A Controversial Plan to Encrypt More of the Internet

Reach For My Resolver

The concept of DNS was developed in the mid-1980s, and hasn’t evolved much since the early 1990s. Like many foundational internet protocols, DNS has been remarkably flexible and serviceable over the years. But having roots that predate the rise of the modern internet has led to inevitable problems, one of which is that those address lookups aren’t encrypted. That’s a big deal. Any time your browser attempts a DNS lookup, that request can pass across multiple servers. Your internet service provider, lurking government snoops, and just anyone on the same Wi-Fi network can see what websites you visit, even if they can’t see what you do once you actually load the sites.