5/26/2020 DNS Servers: What Are They and Why Are They Used?

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What Is a DNS Server?

Everything you need to know about network DNS
servers
by Tim Fisher
Updated on May 08, 2020

A DNS server is a computer server that contains a

database of public IP addresses and their associated
hostnames, and in most cases serves to resolve, or
translate, those names to IP addresses as requested.
DNS servers run special software and communicate with
each other using special protocols.

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Note: You may see a DNS server referred to by

other names, such as a name server or
nameserver, and a domain name system server.

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The Purpose of DNS Servers

It's easier to remember a domain or hostname like
lifewire.com than it is to remember the site's IP address
numbers 151.101.2.114. So when you access a website, like
Lifewire, all you have to type is the URL
https:/
/www.lifewire.com.
However, computers and network devices don't work
well with domain names when trying to locate each
other on the internet. It's far more efficient and precise
to use an IP address, which is the numerical
representation of what server in the network (internet)
the website resides on.

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Note: The DNS server sits in the space between

humans and computers to help facilitate their
communication.

How DNS Servers Resolve a DNS

Query
When you type a website address into your browsers
address bar and press Enter, a DNS server goes to work
to find the address that you want to visit. It does this by
sending a DNS query to several servers, each of which
translates a different part of the domain name you
entered. The different servers queried are:
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A DNS Resolver: Receives the request to resolve the

domain name with the IP address. This server does
the grunt work in figuring out where the site you
want to go actually resides on the internet.
A Root Server: The root server receives the first
request, and returns a result to let the DNS resolver
know what the address of the Top Level Domain
(TLD) server that stores the information about the
site. A top level domain is the equivalent of the
.com or .net portion of the domain name you
entered into the address bar.
A TLD Server: The DNS resolver then queries this
server, which will return the Authoritative Name
Server where the site is actually returned.
An Authoritative Name Server: Finally, the DNS
resolver queries this server to learn the actual IP
address of the website you're trying to deliver.

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Once the IP address is returned, the website you wanted

to visit is then displayed in your web browser.

It sounds like a lot of back and forth, and it is, but it all
happens very quickly with little delay in returning the
site you want to visit.

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Note: The process described above happens the

first time you visit a site. If you visit the same site
again, before the cache on your web browser is
cleared, there's no need to go through all these
steps. Instead, the web browser will pull the
information from the cache to serve the website
to your browser ever faster.

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Primary and Secondary DNS

Servers
In most cases, a primary and a secondary DNS server
are configured on your router or computer when you
connect to your internet service provider. There are two
DNS servers in case one of them happens to fail, in
which case the second is used to resolve hostnames you
enter.

Tip: Several publicly accessible DNS servers are

available for you to use. If you want to change
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DNS Servers: What Are They and Why Are They Used?

the DNS servers your network connects to, see

our Free & Public DNS Servers List for an up-to-
date listing, and How Do I Change DNS
Servers?.

Why You Might Change Your DNS

Server Settings
Some DNS servers can provide faster access times than
others. This is often a function of how close you are to
those servers. If your ISP's DNS servers are closer to you
than Google's, for example, you may find domain names
are resolved quicker using the default servers from your
ISP than with an external server.

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If you experience connection problems where it seems

no websites will load, it's possible there's an error with
the DNS server. If the DNS server isn't able to find the
correct IP address that's associated with the hostname
you enter, the website can't be located and loaded.

Note: A computer or device, including

smartphones and tablets, connected to your
router can use a different set of DNS servers to
resolve internet addresses. These will supersede
those configured on your router and will be used
instead.

How to Obtain Internet Server

Information
The nslookup command is used to query your DNS
server on Windows PCs.
Start by opening the Command Prompt tool and then
typing the following:

nslookup lifewire.com

This command should return something like this:

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Name: lifewire.com
Addresses: 151.101.2.114
151.101.66.114
151.101.130.114
151.101.194.114

In the example above, the nslookup command tells you

the IP address, or several IP addresses in this case, that
the lifewire.com address translates to.

DNS Root Servers

There are 13 important DNS root servers on the internet
that store a complete database of domain names and
their associated public IP addresses. These top-tier DNS
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servers are named A through M for the first 13 letters of

the alphabet. Ten of these servers are in the US, one in
London, one in Stockholm, and one in Japan.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) keeps
this list of DNS root servers if you're interested.

Malware Attacks That Change DNS

Server Settings
Malware attacks against DNS servers are not at all
uncommon. Always run an antivirus program because
malware can attack your computer in a way that
changes the DNS server settings.
For example, if your computer uses Google's DNS
servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) and you open your bank's
website, you naturally expect that when you enter its
familiar URL, you'll be sent to the bank's website.
However, if malware changes your DNS server settings,
which can happen without your knowledge after an
attack on your system, your system no longer contacts
Google's DNS servers but instead a hacker's server that
poses as your bank's website. This fake bank site might
look exactly like the real one, but rather than logging
you into your bank account, it harvests the username
and password you just typed, giving the hackers the
essential information they need to get into your bank
account.
Malware attacks that hijack your DNS server settings
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may also redirect traffic away from popular websites to

ones that are full of advertisements or to a fake site
designed to scare you into believing your computer has

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been infected with a virus, and that you must buy their
advertised software program to remove it.

Warning: Don't fall for websites that suddenly

pop up with flashing warnings telling you your
computer has been infected with a virus, and
that you must purchase some software to get rid
of it. They're always scams.

Protecting Yourself From DNS

Attacks
There are two things you should do to avoid becoming a
victim of a DNS settings attack. The first is to install
antivirus software so that malicious programs are
caught before they can do any damage.
The second is to pay close attention to the appearance
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of important websites you visit regularly. If you visit one
and the site looks off in some way—maybe the images
are all different or the site's colors have changed, or
menus don't look right, or you find misspellings (hackers
can be dreadful spellers)—or you get an "invalid
certificate" message in your browser, it might be a sign
that you're on a faked website.

How DNS Redirection Can Be

Positively Used
This ability to redirect traffic can be used for positive
purposes. For example, OpenDNS can redirect traffic to
adult websites, gambling websites, social media
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websites, or other sites network administrators or

organizations don't want their users visiting. Instead,
they may be sent to a page with a "Blocked" message.

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