Privacy › Module 3 › Lesson 4
Lab — Check Your Privacy Score
Run curl and dig checks to see what your connection reveals about you
Opening
Measure your connection, not someone else's
This lab uses command-line tools to inspect DNS resolution and HTTPS connections from your machine. Run these only on networks you own or are allowed to test—never probe systems without permission.
1. What You Will Learn
You will check which IP address a domain resolves to, trace the TLS handshake path, and note what metadata leaks before encryption starts. These are the same clues analysts use when troubleshooting privacy and security issues.
2. Step 1 — DNS Resolution
Check where a domain pointsdig cyberlium.com +short dig cyberlium.com ANY nslookup cyberlium.com
dig cyberlium.com +short dig cyberlium.com ANY nslookup cyberlium.com
Note the A record IPv4 addresses and any CDN hints. Different DNS resolvers (your ISP vs 8.8.8.8) may return different answers if geolocation routing is in play.
3. Step 2 — HTTPS Connection Trace
Verbose HTTPS request (see TLS and headers)curl -vI --connect-timeout 10 https://cyberlium.com curl -v --connect-timeout 10 https://cyberlium.com 2>&1 | head -40
curl -vI --connect-timeout 10 https://cyberlium.com curl -v --connect-timeout 10 https://cyberlium.com 2>&1 | head -40
Look for: Connected to ... port 443 — TCP path works. SSL certificate verify ok — TLS trust chain is valid. Server header and security headers like Strict-Transport-Security. The verbose output shows your client IP is not sent in plain HTTP headers to the server in the same way DNS queries expose resolver behavior—compare with and without VPN if you use one ethically on your own network.
4. Step 3 — Compare DNS Resolvers
Same domain, different resolverdig @8.8.8.8 cyberlium.com +short dig @1.1.1.1 cyberlium.com +short dig cyberlium.com +short
dig @8.8.8.8 cyberlium.com +short dig @1.1.1.1 cyberlium.com +short dig cyberlium.com +short
If answers differ, your DNS path may affect which server you reach. Privacy-focused DNS (DoH/DoT) limits what your ISP can log—configure that in browser or OS settings after this lab.
5. Build Your Privacy Score
HTTPS everywhere
+1 if curl shows valid TLS to sites you tested.
DNS awareness
+1 if you documented which resolver you use and whether VPN changes results.
No certificate warnings
+1 if no TLS errors appeared during tests.
Headers and HSTS
+1 if strict-transport-security or similar headers are present on HTTPS responses.
Complete Privacy Score Lab
Run all dig and curl commands against cyberlium.com (or another HTTPS site you own permission to test). Save output to ~/cyberlium-lab/privacy-score.txt with your privacy score out of 4 and one improvement you will make (e.g., enable DoH, use VPN on public Wi-Fi, or tighten browser tracking protection).