Welcome to the new Fifthdread.com
It’s been years since Fifthdread.com was up in any official capacity, but I decided to bring it back online. Why? Well, I wanted to create a portal page for my friends who happen to use my “services”. The point is that I have been on a sort of self-hosting kick for a LONG time now, and as a result, I have several solutions that I host that I want to not only just use myself- but offer it to my friends as well.
It’s really because I’m paranoid. I work in the cyber security field and hold several cyber related certifications, so I know a few things about cyber, and there’s one thing I know for a fact- my data is at risk. Data breaches are happening all the time, and the biggest players in tech are the biggest targets. I wanted to try to cut loose from services such as Facebook, who sells your data and serves you ads. I want to stop being tracked everywhere I go on the web, and I want to start being more security and privacy conscience. It’s not that I have something to hide- more that It’s my data, and I should have control over who has it, and how it is used.
As a result, I have started self-hosting things. I find it fun to create solutions myself that rival or exceed what I can get from a big provider. I don’t have to pay Google or Dropbox for cloud storage- I can access my NAS from anywhere, and retain all the capabilities that those services provide, for free- and with “unlimited storage” aka whatever my NAS can fit (like 20tb so it’s gonna be a while)… Also I host my own solutions for a Password Manager, Voice Communications, Team Chat, Note Taking app like Evernote or OneNote- the list goes on. If there is a solution out there, I probably have it. I even can stream my audio library from anywhere just like Spotify, provided I have the music downloaded (legally of course) and in higher qualities like FLAC, etc.
Not only is self-hosting fun, in many ways it’s just plain better. It’s not as EASY to get started, but once it’s all setup, it’s mostly superior to alternatives.
That’s where this website comes in. Many times I pitch the idea of these solutions to friends, and they get annoyed more than anything. I totally get it- change sucks in general, and I KNOW I’m more sensitive to security and privacy concerns than others. Regardless, I will use this website to express that there are alternatives to the big names out there, and often times, they are better- and at least my solution won’t cost them anything to use. I’m going to offer these things free of charge. I mean, if people want to pitch in a little when I upgrade server hardware, I’m not going to stop them. lol
I’m also excited for later this year. AMD is launching the new Threadripper line of CPUs, which I intend on buying when they release. This will be the ultimate platform for me to build my ultimate home server. It will empower me to create SO many HyperV VMs, as well as docker containers etc… It’s going to be very cool, since I can offer friends dedicated game servers VERY easily, and with excellent remote access. It will be totally cool.
Ultimately, expect me to use Fifthdread.com as a landing place for my Blog, Portal, and Contact info. I may mold it into other things, but it is no longer going to be a forum or anything- forums are sort of DEAD now that newer, more modern services are out there. If people DO wish to contact me, they can do so via the contacts section at the bottom of the page. Thanks for reading!