Hi y’all! I have been into privacy for a long time, and recently have been lurking this forum. I used to be a privacy purist and went to extreme and unnecessary lengths to maximise my privacy while also not fully knowing my threat model. After several years, I’m now more informed and self-aware of my own needs. As of now, my needs are:
Avoid mass surveillance from big corpos and marketing folks etc
Avoid any potential links/connections between different accounts, especially in the case of data breach
Just generally a reasonable amount of security and privacy, anonymity would also be nice
Autonomy over my own digital presence
VPN for torrenting
I would prefer email services that support 3rd-party client
The first of my switch is to switch from MacOS to a Linux distro. Well besides privacy, I have also been eyeing Linux for a long time because of customisability and Proton/Wine. I plan to eventually switch to GrapheneOS in the future too. So I’ve got the hardware/OS stuff somewhat figured out, what I’m wondering rn is my service setup. So I am thinking of doing a setup like this:
A custom domain from Porkbun
Email provided by either Posteo or Proton
Either SimpleLogin or Anonaddy
Either Mullvad VPN or Proton VPN
Either Proton Drive or Peergos
So a custom domain should enable portability and more autonomy. I plan to use the custom domain for my main email address, associated with my real name, and thus I use this address for stuff like banking or gov account. Everything else uses aliases. VPN use for the occasional website that get blocked, but mostly for safe torrenting. And I don’t really need a lot of cloud storage rn but I got a drive failure spook a while back (I lost many stuff I downloaded, which I can just redownload anyways, but at least all the important files were intact) so I figured having a cloud backup would be nice. So here are some of my questions:
Is a custom domain really beneficial? Like I guess it’s more convenient in case an email provider went bankrupt but I don’t think I will use that many services with the custom domain mail address. Maybe I will change my mind.
Should I use Posteo or Proton Mail? Proton Mail subscription is a bit pricy, though it does support custom domain. Besides that, I heard Posteo got some problems to a lesser degree compared to Mailbox.
What would be my backup plans in case Anonaddy and SimpleLogin dies? How do I migrate like 20 accounts using custom aliases?
What are the pros and cons between Anonaddy and SimpleLogin? I have read through some threads and Anonaddy’s standard aliases are essentially useless, and the shared alias is limited to only 50 on the 1€ sub.
Should I really seriously consider Proton VPN over Mullvad VPN if I torrent? I honestly prefer Mullvad because of their vibes and what I have read about them, though I have no doubt Proton is also competent.
Is Proton suite still really bad on Linux? I think with VPN I can use it through Wireguard instead? Proton Drive uhh I just haven’t heard positive things about it in general not just on Linux.
Which leads me to the final question: should I just subscribe to the 8€ Proton Unlimited? It’s irrational but I don’t dig their corporate branding and the constant diversification of products while not properly improving their existing offerings (ie Linux thing). Also not putting all your eggs in one basket yadda yadda. But it’s definitely a financially superior deal to say: Proton Mail + Peergos + Mullvad VPN + AnonAddy.
Much thanks in advance for any answers. I am a bit sleepy rn (been scrolling and looking up past threads for answers to my inquiries) so pardon my incoherent ramblings. My replies will hopefully be more lucid.
These are loaded questions and many will have much to say.
As for me, if you’re planning on using Linux full time, Mullvad is superior to Proton VPN on it. And if you can get away with using the website to use Proton Dive, then you’re fine. If not, I’d recommend finding another alternative. I personally use Koofr + Cryptomator. Cross platform compatibility with these is excellent and you can buy it anonymously should you want to.
If you’re getting Proton Unlimited, you also get Simplelogin. FYI. So you may not want to get Addy.io too.
If you want to diversify your set up, then that’s a valid option too: Mullvad for VPN, Proton for Mail + Calendar, Proton Pass or Bitwarden for credential management, and so on. I do have Posteo for encrypted CardDAV I use with my smartphone for my Contacts so you can get away from Google or iCloud here too.
There are many ways to go about it. That’s all I have to say for now.
I’m not knowledgeable enough to answer the first four questions, but I can help with the others
Also, welcome to our community!
It’s not a huge dealbreaker if you torrent the occasional linux ISO or so, but if you care about contributing to your seed ratio, please use a VPN that supports port forwarding. Proton does support port forwarding, but Mullvad does not.
Mullvad is great because it supports anonymous payment methods and minimizes the account information needed for registration. Otherwise, you probably shouldn’t pick anything based off vibes or marketing.
Proton Drive/Docs works only as a browser-based service on Linux so far. It’s sad that this is the case, but there aren’t many cheap alternatives out there that support Linux natively. Perhaps you can look into self-hosting (which is an advanced step down the line) or a provider like Tresorit or PCloud?
As for the suite itself, they offer downloads for just about anything (VPN, Calendar, Mail, Pass) depending on your distro. Be aware of downloading the unofficial versions of their packages though. Keep in mind that Proton VPN’s app is only officially supported by Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora. If you use other distributions, consider using the CLI app or manually adding it to Wireguard.
Value is still incredibly important! The downsides of Proton on Linux are not that bad unless you require file sync on desktop linux.
That reminds me, what Linux distro are you planning to use? Arch users should probably avoid Proton apps from the AUR, but Fedora users have more flexibility here.
I’m actually beginning to consider diversifying myself. Proton is not improving their suite at a pace I’d like. But being on the old Proton plans, its too affordable so sticking with it is best. I’m torn but that’s where I am.
I’m using this pretty niche distro called Guix with the normal Linux kernel and all the non-free firmware and microcodes. I am aware that it has some issues (which mainly have to do with its “free software above all” stance and the fact that it’s obscure), I prefer it to NixOS because of the language (Scheme) + some problems within the management of Nix and its many issues (so are flakes recommended or not, package definition are unclear and if a maintainer goes away then a package is at risk, etc). I just hope it will catch on somewhat this year.
Mullvad VPN is not on Guix repo rn so I will prob have to package it myself (my first package ) which is not ideal. Maybe I should switch to NixOS or back to Arch.
Back to the topic at hand, I think I can definitely live without sync on Linux, since I don’t have new files to back up constantly. VPN essentially boils down to Linux vs torrenting, and I don’t seed much but I heard that for files with very little seeds you may struggle to get a decent speed without port forwarding. Based on what I have read, so if you are already paying for Proton then it’s more convenient to just use SimpleLogin, but if you are not then either SL or AnonAddy are just as good? Either free Bitwarden or Proton Pass is fine for me. And I know it’s prob not a good idea to follow vibes, I just think my impression of a company does subtly influence my subconscious decision-making, though in the grand scheme of things I think the companies listed here are all alright with each having some caveats, be it pricing or feature. If I diversify then I will be spending 14€ a month (Proton Mail Plus + Mullvad VPN + AnonAddy + Peergos/Tresorit) as opposed to 8, which is almost twice but also not like it’s an amount I’m struggling to afford. I don’t think it’s possible to get a Proton sub with just VPN Plus and Mail Plus. In this case, how does Peergos and Tresorit compare? Tresorit seems to have existed for longer, though I’m under the impression that it’s more aimed at businesses than individuals, hence the pricing. Peergos seem a bit too new so I’m somewhat wary. Replying to JG, I have never heard of Koofr before, thanks for the recommendation, I will check it out.
Also below you did say you downgraded from Proton Unlimited to Mail Plus, may I inquire why?
) which is not ideal. Maybe I should switch to NixOS or back to Arch.