Best DNS Security Solutions
DNS (domain name system) security solutions are used to secure DNS servers and the websites they support. These tools redirect end-user web traffic through filters capable of identifying malware signatures and other characteristics of potentially dangerous websites and media. DNS security solutions provide IT personnel with tools to classify websites, categorize users, group devices, and customize usage policies. Companies use these tools to protect their employees’ endpoint devices and their own servers by blocking dangerous content, media, and websites. They can also be used to prevent employees from accessing unapproved content, such as adult or streaming sites, in the workplace.
DNS-based attacks have a variety of impacts and can cause significant disruptions. To combat this, DNS security software also possesses monitoring capabilities to identify unauthorized or malicious bots that may be capable of disrupting server performance, service availability, and network connectivity.
Many DNS protection solutions are capable of detecting and mitigating distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. DDoS attacks may target DNS servers but can attack virtually any kind of computer or network resource. DNS protections may not be able to protect against all kinds of DDoS attacks. DDoS-specific solutions include cloud DDoS mitigation software and DDoS protection software.
To qualify for inclusion in the DNS Security category, a product must:
Best DNS Security Solutions At A Glance
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- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Cisco Umbrella simplifies cybersecurity and compliance by providing a converged set of capabilities in a single, cloud-native solution. Its combination of DNS-layer security, secure web gateway, CASB,
- Network Engineer
- Software Developer
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 48% Mid-Market
- 29% Enterprise
732,001 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Overview Our Cloud-Delivered Security Services are natively integrated, offering consistent best-in-class protection everywhere. Backed by our world-renowned Unit 42® Threat Research team, this one-o
- Network Engineer
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 41% Mid-Market
- 33% Enterprise
127,244 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
DNSFilter is a cybersecurity solution designed to enhance internet safety and workplace productivity by actively blocking malicious online threats. By leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, DNSF
- Owner
- IT Director
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 63% Small-Business
- 33% Mid-Market
2,039 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Cloudflare is the cloud for the “everywhere world”. At Cloudflare, we have our eyes set on an ambitious goal -- to help build a better Internet. Today, everything needs to be connected to everything
- Web Developer
- Software Engineer
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer Software
- 64% Small-Business
- 26% Mid-Market
217,029 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
BloxOne™ DDI is the first and only cloud-native DDI solution that simplifies DDI control and management at scale.
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 52% Enterprise
- 26% Small-Business
11,175 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
IBM® NS1 Connect is a managed service for authoritative DNS with internet traffic steering capabilities that empower fast, reliable and secure connections to users anywhere in the world. It is suited
- Computer & Network Security
- Information Technology and Services
- 48% Mid-Market
- 29% Enterprise
709,653 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
What if you could stop up to 88% of known malware BEFORE it hit endpoints and networks? Well, you can. Webroot® DNS Protection works at the DNS layer to prevent malicious traffic and block malware be
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 71% Small-Business
- 23% Mid-Market
62,597 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
NIOS is the industry-leading on-premises DDI solution of choice for demanding enterprise and carrier needs.
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 57% Enterprise
- 30% Mid-Market
11,175 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
DNS Safeguard is a cloud-based DNS security platform that blocks unsafe internet destinations at the earliest point of contact, before a connection is made. Protect your network from web content and s
- 46% Small-Business
- 31% Enterprise
6 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
MxToolbox is the leading provider of free Blacklist, DNS and Email tools and paid Email Delivery solutions. MxToolbox has almost two decades of experience in helping companies large and small improv
- Information Technology and Services
- 54% Small-Business
- 32% Mid-Market
1,959 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
DNSSense DNSEye is a sophisticated cybersecurity solution that uses AI to inspect outbound DNS traffic for anomalies indicating malicious DNS queries from any device, user, or application. With no nee
- Information Technology and Services
- Financial Services
- 57% Enterprise
- 34% Mid-Market
25 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
ScoutDNS is a cloud based content filtering and malware protection solution that operates at the DNS Layer. ScoutDNS combines A.I. powered domain and content data feeds with detailed DNS layer insight
- Religious Institutions
- Information Technology and Services
- 62% Small-Business
- 24% Mid-Market
99 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Essential cyber protection and security control for your small business Avast Essential Business Security helps deliver device security for small businesses that want remote visibility and centrally
- IT Manager
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer Software
- 42% Mid-Market
- 39% Small-Business
4,222 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
WebTitan DNS Filter is a powerful DNS based web filtering and security solution providing protection from web based cyber threats including Malware, Ransomware and malicious sites. WebTitan Web Filter
- Information Technology and Services
- Education Management
- 47% Mid-Market
- 44% Small-Business
2,034 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Uniquely Canadian cybersecurity delivered by CIRA. The CIRA DNS Firewall delivers protection against malware and phishing attacks by blocking access to malicious websites at the DNS layer. And it d
- 56% Mid-Market
- 39% Enterprise
Learn More About DNS Security Solutions
What are DNS Security Solutions?
