Who do you trust with your most intimate secrets? Google? Facebook? Apple? Microsoft ? Storing pictures, music, and documents in the cloud is the default for millions of people across the world who want to keep their digital life safe, and connect to it from anywhere there’s a convenient terminal, as well as share it with other people – and it’s no wonder. Tech giants have been pushing cloud storage for years. Google’s Chromebooks typically come with only 16 or 32 GB of onboard storage, but with one year’free access to 100 GB cloud storage. Likewise, Android phones push hard for users to upload their snapshots through the Google photos app.

And it’s just so easy. Google’s Cloud Platform includes unlimited photo storage, messaging solutions, search, email, and a truly stellar collaborative office suite.

It can be a mistake to trust the the web giants to keep your information safe. Cloud storage is convenient, but just another way of saying that your pictures, calendars, communications, and documents are on someone else’s computer. They hosting companies do with them what they want. Google sells access to your private emails, and automatically scans your work and personal documents. And this former Yahoo employee who illegally accessed around 6,000 email accounts in search of dirty pictures? He didn’t so much “hack” as use Yahoo tools, from inside Yahoo, while a Yahoo employee. We’re not even going to mention Facebook, except to say – wow.

The only computer holding your sensitive photos and intimate thoughts should be your own, and the only person with access to it should be you.

But that doesn’t mean you need to take an Amish approach to technology. We’re going to show you the best way to use cheap, off-the shelf hardware, and free open source software to take control of your digital life.

This is not a tutorial. This is a guide, combined with our own recommendations.