DNS Security: DoH vs DoT - Which One Should You Use?

Every time you visit a website, your computer asks a DNS server for the IP. By default, this request is sent in plain text, meaning your ISP, the government, or anyone on the local network can see exactly which sites you are accessing.

The Solution: Encryption

Modern internet protocols provide two main ways to encrypt these lookups:

1. DNS over TLS (DoT)

DoT uses the same TLS encryption as HTTPS but on a dedicated port (853). It is cleaner from a networking perspective but easier for censors to block because of the specific port.

2. DNS over HTTPS (DoH)

DoH hides DNS requests inside standard HTTPS traffic on port 443. To a network observer, your DNS lookup looks identical to normal web browsing, making it nearly impossible to block without shutting down all web traffic.

How to Enable Them

Most modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox) and OSs (Windows 11, macOS) now support "Secure DNS" in their settings. You can choose providers like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8) to get started.