Configure encrypted DNS (DNS-over-HTTPS) in your browser to improve security and enhance your privacy.
Do you know what happens when you press Enter on your keyboard, after entering a website address in your browser’s address bar? To find the site, the browser must query a DNS server, a sort of web directory, provided by your Internet service provider.
This DNS server is then responsible for finding the IP address of the server on which the desired website is hosted. Once this IP is found, the site data is downloaded to be displayed on your screen.
Natively, all these requests are made in the clear (on port 53), thus leaving the possibility for your ISP to identify the sites you visit. To avoid this, it is possible to use the DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) protocol, which works the same way, except that it works with a compatible DNS server, and sends an encrypted request (on the port 443).
Firefox, Mozilla’s web browser, is currently the only one to support the DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) protocol. The feature, which is not enabled by default, can be configured very quickly with just a few clicks.
- Download 32-bit Firefox for Windows (Free)
- Download Firefox 64-bit for Windows (Free)
- Download Firefox for macOS (Free)
- Download Firefox for Linux (Free)
1. Open Options
Launch Firefox, click on the main menu, and go to Options.
2. Go to Network Settings
From the General tab, scroll through all the options to Network settings and click on the Settings button.
3. Enable DNS via HTTPS
At the bottom of the Connection Settings window, check the Enable DNS over HTTPS option, and make sure Cloudflare is the default DNS server selected.
Validate your modifications by clicking on the OK button.
If you do not wish to use Cloudflare’s DNS, it is entirely possible to configure the DNS server of your choice in Firefox.
You should then select Custom in the Use provider drop-down menu in Firefox connection settings.
Source:
ZDNet