Cybercrime is estimated to cost more than $2 trillion annually by 2019, with a large portion of it related to phishing scams, typosquatting, and deceptive emails. One easy way to reduce these types of attacks is to change the DNS your computer uses. Most computers connect to the default DNS set by their internet service provider, but there are certainly safer alternatives.
How does it work?
Every URL like secnews.gr has a unique IP address. When we call a URL, our computer learns the IP address that corresponds to the URL through DNS. However, the DNS service of the providers is not always as secure as it could be. It is recommended to change DNS with an alternative option like Google, Cloudflare or Quad9, which are free to use.
Changing the service is done with just a few clicks. In Windows, go to the Control Panel and then follow these steps:
Network and Internet >
Network and Sharing Center >
Change adapter settings > Select desired network >
Properties >
Internet Protocol Version 4 ( TCP /IPv4 ) > Properties > Advanced
and select the DNS tab, where the desired DNS server address can be added.
Google, Cloudflare or Quad9?
Cloudflare's service is relatively new and is the fastest of the 3 in 72% of countries, while Google and Quad9 are in second and third place in terms of speed respectively. The addresses of each service are as follows: 1) Google 8.8.8.8, 2) Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 , 3) Quad9 9.9.9.9
Quad9 been previously reported as malicious. If it has, Quad9 blocks the address. Unlike Cloudflare and Google, the organization behind Quad9 describes the service as “completely altruistic” and was created in partnership with IBM. Quad9’s service is free to use and promises that it doesn’t collect or sell user data. It also says that due to the increased security it provides, users remain safe from dangerous malware like the recent VPNFilter.
Finally, we must mention that using a DNS does not mean that we are completely safe and it should always be accompanied by a firewall and antivirus. However, the automatic blocking of malicious addresses and IPs is a big step for our online protection.
