diff --git a/cloudflare-template.sh b/cloudflare-template.sh
index 70e45a3..6ece278 100644
--- a/cloudflare-template.sh
+++ b/cloudflare-template.sh
@@ -17,16 +17,26 @@ slackuri=""                                        # URI for Slack WebHook "http
 ###########################################
 ## Check if we have a public IP
 ###########################################
-# Use curl if curl is available
+# Use curl if curl is installed on the system.
 if [[ $(command -v curl &> /dev/null; echo $?) ]]; then
     ip=$(curl -s https://api.ipify.org || curl -s https://ipv4.icanhazip.com/)
-elif [[ $(command -v dig &> /dev/null; echo $?) ]]; then
-    ip=$(dig +short myip.opendns.com @resolver1.opendns.com);
+else
+    logger -s "Error: 'curl' was not found on your system. Install it with 'sudo apt install curl' in order to use this script"
+    exit 1
 fi
 
-if [[ ! $ip =~ ^([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])\.([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])\.([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])\.([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])$ ]]; then
-    logger -s "DDNS Updater: Failed to find a valid IP."
-    exit 1
+# Use regex to check for proper IPv4 format. Try using 'dig' if curl requests failed.
+ipv4_regex='^([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])\.([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])\.([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])\.([01]?[0-9]?[0-9]|2[0-4][0-9]|25[0-5])$'
+if [[ ! $ip =~ $ipv4_regex ]]; then
+    logger -s "Warning: Neither 'api.ipify.org' nor 'ipv4.icanhazip.com' were able to obtain your ip-address. Trying to use less secure DNS lookup on 'myip.opendns.com' through 'dig' instead."
+    if [[ $(command -v dig &> /dev/null; echo $?) ]]; then
+        ip=$(dig +short myip.opendns.com @resolver1.opendns.com)
+    fi
+    # Also sanitize the 'dig' output through the same regex as before.
+    if [[ ! $ip =~ $ipv4_regex ]]; then
+        logger -s "DDNS Updater: Failed to find a valid IP."
+        exit 2
+    fi
 fi
 
 ###########################################
@@ -74,21 +84,11 @@ record_identifier=$(echo "$record" | sed -E 's/.*"id":"(\w+)".*/\1/')
 ###########################################
 ## Change the IP@Cloudflare using the API
 ###########################################
-api_data=$(cat <<EOF
-{
-    "type":"A",
-    "name":"$record_name",
-    "content":"$ip",
-    "ttl":$ttl,
-    "proxied":$proxy
-}
-EOF
-)
 update=$(curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$zone_identifier/dns_records/$record_identifier" \
                      -H "X-Auth-Email: $auth_email" \
                      -H "$auth_header $auth_key" \
                      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-                     --data "$api_data") #"{\"type\":\"A\",\"name\":\"$record_name\",\"content\":\"$ip\",\"ttl\":\"$ttl\",\"proxied\":${proxy}}")
+                     --data "{\"type\":\"A\",\"name\":\"$record_name\",\"content\":\"$ip\",\"ttl\":\"$ttl\",\"proxied\":${proxy}}")
 
 ###########################################
 ## Report the status