Mozilla Introduces DNS Privacy to Firefox

When it comes privacy online, tech company Mozilla has developed tools to make things easier for users, such as a new form of web authentication that lets users ditch passwords and an extension that prevents Facebook tracking across the web.

Mozilla announced in a blog post on Friday that it would be introducing a new feature that could help preserve user privacy no matter where they browse.

The technology is called "DNS over HTTPS," also known as DOH.

It combines the Domain Name System, or DNS, which is used to find the numeric addresses that let websites communicate across a network, and HTTPS, which is the encrypted version of hypertext transfer protocol used to deliver data from websites.

When these two important functions of the Internet are combined, it prevents hackers and scammers from keeping an eye on what you're trying to reach and doing things like sending you to a fake website.

"Domain Name Service is one of the oldest parts of internet architecture, and remains one that has largely been untouched by efforts to make the web safer and more private," wrote Firefox's Patrick McManus. "On the Firefox network and security teams, we’re working to change that by encrypting DNS queries and by testing a service that keeps DNS providers from collecting and sharing your browsing history."

Firefox doesn't currently run the feature by default, but Mozilla has instructions for how to configure it, but users will have to be running Firefox 62 or newer.