Hello!
My knowledge about DNS resolvers is somewhat limited. So, in an effort to expand my knowledge and find a DNS resolver that works for me, I’ve come for help here.
Here is a list of terminology that I either know too little about, don’t know anything about, or want to make sure my understanding is correct about:
Cleartext (What does this mean in the context of protocols? Is it inherently bad?)
DoH (I somewhat understand this, but is it less secure than DoT?)
DoH/3 (How is this different from DoH?)
DoT (Is this more private than DoH?)
DoQ (I don’t know enough about this, how does it compare to DoH and DoT?)
DNSCrypt (I’m not sure what this is.)
Do53 (I’m not sure what this is. Is it a replacement for DoH/DoT/DoQ, or does it work alongside it?)
DNSSEC (I don’t know what this is.)
EDNS padding (I’m pretty sure I know what this is, it just pads DNS queries. What happens if “Cleartext” is used, does it still pad it?)
As for what I’m looking for in a DNS resolver: I don’t plan to self host it, I would like support for iOS, Linux, and Android, I would like it to be free, I would like EDNS padding, DoH is preferred (although I don’t quite understand the alternatives). I am aware that the DNS resolver will usually be the same as my VPN. Note: I’m not looking for a beginner DNS resolver, I’ve been using NextDNS for a while now, I’m looking for one with strict privacy and security.
I’ve tried looking at Privacy Guides and Wikipedia, but I don’t know enough to make an educated decision.
Any suggestions?
Thank you all!
Mullvad has a public DNS service, would recommend checking that out. Supports DoH, DoT, and is encrypted.
I second Mullvad as a service.
I tried Mullvad’s DNS service and found that it messed up sites that rely on geography based DNS routing. For example, I’d get sent to a service’s servers in Singapore instead of the US. This caused some noticeable lag.
Cleartext (What does this mean in the context of protocols? Is it inherently bad?)
It’s like sending a postcard. Anyone can see who it is from, who it is to and what you are sending.
Install Wireshark and filter for DNS them open your web browser to see where you are calling to.
DoH an DoT are essentially the same thing encrypt the DNS request in a TLS session so others can’t see what you are requesting. The main difference is DOT uses port 853 so at a glance it is DNS traffic and the port may be closed. While DoH works over port 443, the same port as regular encrypted web traffic so the port is likely open.
DoQ and DoH/3 uses UDP 443 compared to TCP 443 but still encrypt the traffic.
DNSCrypt is a DNS proxy.
Do53 is yet another implementation of DNS over TLS but using port UDP 53 the regular DNS port.
That is very helpful, thank you! Is there any benefit to using UDP over TCP? I know TCP is more easily detectable with a port scan, and TCP uses ACK to make sure the data gets sent (and for that reason UDP is usually faster but lossy). How does that fit in with the context of DNS queries?
TCP 443 is more likely to be open than UDP 443 so using a technology that uses TCP 443 is more likely to work.
I use controld.com. it has DoT and DoH. They have an unfiltered, malware, malware + ads & tracking, or malware + ads & tracking + big social like spybook, instaspy and china-tok.
How are you liking Controld vs NextDNS?
Ive never tried NextDNS but controld works really well.
Dnscrypt site explains some of the different DNS protocol types
https://dnscrypt.info/faqPS: There isn’t Do53, that’s just plain (unencrypted) DNS
Pfsense uses
unboundCloudflare does cleartext, DoH and DoT. Can be supported natively in iOS using DNS profiles the rest of the platforms are easier to deal with. And yes, iOS supported DoH natively, no need to install anything.
