X is not a free speech platform

Look, I am the first person to say that I do not like the current state of social media. With all the digital IDs that these insane governments around the world and even in the US want to impose, it is pretty with an intellectual disability.

"I got my third ban" So, I have got a third ban on this "free speech" platform. This one was, in my opinion, a technical "language" issue. Where I told some that RIP your artaries after they told me they're eating a whole ham. Now it is obviously Twitter's auto moderation tool. Now I could fight it, of course, because bots can't understand scarcasams or acronyms. Why not fight the claim? I am. Simply by promoting platforms that have no central authority.

Protocols are the way...

Protocols are the way! Places like nostr are the way to true freedom. There is no central authority, no owner, no censorship. I know at first glance it looks like a bunch of bitcoin maxies on there and in some perspectives, you are right. Bitcoin's ideology is freedom, mainly from the banking system. When you get away from that or if you don't want to see that kind of stuff, you can pretty much avoid it. It's all relays and anyone can run one.

what about Mastodon and Blueskuy??????????

While yes, they might be more private and more "federated", there is still a central authority and a company behind it. They can change their policies. While Mastodon servers can ban your instance, thus breaking federation. The other issue is that hosting providers or "anti-DDOS providers" can just deny helping you (I'm looking at you, Cloudflare)blocked whether you agree with kiwifarms or not ins't the point. Cloudflare, X Social media in genral has a lot of pull with the public. I think the internet is a very fascinating place and I enjoy scrolling through it to see funny memes.

Nostr is very easy to understand.

You have a public key (think of it as a username, a place where people can find you), a private key (this is to show proof you own the pubkey and login) and keep this safe at all times. Pick any client to be honest, all have their pros and cons.

Explore!

Until next time I'll see you

You have been Psyoped on QubesOS

I, have been using the reasonably secure operating system QubesOS https://www.qubes-os.org/ on my laptop that runs Coreboot. I see a lot of FUD and misconceptions about Qubes all the time, the main few that i do come across, i think does the most damage, especially it comes from retards that use Linux mint or dual boot windows to use fucking adobe.

What is and why you should use Qubes.

I know that Linux always has this framing as being "secure" ect, but,
in the real world, it's Not, but that's not the point of this post.

My main objective is to point out the common fud people bring up, mainly one point that people missreprestent. Ether from not reading the docs or just repeating what their favorit Youtuber is spreading because they used it once while at their wife's boyfriend's house. ## what is QubesOS Qubes is a operating system, and it's NOT a linux distro, It's based on xen hypervisor. the photo below for refrence is how it works !

Screenshot 2026-02-06 at 19-20-48 Introduction — Qubes OS Documentation.png

QubesOS takes the approach that everything compermised. Extream? maybe. i use it mainly because it's compartmenlization is nice for my adhd and keeps everything organized. it's colour coded for easy to understand labeling. I'll point to easy to understand advantages.

1. Strong isolation
2. colour coded VMS(for trust and non trusted)
3. well, documented and even offline incase you have no internet. 4. resonable expectations of security built in 5. whonix built in for bettter "privacy"

WHO IS THIS FOR BRO?????

Anyone
1.coomers
2.gooners
3.feds
4.hackers
5.people you don't like
6. people that like malware
7. foot people
8. paranoid people (me)
9. ADHD
10.gamer(it's possiable)

COMMON MISSCONCETPTIONS THAT TRIGGER ME

1: "ITS TOO HARD"

I, always hear from "tech bros " or "experts" on the inernet that say qubesos is "not begginer friendly" which in my expert opinon is a bunch of bullshit. At it's core, yes Qubesos IS NOT a linux distro, but everything elese is. If you have ever used debain, fedora or whonix, then it is safe to say you'll be fine. If you're coming from Windows and you want the most resoniably secure OS, then Qubes can work for you. you can test linux in a "safe" enviorment. espescially Windows

windowsHVM. just like anything, there is always a learning curve. Don't be scared of learning. !

