Symantec announced Norton Everywhere today--a new approach to security that abandons the traditional PC-centric model and takes a more holistic approach to delivering security across all Internet-enabled devices. Norton DNS, a component of Norton Everywhere, provides alternative DNS servers that can be used by any Internet-connected device for a faster and more secure surfing experience.
A Symantec spokesperson commented via e-mail to say 'We're introducing Norton DNS to address the quickly growing need for web safety across all the devices that a consumer and their family might use to browse the web, from their Nintendo Wii to their new Apple iPad.'
R/pihole: 'Pi-holeĀ® is an advertising-aware DNS server that prevents ads from being downloaded.' Please read the rules before posting, thanks! Upgrading to a better DNS server can make your surfing both faster and more secure. Last year, Symantec shuttered its Norton ConnectSafe service, directing users instead to. The Best Mac Antivirus Protection for 2019.
DNS stands for Domain Name Service or Domain Name Server. You think in terms of PCWorld.com, or Google.com, or Microsoft.com, but your computer and the Web servers it is trying to communicate with don't speak that language. The DNS servers provide the translation from a URL to an IP address that the computers and routers can understand in order to get the Web page to show up on your display.
If you ping PCWorld.com, you will find that the IP address associated with it is 70.42.185.10. You could type 'http://70.42.185.10' and get to the same page, but remembering the IP address for every Web page you might want to visit is much more difficult than just typing in 'pcworld.com' and letting DNS do its thing.
One form of malicious attack involves altering, or 'poisoning' the information on the DNS server in order to redirect unsuspecting users to malicious sites. For example, an attacker could access an insecure DNS server and change the IP address associated with 'pcworld.com' to point to a different server. When users that rely on that DNS server try to visit 'pcworld.com' they will be redirected to the malicious site.
There are other DNS concerns as well. The bottom line is that DNS is critical to Web surfing and as more applications and services are Web-based, and as more devices and appliances are Web-connected, DNS becomes a prime target, and somewhat of an Achilles heel for Web security.
The Symantec spokesperson explained 'The Norton DNS service works by filtering the DNS requests that are automatically created when you visit a Web page to determine if they are associated with fraud, spyware, malware or objectionable content such as pornography or violence.'
Symantec recognizes that the Internet and the Web have grown beyond the PC. Just in my home, we have two Xbox 360s, a Nintendo Wii, four Nintendo DS gaming systems, five laptops, two desktops, an iPad, two iPhones, and two other feature phones all capable of accessing the Web.
The risk to many of those platforms may be somewhat limited today, and many of them have a limited ability to install security agents or applications. The beauty of Norton DNS is that it sits between these devices and the Web, providing filtering of insecure sites and guarding against DNS security concerns without the need to install any software.
There are other public DNS services--namely OpenDNS and Google Public DNS. Google's DNS service, like Symantec's, is designed to provide a faster and more secure Web surfing experience. Like Symantec's Norton DNS, the Google Public DNS also provides protection against DNS cache poisoning and other common DNS threats.
Symantec is taking a broader approach, though, by actively promoting Norton DNS for non-PC devices. According to the Symantec spokesperson 'In order to use Norton DNS, the device's DNS settings simply need to be changed to Norton's IP addresses for the service (usually from the default DNS service set by the ISP). More advanced users will do this manually, less sophisticated users can use one of several apps for the PC or Android in order to quickly and easily set their device to use Norton DNS.'
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by Martin Brinkmann on October 22, 2018 in Internet - 15 comments
Computer uses who use Symantec's NortonConnectSafe public DNS service need to switch to another service soon as Symantec announced the shutdown of the service.
Symantec launched Norton DNS back in 2010 and renamed it in 2014 to Norton ConnectSafe. The service was launched at a time when many major Internet companies started to offer public and free DNS services (Google launched Google DNS in 2009).
Symantec promised that its service would make the Internet connection of user's safer, faster and more reliable than default DNS services by ISPs. The service supported multiple DNS IP addresses designed to protect users against malicious Internet traffic and activity and optionally as a blocker for adult content and other non family-friendly content.
Norton ConnectSafe will be shut down on November 15, 2018 for all users. Devices that use Norton ConnectSafe DNS servers will be unable to connect to Internet sites and services starting on that day.
By retiring Norton ConnectSafe, the service will be terminated for use or support. If you are a current user, you can keep using your service through the end of service date November 15th, 2018. After this date ConnectSafe will no longer be available for use.
The company stated that a shift in its 'business focus and investment' prompted for the shutdown of Norton ConnectSafe and that it does not offer a direct alternative for consumers.
Symantec published a support page on the Norton website that provides users with instructions on removing Norton ConnectSafe settings from their devices.
Windows users are asked to run the following operations on their devices:
- Open the Start menu.
- Type ncpa.cpl and load the result to open the Network Connections control panel applet.
- Right-click on any adapter that is enabled and select Properties.
- Confirm the UAC prompt if it appears.
- Double-click on the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP) entry.
- Switch from 'Use the following DNS server addresses' to 'Obtain DNS server address automatically'
- Click ok.
- Repeat the process for any other network connection used on the device and for any other device that you use that runs Windows.
The process switches the DNS server that is used on the device from Symantec's Norton ConnectSafe servers to the servers provided by the Internet Service Provider.
You may switch to another DNS provider such as Open DNS or Cloudflare DNS instead and may want to consider using DNSCrypt on top of that to encrypt DNS traffic.
Now You: Do you use a third-party DNS service?
Symantec retires Norton ConnectSafe (DNS) on November 15, 2018
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Computer uses who use Symantec's NortonConnectSafe public DNS service need to switch to another service soon as Symantec announced the shutdown of the service.
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Ghacks Technology News
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