TOPIC: DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM
Security is a behaviour, not a tick-box
11th February 2026
Cybersecurity is often discussed in terms of controls and compliance, yet most security failures begin and end with human action. A growing body of practice now places behaviour at the centre, drawing on psychology, neuroscience, history and economics to help people replace old habits with new ones. George Finney's Well Aware Security have built its entire approach around this idea, reframing awareness training as a driver of measurable outcomes rather than a box-ticking exercise, with coaches helping colleagues identify and build upon their existing strengths. It is also personal by design, using insights about how minds work to guide change one habit at a time rather than expecting wholesale transformation overnight.
This emphasis on behaviour is not a dismissal of technical skill so much as a reminder that skill alone is insufficient. Security is not a competency you either possess or lack; it is a behaviour that can be learned, reinforced and normalised. As social beings, we have always gathered for mutual protection, meaning the desire to contribute to collective security is already present in most people. Turning that impulse into daily action requires structure and patience, and it thrives when a supportive culture takes root.
Culture matters because norms are powerful. In a team where speed and convenience consistently override prudence, individuals who try to do the right thing can feel isolated. Conversely, when an organisation embraces cybersecurity at every level, a small group can create sufficient leverage to shift practices across the whole business. Research has found that organisations with below-average culture ratings are significantly more likely to experience a data breach than their peers, and controls alone cannot close that gap when behaviours are pulling in the opposite direction.
This is why advocates of habit-based security speak of changing one step at a time, celebrating progress and maintaining momentum. The same thinking underpins practical measures at home and at work, where small changes in how devices and data are managed can reduce risk materially without making technology difficult to use.
Network-Wide Blocking with Pi-hole
One concrete example of this approach is network-wide blocking of advertising and tracking domains using a DNS sinkhole. Pi-hole has become popular because it protects all devices on a network without requiring any client-side software to be installed on each one. It runs lightly on Linux, blocks content outside the browser (such as within mobile apps and smart TVs) and can optionally act as a DHCP server so that new devices are protected automatically upon joining the network.
Pi-hole's web dashboard surfaces insights into DNS queries and blocked domains, while a command-line interface and an API offer further control for those who need it. It caches DNS responses to speed up everyday browsing, supports both IPv4 and IPv6, and scales from small households to environments handling very high query volumes. The project is free and open source, sustained by donations and volunteer effort.
Choosing What to Block
Selecting what to block is a point at which behaviour and technology intersect. It is tempting to load every available blocklist in the hope of maximum protection, but as Avoid the Hack notes in its detailed guide to Pi-hole blocklists, more is not always better. Many lists draw from common sources, so stacking them can add redundancy without improving coverage and may increase false positives (instances where legitimate sites are mistakenly blocked).
The most effective approach begins by considering what you want to block and why, then balancing that against the requirements of your devices and services. Blocking every Microsoft domain, for instance, could disrupt operating system updates or break websites that rely on Azure. Likewise, blacklisting all domains belonging to a streaming or gaming platform may render apps unusable. Aggressive configurations are possible, but they work best when paired with careful allow-listing of domains essential to your services. Allow lists require ongoing upkeep as services move or change, so they are not a one-off exercise.
Recommended Blocklists
A practical starting point is the well-maintained Steven Black unified hosts file, which consolidates several reputable sources and many users find sufficient straight away. From there, curated collections help tailor coverage further. EasyList provides a widely trusted foundation for blocking advertising and integrates with browser extensions such as uBlock Origin, while its companion list EasyPrivacy can add stronger tracking protection at the cost of occasional breakage on certain sites.
Hagezi maintains a comprehensive set of DNS blocklists, including "multi" variants of different sizes and aggression levels, built from numerous sources. Selecting one of the multi variants is usually preferable to layering many individual category lists, which can reintroduce the overlap you were trying to avoid. Firebog organises its lists by risk: green entries carry a lower risk of causing breakage, while blue entries are more aggressive, giving you the option to mix and match according to your comfort level.
Some projects bundle many sources into a single combination list. OISD is one such option, with its Basic variant focusing mainly on advertisements, Full extending to malware, scams, phishing, telemetry and tracking, and a separate NSFW set covering adult content. OISD updates roughly every 24 hours and is comprehensive enough that many users would not need additional lists. The trade-off is placing a significant degree of trust in a single maintainer and limiting the ability to assign different rule sets to different device groups within Pi-hole, so it is worth weighing convenience against flexibility before committing.
The Blocklist Project organises themed lists covering advertising, tracking, malware, phishing, fraud and social media domains, and these work with both Pi-hole and AdGuard Home. The project completed a full rebuild of its underlying infrastructure, replacing an inconsistent mix of scripts with a properly tested Python pipeline, automated validation on pull requests and a cleaner build process.
