UPDATE: To everyone who suggested YUNO, thank you so much. This seems like it is about to make my journey much easier. It is basically almost exactly what I was looking for, but I was unaware that it existed.
Thank you ALL for your suggestions, actually. It’s a bit overwhelming for an almost complete noobie but I an going to look into all of the suggestions in time. I just saw that there were several mentions of YUNO so I decided to make that one of the first things I investigated.

So, about two months ago, I had a very eye opening experience. As the result of a single misconfigured security setting on my Android, I was locked out of my Google Account on my phone AND all of my PCs. I had no access whatsoever to Google, or any of the literally hundreds of services that I get through Google.

This is when I realized that I relied entirely on Google/Android because those two days were actually very difficult, being cut off from media, services, passwords, everything, from the past almost twenty years of my life, could be taken away from me in an instant. The decades of my life that were locked away in my Google Account included hundreds of thousands of pictures, almost a hundred thousand audio tracks, several hundred books, several hundred apps, thousands of videos, etc. ad infinitum. Unfortunately, very little of this material was backed up at that point. That is my fault. Also, the misconfigured security setting was my fault as well.

The amount of data, media, memories, services, etc. that would have been lost is actually endless and it would have affected my life in several ridiculously negative ways.

Luckily, in the end, I was able to get my access back and then basically immediately grabbed all of the several terabytes of information and media of mine that they had, and that I was almost locked out of. I have it all in my house now on a drive in my computer, with a backup made on another disconnected disk.

I then decided that no corporation was ever going to have such an insanely high level of influence on and control over my entire life and my media ever again. That experience was actually very scary.

I’ve been trying to get into SelfHosting, but am finding it quite daunting and difficult.

There is a LOT of stuff that I have to learn, and I am mostly unsure of where to even begin. I know basically nothing about networking.

I need to learn the very basic stuff and work my way up from there, but everything that I’ve seen on the Internet assumes that the reader already has a basic to intermediate understanding of networking and the subjects that surround it. I do not, but I am going to learn.

I just need someone to show me where to start.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

  • x00z@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    You seem to imply you also want to selfhost some email service. But that’s sadly one of the few things that will always be better at a trusted third party email provider.

    Besides that it seems the most important thing you want is pure data storage, and that kind of selfhosting is not hard. In many cases one would not even consider it as part of “selfhosting” as it can be as simple as a local NAS or external HDD.

    So my question is what do you actually want to accomplish? Because I think for a lot of your concerns you don’t even need to go and host something.

    • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 days ago

      I don’t want to replace email, per se. More so, the services that come along with it. Stuff like photo storage and sync, notes and reminder sync, calendar sync, and a lot of the hundreds of other small things that I have just been leaving up to Google that would cause a huge problem for me if I lost access.

      I have the password situation handled with KeePassXC on my PCs and KeePassDX on my phone, but that’s about as far as I have come as of yet.

      • BlackPenguins@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Note taking? Joplin. It’s been amazing for me and replaced Evernote after they started with their BS.

        Photo storage. Been using Photo prism but I’m open to a better one.

      • Pika@sh.itjust.works
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        Keepass is a great way of password management, I use keepass as well. I also use syncthing to sync my password database across all devices and then I have the server acting as the “always on” device so I have access to all passwords at all times. Works amazing because syncthing can also be setup so when a file is modified by another device, it makes a backup of the original file and moves it to a dedicated folder (with retention settings so you can have them cleaned every so often). Life is so much easier.

        For photo access you can look into immich, its a little more of an advanced setup but, I have immich looking at my photos folder in syncthing on the server, and using that location as the source. This allows me to use one directory for both photo hosting and backup/sync

  • SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    get your password situation squared away! every time i spin something new up i am grateful to have a pw manager to keep it all unique and maximum character limit

    don’t even have to memorize the user of a lot of em

  • Saltarello@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I’m 100% self taught & was in exactly the same place. I’d never used Linux before I got my first Pi. I spent a bit of time trying to familiarise myself with & made some notes regarding command line (notes I still rely on).

    There’a so many ways to achieve the goal, you’ll eventually find a way that works for you. My personal preference was Docker/Docker Compose deployed via Portainer.

    Even that was confusing. Until I found this excellent video on how to read Docker requirements & apply them step by step into Portainer. He explains slowly & methodically exactly what he is doing & why.

    Portainer is a method of handling Docker stacks/containers via a web UI. Both Docker & Portainer are simple to install.

