Danie van der Merwe

DarkMX is a decentralised comms app that utilises Tor and I2P to have an anonymous, reliable, and censorship-resistant presence on the internet

2026-01-12 19:50:04

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

DarkMX is a decentralised comms app that utilises Tor and I2P to have an anonymous, reliable, and censorship-resistant presence on the internet

* You can chat
* You can share files
* You can search other people's files
* You can keep a contact list and send private messages to your friends
* You can create your own custom .onion site, available to anyone with a Tor Browser

Like many services which use Tor or I2P network, users tend to remain anonymous, and pretty well much everything goes, so this is not a child-friendly network. The focus on this particular network though is more around all sorts of file sharing, with zero moderation, so you want to be careful about what you actually download.

But despite that, the app works with a built-in Tor client. If you want to use the I2P network, like I do, then you will need to install your own I2P or i2pd client app to run your I2P router node. I2P can be more private and resilient than even the Tor network. Just note that the app needs to connect to your I2P router for a good 30 minutes to discover peers and get communication going. Thereafter, it will be a lot quicker. The screenshot shows also where you can find the diagnostics for both networks. If I2P is accessible, the Tor connection is paused.

The app also plays a role as a server of files to any Tor browser. So if you want to share files, music, or whatever (legally of course) then you can turn on Web Access, and separate you files into different groups if you wish to keep some separate, and then copy the link to share.

Have a look at:
From I2P network http://mv3qjsjk4cw3oywhsgkjqumn2cdlom6y5z7cuq6f6g4vhlhrynga.b32.i2p/DarkMX/site/index.txt
From any Tor browser http://svdiwvzqmpozcicznynjxc3fcv3a4znv7c7nc6ycnrtsf677652gbzid.onion/DarkMX/site/index.txt
Or try HTM for a Tor browser http://svdiwvzqmpozcicznynjxc3fcv3a4znv7c7nc6ycnrtsf677652gbzid.onion/DarkMX/site/index.html

You should see a web page, but the DarkMX application needs to be running on my side otherwise nothing will be visible, as there is no 24/7 server service. It is PC to PC.

But it is not just files and web pages. A Channel can also be used for just chatting or discussion topics as well.

It has apps for Android, Windows, and Linux.

You will note that hidden services are sometimes mentioned. This is because the Tor as well as I2P networks are not indexed by Google and other clearnet (normal HTML TCP based web services).

See DarkMX

#technology #decentralised #privacy #Tor #I2P

technology decentralisation Tor I2P privacy

Healthchecks.io emails me when my automation jobs don't run

2026-01-12 15:53:40

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Healthchecks.io emails me when my automation jobs don't run

We all “should” have scheduled backups running, and sometimes other automated tasks as well. In some cases you may see an error popup, but often it is just an e-mail to say the task has run.

The problem is often we don't bother to check that daily e-mail properly, or we don't miss one of the e-mails out of the five that arrive daily for different tasks.

This is where open source Healthchecks.io comes in. It is an online service for monitoring regularly running tasks such as cron jobs. It uses the Dead man's switch technique: the monitored system must “check in” with Healthchecks.io at regular, configurable time intervals. When Healthchecks.io detects a missed check-in, it sends out alerts.

Whilst you can self-host it with unlimited functionality, it can be a concern if your own hosting goes offline. They do have a generous 20 checks plan which you can use for free though to monitor from outside your services.

It is as simple as creating a check, getting the unique link for that check, and appending a command string at the end of any cron commands, or in a bash script you may be running.

I'm still in the process of tweaking mine, but I'm hoping to move away from the 5 daily mails I get after cron jobs have run, and rather now only receive a mail when there is a problem to be looked at. Healthchecks.io can now classify HTTP pings from clients as start, success, or failure signals by looking for specific keywords or phrases in the HTTP request body.

They've been going for 10 years now, with over 40,200 free accounts, and just under 51 million pings per day. Luckily they have paid accounts bringing in over US$18,300 monthly to sustain the business (hosting costs real money).

See https://www.xda-developers.com/healthchecksio-emails-me-when-my-automation-jobs-dont-run or their site at https://healthchecks.io

#technology #opensource #monitoring

technology opensource monitoring

6 things RAID does not protect you from

2026-01-12 13:56:25

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

6 things RAID does not protect you from

“Among new NAS buyers, and perhaps even older users too, RAID is one of the most misunderstood aspects of network storage. In a multi-drive setup, you have RAID in place, so you are covered in case one of the drives dies. That's the promise RAID sells, and it delivers on that very specific promise as well. The problem starts when you expect it to do more than it's supposed to. It is not a safety net for everything. The sooner we realise that, the better it will be. If you wait until the last moment or until an incident occurs, it will be too late to correct course. While RAID may be good for one thing, it just cannot protect you from many of the things that actually cause data loss in the real world. Here are some examples.”

An article well worth reading before diving into buying a RAID setup, especially as a RAID setup often costs lot more money than two three drives doing rsync backups.

A RAID is good for real-time redundancy. If a drive fails, the other/s carry on going without issues. You can replace that failed drive, and just rebuild the RAID. But RAID drives also all work hard as they are all constantly being written to.

There is something to be said for having a second drive, and just doing a daily rsync backup to that drive. That second drive only needs to spin up once a day to receive updated or new files, and delete removed files. This not only extends that drive's life, but you can restore any mistakenly deleted files too. When your primary drive fails (anything up top around 5 or 6 years) you can actually use the backup drive as the primary drive. It just takes a bit more configuration effort to point to it (but that could be about 5 minutes of effort). I've had to do this once, so I know it is fully possible.

See 6 things RAID does not protect you from

Redundancy feels like safety, until the wrong thing goes wrong

#technology #backups #RAID #selfhosting

technology RAID backups selfhosting

FavBox is an open source browser extension that enhances and simplifies bookmark management without cloud storage or third-party services

2026-01-12 12:41:28

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

FavBox is an open source browser extension that enhances and simplifies bookmark management without cloud storage or third-party services

It extends your browser's native bookmarking features.

Key features:
🔄 Syncs with your browser profile
🔒 No third‑party data sharing. No ads. No tracking.
🎨 Minimalist, clean UI
🏷️ Tag support for easy organisation
🔍 Advanced search, sorting, and filtering by tags, domains, folders, and keywords
🌁 Multiple display modes
🌗 Light and dark themes
🗑️ Detects broken and duplicate bookmarks
⌨️ Hotkeys for quick search access
🗒️ Local notes support
❤️ Free and open source

Something I found very useful with this extension is it quickly showed me all the duplicate bookmarks I have as well as one's with broken links, so I could clean those up.

The extension is available for Chromium based browsers right now, but there is work in progress for a Firefox version too.

See GitHub - dd3v/favbox: 🖤 FavBox is a local-first experimental browser extension that enhances and simplifies bookmark management without cloud storage or third-party services.

🖤 FavBox is a local-first experimental browser extension that enhances and simplifies bookmark management without cloud storage or third-party services. - dd3v/favbox

#technology #browsers #bookmarks #opensource

technology opensource browsers bookmarks

SSD thumb drives could be better than cheap USB flash drives

2026-01-11 13:56:05

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

SSD thumb drives could be better than cheap USB flash drives

“Instead of getting a cheap but very sluggish flash drive, consider buying a USB SSD that looks like a regular thumb drive but is way faster and only slightly more expensive.”

I haven't bought a cheap flash drive for quite a while, so did not really realise these SSD thumb drives were available. But they look worthwhile considering especially if the data volumes are a bit more. They are certainly a lot more compact and mobile than carrying around whole external SSD drives.

See Please stop buying standard USB flash drives in 2026

Don't buy a plain old USB flash drive, buy this instead

#technology #storage

technology storage

Make Jellyfin look like Spotify and Plex: 5 clients you need to install

2026-01-11 12:03:56

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Make Jellyfin look like Spotify and Plex: 5 clients you need to install

“Are you looking for a better way to enjoy content from your Jellyfin server? There are tons of clients to choose from made by passionate volunteers, and each brings a unique experience.”

What I love about these types of apps, is that it leaves your Jellyfin untouched in the background. These are all different front ends, and you can switch between them without losing history of what you've watched, faved, etc. So test away.

Interestingly too, some will run from inside a browser tab too, so no need to even install, although some additional codecs and methods are supported by the dedicated desktop app.

Apps covered are:
* Finamp
* Fladder
* Feishin
* Void
* Wholphin

See Make Jellyfin look like Spotify and Plex: 5 clients you need to install

These fan-made Jellyfin clients totally redefined my home media server

#technology #jellyfin #opensource

technology opensource jellyfin

FireWally Is A Great Firewall App for Mac, and It's Free

2026-01-10 10:20:54

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

FireWally Is A Great Firewall App for Mac, and It's Free

“Most people haven't actively managed a firewall in at least a decade, assuming they ever have. But keeping track of which applications are using the internet—and how much data they're using—is still useful at times, as is blocking apps from accessing the net entirely.”

Yes free on a Mac is a feature! But despite that, it could be a useful app especially when roaming. It is for Mac only though.

The linked article also has a link to the page in the app store to get the app.

See This Is the Best Firewall App for Mac I've Ever Used, and It's Free

FireWally is a free Mac firewall app that lets you manage data access from the menu bar.