Existing list URLs are unchanged, so anyone already using the project's lists need not reconfigure anything. That said, the broader principle holds regardless of which project you use: blocklists can become outdated if not actively maintained, reducing their effectiveness over time.
Using Regular Expressions
For more granular control, Pi-hole supports regular expressions to match domain patterns. Regex entries are powerful and can be applied both to block and to allow traffic, but they reward specificity. Broad patterns risk false positives that break legitimate services, so community-maintained regex recommendations are a safer starting point than writing everything from scratch. Pi-hole's own documentation explains how expressions are evaluated in detail. Used judiciously, regex rules extend what list-based blocking can achieve without turning maintenance into an ongoing burden.
Installing Pi-hole
Installation is straightforward. Pi-hole can be deployed in a Linux container or directly on a supported operating system using an automated installer that asks a handful of questions and configures everything in under ten minutes. Once running, you point clients to use it as their DNS resolver, either by setting DHCP options on your router, so devices adopt it automatically, or by updating network settings on each device individually. Pairing Pi-hole with a VPN extends ad blocking to mobile devices when away from home, so limited data plans go further by not downloading unwanted content. Day-to-day management is handled via the web interface, where you can add domains to block or allow lists, review query logs, view long-term statistics and audit entries, with privacy modes that can be tuned to your environment.
Device-Level Adjustments
Network filtering is one layer in a defence-in-depth approach, and a few small device-level changes can reduce friction without sacrificing safety. Bitdefender's Safepay, for example, is designed to isolate banking and shopping sessions within a hardened browser environment. If its prompts become intrusive, you can turn off notifications by opening the Bitdefender interface, selecting Privacy, then Safepay settings, and toggling off both Safepay notifications and the option to use a VPN with Safepay. Bookmarked sites can still auto-launch Safepay unless you also disable the automatic-opening option. Even with notifications suppressed, you can start Safepay manually from the dashboard whenever you want the additional protection.
On Windows, unwanted prompts from Microsoft Edge about setting it as the default browser can be handled without resorting to arcane steps. The Windows Club covers the full range of methods available. Dismissing the banner by clicking "Not now" several times usually prevents it from reappearing, though a browser update or reset may bring the message back. Advanced users can disable the recommendations via edge://flags, or apply a registry policy under HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftEdge by setting DefaultBrowserSettingEnabled to 0. In older environments such as Windows 7, a Group Policy setting exists to stop Edge checking whether it is the default browser. These changes should be made with care, particularly in managed environments where administrators enforce default application associations across the estate.
Knowing What Your Devices Reveal
Awareness also begins with understanding what your devices reveal to the wider internet. Services like WhatIsMyIP.com display your public IP address, the approximate location derived from it and your internet service provider. For most home users, a public IP address is dynamic rather than fixed, meaning it can change when a router restarts or when an ISP reallocates addresses; on mobile networks it may change more frequently still as devices move between towers and routing systems.
Such tools also provide lookups for DNS and WHOIS information, and they explain the difference between public and private addressing. Complementary checks from WhatIsMyBrowser.com summarise your browser version, whether JavaScript and cookies are enabled, and whether known trackers or ad blockers are detected. Sharing that information with support teams can make troubleshooting considerably faster, since it quickly narrows down where problems are likely to sit.
Protecting Your Accounts
Checking for Breached Credentials
Account security is another area where habits do most of the heavy lifting. Checking whether your email address appears in known data breaches via Have I Been Pwned helps you decide when to change passwords or enable stronger protections. The service, created by security researcher Troy Hunt, tracks close to a thousand breached websites and over 17.5 billion compromised accounts, and offers notifications as well as a searchable dataset. Finding your address in a breach does not mean your account has been taken over, but it does mean you should avoid reusing passwords and should enable two-factor authentication wherever it is available.
Two-Factor Authentication
Authenticator apps provide time-based codes that attackers cannot guess, even when armed with a reused password. Aegis Authenticator is a free, open-source option for Android that stores your tokens in an encrypted vault with optional biometric unlock. It offers a clean interface with multiple themes, supports icons for quick identification and allows import and export from a wide range of other apps. Backups can be automatic, and you remain in full control, since the app works entirely offline without advertisements or tracking.
For users who prefer cloud backup and multi-device synchronisation, Authy from Twilio offers a popular alternative that pairs straightforward setup with secure backup and support for using tokens across more than one device. Both approaches strengthen accounts significantly, and the choice often comes down to whether you value local control above all else or prefer the convenience of synchronisation.
