoH though and it’s been good so far

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Ohhh. I think that’s where I’m getting confused in terms of best practice. Which one the following scenarios do you recommend?

  • leave DNS in the network settings as default and once in a while use VPN as-is
  • change DNS in network settings and onde in a while use VPN without changing anything else

I’m making a big confusion: so you mean that if I change the DNS at network settings I should revert those changes when I decide to activate VPN? Or simply leave the new DNS of the settings and not touch anything while I have VPN on?

Sorry for the trouble!!!