Board:   [fsxNet] Retro Computing
Subject: I asked DeepSeek about my WiFi DNS problem and he turned it into a rant
From:    poindexter FORTRAN(21:4/122)
Date:    Mon Sep 21, 2026 07:05

-=> Malvinas wrote to All <=-

 Ma> He suggested the only honest paths left would be to run a resolver for
 Ma> yourself only (localhost or LAN) or run it for a small trusted group
 Ma> over a VPN.

 TQWnet runs an encrypted mesh network for its nodes. I could see a
 grass roots setup among friends/co-workers with your own DNS, your own
 resolvers and encrypted links back in the 2000s, but most people would
 rather centralize in the cloud nowadays. Maybe if something changes in
 people's perceptions you might see something.

 I would love to build an environment like that - a mesh VPN, local
 cloud services, local DNS, encrypt the hell out of anything that
 escapes the LAN...

 Ma> Anyway, if anyone here runs Unbound or Pi-hole locally, I'd be curious
 Ma> to hear your setup. There might be a handful of pointers that could be
 Ma> useful for anyone thinking of going that route.

 I'm inspired to run my own DNS again, now. I ran BIND for years,
 suppose it'll be overkill for my local network... :)

 (aside: My deep dive into *nix was about 20 years ago. I worked at a
 company that had just gotten on the internet, and the university that
 provided our service loaned us a Sun 3 workstation to host DNS. They
 wanted it back, and I needed to set up a replacement.

 Armed with some basic UNIX skills, a copy of Cricket Liu's DNS and BIND
 a spare desktop box, a CD of BSD/OS and a pot of very strong coffee, I
 started one Saturday morning on chapter 1 and read it through, chapter
 by chapter. By late morning, I had a working DNS resolver.

 Agree that running publicly accessible DNS belongs to a kindler,
 gentler time. Back when I was setting up my DNS resolver, you could
 test your video conferencing system by dialing up techs who had VC
 setups at their desks and would give rate your connection. There were
 public SMTP relays set up as a professional courtesy when you were
 setting up your own SMTP...





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