#technology #security

technology security

Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat App Sees Downloads Spike in Uganda Over Internet Shutdown Worries

2026-01-09 13:10:04

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat App Sees Downloads Spike in Uganda Over Internet Shutdown Worries

“Recently, the app drew attention during Nepal’s Gen Z protests, where it supported protesters in overthrowing the government. On September 4, authorities banned 26 platforms, including Facebook, X, YouTube, and Signal, to curb demonstrations against nepotism and a digital tax. Downloads jumped from 3,000 to 50,000 daily, with 48,000 in Nepal alone on September 8, equating to 38% of global installations. Users leveraged Bitchat’s mesh networking capabilities, with each node extending reach up to 30 meters in crowded areas, to organise marches that culminated in arson at the parliament building and the regime’s fall.”

Bitchat is a decentralised peer-to-peer messaging application that operates over Bluetooth mesh networks. No internet required, no servers, no phone numbers. This also means ideally you want to have installed it BEFORE any outages.

It is an open source and offline mesh chat application, which means each device acts as both client and server, automatically discovering peers and relaying messages across multiple hops to extend the network's reach. It is similar to what Meshtastic does with license-free radio. There is zero registration required, and therefore it is also not easy to identify anyone using it.

It does now also have Geohash channels, where someone on that channel will extend it to the Internet, if available. The Internet side can use the Tor network if available. Broadcast messages are public, but if you know someone's handle on Bitchat, you can chat with full end-to-end-encryption.

It has an interesting feature to emergency delete all chats, keys, etc when you triple tap on the app title. And apart from protests and censorship resistance, it is also ideal for any natural disasters where infrastructure has been knocked out.

The app runs on iOS as well as Android.

See https://gizmodo.com/jack-dorseys-bitchat-sees-downloads-spike-in-uganda-over-internet-shutdown-worries-2000706828 and get the app at https://bitchat.free

#technology #opensource #decentralised #protests #disasters Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat Sees Downloads Spike in Uganda Over Internet Shutdown Worries

Ugandans have good reason to believe there will be a blackout soon.

technology opensource decentralisation protests disasters

I replaced Trello, Toggl, and TickTick with free, open-source Super Productivity

2026-01-06 18:59:55

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

I replaced Trello, Toggl, and TickTick with free, open-source Super Productivity

Well I have not done so myself, as I still see a shortcoming around not being able to set custom repeats based on a first Wednesday of every month, or the last weekday of the month. It does though have repeats based on fixed schedules as well as completion date, which is important if you want to repeat something after you finished a task e.g. cleaning my weather station 3 months after I did it last.

But apart from that it has a very nice modern look to it, and is pretty powerful in many other aspects. It has a few powerful productivity views such as Eisenhower Matrix and Kanban, procrastination buster, AI productivity prompts, etc (some are plugins). It also has a great review at the end of the day, with a lot of stats and scoring.

I like the tag and project views so you can see different groupings of your tasks. It has quite a focus on timers, taking breaks, etc too.

Migrating from a different todo planner is not so easy so as there is no importer from say TickTick at all. It seems there is no global standard for importing/exporting todos across apps. Someone has created a bridging app that may help with this, but for me to fully migrate my 149 unique tasks to this, could be pretty painful as mine have lots of custom repeats, sub-tasks, etc in.

It is free with no paid cloud sync service. It will sync via Dropbox, Google Drive, WebDAV, or local file sync (like Synthing). But it is syncing a file, so if two clients edit offline, only the last one will win on re-connection. This is a bit like I had wit Obsidian Notes when using Syncthing. So even if you self-host it in Docker, that is just a web client that must still sync to Dropbox or wherever (unlike say Joplin Notes which is a proper centralised sync server).

See I replaced Trello, Toggl, and TickTick with this one free, open-source app

You get the power of three, and that too for free.

#technology #productivity #todo

technology productivity todo

5 costs of self-hosting that nobody talks about

2026-01-06 18:35:44

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

5 costs of self-hosting that nobody talks about

I can attest to all of these reasons. Just today and yesterday I've been solving an issue with my docker networks grabbing 192.168.x.x addresses ranges (after the upgrade to OMV8 overwrote the daemon.json file I'd customised to prevent this). And two days before that I was having mysterious freezes on my server which “eventually” came down to a cheap Chinese 2A power supply to one of my RAID disks (well I'll know for sure after a new ATX power supply arrives tomorrow).

So, yes you do save subscription costs, but you spend more time diagnosing issues, additional costs upgrading hardware, and taking your data in your own hands.

I still think it is worth it, but to be honest, it may really not be a cost saver at all. If I think of what I've spent on server hardware, UPS devices, additional NAS drives, a network cabinet, a firewall and switches that support VLANs, a VPS hosted service, etc. I'm suspecting if I put that US$900 or so aside and just used it for subscription services, maybe I'd still have money left

Some services, like my password manager and todo list manager, I do actually pay for cloud services, because they are absolutely critical and cannot be down.

But there is also the fun factor to self-hosting, as well as having home services up when the Internet is offline.

See 5 costs of self-hosting that nobody talks about