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SECURITYTRAILS BLOG · DEC 25 2018 · BY SARA JELEN
The Top 5 Best DNS Servers for improving Online Privacy & Security
We recently ran two Twitter polls to ask what you thought the best DNS servers were in terms of online privacy and security.
* 5. OpenNIC
* 4. Cloudflare DNS
* 3. OpenDNS
* 2. DNSWatch
* 1. Quad9 DNS
Conclusion
ISPs (Internet Service Providers) generally offer DNS services to their customers, so when you don’t set up DNS servers on your computer or router, your DNS queries will run on your ISPs DNS servers. Using the default ISP DNS servers can result in certain problems while browsing the Internet:
Decreased security
Decreased privacy
Decreased speed
Inability to load websites
Other DNS errors
Issues can happen with DNS requests themselves; most of the time they’re unencrypted and this leaves room for different types of DNS attacks.
We’ve offered tips for preventing DNS attacks, and today we’ll discuss the best DNS servers available, so you can enter 2019 with better cyber hygiene.
Changing your DNS servers is always a good idea, as it:
Improves your Internet speed and page load-time
Stabilizes your connection
Provides greater online security and privacy
Removes geo-restrictions
Best DNS servers votes 1 Best DNS servers votes 2
We have created a list of the top 5 Best DNS Servers based on the results of our 2 polls:
5. OpenNIC
OpenNIC is a free DNS server that routes your traffic away from DNS servers provided by your ISP. One unique feature of OpenNIC is that, depending on your location, you are offered different servers. So, once you’ve decided to switch to OpenNIC, they will provide you with the 4 servers closest to your location, both for IPv4 and IPv6.
Another thing that sets OpenNIC apart from the others is that it isn’t a public DNS server per se; it’s a group of volunteers who run an alternate DNS network.
OpenNIC offers DNS neutrality, but you also get the right to choose how much data OpenNIC logs.
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One of the privacy issues some users may have is that because everything is run by a group of volunteers, and it isn’t that difficult to set up a Tier 2 server on OpenNIC, the log data may be viewed by anyone. Additionally, some users have reported that the speed of OpenNIC servers isn’t always up to par.
4. Cloudflare DNS
Even though Cloudflare DNS might be the most popular of Internet services with their content delivery network, and now with their public DNS service, but according to the Twitter poll it came in second to last!
Now, we’re talking about improving your online security, so Cloudflare DNS—an anycast service that doesn’t feature anti-phishing, improved security or any content filters—wouldn’t be on the list if it weren’t for a few other aspects in which it excels.
Cloudflare won’t control what you can or can’t visit while online, but your privacy is number one here. They do not log your DNS traffic and it don’t save your IP address. Everything logged by Cloudflare is deleted within the next 24 hours. In the interest of transparency, KPMG is hired by Cloudflare to audit their system and show in public reports that all promises of privacy to their users are being upheld.
Not to mention that Cloudflare has the fastest public DNS servers of all!
So, the benefits of using Cloudflare are:
Not logging DNS traffic, no saving of your IP—privacy first
Speed—the fastest of all DNS providers
Community forum support
Easy setup
Primary and secondary DNS servers:
1.1.1.1
1.0.0.1
The DNS resolver also operates through IPv6:
2606:4700:4700::1111
2606:4700:4700::1001
Besides its lack of protective and security measures, another con of Cloudflare is quite ironic—they’re dedicated to the privacy of users, but the DNS query data is shared with APNIC Labs in exchange for using its 1.1.1.1 as stated in their privacy policy. And while Cloudflare claims that APNIC will not have access to IP addresses of users that make the DNS query data, we can’t seem to forget about Cloudbleed.
3. OpenDNS
Founded in 2005 and owned by Cisco since 2016, OpenDNS is a free, public and cloud-based service that provides DNS servers. It’s one of the most popular, but surprisingly, our Twitter poll showed it in third place.
OpenDNS is a great choice for protecting yourself from malicious attackers. To connect with your nearest DNS server, and for faster page load times, it uses anycast routing.
Other benefits of using OpenDNS are:
High speed
100% uptime
Phishing sites are blocked
Web filtering to block adult content - optional
Email support
History of your internet activity for the past 12 months
Access to specific websites only
Easy setup
Preferred and alternate DNS servers are:
208.67.222.123
208.67.220.123
OpenDNS offers three solutions in their Home package, two of which are free—OpenDNS Family Shield and OpenDNS Home. Both are similar to the paid solution; they’re equipped with all the same features except internet activity history and differences in access to specific websites.
Family Shield comes with parental protection by default, whereas Home needs to be configured to block adult content.
