Why DNS Monitoring Is Important For Your Personal Website (+ A Tool You Should Know Of)
We at .ME are committed to the stable and secure operation of .ME domains.
In accordance with that commitment, we figured it would be useful to dedicate this week’s article to domain name security. And especially to one facet of domain name security – DNS monitoring.
Why is domain security important? How does DNS monitoring help us keep our domains safe? And what are some of the steps you can take to make your website more secure? That’s what we’re going to talk about in this article.
We also have something very special for you, so don’t forget to check out one of the DNS monitoring tools below!
But first, let’s see what DNS is and why it’s important for your domain name.
Domain Name System (DNS) – What It Is, And Why It’s Important
We already wrote about how domain names work on a couple of occasions. But here’s a brief summary of it:
Just like people communicate through words, computers communicate through numbers. So when you type in a domain name, it has to be translated into a number in order for the connection to be established. Thus, domain names have to be translated to their numeric equivalents – IP addresses. The specific system that allows this translating to happen is called the Domain Name System (DNS).
Before a website can appear on your screen, your computer has to first have the website’s IP address. To do so, it asks DNS to translate the domain name into a number (an IP address).
Read more: What is DNSSEC and Why Should You Care About It
DNS Safety And Monitoring
Now here’s where it gets tricky. The DNS conversation between your computer and the website can get intercepted, with your computer unaware of where the answer is actually coming from. To wit, your computer on its own is not able to verify who gave the answer.
This allows for security breaches to happen. Someone with not-so-good intentions can set up a domain name server and eavesdrop on a DNS conversation. Thus, they can configure a DNS server for whatever site they want and start answering with wrong IP addresses. That’s what we call DNS spoofing.
And that’s where DNS monitoring (and security in general) comes in. DNS monitoring is essential for ensuring the security of a domain name. Whether you’re a large company managing dozens of domains, or just an individual protecting your own personal website, DNS monitoring can help you diagnose key issues, and prevent and identify any security breaches that occur.
Generally, abusive use of domain names (think DNS spoofing) creates security and stability issues for registries, registrars, and registrants – as well as for website visitors at large. For website owners, it can lead to decreased revenue, reputational damage, and other issues you would like to avoid.
Of course, DNS monitoring is only one aspect of domain security you have to cover. We’ve talked about other facets of domain name security elsewhere.
Read more: The Safety and Security of .ME Domain Names
iQ Abuse Scan – A DNS Monitoring Tool You Should Know About
Here at .ME, ensuring the safety and security of the .ME neighborhood is one of our top priorities.
As part of this commitment, we have partnered with iQ, the company behind industry-leading anti-abuse products, to provide you with a very special offer.
iQ recently launched iQ Abuse Scan, a service that allows you to monitor unlimited domains, IPs, and MX or NS servers and receive instant threat alerts on phishing, malware, botnets, scams, spam and hacked sites.
iQ Abuse Scan allows you the following:
- To continually monitor multiple points of your infrastructure for DNS Abuse;
- Receive immediate notifications of any malicious acts that occur;
- A data rich report, including DNS information, which threat feed reported the domain, threat category, and much more. You can receive in HTML, JSON or plain text and via email, web hook or a text message.
You can see an example iQ report here.
The best part? There is no cost. As part of their commitment to making the internet a safer place, iQ is offering you 1000 free credits in iQ Abuse Scan. Note that there is no commitment to continue using Abuse Scan after this period, and no payment details are required.
Why are they offering this? Well, for a couple of reasons. iQ believes that a good anti-abuse tool should be available to everyone, regardless of whether you’re a large business managing dozens of domain names or just an individual wanting to secure your personal website. Furthermore, your feedback will help to create a more accurate picture of the reality of the abuse landscape, as well as help iQ improve future versions of iQ Abuse Scan.
How iQ Abuse Scan Works
iQ Abuse Scan is a pay-as-you-use service, where each abuse report “costs” 1 credit.
As a part of this special offer, 1000 free credits will be added automatically at registration. Credits get used when the user receives a report for whatever they are monitoring. For example, if you receive 2 reports for a domain name, 2 credits are deducted from your account.
To sign up, you can simply use this link and register. Getting set up only takes a few clicks!
After you use up your free credits, you will still have access to the system and all the reports you generated. And if you find Abuse Scan useful, you have the option to register for one of the plans.
Anyone can use iQ Abuse Scan, and it is especially suited to those with a “low” number of monthly abuse reports and limited internal anti-abuse resources.
Want to know more? Feel free to visit the Abuse Scan website or check out their knowledge base articles. Also feel free to reach out to the iQ team here.
In Conclusion
Domain name security is tantamount, and DNS monitoring is essential for ensuring the security of your domain name.
Here we covered the whys and hows of DNS security, as well as a superb tool – iQ Abuse Scan – you can use to make the job easier for you.
We also partnered with iQ to provide you with a very special offer where you can use their product for free. So head over to their website and see what it’s all about.
Cheers!
