Google provides an easy path to secure DNS for Android 13 users

Rumors are high in the air for the Android 13 update. Many tell stories about the addition of one feature. Others gossip about the non-availability of the few others. The users were very disappointed for not getting DNS over HTTPS in the coming Android 13 but now there is good news that Google was building it separately through a separate Android Mainline/ APEX module and the company has launched it. With this, the company will provide an easy path to secure DNS for Android 13 users.

Before this new test, Google had just brought the DNS over HTTPS to Android 11 and 10 devices. When Google launched the feature in Android 13, it also told about the mechanism of the change and also gave awareness to users about the advantages of DNS over HTTPS.

Advantages of DNS for Android 13 users over HTTPS?

We are all aware of the benefits of HTTPS as it is a secure way to browse queries on the internet. But when the user navigates to the new website, security laps occur so which means the system is not that much secure as required by the users. When a new site is visited, the user is not connected to a string of words. The real address is not shown and we see the abstraction of the actual location. The domain name is actually secured to an IP address which is usually not visible to the users.

DNS on the other hand doesn’t work automatically by default. The user’s query is insecure and DNS provides ways to fill the gaps in security. The system has the lope hole of a “bootstrapping problem” in which it is difficult to establish trust in any order of operation.

Android is using the DNS system over the TLS to fix this security issue allowing the user to have an encrypted query to a DNS server. With the help of this, the user can trust the address that’s provided when asked.

The DNS system has pros and cons.  Many companies like Cloudflare have the view that it’s slightly less secure since it can’t fully disguise DNS queries as regular HTTPS traffic. But the good part is that DNS delivers performance improvements over the HTTPS and many operators have adopted the DNS system to give a more secure service. According to Google’s John Wu, the implementation here is even written in Rust as both security-mindful programmers and Rust enthusiasts will dig.

The feature has been implemented as part of Android’s DNS Resolver module in Android 11, and an update for it has been launched as part of a recent Google Play system update. Google says that compatible devices should already support it. The feature is mandatory for Android 11 but before this, it was optional in Android 10. All Google-certified Android 11 devices and later that receive Google Play system updates would be able to use it. A few Android 10 devices also run the feature.

Google has given the feature to many Android devices which will help them use to do the searches of internet more securely. The user should have a DNS server and if the server is not compatible with DNS over HTTPS then he must search for the Secure Private DNS feature. Go to the Settings and search for the “Private DNS”. Select the “private DNS provider name” and provide either Google or Cloudflare’s hostnames. These host names are

Cloudflare: Cloudflare-dns.com

Google: dns. google

Also Read: Android 13: We’re just a few weeks away from the official release