Software I use (and you should too)

OS : Encrypted Artix Linux

Window manager : sway

Window manager utilities : swaybg, swayidle, swaylock

Terminal emulator : foot

Browser : Firefox with arkenfox user.js, Ublock Origin, Stylus and Violentmonkey

Search engine : SearX

Text editor : vim

Image viewer : imv

Video player : mpv

Music player : mpd and ncmpcpp

Image editor : GIMP

File manager : ranger

Static site generator : Hugo

Password manager : KeepassXC

I used to use dwm and st for a long time, but I decided to switch to sway to try something new.

Software I don’t use (and neither should you)

Windows. Proprietary garbage that spies on you. But if you have to use it (for example because of school or work), debloat it and use simplewall to minimize the amount of data Microsoft can get from you. If the only thing you do on Windows is le epic gayming, try Linux and check if your games run there. If not, dualboot.

Discord. Also closed source spyware. The amount of data it collects is astronomical. Requires a phone number if it flags you as suspicious. Recently pushing more and more gimmicks that you gotta pay for (avatar decorations, themes, activities, etc.) Avoid at all costs. Just use XMPP please. But if you really have to use it, use it in a web browser with an adblock that somewhat blocks Discord’s telemetry or use an alternative client (like Abaddon) if that’s too heavy for you. If you’re gonna go the official desktop client route, install OpenAsar to block telemetry and improve performance slightly.

Google Chrome. Closed source spyware like the other two (big shock). It’s made by Google, Enough said. If you’re deadset on using a chromium based browser, use ungoogled-chromium I guess.

Any kind of mainstream social media. It’s useless, you’re rotting your brain with it. If you wanna atleast check it’s content, use a privacy friendly frontend, like Invidious for YouTube or Nitter for Twitter. A list of other privacy friendly frontends can be found here.

VPNs. Most are shilled, don’t really help much and probably collect your data. Just use Tor if you want to hide your identity, or use Mullvad if you’re that desperate for one.

Finding software to use

Use whatever you want, but make sure it :

Is open source
Respects your privacy (telemetry disabled by default, if any)
Is secure (doesn’t have any security vulnerabilities, supports encryption, etc.)
Is lightweight (isn’t bloated with unneeded features, runs well on low end machines)
Is actively maintained

Some sites to find new software to play around with :
https://suckless.org/rocks/
https://github.com/mayfrost/guides/blob/master/ALTERNATIVES.md
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/List_of_recommended_GNU/Linux_software
https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/GNU/Linux_ricing