User Agent DNS Settings Discovery and Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack the ability to discover and validate user agent DNS settings, making them vulnerable to malicious attacks such as DNS spoofing and pharming, where attackers can control a user's Internet connection by altering DNS server settings, which are difficult to detect outside the local network.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that enables entities to discover and store associations between user agent IP addresses and their DNS settings, allowing for the validation and authentication of DNS configurations to detect and alert potential malicious settings, thereby preventing unauthorized access and ensuring network resource security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If DNS settings are changed by attackers on user devices or routers, then attackers can control victim's Internet connection and redirect traffic, but these attacks are difficult to detect outside the local network
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where DNS settings are reported back to the server through HTTP requests. The server receives DNS configuration information from user agents and can compare it against expected values, providing continuous monitoring and detection capability for DNS tampering attempts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary reporting system where DNS settings are transmitted through HTTP requests to a central server. This intermediary mechanism allows indirect observation and validation of DNS configurations without requiring direct access to user devices or network infrastructure.
2Reliability
If servers need to learn both IP address and DNS settings from client requests, then network security can be enhanced, but no existing protocols specify including DNS settings in environmental variables
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the universal HTTP protocol framework to transmit DNS settings information. By using existing HTTP request structures and environmental variables, the system achieves multi-functionality where standard web traffic can carry additional security-relevant information without requiring a completely new protocol.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the parameter set transmitted in HTTP requests by including DNS configuration details in environmental variables. This parameter expansion allows servers to receive and verify DNS settings using existing protocol infrastructure, adding functionality without fundamental protocol changes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system and apparatus including receiving a request from a network device, the request including an IP address of said network device, generating and sending to the network device a domain name for locating a device configured to process a DNS query, the domain name corresponding to the IP address, the network device generating and sending a DNS query including the domain name and at least one local DNS setting of the network device to the device configured to the process the DNS query, and the device processing an association between the IP address and the at least one local DNS setting of the network device.