When we browse the Internet we can run into many protocols, many functions and features. Some of them can help improve our privacy and network security. However, on other occasions we can make use of services that put those two factors at risk. Today we are going to explain what DNS is and why it is interesting to use private DNS . We will always give some advice to improve our security and privacy.
What are DNS servers?
First, let’s start by explaining what DNS is . We can say that it is the domain name system. It is a system that allows devices connected to the network to somehow translate intelligible names for people. Each DNS server uses a database to associate that information with each name.
Basically we can say that the DNS protocol is used to assign names to IP addresses. Instead of having to put a series of very difficult numbers to memorize, which would be the IP addresses of each site, we simply put the web address. For example RedesZone, Google … instead of its corresponding IP address which is what a DNS server translates.
There are different types of DNS servers that we can use on our devices. Some even can make the Internet speed better. It could also positively or negatively affect safety. We can say that there are private DNS servers and also regular ones.
In our case we will explain the differences between private and normal DNS servers. We will mention the reasons why it may be convenient to use the former. In this way we can have more guarantees when browsing.
Why it is interesting to use private DNS servers
Normal or public DNS servers, the regular ones that our operator can use, generally do not encrypt the connection that allows you to translate when writing a URL . That is, when we write, for example, RedesZone.net in the browser bar, what our device does is connect to a DNS server. This server acts as a telephone directory to replace that name that we have given with the IP address that takes us to the service. That connection, that process, is normally not encrypted.
What happens with this? It means that we are susceptible to attacks where a hacker could redirect those DNS requests to malicious websites. This way they could infect the device or trick us with fraudulent pages.
Many private servers use tools that increase security in these cases. It is what is known for example as DNS over HTTPS or DNS over TLS. This allows you to encrypt all communications between our device and the DNS server. Encrypted data cannot be read without a private key, which the attacker should have.
This makes many experts advise the use of private DNS servers instead of using public or generic ones on our devices. Of course, we must bear in mind that not all computers will allow the change of DNS, although today most do. In this way we can increase our security when browsing the network and avoid problems that may affect our devices and, ultimately, our privacy.
In short, if we want to improve security when surfing the web, a good idea for many computer security experts is to use private DNS servers. We have different options at our disposal. We already know that maintaining the proper functioning of our devices, as well as preserving security and privacy, is essential for users.
