u/Spoopy_Ghosties

Hello!

I've recently take on an officer position for my college's cyberserucity club. I'm trying to come up with very low cost, or free projects to do for them. One of the recommendations I keep seeing is making a home lab, but even 50 USD per member gets pricey quickly. So I thought what old tech do most people have around and came to the conclusion everyone has at least one old smartphone. But here is the problem, I have no experience making any home labs/data storage devices. So is it possible to make a simple data storage/personal cloud with an old cellphone? I figured you could probably use a Linux distro and tech them to side load and set up the basics server on their old phones, but I have no idea how to do so.

So if anyone has any resources or guides they think stand out that would be great help! I'm pretty overwhelmed by all the information so far, and I'm not sure who is more trustworthy etc.

I could really use some advice here because this situation doesn’t feel right.

I booked a beach house through Vrbo that was listed as having three bedrooms. The listing description and photos clearly showed all bedrooms located in the main part of the house. However, when I arrived, I discovered that the “third bedroom” was actually in a renovated garage on the ground floor, something that was never disclosed. The listing specifically described that space as a game room, not a bedroom, and there were no photos showing a bed in that area.

On top of that, the condition of the property was unacceptable. The garage “bedroom” had a strong mildew smell and visible mold spots. The house overall wasn’t well cleaned (dust and mold on vents), and most concerning, there was what appeared to be blood on the couch in the main living area.

I reached out to the host and Vrbo support, but neither has been helpful. The host dismissed my concerns, saying I have “high cleaning standards,” which I don’t think is fair expecting no mold, mildew, or blood seems pretty reasonable. They also insist the game room has always been the third bedroom, despite the listing and photos suggesting otherwise.

Vrbo support told me they can’t issue a refund and that only the host can, offering me just a $100 credit instead. I paid a significant amount for this stay (using Klarna for payments), and I didn’t feel comfortable staying there at all.

Am I overreacting here, or does this seem like a clear case of misrepresentation and unsafe conditions? Is it normal for Vrbo to refuse to step in like this? I feel like I’ve been scammed and don’t know what my next steps should be.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.