The domain is a fundamental part of any web page. Therefore, maintaining security is something that should be of concern to those responsible for Internet sites. In this article we are going to explain what DNSSEC is and how it helps to protect a website. We are going to review this term that can favor the security of a domain.
What does DNSSEC mean
DNSSEC stands for Domain Name System Security Extensions . It is a protocol that adds an extra layer of security to the DNS servers in a domain. This allows you to avoid certain cyber attacks that could seriously compromise the security of that site.
Keep in mind that DNS is a fundamental part of the Internet. They basically act as translators when it comes to putting the name of a website. In this way, the user does not need to remember the IP address that corresponds to a page, but simply the name, as would be the case with redeszone.net.
What the DNSSEC protocol does is digitally sign those DNS that we mentioned. It adds a security plus to verify that the information received really corresponds to that of the authorized servers.
When a user enters a web page, their browser will check the DNS servers associated with that site. There are a number of registers that store digital signatures. What the browser does is check if these signatures correspond with what it should and therefore validate the request.
What would happen if those signatures do not match? In the event that it could not be verified, the website would not be accessible. It is, as we can see, an additional protection measure to avoid accessing sites that may be a security hazard.
Why protect a web domain
As we have indicated, it adds an extra layer of security to a web domain . It can help prevent phishing attacks, such as Phishing. In addition, it increases protection against traffic interception attacks.
We must bear in mind that not any DNS server that we use will serve this purpose. As we know, we can use the ones that come by default with our operator, as well as use others. There are many options on the net. For example we can name those of Google or CloudFlare .
Not all of them will support DNSSEC, so we must check if they do so and in this way we can benefit from the security they provide. For example, Google’s DNS, which are very popular and used, are supported.
But they not only protect the domain itself, but also the user logically. They prevent a person from accessing an insecure domain, which could have been created simply with the aim of stealing information and compromising privacy.
How to know if a domain is DNSSEC compliant
We have different options to check if a page is DNSSEC compliant. This way we will know if it is really protected or we should activate it in our hosting. This is a simple process that we can carry out at any time.
To find out if a domain is compatible with DNSSEC we can make use of any of the tools that are available. One of them is DNSSEC-Analyzer , from Verisign. We simply have to enter there and enter the domain that interests us. It will show us the data as we see in the image below.
Another option we have is DNSViz . Once again, we have to put the name of the domain that interests us and give it to analyze. It takes a few seconds and shows us the information that interests us to know if it is compatible or not with DNSSEC and therefore it is protected.
In short, DNSSEC is an important protocol and that we must take into account for a web domain. It helps us to add an extra layer of security and thus avoid possible problems that can jeopardize the reliability of a page. Protecting our website, as well as surfing the net safely, is essential.