Do you have a static IP address? CG-NAT has done a really great job of hindering torrents, since my understanding is that at least one side of the connection needs to have an open port. So, if you don’t, then only the few people who do are able to download from you, which can make it seem like no one wants your stuff.

I would not bother archiving the mainstream releases that can already be found on many torrent sites (like, you don’t need to archive Star Wars or Lord of the Rings) and focus on the bootleg disks first. You just need any standard DVD drive, then use Handbreak to rip the disks to a video file. For official releases, many of them have forms of copy protection, but 15 minutes on Google should tell you how to get around any you come across.

Also, for reference, “burning” a DVD is writing data to a disk, so the opposite of what you’re trying to do.

Sorry, Microsoft might make crappy software, but they aren’t actively trying to invalidate my existence as a person. Absolutely not comparable.

Why would you need to block apps installing from non-Play Store sources? You shouldn’t be plugging your phone into mysterious USB ports, and the OS should always prompt you before installing a local .apk file. If you’re savvy enough to use F-Droid, you’re savvy enough to not need that hand-holding “safety” feature.

Ive never had to download a codec to use VLC, it should come built-in with every codec you may reasonably encounter on commercial DVDs.

Is “prior art” not still a thing?

I have the same problem with CloudFlare’s 1.1.1.1. Are the two services related? I also remember the same issue going on with archive.is

This website is great for finding weird Unicode characters, it’s pretty accurate in my experience:

It sounds like they literally can’t refund people because the company completely ran out of money and is gonna be liquidated. Sucky situation for all parties involved.

I mean, that was Getty Image’s whole case against Google’s “view image” button. And Getty won that legal battle, so clearly they have some legal ground to stand on, even though most people would think it’s bullshit.

Uhhh… he literally moderated the r/SwitchPirates subreddit and had ties to multiple pirate shops that distributed the pirated games.

I don’t support Nintendo’s lawsuits, but people are making it sound like they’re going after some random Joe who just mentioned pirating games in a comment or two. Unless you’re moderating one of the biggest Nintendo pirating communities or working to distribute pirated games, AND are really bad with op-sec, you’re probably fine.

Personally I just use an ad blocker

I’ve been out of the game for a few years, who’s TG?

I’ve been running PiHole for awhile, in short it’s your own DNS server that’s configured to block DNS requests to known advertising domains. So when you load a website and it sends a DNS request to PopularAdvertisingCompany.com to load an ad, PiHole blocks the request so the ad can’t be loaded. It’s useful for devices that you can’t put an ad blocker on, like iPhones and smart TVs and such, but can’t block stuff like YouTube ads cause they come from the same domain as the videos themselves.

It also has bonus features like DNS caching which can speed up web browsing.

Any router from a mainstream brand is likely fine, just don’t enable any of their “cloud” BS and don’t use their smartphone app. I’ve had good luck with Asus, they have an app but you don’t have to use it at all.

For security, try to enable WPA3 on your Wi-Fi networks, otherwise WPA2 is probably fine unless you’re being targeted by a government-sponsored hacking operation. Choose a long password for your network.

Once you get it up and running, then worry about DNS and PiHole and VPNs and all that. Don’t get in over your head.

Even then, anyone can use inspect element to make it look like it says whatever you want.

I would look for a dongle that specifically markets itself as being Raspberry Pi compatible. Most stuff you find will prioritize Windows, but if it’s marketed to work with the Pi you know it’ll have at least some level of Linux compatibility. Once you find one, try to figure out what chipset it uses, then search if it’s supported by a handful of the distros you wanna try.

Just remember: these people’s vote counts just as much as anyone else’s.