Hardware and Software Hacks

Updated 1 January 2026

These hacks are too small to warrant separate pages.

Disable the Laptop Camera

Keeping a desktop or laptop camera enabled all the time can be a privacy concern. If you have a desktop computer, and are using a USB camera, you can either unplug it or turn it off if it has an on/off switch. If you have a laptop, use inxi -G to get the driver name at the terminal. For my laptop, it's uvcvideo. To disable it, use:

echo "blacklist uvcvideo" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-webcam.conf

Reboot and it's disabled. To reenable it, use:

sudo rm -v /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-webcam.conf

Again, reboot and it's enabled.

Disable AI in Firefox

Put about:config in the address bar and hit enter.

Find browser.ml. and change all instances of "true" to "false".

Restart the web browser.

Enforce Single Instance in Firefox

Edit the launcher and add --new-tab about:newtab, like this:

firefox --new-tab about:newtab %u

Instead of opening a new window each time it's launched, it opens a blank tab.

Enforce Single Instance in Geany

Edit the launcher and add /path/to/file.txt, like this:

geany /path/to/file.txt %F

Instead of opening a new window each time it's launched, it focuses on that existing tab.

Enforce Single Instance in Nemo

Edit the launcher and add --existing-window, like this:

nemo --existing-window %U

Instead of opening a new window each time it's launched, it opens another "home" directory as the next tab.

Keep the Wi-Fi On

Edit /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

Change the 3 to a 2 for wifi.powersave. Use iwconfig in the terminal to verify the change.

Self-Hosted Password Managers

I use Bitwarden on my computers and phones because it's secure and convenient. If I ever decide not to use it, I'll use "KeepassXC" on my computers and "KeepassDX" on my phones.

Use Compact Bookmarks in Firefox

Put about:config in the address bar and hit enter.

Find browser.compactmode.show and change it from "false" to "true".

Right-click next to the address bar and choose "Customize Toolbar", then choose compact density at the bottom.