Privacy and IP addresses: what is a DNS?
Definition and functioning of the Domain Name System
A DNS (Domain Name System) is the term given to a group of folders arranged into a hierarchical order, used to manage the so-called namespace: this service deals with the resolution of requests for domain names, allowing the DNS to act as a kind of internet phonebook, able to supply up-to-date information about contacts.
In practice, the system is part of a global network of DNS servers which distribute namespace in independently-managed zones (this allows for totally decentralised processing of domain information). When a user registers a domain, an entry is into a ‘Whois’ field is generated in a special registry and this information is inputted into the Domain Name System as a resource record.
In order to understand how a DNS works, we might say that they allow a host to be associated with an IP. Considering that all PCs connected to the Internet have an IP address, similar to a telephone number, a specific computer can be reached by using the number associated with it.
The DNS system was created to facilitate connection to web servers: that system helps to connect a remote PC even without knowing its IP address, using a sequence of numbers which is much easier to remember. In other words, we could describe the Domain Name System as a universal registry through which dominion names are connected to IP addresses.
The procedure is as follows:
- The user types in a URL in the browser used;
- The browser contacts the Domain Name System to start a connection to the remote server’s IP.
Hierarchical organisation of DNS
As mentioned above, DNS are organised according to a hierarchical method and the starting point is indicated by “.” (root). Below this there are many Top Level Domains (TLD) such as com, it, org etc. Each single “.” of the dominion name acts as a point where the structure branches out like a tree, with each section connected through various “.” corresponding to the names of the various branches of the system.
There are many different types of DNS records corresponding to a wide variety of information. The principal records are, without a doubt, SOA (Start-Of-Authority) and NS, but record A, record AAAA, record CNANE, record MX, record PTR and record TXT are also very important.
The new DNS Resolver 1.1.1.1 by Cloudflare: speed and security
Recently Cloudflare released its new DNS, which seems to have been developed with the purpose of making access to websites faster and providing improved security during Internet browsing. The DNS Resolver 1.1.1.1 as well as giving excellent performance, mainly focuses on privacy and is able to delete all the logs of users’ DNS queries within just 24 hours.
As far as privacy is concerned, its features are very similar to those offered by the Google DNS, but they are clearly superior compared to those of OpenDNS. Cloudflare’s Resolver DNS seemed to be the fastest in 72% of the countries studied and in Europe, it remains ahead of Google DNS, CleanBrowsing and Quad9.
That concludes our brief introduction to Domain Name Systems: the system of domain names used for the translation of web node names into IP addresses, in which the service is provided via a database distributed and collated by DNS servers.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
