Published: | Updated:

WHAT IS THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Domain Name System, or DNS, is the directory of the internet.

Whenever you click on a link, send an email, open a mobile app, often one of the first things that has to happen is your device needs to look up the address of a domain. 

There are two sides of the DNS network: the authoritative side, ie webpages and other content, and the resolver side, devices that are trying to access this content.

Every domain needs to have an authoritative DNS provider, servers which store DNS records. Amazon, Cloudflare and Google are among the bigger names in authoritative DNS server provision. 

On the other side of the DNS system are resolvers. Every device that connects to the Internet needs a DNS resolver. 

By default, these resolvers are automatically set by whatever network you're connecting to. 

So, for most Internet users, when they connect to an ISP, or a WiFi hot spot, or a mobile network, the network operator will dictate what DNS resolver to use.

The problem is that these DNS services are often slow and don't respect your privacy. 

What many Internet users don't realise is that even if you're visiting a website that is encrypted, indicated by the green padlock in your browser's address bar, that doesn't keep your DNS resolver from knowing the identity of all the sites you visit. 

That means, by default, your ISP, every WiFi network you've connected to, and your mobile network provider have a list of every site you've visited while using them. 

Advertisement

Read articles that feature this panel

Don't want your internet provider to see the sites you're visiting? Free new tool could help keep your data private AND speed up your...

New tool 1.1.1.1 has been developed by Cloudflare, a computer security and optimisation firm based in San Francisco that promises not to...

So far so good! Major overhaul of the keys that keep the internet secure completed as firm behind it slams claims it could have caused a 48...

A major overhaul of a crucial component of the internet's domain name system has gone off without a hitch, contradicting earlier claims that...

Russia is set to DISCONNECT from the internet temporarily as part of preparations for a potential cyber war 

The test - set to take place before April - will see data passing between organisations and Russian citizens remain inside the country...

The internet's global address keeper is warning of large-scale attacks threatening key parts of the online infrastructure 'It's like someone going through your postbox': Hackers have infiltrated online infrastructures to snoop on data, divert traffic and 'spoof'...

Hackers are targeting the internet's infrastructure, or Domain Name System, which routes traffic to its destination. The US Dept for...

Facebook and Instagram are finally starting to come back online after SEVEN-HOUR global outage: Zuckerberg loses at least $7BILLION and...

Between 11.50am EST and 11.52am EST, Facebook made a series of updates which caused it to 'disappear' from the internet, according to the...

Most watched News videos