There are going to be more services you need than http and https. You’ll also need to allow DNS queries and a way to keep your time updated, for instance.

The advantage of blocking incoming connections is that each potentially vulnerable network service isn’t automatically exposed to the internet. Blocking outgoing connections isn’t going to improve your security much, considering that any compromised service trying to phone home could just use http, the same protocol your browser uses.

It would still matter that your OS isn’t up to date. For instance, if there is ever a vulnerability in the way Windows 10 renders an image format that allows remote code execution, Microsoft will not give you a patch.

If you must remain on Windows 10, the best way to reduce attack surface is going to be to uninstall as much software as possible that you don’t use.

If you only use a browser, then you could have a quite seemless transition to Linux. That way you can have an up-to-date system. The vast majority of browsers support it natively, including Chrome and Edge.

I just hope there will eventually be a solution that doesn’t require tired server owners to sift through registrations and posts all day.

Except most extensions need to collect some data to work. Unless you want firefox to die, this isn’t a great idea.

What exactly is your concern? It’s a decentralized service, so it’s not as if any of your data has to be controlled by them to use it

I would definitely encourage you to edit the link for this post to include the correct one!

And then you use a centralized service by Google to redirect the link rather than just using the link itself. 🙁

Here’s the actual link: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/we-need-to-go-beyond-signal-how-todays-aws-outage-shows-the-weaknesses-of-centralized-apps

To be fair, it is $100/mo, so there is a premium for their privacy benefits.