OS Best Practices

🐧 Linux (Debian)

Area Details

Updates

Area	Details
Updates	`sudo apt update` → refresh package lists `sudo apt upgrade` → install available updates `sudo apt full-upgrade` → upgrade including dependency changes `sudo apt dist-upgrade` → handle more complex dependency changes `sudo apt autoremove` → remove unnecessary packages
Configuration	Set up a cron job to run every 5 minutes and ping a health‑check URL: `/5 * * * curl -fsS -m 10 --retry 5 -o /dev/null https://hc-ping.com/...;` This ensures the system reports availability regularly to a monitoring service.

Configuration

Set up a cron job to run every 5 minutes and ping a health‑check URL:

*/5 * * * * curl -fsS -m 10 --retry 5 -o /dev/null https://hc-ping.com/...;

This ensures the system reports availability regularly to a monitoring service.

Category	Tools
Must to have	htop – interactive process viewer fastfetch – system information tool net-tools – legacy networking utilities (ifconfig, netstat, route) joe – nostalgic text editor
Nice to have	git – version control system ncdu – disk usage analyzer tmux – terminal multiplexer that lets you split windows dash to dock – gnome extension providing easier access to running apps

Area	Details
Configurations	Enable FileVault for disk encryption Activate Firewall in System Settings Configure Dock, Mission Control, Trackpad/Keyboard, and iCloud sync Set up Time Machine for backups
Dock	Finder, Launchpad, Safari, Whatsapp, Messages, Facetime, Calendar, Reminders, Home, Notes, Screenshot, Photos, App Store, System Settings, Calculator, Passwords, Terminal, MS OneNote, ADGuard VPN, Copilot, Visual Studio Code

Category	Tools
Must to have	Homebrew – package manager for installing and managing software Amphetamine – keep Mac awake and prevent sleep The Unarchiver – lightweight archive extraction tool VLC Media Player – universal multimedia player
Nice to have	Rectangle – window management utility Alfred – productivity launcher with workflows iTerm2 – advanced terminal emulator Cleanshot X – Screen snippet tool with perfect usability

Area	Details
Privacy Script	Chris Titus Winutil – privacy optimization & debloating
Taskbar	File Explorer, Browser, MS Outlook, MS Teams, MS OneNote, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Notepad, Snipping Tool, Terminal

Category	Tools
Must to have	Notepad++ – advanced text editor 7-Zip – file compression and archive manager Microsoft PowerToys – productivity utilities for Windows VLC Media Player – universal multimedia player
Nice to have	KeePass – secure password manager PuTTY – SSH and Telnet client for remote connections SumatraPDF – lightweight and fast PDF, eBook, and document reader Rufus – bootable USB creation utility