What Is DNS, and How Does It Affect Your Business?
This blog was originally published on November 26, 2021, and has since been updated for accuracy and clarity. DNS, or Domain Name System, is the internet’s address book, connecting domain names to the records that power websites, email, and cloud tools. When DNS fails or is attacked, your business can lose access to essential services, send users to unsafe sites, or give cybercriminals a path into your environment. In most cases, when someone visits your website, sends an email, or connects to a cloud application by name, DNS is working in the background, often using cached records. Most
This blog was originally published on November 26, 2021, and has since been updated for accuracy and clarity. DNS, or Domain Name System, is the internet’s address book, connecting domain names to the records that power websites, email, and cloud tools. When DNS fails or is attacked, your business can lose access to essential services, send users to unsafe sites, or give cybercriminals a path into your environment. In most cases, when someone visits your website, sends an email, or connects to a cloud application by name, DNS is working in the background, often using cached records. Most people never notice it until something breaks and websites, email, or cloud tools suddenly stop working the way the business expects. At Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS), we help small- to mid-sized businesses in healthcare, finance, and other regulated industries manage and secure the technology they depend on, including DNS. For this article, we spoke with Peter Swarowski, ITS Chief Information Officer, to explain what DNS is, how it works, and why protecting it matters. You will learn: What is DNS? Why is DNS important for your business? How do you protect your business from DNS attacks? What Is DNS? DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is a system that connects domain names to IP addresses so people can reach websites, email servers, and cloud applications. For businesses, DNS matters because it affects website availability, email delivery, cloud access, and cybersecurity. Think of DNS as a phonebook for the internet. It is a hierarchical, distributed system that stores DNS records for domains and helps devices find the right online destination. Without DNS, you would need to memorize a string of numbers to reach every website or service. DNS handles that lookup behind the scenes. Here are the four key components that make DNS work: Domain Name: The name of your website, such as itsasap.com. Domain names make the internet easier to navigate by using human-readable words instead of long strings of numbers. IP Address: A numeric address assigned to a device or server to enable machines to find and communicate with each other over a network. For illustration, an IP address may look like 192.0.2.1. DNS Server: A DNS server helps answer DNS queries. Some servers look up records for users, while authoritative nameservers store the official DNS records for a domain. DNS Hosting Service: This service hosts and manages your DNS records on authoritative DNS servers. Many domain registrars offer DNS hosting, but businesses can also use a separate managed DNS provider.
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5 Microsoft 365 Settings Worth Checking in Your Tenant
Microsoft has tightened several default settings in Microsoft 365 over the past few years. Newer tenants get more protection out of the box than tenants set up before 2022 or so. The problem is that legacy configurations stay in place. A setting changed for new tenants in 2024 doesn’t retroactively change in yours, and historical
Microsoft has tightened several default settings in Microsoft 365 over the past few years. Newer tenants get more protection out of the box than tenants set up before 2022 or so. The problem is that legacy configurations stay in place. A setting changed for new tenants in 2024 doesn’t retroactively change in yours, and historical
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