DNS (domain name system) security solutions protect the infrastructure and the websites it supports. They can identify potentially dangerous websites and content by redirecting end-user web traffic through certain filters. They can also prevent other attacks, including DNS hijacking and DNS tunneling. Most DNS security software can also detect and mitigate distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
DNS is one of the oldest protocols of the internet. It’s a naming database that locates and translates domain names into IP addresses, similar to how a phone’s contacts list matches names to phone numbers. DNS is also one of the most utilized protocols, making it a common target of network attacks. Most internet activities, including web browsing, heavily depend on the DNS directory to quickly locate an IP address, connect with the web server, and access the website’s content.
Since the DNS functions as the backbone of internet connectivity, it’s natural to assume it is designed with the utmost cybersecurity features. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. When this infrastructure was created, malicious actors and security threats were not as prevalent as today. Organizations use DNS security solutions to protect against DNS server attacks, threats, and malware such as ransomware.
What Does DNS Stand For?
DNS stands for domain name system and acts as a translator between humans and computers. It is essentially a directory of domain names mapped with each website's IP addresses.
What are the Common Features of DNS Security Solutions?
The following are some of the core features within DNS security tools that can help companies protect their networks from malicious actors:
DNS filter: DNS filter may be one of the many features offered by this type of protection solution or the only purpose of a specific tool. It’s also referred to as DNS-layer security and can be viewed as a way to cut off threats before they can attack. In other words, it is the first line of defense against cybersecurity infiltration. DNS filtering can help blacklist malicious and phishing websites and ultimately avoid the risk of being attacked. This feature doubles as a content filtering system, enabling companies to prevent employees from accessing harmful or inappropriate web content on company-managed devices and networks.
Bot protection: With IoT devices becoming more prevalent, bot attacks are increasing. Malicious attackers may use botnets to steal employee data, send spam, or initiate DDoS attacks. Most DNS security tools come with features to detect and mitigate botnet attacks.
Prediction capabilities: Some DNS security solutions utilize the power of machine learning to identify and predict malicious domains. These solutions can proactively identify newly staged attacker infrastructure and block them to protect against cyber threats by analyzing internet activity patterns.
Typo correction: DNS security solutions may have features for the typo correction, which is incredibly important as attackers may create domains with misleading names, for example, “gogle.com”, and use them for phishing attacks.
What are the Benefits of DNS Security Solutions?
DNS security systems enable organizations to add an extra layer of protection between employees and the internet. With the increasing number of remote workers, DNS security applications help secure data inside and outside the office and make it safer to promote programs such as bring your own device (BYOD).
The DNS wasn’t created with security in mind, making it vulnerable to several security threats. For example, since DNS heavily depends on caching, attackers may utilize an advanced technique called cache poisoning to exploit the behavior of servers and cache to serve harmful HTTP responses to users. Most DNS security software tools are equipped with essential features to fight cache poisoning.
Another way to fight cache poisoning is with the help of DNS security extensions (DNSSEC). But buyers must be mindful not to confuse DNSSEC with DNS security systems, as the former is a feature that authenticates the responses to domain name lookups. This also means that DNSSEC doesn’t provide particular privacy protection for those lookups. Instead, it prevents attackers from poisoning or manipulating the responses to DNS queries.
The following are some of the notable benefits of utilizing a DNS security solution:
Filter unwanted content: As mentioned earlier, DNS security software solutions offer filtering, which is an excellent way to block malicious websites and reduce the chance of DNS attacks. Companies can use this feature to control how employees access the web. For instance, it can block unwanted websites with adult or inappropriate NSFW (not suitable for work) content. The main benefit of this feature is that buyers can implement it without installing any specific software on the devices.
Block advertisements: Another benefit of DNS filtering is ad blocking, which is also a type of content filtering. Ads may have malicious apps hidden inside them or could be a strategy to extract employee information. Even if there isn’t any malicious intent behind an advertisement, it can still distract employees and reduce their performance.
Uncover shadow IT: Shadow IT, which are IT systems deployed by employees without the approval of the IT department, can cause security and compliance issues and may also increase the IT spending at a company. Unsanctioned applications are also frequently targeted by attackers. Some DNS security software products help uncover shadow IT applications and provide insights into where the employees spend the most time online.
Prevent malware downloads: Controlling internet access also means that DNS security applications can help prevent malware downloads from hacked or malicious sites. If malware is downloaded somehow, it will typically send “callback” signals to a host server to receive further instructions. If there’s a DNS security platform in place, it can block such signals.
Integrate with ease: DNS security solutions easily integrate with a business’s existing network security ecosystem. These products typically come with flexible APIs and can be configured and deployed effortlessly.
Who Uses DNS Security Solutions?
IT administrators: IT administrators, or more precisely, internal IT management departments of organizations, are the most common users of DNS security solutions. These tools help administrators secure DNS servers and protect their employees from DNS-based attacks and secure sensitive data.
Software Related to DNS Security Solutions
Related solutions that can be used together with DNS security solutions include:
DDoS protection software: DDoS protection software solutions help prevent DDoS attacks and secure websites and applications. They monitor web traffic and set baselines for normal traffic loads. If the traffic inflow increases rapidly, botnet attack being one reason, the web filters will redirect web traffic to a controlled source.
