Gerard Best — State-of-the-art Internet privacy protection is free. Here's how YOU can switch to Quad9 DNS.

If you don’t spend much time thinking about your internet privacy, chances are you haven’t heard about the domain name system, or DNS. Here’s what you need to know right now. Switching to the right public DNS service provider could be just the thing to help you deal with the online data privacy threats that you don’t see coming.

Everything you do on the Internet starts with a DNS event. The DNS is a phonebook for the internet, a framework which translates human-readable domain names into the internet protocol addresses that computers use. Typically, you never think about the DNS because your internet service provider simply gives you access to a DNS server, and the DNS quietly does its work in the background. You just type into your browser’s URL window, and the DNS dutifully looks up the relevant address so that you can browse to the correct destination.

But there’s a snag. This otherwise mundane lookup activity can actually reveal critically sensitive data about the person using the device. And that has created a strong and dangerous motivation for commercialising unsuspecting users’ personally identifiable information.

“The illusion that commercially-provided DNS services are ‘free’ masks the reality that they’re paid for by selling user data. And the value of a user’s data is directly proportional to how much disposable income they have. Places with less money receive much poorer ‘free’ service from commercial operators,” said Bill Woodcock, Chairman of the Quad9 Foundation Council.

Quad9 is a DNS security service provider, with no secondary revenue streams being generated from personal data, and no incentive or technological possibility to do so. Since its launch in 2017, the organisation has provided DNS security services at no cost, with no contract, and without collecting or reselling personal data.

“Because we’re non-commercial, we can put servers near people based on need, rather than based on how much money they have to spend. Since we’re not collecting and selling data, we’re able to provide good service everywhere. By spending more, and putting more locations close to more people, we’re able to give people substantially better performance,” Woodcock said.

Not all DNS servers are the same when it comes to speed. This is particularly true in parts of the world which don't generally have the best internet coverage, where a sluggish DNS server can noticeably slow down users’ browsing experience. But Quad9 is specifically deploying services to parts of the planet that lag significantly in service delivery by commercially oriented organisations. So far, Quad9 has deployed its services in 90 countries, and more than 150 locations, including emerging markets in developing regions.

In the Caribbean, Quad9 has deployed services as close as possible to carrier-neutral facilities, such as the Internet exchange point (IXP) locations in: Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Castries, Saint Lucia; St George’s, Grenada, and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. For years, Internet development-focused organisations such as the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG), Packet Clearing House and the Internet Society have advocated for the proliferation of IXPs in the Caribbean. The proximity of services like Quad9 is one example of how average Internet users can be the primary beneficiaries of the domestic Internet traffic exchange that takes place at IXPs in the region.

In February, Quad9 announced another important step toward providing world-class privacy protections to developing regions. By moving its headquarters from California, USA to Zürich, Switzerland, Quad9 became the first public DNS security solution to extend European Union-standard General Data Protection Regulation freedoms to internet users in the Caribbean and worldwide. By using Quad9, anyone can receive the same fully legally enforced rights as a Swiss citizen.

“Quad9’s organizational move to Switzerland is important for the free and open internet because it provides much-needed geographic and legal diversity in the open DNS resolver space. It also shows that Quad9 is actively seeking to work within the legislative framework that best serves the privacy of its users. I support the Quad9 open resolver because it puts the end-user first and helps build a secure and private internet without collecting—and therefore without the possibility of commercialising—users’ personal information. I believe Quad9’s philosophy of openness and transparency in handling users’ data resonates strongly with the core beliefs of our community,” said Christian Kaufmann, Chairman of RIPE Network Coordination Centre, the regional internet registry for Europe, Middle East and Central Asia.

For strong protection against online privacy risk, at no cost, Caribbean Internet users would do well to consider switching to Quad9. Here’s how.