What is DNS?
DNS stands for Domain Name System, and while that doesn’t mean much on its own, it’s the magic that sends your machine to the right place on the internet. For example, we write Santa on a postcard and it knows where to go. No full address, just a simple name.
Every time you type a website address into your browser, something needs to translate the website name into a ‘Santa equivalent’ internet location your computer can actually find. DNS is essentially the internet’s address book. You type in a name, it finds the right address, and your browser takes you there in a fraction of a second. It happens so fast you’d never notice it, which is exactly how it should work.
The reason DNS matters from a security perspective is that this process, as ordinary as it sounds, is something that cybercriminals have learned to exploit. Often these are genuine letters to ‘Santa’ that can be misspelt ‘Satan’. While the powers of the internet try to be helpful, this is a different location (yes, you guessed it, a bad one). Fortunately, in this case, the postman (DNS filter) is smart enough to block your beloved Santa list going to the wrong place.
Malicious websites, phishing links, and harmful content all rely on that same system to reach you. By managing DNS, we can intercept those requests before they ever get to your device, blocking known threats before they have the chance to cause a problem. That’s what DNSFilter does for your business – it monitors those requests and blocks the harmful ones before they ever reach your devices.
What’s new?
We’ve recently added a new module to DNSFilter called CyberSight. Without going too deep into the technical detail, it gives us an additional layer of visibility and a stronger set of tools to work with if a threat does manage to develop within your organisation. When something starts to take hold inside a business, the speed at which we can identify and respond to it makes a real difference to the outcome, and CyberSight helps us do that even more effectively.
You might see it appear as a browser plugin on your devices. It’s there by design, it’s doing exactly what it should be, and there’s nothing you need to do about it.
Why are we telling you this?
If someone in your team spots the plugin and starts asking questions, now you know what to tell them. It’s part of keeping you informed about what’s running on your systems and why, because that transparency is something we think matters. You should always know what’s on your devices and who put it there.
If you have any questions about DNSFilter, CyberSight, or anything else to do with your IT setup, the team are always happy to help.
Drop us an email at hello@q2q-it.com or give us a call on 01524 581690.
