security

06
Apr
2026
Privacy Tools Every Brazilian Activist Should Know

Privacy Tools Every Brazilian Activist Should Know

Privacy Tools Every Brazilian Activist Should Know

If you organize actions or share sensitive plans, start with these three tools. They work on phones and computers common in Brazil and require little setup.

Secure your chats

WhatsApp logs everything to Meta servers. Switch group planning to Signal instead.

  1. Download Signal from the official site or app store on your phone.
  2. Register with your number, then enable disappearing messages for each chat.
  3. Turn on the screen lock inside Signal settings so others cannot open the app without your PIN.
  4. Invite the rest of your group one by one so everyone moves over at the same time.

Real case: A São Paulo collective used Signal voice notes with five-second deletion during the 2023 land rights actions. Police seized one phone but found nothing readable after the timer ran out.

  • Check daily that your security number matches your contacts.
  • Never forward Signal messages to WhatsApp.
  • Use the note-to-self feature for quick reminders that stay only on your device.

Hide your browsing and files

Public Wi-Fi at protests and home connections can be monitored. Combine Tor Browser with a simple password manager.

Tool When to use Quick start
Tor Browser Access blocked sites or read reports without your ISP seeing the address. Download from torproject.org, open it, and type the site you need.
KeePassXC Store logins for activist email or cloud folders. Install the app, create one strong master password, then save each new account inside it.

Carry a small USB with the portable version of Tor so you can plug it into any borrowed computer. Delete browser history after each session if you must use Chrome. Test the setup once at home before you rely on it during an action.

Posted by admin in Guides & Tutorials, 0 comments
16
Feb
2026
How to Start Using Linux in Brazil: A Beginner’s Guide

How to Start Using Linux in Brazil: A Beginner’s Guide

How to Start Using Linux in Brazil: A Beginner’s Guide

Start by running Linux inside your current Windows setup. This avoids any risk to your files while you test the waters.

Pick a distro that works well here

Most people in Brazil do fine with Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Both come with Portuguese language support out of the box and have local download servers that keep updates fast.

  • Ubuntu: good if you want the most community help in Portuguese forums.
  • Linux Mint: feels closer to Windows and runs lighter on older machines common in Brazilian homes.

Install it without touching your hard drive

Download VirtualBox from the official site, then grab an Ubuntu ISO from ubuntu.com. Follow these steps:

  1. Open VirtualBox and create a new machine with 4 GB RAM and 25 GB virtual disk.
  2. Attach the ISO and start the machine.
  3. Choose “Try Ubuntu” first so nothing installs yet.
  4. Once inside, open the browser and test if your Wi-Fi and mouse work.

After an hour of use you can decide whether to install it for real later.

Adjust settings for Brazilian daily life

After the first boot, open Settings and set these items right away:

Setting What to do
Language Switch to Português (Brasil)
Keyboard Choose ABNT2 layout
Time zone America/Sao_Paulo
Updates Pick the nearest mirror in Software & Updates

This makes LibreOffice show dates in dd/mm/yyyy and lets you type accents without extra work.

Handle real tasks right away

Open the terminal and run these commands to get common tools:

  • sudo apt update && sudo apt install vlc gimp libreoffice
  • sudo apt install steam for games

If your bank app refuses to run, install it through the browser first. Most Brazilian banks now work fine in Firefox after you enable the “Use hardware acceleration” option.

Join the Ubuntu Brasil group on Telegram or the local subreddit for quick answers when something breaks. People answer in Portuguese within minutes during the day.

Posted by admin in Guides & Tutorials, 0 comments
09
Oct
2025
LibreOffice for Portuguese Speakers

LibreOffice for Portuguese Speakers

LibreOffice for Portuguese Speakers

LibreOffice replaces Microsoft Office with a free toolkit that handles text, spreadsheets, and slides. Portuguese speakers get full language support right away, so menus, spelling, and date formats match what you already use.

Download the installer from the official site, run it, and the whole suite lands on your machine in under ten minutes on most Windows or Linux systems.

Install and set Portuguese

  1. Visit libreoffice.org and click the big download button for your operating system.
  2. Run the file once it finishes. Accept the defaults and let it finish.
  3. Open any program, such as Writer. Go to Tools, then Options, then Language Settings, then Languages.
  4. Pick Portuguese (Brazil) or Portuguese (Portugal) from the drop-downs for user interface, locale, and default currency.
  5. Restart the program so the menus switch over.

After these steps, new documents start with Portuguese spelling and A4 paper by default.

Start with Writer and Calc

Writer handles letters and reports. Open it, type a short note, press Ctrl+S to save as .odt or export to .docx for colleagues who still use Word. The file opens on their side without layout surprises.

Calc works for budgets and lists. Enter numbers in the first column, add a formula like =SUM(A1:A10) in the cell below, and the total updates as you change values. Save the sheet as .ods or export it to .xlsx when you need to share it.

Program Typical use Example file you create
Writer Letters, contracts, articles Reunião notes saved as .odt
Calc Budgets, inventories Monthly expenses list with formulas

Keep both programs open at once. Copy a table from Calc and paste it straight into Writer when you need the numbers inside a report.

Posted by admin in Community & Culture, 0 comments
30
Mar
2025
How to Host Your Own Email Server with Open Source Tools

How to Host Your Own Email Server with Open Source Tools

How to Host Your Own Email Server with Open Source Tools

You can run a full email server on a cheap VPS using Mailu. It bundles Postfix, Dovecot, and webmail behind Docker so setup stays simple.

Start with these basics before you touch any code. Pick a VPS with at least 2 GB RAM and a static IP. Point your domain’s A record at that IP. Set reverse DNS to match the hostname you choose.

Install Mailu on Debian 12

Log in as root and install Docker first.

  1. Run apt update && apt install docker.io docker-compose -y.
  2. Create a folder: mkdir /opt/mailu && cd /opt/mailu.
  3. Download the setup script and answer its questions about your domain and admin email.
  4. Edit docker-compose.yml only if you need to change ports or add volumes for backups.
  5. Start everything with docker-compose up -d.

Mailu takes a few minutes to finish. Once it does, open https://yourdomain.com and log in with the admin account it created.

Item Example value
Domain example.com
Hostname mail.example.com
Admin email [email protected]

Check these items right after the containers start:

  • Firewall allows ports 25, 587, 993, and 80/443.
  • SPF and DKIM records are added through the Mailu admin panel.
  • Test sending and receiving with a second address you control.

Daily maintenance means watching the logs with docker-compose logs -f and keeping the images updated monthly. Back up the /opt/mailu directory so you can restore accounts quickly if the VPS fails.

Posted by admin in Community & Culture, 0 comments