It's too resource intensive. (Every time I hear this I want kms)

People always say qubes is "too heavy" and they can suck my balls. It's again people that have a 2k MacBook that ""tested it" and all that fucker does is post a tweet about having a Macbook. 6GB oF raM Is NOt EnoUgh. I LITTERALLY USED 6GB OF RAM FOR YEARS before I upgraded to 16GB of ram, and it was fine and functional. Qubes is smart with its resources. If people actually read the documentation, compatibility is far more important than anything. If you have a spare laptop, just install it and test it, especially if it's low spec. The MINIMUM requirements are there for a reason. It will function to the minimum. Is more better?? Yeah! No shit.

It's like asking if more money or more hookers is better (it is) quit listening to people with cognitive disabilities on blogs that do not test in production (they're gove agents or....) unless it's me, (listen to me)

SAID LIST

MORE THOUGHTS. (experiance)

Look, I don't like wrtting this long or much, my adhd kicks in and ya know things, But I don't like this premise that we shou;d not learn or try things. Qubes offers the best security (reasonably) out of the box and, even worse, I think people get caught up in some weird trap of thinking they need 10x hardware. Now I have a nova custom because my last laptop got destroyed somehow. IF you have the money, I'd get them or another certified vendor. Otherwise, get anything that has been tested.

**DO NOT GET A HIGH RES SCREEN. IT IS NOT WORTH IT

I have tested a lot of apps, software on QubesOS and pretty much everything works. If not, I just use the browser option in a dedicated VM. My only issues I rammed into, besides the mistake of getting a high-res screen (I'm an intellectual disability and did not read) were very silly stuff like split-GPG and ctap proxy. I got to live stream and got the OBS working, though it was very hot and intense for my CPU. Other than that, I would like to do some video editing at some point to see how good it is.

Last thought.

Your system won't save you if you have bad opsec.

QubesOS is like a really cool gun. It's better then a pointy stick, but if you don't train it's useless.

Until then, fuck the haters, join the chatrooms and send monero https://glowinglist.linksta.cc/@notafbihoneypot.bsky.social

Getting an anonmyous Google account for GrapheneOS

So, i use Youtube, and that means i have to have a Google account(aka GMAIL). While this isn't ideal for privacy, it's the only way i can spread my message to a larger audience.

The Goal: {Kinda}...

My goal isn't to use google or thier email, but i relize a lot of people do use google and or use GrapheneOS and because of that people are looking fo r a "private" way of using google play services, ect.

Possiable soloutions and failures?

So there is a few issues to overcome. This isn't an exaustive list and i might very, since Google might envoke a way to "verify you" to prevent spam or abuse. I wouldn't think too deep about it. Find what works and run with it.

UPDATE*

So, in my findings i found it to be very hard to aviche getting a Google account via Tor (in tails) or even on the clearnet.

The screenshot below shows what happens if you do this via Tails (tor o the clearnet)

this Requires you to have a cell device just to get access to a gmail account. Now i understand google is "maybe " doing this to prevent abuse of their services. Now prior to this i was aware of google just requiring a phone number, which you can just use a prepaid sim card or some virtual number ect.

I, think this is very silly and my first thought is what if you don't have a cell phone.

The soloution (sorta)

Now there is sorta of a soloution for of all of this that i have used and tested.

Best option (kinda) (but unrealistic)
is to get a anonymous sim or esim and use that for the verification number with a secondary phone if you have one. below are some options i have used and have worked for me as of jan 15 2026.

(THESE ARE NOT ENDORSEMENTS OR AFFILIATE LINKS USE AT YOUR OWN RISK)

1. silent ONION link
   
   silent CLEAR-NET link

2. sms4sats

3.onion link smspool

You can try the above options for the number part. preferably with a second phone with no linkage to you. scan the QR code and move on. it "should work". then obvs use this with GrapheneOS.

biggest draw back is that you should use/need a second phone.
only because i do not trust google to not link anything or make some sort of profile with the main device.

