Most ad blockers work per-app or per-browser. That means ads still slip through in other apps, games, and system-level telemetry. A better approach is to block ads and trackers at the DNS level — before the connection is even established.

This post explains how to set up AdGuard Home as a DNS server on a VPS, accessible only through a WireGuard VPN tunnel. The result: every device connected to your VPN gets network-wide ad blocking with zero client-side configuration beyond changing the DNS server.

Most people reuse passwords. They know they shouldn’t, but managing dozens of unique, strong passwords without help is impractical. A password manager solves this — it generates, stores, and fills passwords for you, all protected by a single master password.

KeePassXC is a free, open-source, offline password manager. Unlike cloud-based alternatives like 1Password or Bitwarden, your passwords never leave your machine. There is no account, no subscription, and no server that could be breached. Just an encrypted file on your disk.

macOS has a reputation for being secure out of the box. And compared to some alternatives, it is. But the default settings leave plenty of room for improvement — especially when it comes to privacy.

This guide walks you through hardening your Mac, from disk encryption to app permissions. Most steps take just a few minutes and don’t require any technical expertise.

FileVault: Encrypt Your Disk

If someone steals your Mac, they can remove the disk and read your files — unless the disk is encrypted. FileVault encrypts your entire startup volume with XTS-AES-128 encryption.