All posts
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Best Mini PC for pfSense 2026: Buying Guide and Picks
What actually matters when picking a mini PC for pfSense in 2026: Intel NICs over Realtek, core count for IDS and VPN, RAM headroom, and the specific
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pfSense vs OPNsense for Homelab: Which Firewall Wins in 2026?
A technical breakdown of pfSense CE, pfSense Plus, and OPNsense for homelab use — covering update cadence, WireGuard, Suricata, multi-WAN, UI, and
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pfSense Multi-WAN: Failover and Load Balancing with Gateway Groups
Configure dual-WAN pfSense with gateway groups for tier-based failover or round-robin load balancing, plus the DNS and policy-routing gotchas to avoid.
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pfSense High Availability with CARP: Active-Passive Failover
Build a two-node pfSense HA cluster using CARP virtual IPs, pfsync state synchronization, and XMLRPC config replication — so a dead primary fails over to
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OpenVPN vs WireGuard on pfSense: Which to Run in 2026
An honest comparison of OpenVPN and WireGuard on pfSense — throughput, the pfSense Plus DCO offload, CE vs Plus availability, cipher and auth differences
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Snort vs Suricata on pfSense (2026): Which IDS/IPS Wins
Snort vs Suricata on pfSense: Suricata is multithreaded with EVE JSON, Snort has OpenAppID. Compare both engines and pick the right IDS/IPS to install.
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pfBlockerNG GeoIP and IP Reputation Blocking on pfSense
Go beyond DNSBL: configure pfBlockerNG's GeoIP country blocking and IP reputation feeds on pfSense — MaxMind GeoLite2 setup, inbound vs outbound actions
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pfSense Setup & Configuration Guide (2026): Install to First Rules
pfSense configuration and install guide: assign WAN/LAN, run the setup wizard, set up DHCP and DNS, and add your first firewall rules on CE or Plus.
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pfSense VLAN Configuration: Segment IoT, Guest, and Trusted
How to create and enforce VLANs on pfSense to isolate IoT devices, guest Wi-Fi, and your trusted LAN — with firewall rules that block inter-VLAN traffic
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pfBlockerNG Setup: DNS Ad-Blocking and Threat Intel on pfSense
Install and configure pfBlockerNG on pfSense to block ads, trackers, and malicious domains network-wide using DNS.
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pfSense Hardware Requirements 2026: Mini-PCs & Appliances
pfSense hardware requirements explained: minimum vs recommended specs, throughput-based CPU/RAM/NIC sizing, plus Netgate appliances and mini-PC picks.
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pfSense WireGuard VPN: Road Warrior Setup for Remote Access
Configure WireGuard on pfSense for secure remote access to your homelab — covers server setup, peer configuration, firewall rules, DNS split-tunneling