Password Management
Strong, unique passwords remain essential even alongside two-factor authentication. KeePassXC is a cross-platform password manager for Windows, macOS and Linux that keeps your credentials in an encrypted database stored wherever you choose, rather than on a vendor's servers. It is free and open source under the GPLv3 licence, and its development process is publicly visible on GitHub.
The project has undergone rigorous external scrutiny. On the 17th of November 2025, KeePassXC version 2.7.9 was awarded a Security Visa by the French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) under its First-level Security Certification (CSPN) programme, with report number ANSSI-CSPN-2025/16. The certification is valid for three years and is recognised in France and by the German Federal Office for Information Security. More recent releases such as version 2.7.11 focus on bug fixes and usability improvements, including import enhancements, better password-generation feedback and refinements to browser integration. Because data are stored locally, you can place the database in a private or shared cloud folder if you wish to sync between devices, while encryption remains entirely under your control.
Secure Email with Tuta
Email is a frequent target for attackers and a common source of data leakage, so the choice of client can make a meaningful difference. Tuta provides open-source desktop applications for Linux, Windows and macOS that bring its end-to-end encrypted mail and calendar to the desktop with features that go beyond the web interface. The clients are signed so that updates can be verified independently, and Tuta publishes its public key, so users can confirm signatures themselves.
There is a particular focus on Linux, with support for major distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch Linux, openSUSE and Linux Mint. Deep operating-system integration enables conveniences such as opening files as attachments directly from context menus on Windows via MAPI, setting Tuta as the default mail handler, using the system's secret storage and applying multi-language spell-checking. Hardware key support via U2F is available across all desktop clients, and offline mode means previously indexed emails, calendars and contacts remain accessible without an internet connection.
Tuta does not support IMAP because downloading and storing messages unencrypted on devices would undermine its end-to-end encryption model. Instead, features such as import and export are built directly into the clients; paid plans including Legend and Unlimited currently include email import that encrypts messages locally before uploading them. The applications are built on Electron to maintain feature parity across platforms, and Tuta offers the desktop clients free to all users to ensure that core security benefits are not gated behind a subscription.
Bringing Culture and Tooling Together
These individual strands reinforce one another when combined. A network-wide blocker reduces exposure to malvertising and tracking while nudging everyone in a household or office towards safer defaults. Small device-level settings cut noise without removing protection, which helps people maintain good habits because security becomes less intrusive. Visibility tools demystify what the internet can see and how browsers behave, which builds confidence. Password managers and authenticator apps make strong credentials and second factors the norm rather than the exception, and a secure email client protects communications by default.
None of these steps requires perfection, and each can be introduced one at a time. The key is to focus on outcomes, think like a coach and make security personal, so that habits take root and last.
There is no single fix that will stop every attack. One approach that does help is consistent behaviour supported by thoughtful choices of software and services. Start with one change that removes friction while adding protection, then build from there. Over time, those choices shape a culture in which people feel they have a genuine role in keeping themselves and their organisations safe, and the technology they rely upon reflects that commitment.
When CRON is stalled by incorrect file and folder permissions
8th October 2021
During the past week, I rebooted my system only to find that a number of things no longer worked, and my Pi-hole DNS server was among them. Having exhausted other possibilities by testing out things on another machine, I did a status check when I spotted a line like the following in my system logs and went investigating further:
cron[322]: (root) INSECURE MODE (mode 0600 expected) (crontabs/root)
It turned out to be more significant than I had expected because this was why every CRON job was failing and that included the network set up needed by Pi-hole; a script is executed using the @reboot directive to accomplish this, and I got Pi-hole working again by manually executing it. The evening before, I did introduce some changes to file permissions under /var/www, but I was not expecting it to affect other parts of the /var, though that may have something to do with some forgotten heavy-handedness. The cure was to issue a command like the following for execution in a terminal session:
sudo chmod -R 600 /var/spool/cron/crontabs/
Then, CRON itself needed to start since it had not been running at all and executing this command did the needful without restarting the system:
sudo systemctl start cron
That outcome was proved by executing the following command to issue some terminal output that include the welcome text "active (running)" highlighted in green:
sudo systemctl status cron
There was newly updated output from a frequently executing job that checked on web servers for me, but this was added confirmation. It was a simple solution to a perplexing situation that led up all sorts of blind alleys before I alighted on the right solution to the problem.
A waiting game
20th August 2011
Having been away every weekend in July, I was looking forward to a quiet one at home to start August. However, there was a problem with one of my websites hosted by Fasthosts that was set to occupy me for the weekend and a few weekday evenings afterwards.
