INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
In an effort to further protect the privacy of its users online, Firefox has begun rolling out encrypted DNS over HTTPS (DoH) by default for
US-based users.The rollout will continue over the course of the next few weeks as Mozilla works to confirm that no major issues are
discovered as US Firefox users begin to use the new protocol.A little over two years ago, the company began working to help update and
secure one of the oldest parts of the internet, the Domain Name System (DNS)
DNS links web addresses to IP addresses and when browsers need to perform a DNS lookup, unfortunately they have to do so without
encryption.In a blog post, former principal engineer at Mozilla, Patrick McManus explained why DNS lookups can jeopardize your privacy
protocols and send them to any nearby server who claimed to be able to answer it
This approach is no longer a fit for the modern Internet
by cybercriminals, Mozilla is working to help the internet make the shift to more secure alternatives.The Firefox maker is now performing
DNS lookups in an encrypted HTTPS connection to help hide your browsing history from attackers as well as to prevent data collection by
Since Mozilla's work on DoH began, many other browsers have followed suit by announcing their own plans to support DoH.At this time, DoH by
default is being enabled by Firefox only in the US
However, if you're outside of the US and would like to enable DoH, you can do so by going to Firefox's network settings
By default, this change will send your encrypted DNS requests to Cloudflare but you also have the option to choose to use NextDNS
instead.Mozilla plans to enable DoH in other regions and the company is also working to add more DNS providers as trusted resolvers to its
program.Also check out our complete list of the best VPN services
