Keep in mind, DNSCrypt is currently in the Preview Release phase with only support for users on Macs with at least Snow Leopard or Linux users. The encryption wraps itself around the DNS traffic much like SSL wraps itself around HTTP traffic, though DNSCrypt is using another form of encryption: a type of elliptic-curve cryptography, called Curve25519. It does this by completely encrypting the DNS traffic to and from a user’s computer and the OpenDNS servers. What is DNSCrypt?ĭNSCrypt is an open source DNS encryption client program offered by OpenDNS, a third-party DNS provider, to prevent DNS snooping, spoofing, and other man-in-the-middle attacks.
#OPENDNS DNSCRYPT PFSENSE HOW TO#
Here I’ll discuss what DNSCrypt is and how to give it a try. Publically announced in December 2011, DNSCrypt is a recent example. A single compromised DNS server at an Internet Service Provider can in this way affect potentially thousands of users.Īlthough DNS security issues and attacks have been around for years, recently there have been new developments in the area of DNS security solutions. This type of attack is difficult for users to detect, because the website address displayed in the user’s web browser is not altered in any way. For example, an attacker might perform cache poisoning on the DNS entry for a legitimate bank’s website, thereby directing visitors to the hacker’s fake look-a-like site in order to capture their login or banking details. One common attack on the DNS infrastructure is called “ DNS spoofing.” In this type of attack, also known as “DNS cache poisoning,” an attacker tricks a DNS server into returning an incorrect IP address for a target website. Though DNS provides a deceptively simple service - translating human-friendly website addresses such as into computer-friendly numerical IP addresses such as - the system’s integrity is a crucial cornerstone of Internet operations and trustworthiness. Like most of the network protocols and systems in widespread use today, the Domain Name System ( DNS) harbors significant security vulnerabilities.