The OpenDNS VIP Home solution costs $19.95 per year and, along with the standard features included in the free solutions, it offers entire detailed internet usage statistics for the past year and restrictions on internet access to specific whitelisted domains.
Besides the Home package, OpenDNS has a business solution where it offers protection for 3 devices per person, for 1-5 users.
It’s very easy to set up: All you need to do is reconfigure your device to use OpenDNS nameservers, or you can read their setup guide for setting up all kinds of devices.
As with everything, OpenDNS has its downsides.
Information about your DNS and IP address are both stored by OpenDNS, and web content you visit while using their servers is analyzed and used for various reasons, such as personalizing, improving and enhancing user experience, as stated in their privacy policy.
Logging the DNS traffic it receives might be a turn-off for some, but it all depends on what kind of service you need.
2. DNSWatch
DNSWatch is another hugely popular DNS provider that is free to all, and doesn’t offer any paid packages like other providers.
DNSWatch proved itself very popular in our polls as well, and for a good reason. It offers DNS neutrality, just like OpenNIC, meaning it doesn’t censor any content. Privacy is also a huge factor in DNSWatch and it doesn’tt log any DNS queries or record your history.
So the main benefits of DNSWatch are:
Free service for all
No restricted content
No logging of any DNS queries
Now, since they are a privacy-focused provider, and a small company which doesn’t offer any security intelligence analysis, any protection against phishing, malware or attacks will need to be addressed by you. In the end, it somehow comes to choosing between a more open internet without restricted content, or more secure browsing.
Primary and secondary DNS servers:
84.200.69.80
84.200.70.40
1. Quad9 DNS
We have a winner! Quad9 DNS has won two of our polls and takes the crown for a reason.
Quad9 DNS has been active since 2016, and from then it has earned its status as one of the best DNS providers around, for the security and speed it offers its users.
Here you will have all malicious and suspicious domains blocked so your security is ensured. Quad9 even uses security intelligence from 19 companies, one of which is IBM’s X-Force.
Quad9 uses whitelisting methods, including one no longer in use, which pulls from Alexa. Since Alexa lists are not updated regularly (the indexed pages are updated daily, but the rank is not), they use the Majestic Million feed and a “Gold List” of domains such as Microsoft, Google, etc., that are always shown as secure.
Also, the foundational performance of Quad9 is astonishing, with a speed just below Cloudflare’s (which is the fastest) but still higher than its competitors, although some users in particular locations may experience slower speeds.
Quad9 is committed to keeping users’ privacy, but they do keep logs on some activity, which they’ve highlighted:
General location (on the metropolitan level)
Timestamps
Geolocation
First seen, last seen
Requested domain name and its geolocation
Record type
Transport protocol and their encryption status
Whether it’s IPv4 or IPv6
Response code
Other (such as their machines that processed the request, etc. )
Primary and secondary DNS servers:
9.9.9.9
149.112.112.112
Conclusion
In conclusion, the most important thing to know is what kind of service you need from a DNS provider. After you’ve decided what’s most important to you in terms of privacy, security and speed, it will be much easier to choose the right one. The DNS services provided by default by your ISP aren’t the safest way to browse the Internet, and you may experience certain content restrictions based on your location, so switching to one of these providers is a worthwhile New Year’s resolution for 2019. Improve your online privacy and security and start the year off right!
To improve your online security even more, SecurityTrails can enrich your IP, domain and company data with our powerful algorithms that do the work for you, so any security investigation can be performed with ease. You can also download our whitepaper to better understand how to identify a company’s digital footprint.
Fair Use Source: https://securitytrails.com/blog/dns-servers-privacy-security
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Privacy DNS
Privacy DNS refers to technologies and practices designed to enhance the privacy and security of DNS (Domain Name System) queries and responses. Traditionally, DNS queries are sent in plaintext over the network, making them susceptible to interception, surveillance, and tampering by malicious actors or even service providers. This lack of privacy in the standard DNS protocol has led to the development of various techniques aimed at securing DNS traffic, ensuring confidentiality and integrity. Key RFCs addressing privacy in DNS include RFC 7858, which defines DNS over TLS (DoT), and RFC 8484, which defines DNS over HTTPS (DoH).
The primary privacy concern with DNS is that whenever a user queries a domain name, the request is visible to intermediate parties, such as internet service providers (ISPs) or potential attackers. Since DNS queries typically involve sensitive browsing information, such as websites visited by users, these unencrypted queries can expose users to privacy breaches. Privacy DNS aims to address this issue by encrypting DNS queries, ensuring that only the user and the intended DNS resolver can access the details of the query.
