altTech Web Directory

The purpose of the altTech directory is to provide hardware, firmware and software resources for the privacy and security conscious person at a time when surveillance capitalism and government-corporate spying is pervasive. Regarding software, there is no shortage of websites dealing with software suggestions, thus recommendations for individual software products will not be included in the directory unless they are quite unique and useful in the context of privacy and/or security.

Regarding hardware, special consideration is warranted given that nearly every cellular phone, personal computer, workstation, tablet and other computing devices and home appliances compromise the privacy and security of those using them. Such devices use proprietary firmware and hardware architectures which cannot and should not be trusted. For example, every computer containing an Intel or AMD processor and motherboard since 2006 and 2013, respectively, also contain proprietary backdoors.

Regarding computer operating systems, proprietary operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, should never be used by anyone who values their privacy, nor by those who are not educated enough to understand why privacy is of paramount importance since doing so can compromise those they communicate with digitally.