Top 5 DNS Security Solutions: Features & Benchmark
We compared the top DNS security solutions, their features, pricing, and unique aspects to help you find the right protection for your network. Click the product names to see why we recommend them:
Benchmark Results
With over 20 DNS security tools on the market, picking the right one isn’t straightforward. Most people focus on these factors when choosing:
- Threat Detection Capabilities: Can it catch and block malicious domains, phishing attempts, and DNS tunneling?
- Response Time: How fast does it identify and react to threats?
- Integration with Existing Security Stack: Does it work with your existing firewalls, SIEMs, and endpoint protection?
- Admin Panel Functionality: Ease of use, configurability, and depth of control in the tool’s administrative dashboard.
- Policy Management: Can you set granular controls based on users, devices, or network segments?
Understanding DNS Security Challenges
DNS infrastructure faces multiple threat vectors that traditional security tools often miss:
- DNS Tunneling: Attackers hide data exfiltration or command channels inside DNS queries, slipping past conventional firewalls.
- Cache Poisoning: Bad actors inject fake DNS records into resolvers, sending users to fraudulent websites or malicious servers.
- DDoS Attacks: Massive volumes of DNS queries can overwhelm servers and knock services offline.
- Domain Hijacking: Unauthorized changes to domain registrations redirect traffic to attacker-controlled infrastructure.
- DNS Amplification: Attackers exploit open DNS resolvers to amplify their attack traffic using legitimate DNS infrastructure.
Top 5 DNS Security Tools Compared
Features of DNS Security Solutions
All five providers, Cisco Umbrella, DNS Sense, DNSFilter, Zscaler, and NextDNS, offer the basics: real-time DNS filtering, customizable blacklist/whitelist controls, category-based blocking, and a centralized dashboard for monitoring and policy management.
Cisco Umbrella
Cisco Umbrella filters DNS requests before they reach your network. It checks each query against threat intelligence from millions of domains and blocks connections to malicious sites.
Core Capabilities:
- Real-time DNS filtering based on threat intelligence from 620+ million domains
- Machine learning algorithms analyzing 200+ billion DNS requests daily
- Secure web gateway functionality integrated with DNS protection
- Cloud access security broker (CASB) features for SaaS application visibility
- Intelligent proxy for SSL decryption and advanced threat detection
Deployment Options:
- API connectivity for security orchestration platforms
- Cloud-delivered service requiring minimal infrastructure
- Integration with existing Cisco security ecosystem
DNS Sense
DNS Sense lets you assign different DNS policies based on employee roles, network segments, or IP ranges. This matters if you need guest WiFi to have stricter blocking than your dev team’s network.
Core Features:
- Real-time DNS threat intelligence with AI-driven threat classification
- Advanced malware domain detection using behavioral analysis
- Phishing and fraud protection with fast domain reputation scoring
Technical Capabilities:
- API-first architecture for custom integrations
- High-performance DNS resolution with minimal latency impact
- Integration with major SIEM platforms and security orchestration tools
Deployment Options: Cloud-based service with on-premises appliance options for hybrid environments
DNSFilter
DNSFilter runs in the cloud and uses AI to flag new threats as they appear. Content filtering works well, and you can set policies per user or per location. It integrates easily with managed service providers and enterprise networks.
Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)
Companies use Zscaler mainly for secure internet access and cloud connections. DNS filtering is one part of its Zero Trust security model.
Advanced DNS Security Features:
- DNS filtering integrated with full SSL inspection and advanced threat protection
- Cloud-native architecture with 150+ global data centers for optimal performance
- AI-powered threat detection analyzing 300+ billion transactions daily
- Advanced persistent threat (APT) protection with sandbox analysis
- Cloud application control and shadow IT discovery
- Data loss prevention (DLP) integrated with DNS security policies
Deployment Models:
- Agentless deployment through PAC files or GRE/IPSec tunnels
- Zscaler Client Connector for comprehensive endpoint protection
- Browser-based isolation for high-risk domains
- API integration for security orchestration and automated response
NextDNS
NextDNS focuses on privacy while blocking threats, trackers, and ads. You get detailed query logs, device-level rules, and extensive customization. It works well for individuals, families, and small businesses.
Key Features:
- Privacy-first DNS resolution with no logging of personal data
- Custom allowlist and blocklist creation with domain-level granularity
- Parental controls and content filtering capabilities
Advanced Capabilities:
- AI-powered threat detection for zero-day domain threats
- DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT) support for encrypted queries
- Global anycast network with 45+ server locations worldwide
- Integration with popular ad blockers and privacy tools
- Mobile app support for iOS and Android devices
Deployment Flexibility:
- Simple DNS server configuration for network-wide protection
- Router integration for automatic protection across all connected devices
- Individual device configuration with detailed setup guides
- API access for programmatic management and automation
Why are the differentiating features important?
DNSSEC Support
DNS doesn’t verify that responses are legitimate. DNSSEC adds digital signatures to prove the response hasn’t been tampered with.
Without DNSSEC, attackers can poison your DNS cache or spoof responses, sending you to fake websites. DNSSEC prevents this by checking cryptographic signatures in DNS records. If the signature fails, the response gets rejected.
DNS Firewall / Filtering
A DNS firewall monitors and filters DNS queries to block access to domains associated with harmful or unauthorized content.
Every website visit starts with a DNS query, making DNS critical to internet traffic. By filtering these queries, you can prevent access to known malicious domains used for phishing, malware distribution, or botnet control. It also lets you enforce internet usage policies by restricting specific content categories like gambling, adult content, or social media.
DDoS Protection (DNS)
DDoS protection for DNS safeguards DNS servers from being overwhelmed by massive volumes of malicious traffic attempting to make services unavailable.
DNS servers are high-value targets. A successful DNS-based DDoS attack can cause widespread service outages since users can’t resolve domain names to IP addresses. This disruption affects websites, applications, and communication systems. DNS DDoS protection keeps services operational even under attack.
Protection mechanisms include anycast routing (distributes DNS queries across multiple geographically dispersed servers to absorb traffic spikes), rate limiting (restricts the number of queries from a single source), traffic filtering (blocks known bad actors), and challenge-response tests (verifies whether a request comes from a legitimate user or a bot). These strategies work together to keep DNS infrastructure responsive during high-load conditions.
Integration with Security Stack
Integration means DNS security tools share data and coordinate actions with other security systems—firewalls, endpoint detection and response (EDR), security information and event management (SIEM), and identity providers.
Isolated security systems create fragmented threat detection and response. When DNS security integrates with other tools, it becomes part of a unified defense system, enabling faster threat detection, better contextual analysis, and coordinated responses across different network layers.
Cloud Deployment
Cloud deployment delivers DNS security through cloud infrastructure, eliminating the need to manage your own DNS servers or on-site security hardware.
This reduces infrastructure costs, simplifies setup and maintenance, and provides consistent protection for remote users and distributed offices. It also allows DNS security to scale more easily with organizational growth and adapt quickly to new threats without manual updates.
FAQ
- Has 20 years of experience as a white-hat hacker and development guru, with extensive expertise in programming languages and server architectures.
- Is an advisor to C-level executives and board members of corporations with high-traffic and mission-critical technology operations like payment infrastructure.
- Has extensive business acumen alongside his technical expertise.
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