Firefox enables DNS-over-HTTPS by default (with Cloudflare) for all U.S. users

If you use the Firefox web browser, here’s an important update
that you need to be aware of.

Starting today, Mozilla is activating the DNS-over-HTTPS
security feature by default for all Firefox users in the U.S. by
automatically changing their DNS server configuration in the
settings.

That means, from now onwards, Firefox will send all your DNS
queries to the Cloudflare DNS
servers^[1] instead of the default
DNS servers set by your operating system, router, or network
provider.

As you may know, DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) protocol performs
DNS lookups — i.e., finding the server I.P. address of a certain
domain name — over an encrypted connection to a DNS server rather
than sending queries in the plaintext.

This privacy-focused technology makes it harder for
man-in-the-middle attackers, including your ISPs, to manipulate DNS
queries, eavesdrop on your Internet connection, or learning what
sites you visit.

“This helps hide your browsing history from attackers on the
network, helps prevent data collection by third parties on the
network that ties your computer to websites you visit,” the company
said^[2].

However, the way Mozilla implemented DNS-over-HTTPS in the
Firefox web browser also received criticism over in past few months
over favoring Cloudflare and instead of trying to upgrade to an
encrypted DoH server operated by the user’s existing DNS
provider.

On the other hand, Google took care of this privacy issue while
announcing DNS over HTTPS
feature in its Chrome^[3]
web browser late last year, which automatically upgrades DNS
settings to the equivalent DoH service from the same provider if
it’s DoH-compatible.

However, any Firefox user, outside the U.S. or US-based, can
also manually turn on this feature from Firefox settings and can
change the default DNS server to NextDNS or any other encrypted-DNS
service by manually entering the address.

“Users have the option to choose between two providers — Cloudflare
and NextDNS — both of which are trusted resolvers.”

To do that, go to Firefox Settings > Preferences > General
> scroll down to Network Settings > click Settings > then
click Enable DNS over HTTPS.

“We continue to explore enabling DoH in other regions and are
working on adding more providers as trusted resolvers to our
program. DoH is just one of the many privacy protections you can
expect to see from us in 2020.”

Anyway, Mozilla has now become the first browser to push
DNS-over-HTTPS by default, and the company has plans to gradually
roll it to the rest of the Firefox users in other countries in the
next few months.