You may have heard of the DNS ( Domain Name System ). There are those who define it as a telephone directory of the entire internet. It is the DNS that translates Internet Protocol (IP) addresses into site names.
It is the DNS that allows you to enter the name of a domain, such as teknologya.com in the address bar, instead of a long sequence of numbers difficult to decorate.
What is DNS?
In simple terms, the Domain Name System (DNS) is a collection of databases that translates host names into unique IP addresses.
How does a DNS address work?
There are two ways to access a website on the internet: by typing the domain name you are already accustomed to or by entering the IP address of your hosting.
Of course, typing the sequence of numbers in the browser every time you want to visit a site does not make sense, so DNS does the work of translating that address into words, which form the URL you know, into the IP address of the server.
Each domain name has a unique IP number and you will not see more than one site with the same URL. However, different domain names can route you from one site to another. It is enough that the responsible person buys the right to use all at the same time.
Want an example?
It does not matter if you type google.com or google.in, both will take you to the “.in” version. This happens because “.com” directs to “.in” (If you belong to India), which leads to IP.
This translation of the domain name into IP takes place in a fraction of a second. It is not something you will notice in the routine use of the internet browser, but it does exist.
Now imagine that all these “translation requests” for domain names in IP (or queries) arrive in bulk all the time. The solution to avoid bottlenecks is to prevent them from being processed at the same time. Therefore, it uses the so-called DNS Cache, which stores the last queries to the servers temporarily so it is not necessary to perform a new translation of domain names for known IP.
By default, we use the DNS service offered by the access provider we contracted for. However, you can use other DNS services that usually offer better performance and/or more security (with encryption ). You will find options like OpenDNS, Google Public DNS and others.
Many users are looking for other DNS servers because, in addition to being faster, they are able to detect fake or infected websites (compromised) or offer some parental protection system, which is also capable of blocking adult content sites.
A compromised DNS server can wreak havoc on all internet traffic, as it would allow man-in-the-middle attacks, which hijack traffic and direct it to malicious IP addresses with fake sites, instead of the correct destination.
Who organizes DNS addresses?
Such an important structure in the whole world could not be without a global command. The organization responsible for assigning domain names to IPS addresses worldwide is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Non-profit, the digital entity tries to keep it all online and without making a mess.