diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9924ffa..f09eeef 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Base Stack
 
-Base Stack installs some basic applications and configs that are common to any server build. Specifically firewald & fail2ban to lock a server down.
+Base Stack installs some basic applications and configs that are common to any server build. Specifically automatic updates and firewald with fail2ban for a secure server setup.
+
+## Requirements
+A minimal Debian 12 server install with no extra services or packages installed.
 
 ## Install
 
@@ -25,5 +28,5 @@ echo "user@example.com" > /root/.forward
 ```
 
 ## License
-Copyright (c) 2022 Matthew Saunders Brown <matthewsaundersbrown@gmail.com>\
+Copyright (c) 2024 Matthew Saunders Brown <matthewsaundersbrown@gmail.com>\
 GNU General Public License v3.0+ (see COPYING or https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt)
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 9272977..c4aa97b 100644
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@ if [ "${EUID}" -ne 0 ]; then
 fi
 
 # do some basic pre-install checks - these are *not* exhaustive
-# check for Ubuntu 22.04 (jammy) or Debian 12 (bookworm)
-os_codename=`lsb_release -cs`
-if [ $os_codename != jammy ] && [ $os_codename != bookworm ]; then
-  echo "This installer only runs on Ubuntu 22.04 (jammy) or Debian 12 (Bookworm), bailing out."
+os_id=`lsb_release -is`
+os_release=`lsb_release -rs`
+if [ $os_id != Debian ] || [ $os_release != 12 ]; then
+  echo "This installer only runs on Debian 12 (Bookworm), bailing out."
   exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -31,18 +31,6 @@ fi
 # set webmaster email address, used below
 WEBMASTER=webmaster@`hostname -f`
 
-# if policy-rc.d is installed configure it to allow all packages to automatically start/restart/stop after install/upgrade/uninstall
-if [[ -f /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d ]]; then
-  echo -e '#!/bin/sh\nexit 0' > /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d
-fi
-# set needrestart to list only, which is also default for unattended upgrades
-if [[ -f /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf ]]; then
-  sed -i "s|^#\$nrconf{restart} = 'i';|\$nrconf{restart} = 'l';|g" /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf
-  # 'l' = list only, change to 'a' for automatic restart or 'i' for interactive
-  # disable kernelhints (no warnings about currently running kernel version)
-  echo '$nrconf{kernelhints} = 0;' > /etc/needrestart/conf.d/kernelhints.conf
-fi
-
 # set system variables
 if [[ ! -f /etc/sysctl.d/60-swappiness.conf ]]; then
   echo "vm.swappiness = 1" >> /etc/sysctl.d/60-swappiness.conf
@@ -52,37 +40,18 @@ fi
 # update system
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y update
 # update grub first, by itself, as it requires special overrides to run unattended
-DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confdef" -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confold" install grub-common grub2-common grub-pc grub-pc-bin
+DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confdef" -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confold" install grub-common grub2-common
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y dist-upgrade
 
 # remove unwanted packages
-DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y purge snapd ufw iptables landscape-common popularity-contest
+DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y purge snapd cryptsetup ufw iptables popularity-contest
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y autoremove
 systemctl daemon-reload
 
-# disable motd
-if [[ -f /etc/default/motd-news ]]; then
-  sed -i 's|ENABLED=1|ENABLED=0|g' /etc/default/motd-news
-fi
-if [[ -f /etc/update-motd.d/10-help-text ]]; then
-  chmod 644 /etc/update-motd.d/10-help-text
-fi
-# disable apt news
-if [[ -x /usr/bin/pro ]]; then
-  /usr/bin/pro config set apt_news=false
-fi
-
 # configure unattended upgrades with automatic reboots
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y install unattended-upgrades apt-listchanges
-# /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10periodic is part of update-notifier-common, on Ubuntu only
-if [[ -f /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10periodic ]]; then
-  sed -i 's|^APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists.*|APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists "1";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10periodic
-  sed -i 's|^APT::Periodic::Download-Upgradeable-Packages.*|APT::Periodic::Download-Upgradeable-Packages "1";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10periodic
-  sed -i 's|^APT::Periodic::AutocleanInterval.*|APT::Periodic::AutocleanInterval "7";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10periodic
-fi
