Now that it knows the IP address of the website you want to visit, your browser can connect to it. When you enter a domain name into your browser’s URL bar, a DNS query is sent to a special server called a DNS resolver (also DNS recursor or just DNS server).Īs its name suggests, the DNS resolver “resolves” the DNS query by retrieving the domain’s corresponding IP address and sending it back to your browser. This is a useful analogy for understanding what DNS does, but the reality of how it works is more complex. DNS, censorship, and government surveillanceĭNS is often compared to a telephone directory that cross-references domain names and their corresponding IP addresses.To see this in action, simply enter 185.159.159.140 into your browser’s URL bar, and it will take you to the Proton VPN website. If you could remember IP addresses, you could type those in directly. This allows your browser to locate and connect to the correct website.ĭomain names exist solely for human convenience and aren’t required for the internet to function. So when you type in, DNS converts the domain name into the IP address: 185.159.159.140. When you type into your browser’s URL bar, the domain name must be converted into its corresponding IP address for computers to understand it.
The Domain Name System (DNS) maps these domain names to their corresponding IP addresses.įor example, the Proton VPN website uses the domain name, which corresponds to the IP address 185.159.159.140. To help make things easier for us humans, this address can also be identified using more readable and memorable domain names.
In this article, we discuss DNS - what it is, how it works, and how it impacts online privacy and censorship.Īll devices that connect directly to the internet are identified by a numerical label known as an IP address.
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