since I don’t want to pay for SSL certificates to setup https.

You don't need to pay for SSL certs anymore, most of the time. You can get them for free from a bunch of different places now. I use Let's Encrypt. The web server/reverse proxy I use, Caddy is able to automatically get a cert for you, install it, and keep it renewed. The only time you need to pay for a cert is if you are handling financial transactions.

Are there security issues I should address preemptively?

WordPress itself has a generally good reputation for security, though depending on how the current drama goes, that may change. WordPress security problems have almost always stemmed from plugins or poor password hygiene. Remove any plugins you are not actively using, keep the ones you are using updated, and use a good password that you don't use anywhere else. A password wallet like Bit Warden can generate and store such passwords for you.

Better on the security front would be to evaluate whether you actually need something like WordPress at all. A static site would likely be far more secure. There's less moving parts that might be vulnerable.

While you could program a static site yourself, it's more common nowadays to use a static site generator like Hugo to build the site. You set it up once for how you want the site to look and then you write your posts in markdown or whatever your particular generator uses.

I don’t have anything to manage my dynamic IP

Most domain name providers have some sort of setup for dealing with dynamic IP addresses, a program called ddclient is pretty common and is available in most repos.

Well, crap.

I seem to remember a scene in Babylon 5 where Vir got sick eating at a place that sounded like a rebranded McDonalds. Londo was chastising him saying you know Centauri stomachs can’t handle fast food. I wish I had time to rewatch that show.

I’m short on time, but here’s the general idea. Telegrams front end, the part you use I the open source part. The backend is the closed off part. The two parts are separate but communicate via a protocol, kinda like email. The forked project can change anything they want, to make it do whatever they want, but it still needs to be able to speak to the backend server.

Well, Marshall Mathers in his Slim Shady persona would be interesting. Not sure who I would pair him up with for VP though.

I figure after 4 years of Slim Shady as President, we would either have world peace or the world would be in pieces.

There is no option. There is too much variation in the various phone chips for the hardware hacking community to reverse engineer more than a bare handful. And as soon as the hardware has been reverse engineered, it will never be used again by a manufacturer making the exercise largely pointless.

Add to that, the fact that Qualcomm actively discourages long term support of their chips….

That's a site I haven't heard of in a while.

I’m not familiar with the software in question but generally your options are (in order of my personal preference):

1. Purchase the license and use it legally.
2. Find a suitable open source or at least free (as in beer) alternative.
3. Run the warez in a dedicated VM that doesn’t have network access. Or rather doesn’t have network access after downloading the software in question. This can break some modern software that requires an internet connection though.

If you’re intent on option 3, Virtual Box is a decent (though not great) free software for hosting VMs. Windows can be obtained from microsoft.com and doesn’t actually require registration or a license key (At least Win 10 didn’t, not sure about 11). Once the OS has been installed and the software has been downloaded you can easily disable the network interface from Virtual Box’s interface. From the VMs perspective it will be as if it suddenly doesn’t have a network interface anymore. You can then safely install and run whatever. Things cannot phone home if there isn’t a “phone” available.

I’ll be honest, didn’t realize this was news to anyone online in general. What is posted online stays online, particularly if you wish it didn’t. Most especially if you make a stink about it.

You might try Tailscale or Wire Guard. Either can be used to create a mesh VPN that can include any device you want. Connect your devices to the VPN then you just access it like it is on your local network. Of the two I use Tailscale. Dead simple to setup on pretty much any device.

I looked into Nextcloud, but that requires paying for a domain

Depending on what installation method you choose to go with, you don't need a domain. It's just very much helpful to have one. Especially if you decide to have it public facing. Plus domains are cheap. A bigger issue for us self hosters is dealing with dynamic IPs. Most of the time you can buy a static IP from your ISP, but if that is not an option, most domain providers provide a way to deal with variable IP addresses.

And yes, Tailscale does ignore dynamic IP addresses. I think Wire Guard does as well as Tailscale is built on Wire Guard.

I'm willing to put up with Lemmy's glitches. The vast majority of admins, mods, and developers are volunteers doing what they do (largely for free) simply because they think it's worth doing. If it were a product I paid for I would not be near as chill about it.

Lemmy was a fairly young project when everyone started piling in from Reddit. If the glitches you're experiencing bother you that badly, perhaps consider contributing to the project, the network or your homeserver. Open source projects work best when everyone contributes what they can, when they can and as they can.

I mean, idk what the Instant Ink plans are like.

I’ve used them. Basically it just turns your printer purchase into a printer rental.

It’s not a bad deal, necessarily, but if your card declines for any reason, HP bricks your printer (including non-printer functionality) until you pay up. And printing more than your chosen plan allows can get pricey real quick. As little as I print, though, a laser printer was a more reliable option and much cheaper long term.

iRobot does something similar with their Select program. Like HP’s Instant Ink, it’s a great deal for some folks, not so much for others.