-sed -i 's|^APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists.*|APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists "1";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades
-sed -i 's|^APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade.*|APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade "1";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades
-sed -i 's|//     "${distro_id}:${distro_codename}-updates";|       "${distro_id}:${distro_codename}-updates";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
+sed -i 's|//      "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename}-updates";|        "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename}-updates";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
+# sed -i 's|//      "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename}-proposed-updates";|        "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename}-proposed-updates";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
 sed -i 's|//Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Kernel-Packages "true";|Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Kernel-Packages "true";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
 sed -i 's|//Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Dependencies "false";|Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Dependencies "true";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
 sed -i 's|//Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "false";|Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "true";|g' /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
@@ -90,6 +59,8 @@ sed -i 's|//Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "false";|Unattended-Upgrade::Au
 REBOOT_TIME=01:$(printf "%02d" $((0 + RANDOM % 55)))
 sed -i "s|//Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot-Time \"02:00\";|Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot-Time \"$REBOOT_TIME\";|g" /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
 sed -i "s|//Unattended-Upgrade::Mail \"\";|Unattended-Upgrade::Mail \"$WEBMASTER\";|g" /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
+echo unattended-upgrades unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates boolean true | debconf-set-selections
+dpkg-reconfigure -f noninteractive unattended-upgrades
 
 # firewalld
 # without "--no-install-recommends" ipset and ipables are pulled in, and we don't need or want those
@@ -123,12 +94,7 @@ cp -a fail2ban/* /etc/fail2ban/
 echo "destemail = $WEBMASTER" >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.local
 echo "bantime = 24h" >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/defaults-debian.conf
 echo "maxretry = 3" >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/defaults-debian.conf
-if [ $os_codename = jammy ]; then
-  echo "backend = auto" >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/defaults-debian.conf
-  echo "logpath = /var/log/auth.log tail" >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/defaults-debian.conf
-elif [ $os_codename = bookworm ]; then
-  echo "backend = systemd" >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/defaults-debian.conf
-fi
+echo "backend = systemd" >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/defaults-debian.conf
 systemctl enable fail2ban
 systemctl start fail2ban
 
@@ -140,16 +106,14 @@ sed -i 's|.*RuntimeMaxFiles=.*|RuntimeMaxFiles=10|g' /etc/systemd/journald.conf
 sed -i 's|.*MaxRetentionSec=.*|MaxRetentionSec=1week|g' /etc/systemd/journald.conf
 systemctl restart systemd-journald.service
 
-# adjust rsyslogd to log cron to it's own file, and to not include cron or mail in main syslog file (Ubuntu only, not on Debian 12+)
-if [[ -f /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf ]]; then
-  sed -i 's|^#cron\.\*|cron\.\*|' /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf
-  sed -i 's|^\*\.\*;auth,authpriv\.none|\*\.\*;auth,authpriv\.none;mail\.none;cron\.none|' /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf
-  systemctl restart rsyslog
-fi
+# adjust rsyslogd to log cron to it's own file, and to not include cron or mail in main syslog file
+# sed -i 's|^#cron\.\*|cron\.\*|' /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf
+# sed -i 's|^\*\.\*;auth,authpriv\.none|\*\.\*;auth,authpriv\.none;mail\.none;cron\.none|' /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf
+# systemctl restart rsyslog
 
 # install some handy extra packages
-DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y install gdu exa pwgen net-tools curl sudo
-# exa will be changed to eza in future releases
+DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y install curl exa gdu git isoquery net-tools pwgen sudo
+# exa is no longer maintained, eza is a fork that I expect/hope Debian will add to the next release
 
 # install
 chmod 750 sbin/*