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    1. When do you use a VPN?

      I try to be privacy focused. I don't use social media, I use Firefox with adblock and tracker protection, with duck duck go as my search engine. I also pay for proton vpn. My question is, when...

      I try to be privacy focused. I don't use social media, I use Firefox with adblock and tracker protection, with duck duck go as my search engine. I also pay for proton vpn. My question is, when should I use it? I use it when I'm on open networks on my phone, but that's about it. Do you guys run it 24/7 on your computer?

      25 votes
    2. Friendly Linux Chat

      I'm having some problems with a notebook I want to set up for a friend. And its the first time in a long time I'm not able to solve it just by myself. So I tried asking at #manjaro and...

      I'm having some problems with a notebook I want to set up for a friend. And its the first time in a long time I'm not able to solve it just by myself. So I tried asking at #manjaro and #archlinux-newbies but I got no answer at all. It just seems that IRC changed a lot in the last 15 years. Or maybe my IRC manners are not up to date?
      Anyway, do you know a place where there is a nice Linux-crowd? What are your favourite Places to get help? (besides the archwiki) ;-) I'm out of the loop for 10-15 years now because most places got pretty toxic.

      12 votes
    3. I believe Google search is restricting what articles I can see in my searches, based on my location. What can I do?

      Whenever I search for information about something - especially about a news event - Google returns me a lot of results from Australian sites. Any foreign sites come further down the list,...

      Whenever I search for information about something - especially about a news event - Google returns me a lot of results from Australian sites. Any foreign sites come further down the list, sometimes even on the second page of results. I've never really paid much attention to this behaviour, beyond some occasional mild frustration at not being able to find local sources.

      However, this came to a head this week when I was searching for a local US-based news article about something I'd read in an Australian news site, so I could post that local US article here on Tildes (I always try to get as close to the source as possible). But, try as I might, I just could not find any good non-Australian articles about this news! It was almost like Google was deliberately blocking my attempts to read non-Australian sites. I mean, it's possible that this news wasn't reported outside Australia, but that's unlikely, seeing as it was Uber's announcement about trialling electric aircraft in Texas and Victoria. That had to get American coverage. But I struggled to find it in my searches.

      I then noticed something I've never noticed before: at the bottom of my Google searches, there's a small line which tells me my current location. It's as specific as my local council area, not just my state or the country.

      Is this location affecting what Google shows me in my searches? If so, how do I remove this restriction?

      For context: I use Chrome, but I only sign in when I'm accessing a Google service (usually the Calendar). After I've finished with the service, I sign out. So Google isn't tracking me as a person, it's just tracking my browser's search activity.

      EDIT: Thank you all. I've already set up DuckDuckGo as my default search engine, and am trying it out.

      16 votes
    4. YouTube without all the crap?

      I'm a pretty regular YouTube watcher but if I accidentally glance down at the comments section, I know my night is going to be ruined. I wondered if there is any kind of YouTube app or service...

      I'm a pretty regular YouTube watcher but if I accidentally glance down at the comments section, I know my night is going to be ruined.

      I wondered if there is any kind of YouTube app or service that lets you watch and search for videos (even access my subscribed channels) but with less of the crap, ie. the comments and related videos, which just take you down a YouTube rabbit hole that you won't get out of for hours.

      Cheers!

      19 votes