The "Better option" but, there is a catch................

So, what i did is i took a older pixel that i bought with cash and has no number on it. I installed a vpn and went to a public wifi and used the pre-installed browser to go to google's site to make an account.

Once i opened an account google just asked for a phone number, i am amusing that google is aware this is an Android and it's not "malicious" or "spam"

I used one of the services i mentioned above and boom! it worked.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE

So as my first though (i am not crazy, well i am but not that crazy), I was recording a video in a VM to test the theory that google will trip something and then BOOM!, IT WORKED. no "QR code" to scan, which was interesting.

what i did (ill reproduce just to make sure) until then this is what i did.

1. (optional but recommended) (make a VM) | I, made VM, it probably isn’t required to do this but, if you're a QubesOS user, this could be the best option to septate your profiles ect.

2. Make sure you're not on Tor, you can test this with a VPN, but i have not tested this (yet).

3. just setup a Gmail account, obvs put fake information.

4. Now when the phone verification pops up, i used (not an affiliate link)SMSPOOL, smspool works and i had no issue.

5. profit

------------------Disclaimer about smspool.net-------------------------
They do allow anonymous sign-up, they do use a third party for the crypto balance payment,, but they do accept monero and they also have a Tor site.

use at your own risk

Conclustion (for now)

This ins't an exaustive list, because google is constiantly changing on what they see as a "threat" So definitly adjust your threat model.

AS always Run your own monero node and fuck survaliance tech

XMRChat - Tip notafbihoneypot with Monero

XMRChat - Tip notafbihoneypot with Monero

XMRChat

Don't let monero's price rally distract you from the mission

Don't let Monero's rally distract you from the mission.

While the price movement is nice and i think (in theory) this will bring eyes onto monero for Normie and will push adoption, hopefully the people that are invested into the fundamentals of monero will guide the new comers with education.

Monero buying guides

Remember to run your own node and use a cold wallet and backup your seeds offline!

How to build your own Datacenter..

This will be my journey to self-hosting everything so that i can become as sovereign as possible.

WHY

i don't like data collection and i'd rather not be apart of a data breach if i can. Companies can also abandon, change or sell off to a far worse company. FOSS software isn't immune to this, but it has one key advantage! it can be forked.

I, have a good history of hosting various stuff, but i never went full in.

THE STACK

Right now i am running (ill updat as i go) all my software locally or on my servers, besideds email.

Hardware stack

server inferstruture:

1. 3 proxmox cluster nodes in high avability mode(no ceph) but using zfs
2. Proxmox on a teramaster 2 bay nas in a zfs raid using proxmox backup server. with a unifi nas as a second backup target, no offsite backup, yet.
3. UDM PRO, (i know it's not open source, but they allow me to host the contoroller locally, and i want a single glass panel, i also have used openwrt and pfsense, they offer nothing to my intrest.)
4. unifi MAX PRO 16 port PoE ++ switch
   5.unifi 10gb aggergation switch.

sofware stack (still building)

1. Proxmox as my hypervisor
2. my dashboard
3. my server stats
4. My DNS - (i tested techtinium dns and its cool and all, but i did not care for it.)
5. MY nuts
6. for warrenties
7. password manager
8. notes
   (building still.........)

{jan-2-2026}

Problems in the datacenter

01/13/2026

UPDATE-—IT'S ALWAYS DNS

So, here is an update to my uhohs, i made. I messed up my DNS server and took down my whole network. This is why you need a good 3-2-1 backup solution and internal documentation. You might ask, how can i check my internal docs if everything is offline? Besides having high availability, I would suggest either a notebook or a separate knowledge base for this specific situation and make sure you have alerts and notifications.

AN AGENT BROKE MY CLUSTER AND AI HELPED FIX IT.

So recently My proxmox cluster broke, an i could not find out the reason for the life of me. i kept getting a SSL validation error. So i go to every site and forum on the planet just to figure out what the issue was.