    It’s easier to use Docker Compose files and/or .env (environment variable) files (both are even simpler to deploy through Portainer) but this video taught me what was going on & gave me confidence to have a go. What attracted me to Docker is you can easily remove stacks/containers if/when you make a mess rather than wiping the drive & start again, which is how I went about things initially.

    This gave me the tools to set up Nginx Proxy Manager & I never looked back.

    As you’ve realised, a robust backup solution is essential (plus off site backup for particularly important stuff) as things will inevitably go wrong along the way (I see Borg, Restic mentioned often, I went for Kopia).

    I can’t recommend highly enough making detailed notes along the way, I rely on Joplin.

    If you start using Docker, dont fall into the trap of using the “latest” tag. If you know the version number you’re running its far easier to re-deploy if an update is bad.

    Enjoy your new time consuming, teeth gnashingly frustrating …and yet rewarding hobby 👍

  • Leszek@genomic.social
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    5 days ago

    Hi @MTZ , #selfhosting could be a move in the right direction for you. I started managing my own servers over 10 years ago, locally, from my home, later VPS and finally again from my home. Eventually I moved toward @yunohost - it simplifies a lot of things! I documented some my experiences at https://wasi.ovh/
    Start small: setup file/photo sync (@nextcloud), calendars and contacts and gradually start adding data from old backups once you feel comfortable.
    Have fun and good luck :)

    • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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      Thanks for the suggestions! Someone else has mentioned YUNOHost and that is definitely on my radar and my mental list of things to look into!

  • branch@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Install Virtualbox (or some software to handle virtual machines).
    Install Debian (or some other OS of your choice, I won’t judge if you prefer Windows).
    Update your OS (apt update && apt upgrade -y on Debian).
    Take a snapshot of your VM’s current state after updating. Saves a lot of time if you mess up or want a clean slate.

    Now you decide on what you want. Do you want to install n8n or Node-RED for automation? Do you want to use Immich for pictures? Paperless to save papers in a digital format? Audiobookshelf to listen on your books or podcasts? Jellyfin to stream your media? Set up a Minecraft or Factorio server?

    Once you have decided on what you want to do, try to do it in your virtual machine.
    Once you understand how to set it up and configure it to your liking, decide on how you want to host it. I took an office computer, added a few HDDs and replaced the case with a bigger one and it’s now my home server, but any old laptop will do. Just make sure to take backups.

    I used to have a Dell R710 and a virtual machine for each service I hosted, but I have moved to docker because it as simple as taking the often provided compose file, tweaking it a bit (where to store data etc) and running it with docker compose up -d.

    • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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      It’s a great idea to run it in a VM first, because I’m bound to make mistakes along the way. Awesome advice! I’m definitely going to be referencing your comment throughout the process! Saved!

      • branch@lemmy.world
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        I had a Raspberry Pi once and wanted to move file from the current folder to some other folder. I typed mv /* /path/to/folder/ and move everything in the root directory and down to this other folder.

        EDIT: Meant to say that snapshots are cheap backups. I ended up reinstalled the OS.

        Correct would have been dot slash: mv ./* /path/to/folder/

  • antsu@discuss.tchncs.de
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    Damn, that’s scary indeed! First of all, congratulations on your resolve to take control of your data. You have a long journey ahead of you, but don’t be discouraged, take one step at a time and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

    As for where to start, I think you’ve already figured it out yourself: invest some time in learning the basics of networking. You don’t need to become an enterprise-level networking wizard, just learn the basics: learn what an IP address is, what a network mask is (sometimes also referred to as “prefix length”), what DNS is and does, how to change these settings on your home network and why you’d want to change them. Try stuff, break it, fix it, repeat. Also, if you’re not familiar with or already using it, it might be a good opportunity to pick up Linux. If you’re coming from Windows, a beginner friendly distribution like Linux Mint will do nicely. Try installing it on an old computer to see what it’s like, poke at it until you’re comfortable, then maybe make it your main operating system. Knowing Linux basics (command-line shenanigans in particular) will give you a big edge when you decide to start hosting your own services.

    • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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      I’m not very familiar at all with Linux. I have used a few distros here and there where the majority of the work is done in a GUI. The CLI intimidates me, hahaha. I began exploring distros through WSL a little while back. I still haven’t “dove in” yet though.

      As far as the networking terms that you used, I have at least a slight grasp on all of that and what the different network “components” do, but I do not yet know how to implement or configure most of the things that you mentioned.

