

for a homelab I don’t think it’s feasible to fully review the source code of everything you install
Here’s what you can actually do:
- Consider if you actually need the application and stop applications you don’t use
- Don’t allow public access unless it is necessary, consider VPN/reverse proxies with client authentication (if supported)
- isolate applications that don’t need to talk to each other
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- see also rootless podman, firewalls, virtual machines, etc
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- don’t forget network access, if everything runs on 127.0.0.1 and every service shares it then they can all talk to each other! (See also network namespaces or VMs)
- Don’t reuse passwords
- keep software up to date
- actually evaluate the quality of the project if it needs access to sensitive information
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- see open issues, closed issues that stand out
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- check for audits or at least a history of good effort™
Sure you wont always catch ai slop this way but you don’t need to read a line of code to at least be reasonably sure your arr stack won’t get to the family photos.







That is if they can’t pay for the products through the revenue of the review. Though ofc they still have to have ads or sponsors. Much more important is if they are financially stable and convicted enough not to sell out.