The error i kept getting was Connection error 596: error:0A000086:SSL routines::certificate verify failed. Every blog said it could be a TIME sync issue or a something with a proxmox daemon/cert problem.

AI DID GOOD (For once). So, i took my logs and used a local AI bot and feed it my logs and problem, one solution it told me that bezel agent could be a issue.....I FORGOT THAT i installed bezel a while back, but i destroyed it, i just didn't clean up the agents in the other pve host. So i went to the PVE host that was giving me a issue and removed and cleaned up the dead agent, BOOM, fixed. it was so simple.

...................To be continued

I am back....

OK i am back people of the internet,

So after my laptop took a massive dump, it took a while but i got a new one, hence the hiatus, and when i got my new one from NovaCustom, it had a oppsie,

Once I got my laptop i decided to live like richard stallman for like a week and i will say it.... was interesting to say the least. Running fsf approved linux distro was interesting, and it made me notice how much of the internet runs on JavaScript. It also made me hate the modern internet.

THE PROBLEM

the trap

in short Javascript is ran everywhere, and it's not the most privacy-friendly part of the internet.

libreJS is very cool and i will say if anyone wants to see how unusable the internet is, i would recommend trying it. In fact, I wish Gopher or the gemini protocol became more popular. It's a truly bloatless experience.

self hosting is kinda the solution

goals

• self host as much as possible

• upload my stack to github, codeberg,radical

• Document my journey

if you watched my recent live how to selfhost We can see that proxmox is a powerful tool. in the coming weeks, ill be redoing my server rack and network for a HA cluster.

self hosting brings some form of digital freedom and digital sovereignty. I hope everyone that reads this or watches my live streams gets some sort of inspiration to start somewhere.

I will update my journey.

and for anyone who has doubt or thinks that they're not "technical" enough.

i am not a sys admin, i am just some retard on the internet that can read try and fail,

so can you.

links to reach me

xmrchat

linkstack

protocols and actual decentralized places (again)

AHHHHH SHIT here we go again.

IT'S ONLY GONNA GET WORSE.

Look, i don't wanna sound like I'm beating a dead horse. in most cases i do not like social media, but for me to spread foss, privacy security and my thoughts in general..i need to be present there.

With the pass of the "online child saftey act" in the UK and (the SCREEN act) is being discussed in the US. (not getting a lot of traction thank fuck.). The Gov wanting to do CBDC'S. More apps bending the knee to law enforcement to hand over sensitive meta data.

Amazon

Imagine having to KYC yourself to use a app that not respect your privacy, Let alone secure it.

It's not if, but when...

Look, I try to be optimistic, and I am generally a techno-optimistic person and I think that society has largely benefited from tech. I also think that there is good software and devs out there that have privacy and security in mind.

Okay, protocols...

Protocols are far better than platforms. Why? Because you own it, it's portable, it is censorship-resistant and, in most cases, decentralized.

Some examples of this are email. It's a protocol. You can email any service provider and, if you own your own email domain (you should), in the case where your email provider goes rough, you can transfer your email to another provider.

Protocols are not only censorship-resistant but also portable.
This is why the Fediverse is so loved. You can cross post to tons of different sites without having to set up 4–5 accounts.

NOSTR, The hidden juggernot

I'll link to what NOSTR (Notes and other stuff transmitted by relays)is if you want a full explanation Nostr

But, the TLDR is, Nostr is a protocol,

• censorship resistant
• portable (you own your media and account)
• The protocol is ownerless, the relays are not
• Anyone can host their own relay and media

This is the most important part of social media.
It was built to be for you. That was the reason YouTube, Myspace etc.
But, now all we do is swap between the same 5 apps and hand over our data, even though we keep and maintain the users that come to the platform.

YouTube has pretty much become a giant ad.
TikTok is pretty much a psyop in my eyes.

Instagram/Facebook just sucks you in, so it's impossible to exit.

The constant ID requirements. I cannot stress this enough. Getting an FB address without having to hand over your ID is a nightmare and everyone should reject this.

Nostr needs none of this to function.

