Understanding DNS
Every time you visit a website, your device makes a DNS (Domain Name System) request. DNS translates human-readable domain names like "example.com" into the IP addresses that computers use to communicate. Think of DNS as the internet's phone book: it maps names to numbers.
Key point: Because DNS requests happen before any connection is made, they represent the earliest possible point to block threats. If a malicious domain is blocked at the DNS level, your device never connects to it at all.
How DNS Filtering Works
DNS filtering intercepts DNS requests and checks them against databases of known threats and content categories. When a device on your network tries to visit a website, it sends a DNS request, for example asking for the IP address of a domain. Cloud Shield checks that domain against the blocklists for your plan. If it is listed, the lookup fails and the page does not load. Otherwise the request is resolved normally and the connection proceeds.
What DNS Filtering Blocks
On Fortress and Citadel, VeloGuardian's DNS filtering blocks:
- Malware domains: Websites known to distribute malware, ransomware, or exploit kits
- Phishing sites: Fake login pages designed to steal credentials
- Command-and-control servers: Infrastructure used by botnets and advanced threats
Why DNS Filtering Matters
DNS filtering is one of the most effective and least intrusive security measures you can implement. It works at the network level, so there is no software to install on individual devices: when combined with VeloGuardian's VPN, it protects every connected device on plans with filtering, regardless of operating system or browser. By stopping malicious connections before they start, DNS filtering prevents threats from ever reaching your network.
The performance impact is negligible. DNS lookups are tiny and fast, and filtering adds virtually no latency compared to the protection it provides. Because VeloGuardian routes all traffic through the VPN, DNS filtering protects your team whether they are in the office, at home, or traveling.
DNS filtering is the first line of defense: it blocks threats before your device ever connects to them.
DNS Filtering in VeloGuardian
VeloGuardian's DNS filtering is Cloud Shield, on by default: ads blocked on Shield, Fortress and Citadel; known malware and phishing domains on Fortress and Citadel. Sentry has no filtering.
Malware and phishing blocking are part of the same DNS filtering.