1) I'd say don't worry about the partitions then, either keep practicing in the VM or get a flash drive and install Linux Mint on there that way you can boot from it on your computer and play around with it on your PC without worrying about partioning drives. Partitions can be tricky and can result in data loss so your hesitation is warranted.

There's also something to say about just diving in head first and making it work. When I was a kid I had Ubuntu as a dual boot and played with it a bit but it wasn't until I became an adult and went down the privacy rabbit whole that I did a complete switch and had to figure out quickly how to remake my workflows. Had I gone all in at an earlier age who knows where I'd be today.

2) Your IP isn't the only info webpages get when you visit them. Perhaps check out this article for details https://mullvad.net/en/browser/browser-fingerprinting if you go to fingerprint.com then note the visitor ID then change your VPN server, you'll not that on most browsers the website will recognize you as the same user. Fingerprint resistant browsers like Tor Browser or Mullvad make you look like other users of the same browser so the website gets lots of false positives increasing your anonymity.

It's good to note that this is mainly a desktop issue, mobile browsers have much more uniform fingerprints since each device has the same specs largely.

3) Yeah WiFi motion tracking is real and very accurate. Also with the PATRIOT act the federal government basically accesses everything your ISP knows without a warrant so it's extra dangerous.

This is very interesting to me! I am going to try to run community servers for my small town, would Kiwix be able to give access to a larger group too?

Tor browser routes all traffic through Tor which is like a super VPN (more server hops and no payment details linked). Downside is that it's slower than VPNs.

KeepassXC just stores whatever you want in text. For my Nostr npub and nsec I created an entry in KeePass called "Nostr Daedalus" then put my npub in the username field and nsec in the password.

https://start9.com/ check it out! it's pretty sweet. I'm waiting for the new OS which I hear will support Docker, which will open using Start9 for so many more applications!

ah ok, well, feel free to let me know/make a new note when you switch and I can recommend more FOSS 🫡

Yeah :) I understand

The nice thing about if you used the VirtualBox to download Linux is that it’s like test driving the machine rather than committing to buying it

I’ve never used Mint but I hear it’s very beginner friendly but also very similar to windows in feel

A lot of people hate on Ubuntu but I think you might find it as easy as Windows and its not as much of a windows replica as mint is from what I hear

So it feels like you actually get something from making the switch

It’s only very slightly more “manual” than mint but if you have another machine using AI you can have it walk you through the installation to fit your needs

And since you used a VM you can just wipe the Virtual Machine (wiping the mint) and install Ubuntu LTS without having wasted any of your compute resources :) if you decided that’s what you want

Eventually when you comfortable using a command line Linux is REALLY REALLY cool 😎 and using a terminal is really not as hard as the hacker types always want to make it sound to feel cool

But it’s super fun because it gives you really low level control over your device and once you experience that type of control over your machine it’s like opening a Pandora’s box

I would recommend staying in the virtual box until you feel really confident though because you can accidentally wipe important files on your actual HD

Your SSD sounds like it has enough space and can however be used to completely back up your machine if you wanted to work from there when you get more comfortable and that would eliminate risk too

I know all these things sound overwhelming to take in but if you just take in one concept a day and really digest it I think you’ll have the hang of it in no time and it’s really worth it

Also it’s normal to want throw your computer out a window with Linux some days

If you're not doing anything sensitive I wouldn't worry about it. Also you're running from windows as a host right? It's already backdoored so using QEMU over VirtualBox doesn't really decrease your attack surface you're just adding more friction to an already daunting task. I'd stick with what you have for now and get comfy there.

Why would I need remote access to my phone?

You can use copyparty whenever. Run it all the time to share your home media library with your phone, or smart TV. Spin it up on the fly if you have a large file to send to someone that's too big for email.

It takes no configuration and literally is just a single file with no installation. It's feature set with so much simplicity is a baffling design.

Coinjoin implementation would be something like Joinmarket, Samourai, Ashigaru, or Wasabi. Used for de-linking your utxo's with your real life identity.

Joinmarket is a text based tool, and uses JAM as a graphical interface which makes it much easier to use.

I also think you may be suffering from the assumption that things are complicated because they sound complicated. Running a node can be as simple as download Bitcoin Knots or Core and run it. And Nostr relay..well, there's Citrine for Android.

Nodes get complicated when you mix a bunch of different services and set up automatic restarting and monitoring, honestly more thanks to the mess that is systemd than anything. But it's all extra. If you run Bitcoind you run a node.