Internet
username
Keyboard.

There's even a way to run a relay on your android or a separate one, and even use Bluetooth to relay your post when you're close to other users.

Best of all, you can monitor as well. Now the thing is, you will run into spam, bitcoin maxis etc. Also, if you don't run your own relay, I say there are some privacy concerns. I'd run my own relay or, at best, a trusted vpn on a dedicated profile if you're using GrapheneOS - always on!

Take back your media and your voice!

OTHER DECENTRALIZED PROTOCOLS

IPFS - ipfs

PODCASTING 2.0 - podcast 2.0

GEMINI PROTOCOL

I2P i2p

freenet - freenet

decentralized
is the way :D

for anyone wanting to reach out

check out my linkstack for all my soc.

send a email to NFHP22@i2p.net for questioning i might wanna do a email call

and send monero notafbihoneypot.xmr

8C3riP1wQRCChqBKQHbZJf5y64s7o3FTyD4cDpTs1K3S8cKAAx2XSkxizauSYebWAUfyV3X1WMhJAaVKj75MwBWZRSwndAY

How to Silo your data

Why should you silo your data and what is it?

A digital silo is like QubesOS (the most reasonably secure operating system) it compartmentalizes your life. just like grain silos. it keeps stuff separate.

From my perspective a digital silo is also in the same scope of my previous post about..

It's not just about digital sovereignty, but it's also about the lack of ownership of your media. We are merely just renting it at this point. It's only a matter of time before YouTube can just decide your channel is problematic. Google has an alarming overreach and so do the other media conglomerates. Not only do you pay for some of these services, they also sell your data. We are fundamentally digital gold mines at this point.do you want to take that risk?

Okay, enough of the doomer talk.

So TLDR, no, you don't have to throw out your phone or your tech. I would first and foremost do a digital and physical asset inventory checklist.
Find what you do and don't need. Below i will give what i would consider alternative options to use.

So, a few options will help you silo your data,, first and foremost, I would recommend getting a Laptop with cash and install QubesOS, this misleading information that you need to be an "expert" or that QubesOS is "isn't beginner friendly" is RETARDS that are projecting their skill issue. Even furthermore QubesOS is not a "linux distro" It's based off xenHyprvisor and it is more of a vm manager. Now you have a few options out of the box for actual Linux distros. I would say use Fedora temps more only because they do offer better "security" (source:https://privsec.dev/posts/linux/choosing-your-desktop-linux-distribution/). QubesOs offers strong silo VM's. Is it perfect? no, nothing is, but it offers strong protection and color codes tabs, so you don't get lost. it has WHONIX temp as well, while i would not rely on it for anonymity, it still can be forensically investigated. There is an option called busKill that i highly recommend you readers check out.

Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok. What else?

Reject giving out information.

One, if not the most important Opsec hole is giving out your personal information. This is the number one thing you should take away from this. Do not (if you can legally) hand out your personal information. Get a virtual number. They are cheap and separate your identity. There are a ton of cheap VOIP providers out there. If you want to go the extreme route, you can just not get a phone number and go numberless. It is extreme, but very doable. You can just take advantage of free Wi-Fi, use a VPN that accepts monero and, in emergencies, get a data-only sim or esim. Now this isn't the perfect anon solution and there isn't one, but that's not the point. The point is that you control what data you want to be public and what you want to keep private.

Monero = banking yourself

Monero is a digital currency that puts your money back in your hand in the digital sense. Now before all the boomers think it's some rug pull or "not real value". Tons of shops accept monero now and there are more to come. This isn't a new idea either.

Here are a few key points.

1. it keeps your money private in the digital world

2. It's more portable than gold or cash.

3. You can run your own node, aka be your own bank.

The banking system is increasingly grabbing control of people's finances. Especially, with cash app zell ect becoming more convenient. We know they are tracking your spending and selling ads on your purchase history.

ADDRESS...

First and forthmost, I am not a lawyer, and I am not your lawyer.
Tldr: consult a real lawyer.

