If you're coming from Windows like most would be. The best I can possibly recommend is Mint Linux. Built off of Ubuntu, which is a very widely used flavor of Linux, so help docs are easy to find.

Mint Linux adds a bunch of "Windows like" features. A "start menu", similar UI and interface and relatively familiar windows. EDIT: I hate googtube as much as the next guy, but this is a pretty fantastic "mint linux getting started" guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUC9RbrS0q0

For a personal use, daily driver stay away from Kali Linux and Fedora and others unless you already have extensive experience in something else.

Also, if you really want to control your data even more, look into buying a Raspberry PI and installing Pihole. Once on your network, you can block adds and tracking links on a network wide basis. Meaning, when my browser or phone tries to ping totallynottracking.fedbois.gov ...the request gets dropped into a 0.0.0.0 IP address. Make sure you know how to access the admin panel and temporarily disable it, I find sometimes I am blocking "too much" which causes some sites to break. The docs and the UI have extensive ways on how to troubleshoot issues as they arise.

Additionally, stay away from store bought NAS devices. (Network attached storage) alot of the OS's on them are compromised or have spyware built in (pi hole cal alleviate some of that). But if you need extensive storage at home for pics, videos, whatever.,,,just build your own either with w/ a RPi or your own board and cpu build.

Most antivirus software is not really worth your money or is spying on you. I've been in IT in gov and civ, and the only way antivirus is beneficial is to stop users from making a stupid mistake and clicking on things they shouldn't. And think for a second...do you trust whomever is making the virus definitions that the blockers are trying to block? A lot of people here or PDW that post "the site is blocked now at work/the store/public place!!" well, the site is blocked because they have some kind of antivirus and the powers that define what is and isn't "malicious" updated the definition to include things you enjoy. So why use them? Educate your self on what to not click on, critically think about things online before you do them and you'll be better off.

What I don't see talked about enough is Password management. Lastpass is okay, but they are hosted in the cloud and thus vulnerable to hacks (there was a recent one). If you have the technical ablity, get BitWarden set up and going. Just as cheap, but open sourced and works alot better. you can also host your "vault" (encrypted password store) on your own servers should you have them. But do NOT give your passwords to your browser, and EVERY PASSWORD if at all possible should be randomly generated, long, and with special chars. If you have to have a "easy to remember" password, don't use any words you can find in the dictionary, make up your own words, and know that to a computer "H3ll0" is basically the same as "Hello" your l33t speak means nothing to a password cracker.

VPNs are kind of a tough topic, because they all have trade offs. I use express VPN for almost all "day to day" activity. I have other ways for the serious stuff.

Lastly, is your router spying on you? probably. If your router can handle it, look into openWRT. It's a router firmware that's open sourced and very powerful. Just really watch your steps or you can brick the thing. It's very easy to do if you have a compatible model and go slow. If you can afford it, buy a new router to do it on.

You can also use Pihole as a router and then but external wifi access points (ubiquity is expensive but awesome, good prices on lightly used enterprise gear online.)

Happy to answer any questions or clarify the above. Tried to just give people ways to get started doing SOMETHING to help their digital footprint.

If you're coming from Windows like most would be. The best I can possibly recommend is Mint Linux. Built off of Ubuntu, which is a very widely used flavor of Linux, so help docs are easy to find.

Mint Linux adds a bunch of "Windows like" features. A "start menu", similar UI and interface and relatively familiar windows.

For a personal use, daily driver stay away from Kali Linux and Fedora and others unless you already have extensive experience in something else.

Also, if you really want to control your data even more, look into buying a Raspberry PI and installing Pihole. Once on your network, you can block adds and tracking links on a network wide basis. Meaning, when my browser or phone tries to ping totallynottracking.fedbois.gov ...the request gets dropped into a 0.0.0.0 IP address. Make sure you know how to access the admin panel and temporarily disable it, I find sometimes I am blocking "too much" which causes some sites to break. The docs and the UI have extensive ways on how to troubleshoot issues as they arise.

Additionally, stay away from store bought NAS devices. (Network attached storage) alot of the OS's on them are compromised or have spyware built in (pi hole cal alleviate some of that). But if you need extensive storage at home for pics, videos, whatever.,,,just build your own either with w/ a RPi or your own board and cpu build.

Most antivirus software is not really worth your money or is spying on you. I've been in IT in gov and civ, and the only way antivirus is beneficial is to stop users from making a stupid mistake and clicking on things they shouldn't. And think for a second...do you trust whomever is making the virus definitions that the blockers are trying to block? A lot of people here or PDW that post "the site is blocked now at work/the store/public place!!" well, the site is blocked because they have some kind of antivirus and the powers that define what is and isn't "malicious" updated the definition to include things you enjoy. So why use them? Educate your self on what to not click on, critically think about things online before you do them and you'll be better off.

What I don't see talked about enough is Password management. Lastpass is okay, but they are hosted in the cloud and thus vulnerable to hacks (there was a recent one). If you have the technical ablity, get BitWarden set up and going. Just as cheap, but open sourced and works alot better. you can also host your "vault" (encrypted password store) on your own servers should you have them. But do NOT give your passwords to your browser, and EVERY PASSWORD if at all possible should be randomly generated, long, and with special chars. If you have to have a "easy to remember" password, don't use any words you can find in the dictionary, make up your own words, and know that to a computer "H3ll0" is basically the same as "Hello" your l33t speak means nothing to a password cracker.

VPNs are kind of a tough topic, because they all have trade offs. I use express VPN for almost all "day to day" activity. I have other ways for the serious stuff.

Lastly, is your router spying on you? probably. If your router can handle it, look into openWRT. It's a router firmware that's open sourced and very powerful. Just really watch your steps or you can brick the thing. It's very easy to do if you have a compatible model and go slow. If you can afford it, buy a new router to do it on.

You can also use Pihole as a router and then but external wifi access points (ubiquity is expensive but awesome, good prices on lightly used enterprise gear online.)

Happy to answer any questions or clarify the above. Tried to just give people ways to get started doing SOMETHING to help their digital footprint.