Internet Privacy 1: DNS

The Domain Name System, or DNS, is a great way to track users. DNS converts human readable names, like Facebook.com into numbers like 66.220.144.0.

Changing DNS is a little more technical than installing a browser extension, and two services offer an alternative to letting ISPs watch everywhere I surf, OpenDNS and Cloudflare.

Using an alternative DNS often speeds up the internet, as it routes web traffic through their servers rather than V*rizon, C0mcast, or whomever. For some years I have used OpenDNS, but they were bought by C!sco, and their vibe changed, but their service is still good for home users.

On April fools day, Cloudflare announced a new DNS service, which also promised to speed up internet service, so I installed it on the router at my temporary home, and it works great.

https://developers.cloudflare.com/1.1.1.1/setting-up-1.1.1.1/