This one is quite complex, as in the US and, depending on your country, you have different laws on what you can and CANNOT lie or fake information on. It is your DD to check with your local laws. Now, keeping your address private is very difficult. I will go as in depth as possible, and I will not sugar coat it. A lot of sites and people make this out to be "cheap or easy" and after reading a lot of information and listening to a lot of lawyers on this subject, and reading Micheal Bazzel's book on extreme privacy, I think I can have some input from my experiences.

the difficult parts

Keeping your real address private is really difficult due to the fact that you cannot make one mistake. It's not as easy as "just get a llc or virtual address". While these are better than giving out your real address. You are now trusting another company with your mail ect.

Now in the US in 2025, a PO box is the most protected in terms of "legal protection" as it's protected under the 4th amendment.

This can be better to leak out than your real address.

But, what if you have a house? A mortgage? How can I keep this private?

There are a few options. In all honesty, there are only two real options.

A TRUST

In short, a trust is a way to mask who owns the house from public records. Anyone can be a trustee, but the most "private way" to make a trust is to use a local company that does this and has a good reputation.

Micheal Bazzel's book Extreme privacy goes over this in detail.

The second option is cash. This, in most cases, is unrealistic. This is also one of the hardest to obtain on a "budget". It really all comes down to what your threat model is. That and the fact that most houses are 100k plus LOL.

FUCK CAPTCHAS FUCK CAPTCHAS

Now, this is slightly updated. captchas are the enemy of anything productive. While taking a slight break, i wanted to see how easy (it wasn't) it was to obtain an "anonymous" number. Anytime you come across the AI slop or corp shithole blogs that infected the internet, you get in fact, awful advice and affiliated links and honestly it makes me want to bleach my eyes. Now for the very long and detailed version of my experience below.

TLDR LIST for ADHD RETARDS(ME).

1. HARD
2. CAPTCHAS ARE ASS
3. GETTING BLOCKED ON EVERY SITE OR BANNED.

Cake wallet moment.

Goals

1. get a email provider as private as possible
2. get a number private as possible.
3. try not to leave my house.

Okay, for the people that will read this(thank you). My experience was ass, in the worst way possible. First, I used cake wallet to get a gift card with monero, so i could ya know? Get the number without leaving my house. And that went awfully. It got rejected and issues i will not bore you with. I, reached out to cake-wallet, and they just sent my monero back to me. They're looking for a different card partner.

(in short, I went to a store and bought a gift card with cash)
The site blocks tor FYI, so if you are trying to activate this, either call or use public Wi-Fi.) (more on how i got a private number, but in short i did not get to use it.)

So..back to the drawing board, i used a a few SMS services to get a temp number for the email and most, if not all, are blocked or just don't work, so in short, don't use them.

email......

Just use tuta or proton, if you want a long-term solution for the number. I WILL SAY this does work, but its temp, and if you don't need permanent access to the site, it does work.
And if you can afford it, just buy a whole year ect.

Getting the number was hard....

Now getting the number was quite literally a nightmare. I first start up tails and just get IP blocked or put in captcha hell. At best, if i did make it to the site after signing up. They would just not "activate my number" or not let me log back in (I'm looking at you tello). I wanted to do this also as cheaply as possible. So, i caved in and bought a 30-day card from tracphone for $20, I'd say this is the best option. With cash in person and might be the only option that is pretty much going to work.

Now activating was kinda annoying. I needed to get an account, so I pretty much used a dump proton email. You could just use a temp mail or aliased email with simpleLogin, but id make sure i never connect any payment or personal information to any of this.

..... My thoughts.

