Domain Name System, or DNS, is a directory of of domain names with the IP addresses they are linked to.
Outside people's Internet Service Providers (ISP), there are a bunch of DNS providers to choose from. For example, there is Google Public DNS which has been around for quite some times, and even the popular CDN provider Cloudflare has its own DNS service it calls 1.1.1.1.
The more the merrier, ad-blocker AdGuard that also provides privacy protection suite, also enters the game by providing its own DNS.
AdGuard has been testing a DNS service since 2016, but it was in December 2018 the company said that it's ready for prime time.
Related: The Reasons To Use Third-Party DNS Services: The Alternatives To Your ISP
AdGuard's DNS service supports both DNS-over-HTTPS which performs a remote DNS resolution via the HTTPS protocol, and DNS-over-TLS which encrypts DNS queries and wraps them via TLS protocol.
The latter here works with Android 9 Pie.
"Worth noting that starting with Android 9, Android devices have built-in support for DNS-over-TLS. You can configure your smartphone or tablet to use this protocol in a few taps without having to install any additional software," explained Vasily Bagirov who works for AdGuard since 2014.
AdGuard DNS also filters traffic from servers known to host ads and tracking scripts.
There are two versions of AdGuard DNS available.
The first is the normal version called 'Default', and the second is the 'Family Protection' version which blocks adult contents and enforces Safe Search feature in search engines, on top of the usual traffic filtering.
What AdGuard's DNS does, is providing another layer of security for users' connection.
By rerouting their connection to its DNS, users may experience reliability improvement and possible speed improvement.
But it goes more than that, as AdGuard specializes in blocking ads and online trackers.
Here, the company embedded these features to its DNS service, to protect users from ads and phishing schemes. The service also allows users to be protected on whatever device, wherever they may be. Whether they are on a smartphone, smart TV, tablet, IoT device, or computer, users can take advantage of this AdGuard DNS.
"AdGuard DNS is not just a regular DNS resolver, it also filters traffic. Whenever your device sends a 'bad' request, be it an ad or a tracker, instead of the correct IP-address AdGuard DNS server will return nothing. Simple, yet effective," said Bagirov.
AdGuard is also emphasizing the project as an open-source.
"We find it extremely important that services and products which you trust with your privacy are as transparent and trustworthy as possible," continued Bagirov.
It should be noted that some users (especially in the U.S.) may not feel comfortable in sending their entire DNS traffic to AdGuard which is a Russian company; others may distrust Google or Cloudflare. But if they can't trust their own ISP, AdGuard's solution can be their alternative.
People should also know that protections like these are never a 100 percent effective. But as for AdGuard's DNS service, it blocks a good share of content automatically.