RFC 7858 introduces DNS over TLS (DoT), which encrypts DNS queries and responses using TLS (Transport Layer Security). This approach ensures that DNS traffic is protected from interception during transmission, preventing attackers from eavesdropping on DNS queries. By running DNS over TLS, DoT enhances user privacy by keeping the DNS queries confidential. It operates on a separate port (853) and requires DNS resolvers and clients to negotiate TLS sessions before any DNS queries are exchanged.
Another major development in Privacy DNS is the introduction of DNS over HTTPS (DoH), defined in RFC 8484. DoH takes a similar approach to DoT, but it encapsulates DNS queries within HTTPS traffic, which is commonly used for web browsing. By doing this, DNS queries become indistinguishable from regular web traffic, making it more difficult for attackers or ISPs to identify and block DNS requests. DoH runs on port 443, the same port used for HTTPS, and is designed to improve privacy while also providing additional protection against DNS tampering.
One of the benefits of DoH over DoT is its ability to bypass censorship or DNS blocking efforts. Since DoH traffic is bundled within HTTPS requests, it can traverse network environments that would typically block or filter DNS traffic. This makes DoH particularly useful in regions where internet access is restricted or where certain websites are blocked by DNS manipulation. By hiding DNS queries inside encrypted HTTPS connections, DoH enhances both privacy and freedom of access.
Despite the privacy improvements offered by DoT and DoH, there are still concerns regarding DNS resolver centralization. Both protocols rely on DNS resolvers to decrypt and process the DNS queries, meaning that these resolvers still have access to the user's browsing history. If users rely on centralized DNS providers, such as public DNS resolvers provided by large companies, their DNS queries are aggregated, which could potentially create a privacy risk. To mitigate this, some privacy-focused DNS services have emerged, offering no-logging policies and enhanced privacy features.
Another RFC that contributes to Privacy DNS is RFC 8310, which provides operational guidance for implementing DNS over TLS. This RFC emphasizes best practices for deploying DoT servers and clients, such as requiring strong encryption, proper certificate management, and minimizing the exposure of sensitive information in DNS queries. The document also highlights the importance of privacy policies for DNS operators, ensuring that they handle user data responsibly.
One of the challenges of Privacy DNS adoption is the potential impact on performance. Encrypted DNS protocols, such as DoT and DoH, introduce additional overhead due to the need for TLS handshakes and encryption. This can increase the latency of DNS queries, especially on slower networks. However, modern implementations of these protocols have made significant strides in optimizing performance, ensuring that the privacy benefits do not come at the cost of usability or speed.
In addition to protecting DNS queries from interception, Privacy DNS also plays a role in defending against DNS-based attacks, such as DNS spoofing and man-in-the-middle attacks. By encrypting DNS queries and responses, DoT and DoH ensure that attackers cannot easily modify or inject malicious DNS responses into the user's traffic. This provides an extra layer of security for users, especially when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks or other untrusted environments.
As Privacy DNS technologies become more widely adopted, some operating systems and browsers have begun to include native support for DoT and DoH. For example, major browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome now support DoH, allowing users to enable encrypted DNS queries directly from their browser settings. Similarly, some modern operating systems have implemented support for DoT, ensuring that DNS queries are encrypted at the system level.
Despite its benefits, the use of Privacy DNS is not without controversy. Some network administrators and ISPs have expressed concerns that DoH can interfere with enterprise security policies, such as DNS filtering or monitoring. Since DoH hides DNS queries inside HTTPS traffic, it can make it harder for administrators to enforce corporate security policies or block access to malicious websites. This has led to discussions about how Privacy DNS can be implemented without disrupting necessary security measures in corporate environments.
Conclusion
Privacy DNS encompasses protocols like DNS over TLS (DoT) and DNS over HTTPS (DoH), which encrypt DNS queries to ensure user privacy and security, as outlined in RFC 7858, RFC 8484, and RFC 8310. These protocols address the vulnerabilities of traditional DNS by preventing eavesdropping, tampering, and surveillance of DNS traffic. While challenges remain, including performance trade-offs and concerns about DNS resolver centralization, the adoption of Privacy DNS technologies continues to grow, helping to protect users' privacy in an increasingly surveillance-prone internet environment.
DNS: Privacy DNS, Containers and DNS, CoreDNS, Cloud DNS (AWS DNS, Azure DNS, GCP DNS, IBM Cloud DNS), DNS Security (DNS53 to DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH)), DNS Record Types, nslookup, DNS RFCs, GitHub DNS, DNS Topics, Awesome DNS. (navbar_dns - see also navbar_coredns, navbar_networking)
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