Look, you, yes you, Do Not have to go skitzo mode and throw out your tech ect, Remeber it's a scale. Minus the captcha hell and IP blcoking because i wanna be private dosn't mean you have too.

i wish there was more options to getting a number using monero. i have considered buying a bulk ammount of these prepaid numbers and resell them for monero for a very small fee as a proxy If there was a intrest for this. (i don't due to the fact that you can buy this via cash still), but tthis is moreb to support the monero economy. conact me if this does intrest you, if i get enough i might consider doing it.

if you suppot my work and monero. consider donating

85kgBy2z3w9MveYeGvB61MAzgvL6eecmyG2ud4uiJzk9QgZ1QHro3PKizhJUbJhLWqDvcrArSQUuHGUhAsZUeQZD22FzhZ9

In Short, you should never trust these companies to keep your data "Safe". I think separating your data is the most secure way. Just like QubesOS takes the approach of everything is compromised. You should to.

GrapheneOS might be in trouble...

How to buy and use monero

*this is not financial advice and you should always check your local laws and not use Monero or other crypto currencies as a vehicle to avoid taxes ect, also i am not a layer. just some dude on the internet*

So you want privacy and financially freedom in the digital world?

Now, most people when they hear about digital currencies, they think of bitcoin. Now, contrary to popular belief, Bitcoin is NOT private and in the current year 2025, Bitcoin and monero are in my opinion a currency.

Before I explain why i think monero is the superior privacy respecting cryptocurrencies. How do I buy, store and use it? We must first understand these concepts:

1. What is the blockchain ?
2. The value of digital currencies like monero.
3. What is monero?
4. why should i care or trust?

What is the Blockchain?

First and foremost, the Blockchain is NOT mutually exclusive to crypto.
To explain very simplistically, the Blockchain is like a digital journal that everyone can write in or read in, but no one can erase.

The main purpose of the blockchain is to:

1. create transparency
2. No cnetreal authority (decentralized)
3. Consensus Mechanisms: To add a new block to the blockchain, the network must reach a consensus. This can be done through various methods, such as Proof of Work (used by Bitcoin) or Proof of Stake, which ensure that all participants agree on the validity of transactions.

key points on how it works:

4. Transaction Initiation: A user initiates a transaction (e.g., sending cryptocurrency to another user).

5. Broadcasting: The transaction is broadcast to the network of nodes.

6. Validation: Nodes validate the transaction using consensus mechanisms to ensure it is legitimate.

7. Block Creation: Once validated, the transaction is grouped with other transactions into a block.

8. Adding to the Chain: The new block is added to the existing blockchain, and all nodes update their copies of the ledger.

Now, as a quick disclaimer! You do not need to understand this at a deep levle. It's just advice.

Now that a base level, you somewhat understand how the blockchain works.
I, will briefly explain and point to good evidence on why Bitcoin is not private.

Bitcoin is not private because of the blockchain

Due to the nature of the public blockchain, it makes it transparent.
Now bitcoin is pusdoanonmyous, but not private, especially if you use a
kyc exchange which, in my opinion, is not advised in almost all cases. Not only do Kyc exchanges ask for too much information, it also links your wallet to your identity. Again, the blockchain is transparent and traceable.

There is a way to increase Bitcoin's privacy, transaction speed ect with the Lightning network
(which i might cover in a future post).

Kyc exchanges are also linked to handing out information to law enforcement whether it's catching "criminals" ect. coinbase.

OK, OK OK OK! We get it, Bitcoin is not private.

So, how do i get a privacy respecting cryptocurrency? That's where Monero comes in!

What is Monero?

To explain what Monero as easy as possiable, Think of it like digital cash! Monero is what Bitcoin was suppose to be.

1. private
2. fungable
3. secure
4. untracable

BUT wait! you said the blockchain is transparent!

if you want a quick detailed explination.

whatch this video below!

Now a lot of this is over simplified and I urged you to read the monero white paper . You can get a lot of Information there.

**How do I buy momero? **

Now I'll explain here how I buy monero. This isn't perfect and you have to adjust to your threat model.

The setup(Equitment)

The equipment needed to do this should only be done on a laptop.

