Proxmox host. Fedora server vm.

• openvpn as a backup (and because i went through the highly laborious process of setting it up)
• wireguard
• nitter (twitter alternative frontend. makes twitter usable)
• audiobookshelf (podcast manager)
• pihole (block ads by dns)
• nginx for my website and some related website stuff
• Vaultwarden (sometimes. I usually keep it off because I prefer KeepassXC anyway)

The hardware is a 10 year old Thinkpad. I think it’s pretty clear by my software list that I don’t ask it to do much, but it does so much for me. Like, I wouldn’t run Jellyfin off of this thing. In fact my NAS is 4x8TB drives but I keep it mostly shut off. It’s powered on maybe about once or twice a week for a few hours at a time. I try to batch my activity with it. Like “oh, yeah, I want file X but it’s on my NAS. Maybe later, when I have a need for file Y I will turn it on and retrieve both.”

I can achieve everything I want with even lower spec hardware, but this Thinkpad has a faulty trackpad anyway, which is also how I got it for cheap. I have never measured it, but supposedly it consumes around 6W at idle which is low enough for me.

I do this exact same setup but one thing to add to your answer and be aware of is that syncthing is not a backup solution. If you delete the files on one computer, those files will be deleted on the other synced devices. And accidents can happen.

So, as always, take backups.

There’s this program which supposedly will take a PDF and if it’s unsafe make it safe. https://dangerzone.rocks/

I’ve only heard of it today, so I have no idea about its efficacy.

Try to see if there are any cases of notices being sent or internet provider shutoffs. If nothing comes up and you are truly in a country that doesn’t care, I don’t see what you need to worry about.

If a game I think I’m interested in has Denuvo attached to it, it’s an immediate pass. It just reminds me that there is is a back-catalog of games I could play on emulators, too. No sign ups. No always-online. No tracking me. So I end up reaching for one of those. It’s almost quaint to think something can be enjoyed privately.

The last game I bought with Denuvo was Doom Eternal, and as a separate matter it still harasses me to this day to create a Bethesda account (I have to switch Steam to offline mode to bypass that). It still has that stupid DRM on it after all these years. What a waste.