/usr used to be the user home directory on Unix…well most of them. I think Solaris/SunOS has always been /export/home as I recall.

You need SPF, DKIM, DMARC with a RUA set up to an email that doesn’t bounce. That’s pretty much it. I’ve been running email servers a long time and actually set up email from a new domain/IP a couple of years ago as well.

This is true. If you have DMARC and your RUA set up (with a working email (or one that doesn’t bounce at least)) along with SPF and DKIM, Google and MS will accept your mail. The only time it won’t at that point is if your IP is in the same /24 as a known spammer but so long as the spam stops, you’ll fall off the list. Some of the common spamlists allow you to request your IP be removed by request and I can only recall one list that almost nobody uses that makes you pay for the removal though there may be more I don’t recall.

Like I said if they change their policy (even for a user) and allow someone else to use it, it is better than having all of your identifying information tied together under a username.

You should delete your account. It can’t be used again on Reddit (unless they change their policy). If you’re worried about being identified, then it’s better to just delete the account anyway than the alternative.

Here’s how to delete the SBAT policy that the Windows Update applies.

It updates Secure Boot in the BIOS, so you could completely remove Windows but the Secure Boot update would still be in the BIOS and affect the boot loader.

There are a couple of OEMs like System76 and Starlabs that sell laptops with Linux on them, provide tech support for customers and so on.

And no, installing most distros aren’t hard. You just click the buttons to proceed and fill out the username and password box, select your time zone and select your wi-fi network if you’re using wifi.

You can do manual partitioning but why would you if you don’t know what you’re doing?

Installing software in the GUI is as easy as installing software from the Microsoft Store. Just search or look around and when you see something you want, just click the Install button.

I get the sentiment but defense in depth is a methodology to live by in IT and auto updating via the Internet is not a good risk to take in general. For example, should Crowdstrike just disappear one day, your entire infrastructure shouldn’t be at enormous risk nor should critical services. Even if it’s your anti-virus, a virus or ransomware shouldn’t be able to easily propagate through the enterprise. If it did, then it is doubtful something like Crowdstrike is going to be able to update and suddenly reverse course. If it can then you’re just lucky that the ransomware that made it through didn’t do anything in defense of itself (disconnecting from the network, blocking CIDRs like Crowdsource’s update servers, blocking processes, whatever) and frankly you can still update those clients anyway from your own AV update server which is a product you’d be using if you aren’t allowing updates from the Internet in order to roll them out in dev first, phasing and/or schedules from your own infrastructure.

Crowdstrike is just another lesson in that.

What I usually do is set next boot to BIOS so I have time to get into the console and do whatever.

Also instead of using a browser, I prefer to connect vmware Workstation to vCenter so all the consoles insta open in their own tabs in the workspace.