1. Any laptop
2. USB drive
3. Pen, paper

The software

I would only use these 2 Operating systems

1. Tails with persistent storage
2. Whonix

Pick whatever you think is easier to setup and use.
I personally do this all on Tails. The next step is to exit your house and go to a coffee shop outside of your town. Look like a Gray man, try blending in with everyone.

The Wallet

The wallet is one of the most important pieces of this article. Picking a good wallet is important.

Now there are two types of wallets: Hot Wallets and Cold wallets.

Cold storage wallets - Cold storage wallets, also known as hardware wallets, are physical devices that store cryptocurrency private keys offline. There are also paper wallets you can store Monero on, completely offline.

Hot wallets - A hot wallet, known as a software wallet, is a digital wallet that is typically connected to the internet. It is a piece of software installed on devices like smartphones or laptops. The defining feature of a hot wallet is that it generates your seed phrase online and stores your private keys online too. This frequent online presence makes transacting straightforward and convenient.

Both wallets have their advantages and disadvantages. In this guide and my own personal use case, I use only two wallets.

The first wallet i use and pretty much only use paired with tailsOS is

featherwallet

The reasons i use feather wallet are for the following reasons:

1. ease to set up and use on tails

2. active dev team and community

3. extensive documentation

In short, it is my favorite wallet to pair with tails and I have had zero issues with it.

Opsec section

**Exclaimer!!!!! This all depends on your threat model and adjusts accordingly. There are tons of good opsec guids on the internet. **

Exchanges

I, would advise you to never buy monero from any KYC exchange (let alone store it there). Even with excellent built-in protection, I think this is De way 🌚.

This is the list of exchanges I use to buy/swap for Monero.

1. TradeOger

2. Fixedfloat

• There are some new peer 2-peer exchanges I would look into, such as Haveno but that will be outside the scope of this article.

1. TradeOger

2. Fixedfloat

• There is some new peer-2-peer exchanges I would look into, such as Haveno but that will be outside the scope of this article.

I usually buy Lightning and swap it on fixedFloat or trade BTC on tradeOger. I will not be putting other exchanges, due to the fact I have not used any other exchange to do this. This is not an endorsement or to say they are perfect, but I have not been exit scammed and I have not had any issues. I also do not keep any monero or crypto on any exchange at any time.

Rember DO NOT expose any personal details to you or your wallets. After you obtain your monero, you can safely transfer it to a mobile wallet (hot wallet) like monero wallet or stack wallet. Both are good options if you want the mobile conviance. Otherwise, Download the gui monero wallet.

RUN AND I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH YOUR OWN NODE.

Running your own monero node is the best possible opsec to ensure you remain private.

sethforprivacy has a really detailed explanation and guide on how to guid.

TLDR - just do it.

okay, so now what?

In this order, i would first get my laptop and usb drive. Drive to a local coffee shop and fire-up tails! Set up persistent storage with a very strong password and ensure no one sees it. Next, after installing and verifying feather wallet is authentic, I will create my first wallet and then write down the seed phrase it makes, (NEVER LOSE OR DIGITALY STORE THIS), write it down and laminate it! Make multiple copies and store them in a safe, secure place away from cameras and prying eyes.

If you want a long-term storage solution, there is endless options.

Here's one superbacked

Next you want to get some bitcoin, or the preferred bitcoin lightning from any exchange that has zero kyc or, at best just needs email, and you can use virtual cards.

Finally, you will go to one of the exchanges i mentioned and swap it with Monero. I personally have good success with fixedfloat. Then i send it to my feather wallet address and wait for it to be fully synced.

After i receive my Sweet monero, I can either send it to one of the hot/ mobile wallets for ease of use or i can use it as it's intention, to spend!!!!

Here are some sites where i spend and or use or find places to spend!

monerica

NO KYC

If you took the time to read this or got any value, I, thank you!

Here is my linkTree
link

And if you wanna send me some monero :D

46toA11xGi15Zo3LnGdMjL9GJTPavic3EdderjyE7aU9KGFK38mZv1YSmjo8RoKPRohjRtubkiFxL3bVXABT7N2ZBdDocLD