      • monkeyman512@lemmy.world
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        This is an area where AI can be helpful. Tell the AI what Linux distro your on and what you want to do. Most of the time it will give you pretty good answer. If you don’t understand what it is telling you to do, ask it to explain the thing in detail. Most important thing though is to always verify what it tells you before you run stuff. Google search specific commands or use the “man” command to get documentation. The key thing is the AI can make you aware of CLI commands and tools more easily then trying to find what you need on your own.

        • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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          This seems to be an extremely valuable resource. I love the GitHub awesome lists, and I definitely starred this one as a reference point!

  • Caveman@lemmy.world
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    I’d recommend starting by hosting a nextcloud instance.

    1. Get a desktop computer, pretty much anything will do but having room to add more HDD is important.
    2. Install Linux distro like Ubuntu or something
    3. Get a static IP so your IP doesn’t change
    4. Setup a router port forwarding rule so that an outside address points to your nextcloud instance.

    Then do some optional steps:

    • Automatically turn on PC when power comes back on (BIOS setting)
    • Startup script that runs nextcloud on startup
    • Install docker to manage services like nextcloud
    • Add some remote desktop thingy to manage your server from your laptop (ssh is also good but a steeper learning curve)
    • Get a NAS for storing data with redundancy.
    • Have some other form of backup like your current Google account, cloud provider or one of your mates with a similar setup.

    That’s pretty much what you need to start hosting your own files, then later on you can setup a email server, media server like Jellyfin, homepage and everything.

    Just go one step at a time and when you hit an issue you can and should ask Google or ChatGPT. Remember, everything exposed to the Internet is vulnerable so take security seriously. Always have everything protected by a decently long password, pairing requirement with your server confirming adding a device or an API key.

  • non_burglar@lemmy.world
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    I’m about 90% decoupled from Google, it’s been a journey.

    I’m at the difficult stage of contemplating how to decom my gmail email, and the Google account itself.

    I’ll throw my hat in the ring and offer any help if you need it. Similar to others here, I suggest you start with something discrete like photos.

    • Damage@feddit.it
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      I’m at the difficult stage of contemplating how to decom my gmail email, and the Google account itself.

      I have a couple of domains at OVH, and for the last few years I’ve been using email aliases when making accounts, all redirecting to my Gmail. The other day I had enough, created a mailbox on one of the domains, changed all aliases to this new address, and installed Thunderbird mobile. So far it’s been going well.
      The webmail runs roundcube, which is usable but not great. The biggest problem I’ve had is the inability to create automatic filters.

      Edit: forgot about the calendar, I’ve moved that to my Nextcloud instance

      • non_burglar@lemmy.world
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        I moved my calendar to Nextcloud, then radicale. My contacts too. Gmail is just a wean away.

        My problem is how I’ll be able to deal with work apps like ms authentication. Even if I set up a 2nd “normal” phone for work only, I need to sign in to the play store to get the app… Its a chicken-and-egg problem.

        • Damage@feddit.it
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          Right, forgot about the contacts, those are on Nextcloud as well. What’s the advantage of radicale over NC?

          I still run the play store, but I get what I can from F-Droid. I’m not familiar with the MS authentication app, but I use Ente Auth, idk if that’s comparable.

          • non_burglar@lemmy.world
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            What’s the advantage of radicale over NC?

            Functionally, they work the same. I got kinda tired of fixing NC every other upgrade, though. It was always some “occ add missing indices” or some similar garbage. Like just solve this, already. Make that part of the upgrade.

            • Damage@feddit.it
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              5 days ago

              Hmmm, luckily I haven’t had issues so far, but I’m using the AIO docker container

  • DaGeek247@fedia.io
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    6 days ago

    Honestly? Don’t do the whole switch, or even a big switch from a few services to another.

    Start small. Very small. Try doing just one service you rely on, like your images or music. Immich just announced their first stable release. I use navidrome for my music. Make sure to test these on a copy of your data, not your actual data.

    Once you’ve got one service working as you want it to do, then you can try your hand at another service. This way, you don’t get stuck trying to do everything all at once.

    It may be worth considering how much (if any) you want to spend at the start, too. That’ll inform your next immediate task; setting up basic backups for your data. A spare drive is a good start, but it may be worth keeping another one at your parents house, or similar.

    • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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      That is exactly my plan, to have this set as a long term goal with several incremental micro-goals, as opposed to attempting to do it all in a weekend. I figure making it a long term thing gives me much more of a chance to actually learn what it is that I am doing. Plus, at my level (no real networking knowledge to speak of) trying to do this in a weekend sounds like a nightmare, lol.

      • BruisedMoose@piefed.social
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        5 days ago

        An “I Wish I Had …” addition to this: maybe start something like Wiki.js or Joplin that you will then use to document what you do as you go. Keep a record of your process so that you can work your way back if you need.

        • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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          5 days ago

          Great suggestion! I will definitely implement something like that.

  • RandomStickman@fedia.io
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    5 days ago

    I wanna say thank you for making this post OP. I’ve got a spare laptop that I want to try to turn into my own cloud server but I find the endeavour similarly hard as well. I’ll be looking at the tips in the comments. Good luck OP!

  • Willdrick@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I will probably get flogged by this answer but here it goes:

    I’d throw you right into the deep end: get a spare machine (an old laptop or PC) and install proxmox on it. Play around, breaks shit, delete the container/VM and start over.

    Grab stuff from the Community Helper Scripts and see new stuff, try alternatives, see what works for you and don’t be afraid of breaking stuff.

    It takes a bit longer and some basic concepts might fly over your head, but the stuff you learn like this, you learn by heart.

    It’s been a few years since I started tinkering with a laptop with a busted video output circuit. Now I serve NextCloud and Immich to my family, keep receipts and documents neatly organised on Paperless, have a decent arr stack and a bunch of extra goodies. All from “a PC without video? Might as well make a server” now with a proper machine with several drives on ZFS pools, health checks and redundancy.

    Its a helluva rabbit hole.

    • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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      I was unaware that those Community Helper Scripts existed! They should definitely be helpful at some point down the road!

      • Willdrick@lemmy.world
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        I didn’t start with a spare, so by the time I was semi-reliant on my self hosted stuff, a breakage was an issue. Also I started with bare Linux, then CasaOS. There was no easy rollback from snapshot/restore backup like on proxmox

  • q7mJI7tk1@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Backup. I use Backblaze personal which is $179 for two years of ‘unlimited’ storage. All my important self hosted data is duped to some old 2.5" external drives connected to my work machine that then is backing up to Backblaze. I also have 1yr retention, so any deleted file is accessible for up to 1yr.

    After backups are sorted, stick with the OS you know best. If Windows (I hope not), then HyperV for VMs is good. Try the official Nextcloud VM from Hanson IT. Nextcloud is a good catch-all, but it’s beaten by other specific tools. I now host all I need from specific Docker containers: photos, calendar, email backup etc etc

    But I would say Docker. Docker desktop if Macos or Windows if your thing. Get to know docker and the world of self hosting is your oyster.

    As what others say, keep it all to your home network and tread carefully when trying to remote access it all.

      • q7mJI7tk1@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I can’t quite figure out the downvotes to my first reply for suggesting backups and docker… I think my mention of Windows did it (do please avoid Windows for what it’s worth).

        If you have reliable, easy to access backups, then it takes away the doubt of self-hosting. Hence the suggestion for Backblaze as it’s so easy to implement. Put in an encryption key and your remote data is private. I use it for everything except Plex media, which is something I wouldn’t care if I lost.

        I jumped to Unraid about 2 years ago and haven’t looked back. Docker on Unraid is as easy to use as it gets, and now my confidence with it has grown and my demands are getting slightly more complex, I’m moving to Dockge for Docker stacks, and Pangolin on a Hetzner VPS for remote access. Hetzner have a great firewall feature for your VPS, so you can lock it down to home access to get you started once you start on a VPS journey.

        But I would recommend Unraid for sure on ANY old HP desktop PC from eBay. I got an Z1 i9-9900, 32Gb RAM for £250. Bonkers cheap for what it is.

        Good luck!

  • Da Oeuf@slrpnk.net
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    6 days ago

    Check out YUNOhost - it’s pre-configured for you and designed for beginners. Mine’s been running for about three years on a VPS with no problems and I had no previous experience with self-hosting.

    Definitely keep your files backed up locally though. No server is invincible.

    • MTZ@lemmy.worldOP
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      I will certainly look into that. I’ve never heard of YUNOhost but I’m going to give it a look soon!

      • Da Oeuf@slrpnk.net
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        5 days ago

        Do it! It’s madness that YUNOhost is not more well-known, considering what it does.