Since the issue appeared to be slow site response, I followed advice given to me by second line support when this website displayed the same type of behaviour: upgrade from Apache 1.3 to 2.2 using the control panel. Unfortunately for me, that didn't work smoothly at all and there seemed to be serious file loss as a result. Raising a ticket with the support desk only got me the answer that I had to wait for completion, and I now have come to the conclusion that the migration process may have got stuck somewhere along the way. Maybe another ticket is in order.
Several factors contributed to the waiting period referenced in the post title. First, support response times for budget hosting packages are notably slow, which makes me question whether higher-profile websites receive better service. Second, restoring websites via FTP consumes significant time, as does rebuilding and repopulating databases. Third, DNS configuration changes also introduce delays.
In retrospect, these time demands might be reduced through various approaches. Phone support could prove faster than email tickets, unless during major incidents, like the security changeover that left numerous Fasthosts users waiting for hours one night. However, phone support isn't a universal solution, as we've known since those cautionary tales began circulating in the mid-1990's.
Regular backups would streamline restoration processes. While my existing backups were adequate, they weren't comprehensive, necessitating additional work later. As for DNS changes, more frequent PC restarts would help detect propagation sooner, a lesson I will remember despite having no immediate plans to relocate websites. Ultimately, accelerating DNS propagation makes a substantial difference in minimizing downtime.
While awaiting a response from Fasthosts, I began to ponder the idea of using an alternative provider. Perusal of the latest digital edition of .Net (I now subscribe to the non-paper edition to cut down on the clutter caused by having paper copies about the place) ensued before I decided to investigate the option of using Webfusion. Having decided to stick with shared hosting, I gave their Unlimited Linux option a go. For someone accustomed to monthly billing, it was unusual to see annual biannual and triannual payment schemes too. Because the first of these appears to be the default option, a little care and attention is needed if you want something else. Also, Webfusion offers a sliding scale pricing model: the longer your commitment period, the lower your monthly hosting cost becomes; it is a pricing structure designed to encourage longer-term subscriptions.
Once the account was set up, I added a database and set to the long process of uploading files from my local development site using FileZilla. Having got a MySQL backup from the Fasthosts site, I used the provided PhpMyAdmin interface to upload the data in a piecemeal manner without exceeding the 8 MB file size limitation. It isn't possible to connect remotely to the MySQL server using the likes of MySQL Administrator, while SSH is another connection option that isn't available. There were some questions for the support people along the way; the first of these got a timely answer, though later ones took longer before I got an answer. Still, getting advice on the address of the test website was a big help while I was sorting out the DNS changeover.
Regarding domain setup, it required considerable effort and searching through Webfusion's FAQ's before I succeeded. Initially, I attempted to use name servers mentioned in an article, but this approach failed to achieve my goal. The effects might have been noticed sooner had I rebooted my PC earlier, though this didn't occur to me at the time. Ultimately, I reverted to using my domain provider's name servers and configured them with the necessary information. This solution successfully brought my website back online, allowing me to address any remaining issues.
With the site essentially operating again, it was time to iron out the rough edges. The biggest of these was that MOD_REWRITE doesn't seem to work the same on the Webfusion server like it does on the Fasthosts ones. This meant that I needed to use the SCRIPT_URI CGI variable instead of PATH_INFO to keep using clean URL's for a PHP-powered photo gallery that I have. It took me a while to figure that out, and only to feel much better when I managed to get the results that I needed. However, I also took the chance to tidy up site addresses with redirections in my .htaccess file in an attempt to ensure that I lost no regular readers, something that I seem to have achieved with some success because one such visitor later commented on a new entry in the outdoors blog.
Once any remaining missing images were instated or references to them removed, it was then time to do a full backup for the sake of safety. The first of these activities was yet another time consumer, while the second didn't take so long, which is just as well given how important it is to have frequent backups. Hopefully, though, the relocated site's performance continues to be as solid as it is now.
The question as to what to do with the Fasthosts webspace remains outstanding. Currently, they are offering free upgrades to existing hosting packages for an annual commitment. After my recent experience, I cannot say that I'm so sure about going down that route. In fact, the observation leaves me wondering if instating that very extension was the cause of breaking my site. All in all, what happened to that Fasthosts website wasn't the greatest of experiences, while the service offered by Webfusion is rock solid thus far. Although I question whether Fasthosts' service quality has declined from its previous standards, I remain open to reassessing my opinion as I observe their performance over time.
New domain name
25th January 2007
I have registered the domain technologytales.com for this blog yesterday and have since got the DNS configuration completed. I used Easily.co.uk for the registration; they also host my other domain name and have done so since I first registered it. Easily allowed me to transfer to the WordPress.com namespace servers and $10 secured the rest of the setting up and $10 every year at renewal time with keep things in place. There is more about doing all of this on the WordPress FAQ.