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WARNING! DNS cache Poisoning can put you in serious trouble!

Now I’m not a big fan of big WARNING signs but seriously, sit down and pay attention! So this is one of the latest fads in ways to lose your identity online, don’t join the trend. Enough Foolish talk, let’s do this:

from Wikipedia:

DNS cache poisoning is a maliciously created or unintended situation that provides data to a Domain Name Server that did not originate from authoritative DNS sources. This can happen through improper software design, misconfiguration of name servers and maliciously designed scenarios exploiting the traditionally open-architecture of the DNS system. Once a DNS server has received such non-authentic data and caches it for future performance increase, it is considered poisoned, supplying the non-authentic data to the clients of the server.

From what we have gathered this happens at the DNS server level, meaning, if you have 700 firewalls configured to work together and not let anything in, if you trust your Comcast (or communistcast) DNS servers, well bad news, they are vulnerable and you can go to your bank’s website thinking you’re there, put in your info and wave goodbye to your money without knowing it, and all the tampering happened outside of your unsuspecting PC, Mac, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Whateverbuntu.

You say: Blah blah, I don’t wanna hear anymore technobable Antonio, give me a solution!
Antonio says: Oh but I do have one!
(I need to go outside more often, maybe get a life)

Solution:

http://www.opendns.org They provide FREE DNS services for everyone, I’ve been using them for about a year (found them on digg) and have never had a single issue, zip, zero, nada. This this their sole reason for existing so you better believe they are on top of all these security issues (Unlike Comcast [Yes, I dislike them]) Check them out and start using them, they are one of those “Set and Forget” services so don’t worry about problems in the future.

If you can’t wait to do it, here is the info for their servers.

Our nameservers are 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.

go to https://www.opendns.com/start to get started if you need help setting it up

If you make an account with them you get a few extra things, you can set up filters and stuff in case you have kids that might run into some porn or malicious site. It really is a wonderful service.

Tags: dns, security