There are A LOT of tech terms out there, and many of them also start with “D”. But in this incident, these D’s are all connected; particularly with the internet.
DNS
This acronym stands for Domain Name System. What’s it for? Simplified, it’s what matches names to numbers. On the internet, it’s matching the name of a website you are seeking to the website’s address. If you are on your laptop, your IP address is made up of numbers. Your IP address uses DNS as a directory to find the web address you’re looking for. You more than likely use DNS all day every day, you just didn’t know it.
DoH
This is not a Homer Simpson phrase (in this circumstance). DoH stands for “DNS over HTTPS” (I know, I know. Acronyms over acronyms… literally). In short, this term is about security and privacy. As our previous term is a part of this, DNS queries are directed through HTTPS or “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure”. This essentially protects the information that is exchanged, and limits what can be seen, or in other words, is encrypted.
DoT
DoT is DNS over TLS (Transport Layer Security [a practice for securely building web apps]). Similar to DoH, DoT also provides security for when you are online. It can keep ISPs (Internet Service Providers) from seeing what websites you go to.
Many tech terms are complex. It’s not the easiest to learn this new language right out of the gate, and this article gave you a little more than just three terms. It was more – 5 for the price of 3. You’re welcome. So the next time you find yourself reading a tech article using these 3 terms, you won’t be quite so in the dark!
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash