Who Is Tinotenda Makunika?
I am a CCNA-certified network specialist and Computer
Science graduate based in Harare, Zimbabwe, operating
at the intersection of network infrastructure, security
automation, and AI safety.
I built this blog — Tinotenda Net Lab — to share
practical, implementation-level guidance for IT
professionals, network engineers, and MSPs who want
real tools and honest recommendations, not generic
advice.
What I Work On
Network Infrastructure & Automation
I hold CCNA 1–3 training in Routing, Switching, and
Wireless, and I build automation solutions using Python
and PowerShell — with Ansible for Infrastructure as Code
currently in progress. I have designed virtual labs with
Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and network segmentation,
and hardened Linux servers to CIS Benchmark standards.
AI Security Research
I compete in adversarial AI research — including the
Zindi African Trust & Safety LLM Challenge, where I
discovered that leading large language models have a
systemic cross-lingual safety gap, correctly refusing
harmful content in English while enabling it in Shona
and Swahili. This research affects approximately 300
million African-language AI users.
Email Security & Phishing Prevention
I research phishing and fraud prevention and publish
open-source tools for IT professionals. My DMARC
Compliance Checker audits DMARC, SPF, DKIM, and
MTA-STS records from the command line — free to use
at github.com/tinotendama/dmarc-checker.
What You Will Find on This Blog
- Network monitoring tool reviews and comparisons
- Python automation scripts for network engineers
- Cybersecurity implementation guides for small IT teams
- Email security tutorials for sysadmins and MSPs
- NetDevOps and network automation walkthroughs
My Approach
My background in Management Accounting and Economics
shapes how I think about security — I quantify risk.
A misconfigured firewall is not just a technical
failure, it is a liability with a measurable cost.
This financial lens makes my content useful not just
for engineers but for IT managers and business owners
making purchasing decisions.
Affiliate Disclosure
Some articles on this blog contain affiliate links.
This means I may earn a commission if you purchase
a tool I recommend, at no extra cost to you. I only
recommend tools I have personally evaluated and
genuinely believe provide value to IT professionals.
Connect With Me
📧 tinotendamakui8@gmail.com
🌐 tinotendanetlab.com
💼 linkedin.com/in/tinotenda-makunika-132aa224a
🔧 github.com/tinotendama