Honest Software

A Survival Guide for 2026: Privacy & Security in St. Louis

A Survival Guide for 2026: Privacy & Security in St. Louis

I recently came across this thread that blew up, and it pushed me to write a straight-up survival guide for this Black Mirror-ass world we're stuck in come 2026. Here's how to keep yourself and your neighbors from getting screwed over.

Open-source

In order to understand some of the later topics, it's important to discuss open source and how awesome it is. Think of open source software like a recipe: anyone can read it, tweak it, and share it. Because the code is public, thousands of eyes can spot spyware or dumb mistakes before they bite you.

Because the code is public, anyone, me, you, some kid in Finland, whoever, can spot spyware, fix bugs, or add features. No blind trust, no "oops, we got hacked and can't tell you how." It's free, the code is always available even if the company croaks. No license fees, no "sorry, this app no longer works on your old phone." If the original company dies, the open source community can keep the lights on, so the app you rely on doesn't vanish overnight.

And if you're the curious type, you (or a tech-savvy friend) can do whatever you want to modify the code and make your own project assuming the license allows you to.

This is super important, and is literally the backbone of our entire tech infrastructure. Unpaid open source developers are single handedly holding up the world on it's axis. You probably rely on open source software without realizing! Android for example is also known as AOSP (Android Open Source Project), and is built on Linux which pretty much runs the entire internet. In 2026, with supply-chain attacks and AI slop everywhere, open source isn't idealism, it's due diligence. It's the ability to know your software is safe to use, and that people are allowed to look at how the app works, how it's built, and how privacy-respecting the software is, is truly necessary in today's world.

VPNs

Yeah, a VPN will dodge the "show us your ID" junk on plenty of sites, but the provider you pick decides whether you're actually private or just paying for a different creep to watch you. You're simply moving trust from your ISP to the VPN, and if you don't 100% trust the VPN, you're burning cash for nothing.

These companies have been straight-up lying for years, promising anonymity, hacker-proofing, social-media invisibility, whatever they can say to get you to pay them basically. IVPN sums it up perfectly: https://www.ivpn.net/blog/why-you-dont-need-a-vpn/

I recommend the following VPNs, they are all focused on privacy, they do not log any user data, and they are audited by third party companies to make sure of that. All of their VPN client applications are open-source for transparency as well:

Also, for the love of Christ, do NOT give anyone your ID online for any reason. It's a terrible idea, that's how you get stalkers and identity theft. Wanna avoid all of that? Be smart.

Adblockers (DO THIS NOW)

The two major things EVERYONE needs (no exceptions) is adblock, and a password manager.

Here a comprehensive guide I maintain covering the best adblocking tools to use: https://honest-software.com/adblock/

Anything not on that list should seriously be avoided, there are tons of fake adblockers that don't work or are super shady. These are tried and true, have been used for years, reliable, all open source.

Adblockers are so so so terribly important it's absolutely insane and stupid not to use one. Ad culture is harmful, but so is the malware that comes from ads, sometimes without even clicking on them! If you take anything from this guide, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE download an adblocker! They block ads, trackers, malware, they can prevent phishing attacks, the FBI actively recommends people to use adblockers, so PLEASE do that :)

Password Managers

The second thing everyone needs, password manager! Some of you may already have a system that works for you, but hear me out:

Data leaks, bruteforcing attacks, and phishing attacks are the major concerns. Even having one of your passwords leaked can be detrimental, because most people use the same/similar password for everything and there are automated services that will attempt your password on other sites you visit and attempt to steal those too.

If a data leak happens, you simply change your password, and your password manager will tell you if it found your password in any data leaks.

If your password is too weak or short or stupid, it could take some guy with a gaming laptop maybe a few hours to crack your average password with free tools available to anyone. This is known as bruteforcing, when you attempt thousands of passwords a second based on a list of leaked and the most used passwords in the world. You can also do what's called a dictionary attack where you have a list of words, dates, names, places, etc. that the target associates with and runs a bruteforce attack with the dictionary of your personal information and the attacker is able to crack it even faster!

Phishing attacks are when you are prompted to login to a website that has been designed to look official when it is not, and it allows attackers to get your login information that way. This is what's called social engineering, where you take advantage of the human in people and exploit them. You can watch an entertaining clip from the show Mr. Robot where they do exactly this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSYSJTt_Cto&t=8s

I recommend Bitwarden, it is free, open-source, end-to-end encrypted so nobody can see your logins but you (not even Bitwarden), it's relied on by hundreds of thousands of businesses, and is a solid go-to recommendation. 1Password is also acceptable, however it is not open-source.

Windows is so shit

Windows 10 officially died on October 14, 2025, no more security patches, no more bug fixes, nothing. More discussion on this was covered in my radio interview with KJFF Newsmakers.

Every month you stay on it is another spin of the malware lottery. Microsoft's "fix" is to buy new hardware and jump to Windows 11, but if your computer doesn't meet the new requirements, Microsoft expects you to throw away your working computer and buy a new one which is fucking absurd and stupid.

Linux is the answer to your problems. It's faster, lighter, more privacy-respecting, and can breathe new life into your old devices making them much faster and nicer to use. Thanks to Valve's Proton and Flatpak, most Steam games, Chrome, Zoom, even Adobe-ish creative tools either run natively or install with one click, no command-line wizardry required. Your old "unsupported" PC gets another decade of free, private updates, and you finally own the hardware you paid for.

Popular options include:

FLOCK

We've got around 1,000 of these ALPR FLOCK cameras in the STL metro and they're fucking scary. EFF caught FLOCK admitting its "privacy updates" still leave a coast-to-coast surveillance net that cops can, and do, abuse. And they are not secure at all so literally anyone can just have access to this. Literally search for "flock safety hack" and scroll endlessly until you believe how bad this is. Some cities already yanked the cameras under public pressure. You can learn more about them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlJqQkY-GmY

What you can do:

If you look at the map you can see that there are a few around Forrest Park, WashU, a ton in Brentwood, and bad areas of town are riddled with them obviously, lots of schools have them around so students are also being spied on without consent, and it goes on and on. Please check to see where they are in your area and try to avoid them when possible.

And remember: Alexa, Google Home, half the "smart" junk people voluntarily plug in feed the same data pool. If you wouldn't bolt a FLOCK cam to your bedroom wall, maybe yank the always-on mics out first.

Have questions? Drop them in the comments. This stuff is too important to let slide.