Website security software: As the name suggests, website security software protects websites from numerous internet-based attacks. It combines the features of DDoS protection software, content delivery networks (CDN), and web application firewalls.
Secure web gateways: Secure web gateways enable organizations to prevent internet-based threats and can help ensure employee compliance. They can filter websites and content to identify malware, block dangerous URLs, and prevent end users from engaging with them.
Web application firewalls (WAF): This tool filters and monitors incoming traffic to protect web applications against malicious traffic. These tools can inspect traffic flow at the application level and block cross-site scripting and SQL injection attacks.
Bot detection and mitigation software: Bot detection and mitigation software monitors websites, applications, and networks to identify malicious bot activity. It’s an essential tool to prevent DDoS attacks, form submission abuse, web scraping, and other bot attacks.
Challenges with DNS Security Solutions
Most DNS security products use the DNS as a low-bandwidth, low-latency, and basic filter to protect end users from phishing and other malicious attacks. Although DNS security platforms can prevent numerous cyber attacks, it can be viewed only as the first line of defense. In other words, it is only one of the many tools required to maintain a healthy and secure network ecosystem. Additionally, DNS security software systems come with numerous limitations and challenges.
End-user circumvention: End users may try to get around the filters enforced by a DNS security tool. And in many cases, they will succeed. This is a common limitation of DNS security systems and will defeat the purpose of having such a tool in place. Of course, businesses can overcome this limitation by setting up some firewall rules. But, it is better to look at the bigger picture and understand why end users are doing it in the first place. Educating end users about the benefits of having a DNS filter can help overcome this limitation.
Registrar hijacking: An attacker can take advantage of the weak security practices, vulnerabilities, or carelessness of an organization, which would instantly make a DNS security tool ineffective. For instance, a malicious attacker may perform social engineering on an organization’s domain registrar to ultimately perform domain hijacking. This method of domain hijacking is called registrar hijacking.
How to Buy DNS Security Solutions
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for DNS Security Solutions
Understanding the company’s requirements by performing an internal assessment should be the first step toward buying a DNS security software solution. In other words, buyers should try to understand what the tool means to their organization.
This step of understanding what a particular software should do for an organization is called requirements gathering, and its success can significantly impact the effectiveness of the chosen software solution. Along with requirements gathering, buyers should have a fair understanding of the budget to purchase the software. This will empower them to choose the best software solution that fits their needs and budget.
Unlike most other software, DNS security products may have a single purpose–DNS filtering. But, depending on the use case, businesses may want the DNS security tool to perform multiple functions, including content filtering, bot protection, and typo correction. Understanding whether the company requires advanced features such as real-time threat detection, predictive capabilities, or threat intelligence is essential. Not all DNS security systems come with artificial intelligence features.
Compare DNS Security Solutions
Create a long list
After requirements gathering, buyers should create a long list of potential DNS security software products. This initial list can include any software solutions that meet the company’s basic requirements. At this point, instead of finding the right solution, the focus should be on eliminating the products that don’t offer critical functionality. For instance, if a software product can perform DNS filtering, it should be added to this list, regardless of what else it offers.
Create a short list
A buyer can create a short list from the long list by eliminating DNS security software products that don’t meet the company’s requirements or, in other words, don’t have the must-have features. In this step, buyers can also remove software products that don’t fit their budget. To refine the list further, buyers can eliminate tools without the nice-to-have features. Companies can compare the remaining products based on usability, features, pricing, and vendor support. Ideally, creating a short list with five to seven products is better.
Conduct demos
Product demos help understand a product's usability and features. Additionally, demos help buyers compare the particular product with others on the short list. To be fair and square, buyers should test the DNS security software products using the same use cases. Along with understanding the usability, demos are useful to examine the user experience of the software, ask questions about the features buyers care the most about, and check whether the features work as advertised.
Selection of DNS Security Solutions
Choose a selection team
Like in the case of every software product, buying a DNS security software platform is a costly decision, so buyers should ensure that the right stakeholders are present to make the decision. For this reason, the organization should assemble a selection team, which includes IT administrators, security team professionals, IT managers, and key decision-makers. The team must consist of professionals who can use the DNS security solution, scrutinize it, and check whether it meets all the requirements.
Negotiation
After finding a product that fits the criteria, buyers should discuss the terms and conditions with the DNS security software vendor and negotiate the pricing. Negotiating is possible even if a vendor has mentioned specific pricing on their website. Buyers can request to lower the price by removing certain optional features. Vendors may also offer additional discounts for multi-year contracts.
Final decision
It’s advisable to test the software on a small scale for a short period before purchasing. It’s best to involve the day-to-day users of the software in this testing phase. They can be better judges of the usability and user experience of the software and offer valuable feedback.
Software vendors will offer a free, short-term product trial in most cases. If the end users and the selection team are satisfied with the software, buyers can proceed with purchasing or contracting. If not, the buyer must re-evaluate the software options.
