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DNSCrypt
See also Anonymising yourself
DNSCrypt is a local DNS resolver and uses elliptic-curve cryptography when passing messages to and from the DNS server—which is extremely useful for mitigating MITM attacks on DNS. It is best used alongside a caching DNS server like Unbound.
Only a few servers are known to currently support DNSCrypt, however, adoption is growing.
Installation
Unix-like
Requirements & dependencies
`-- dev-libs/libsodium `-- net-libs/ldns `-- virtual/pkgconfig `-- sys-apps/systemd (optional!)
Arch users can install dnscrypt-proxy
and set it up manually, or install dnscrypt-autoinstall
from the AUR. Gentoo users can easily compile DNSCrypt from scratch from the main repository. Debian users can install it from the package dnscrypt-proxy
, but only in testing or unstable.
Building
- git clone git://github.com/jedisct1/dnscrypt-proxy.git
- cd dnscrypt-proxy
- ./autogen.sh
- ./configure --prefix=/usr
- make
- sudo make install
Remove systemd as a dependency (optional)
In newer versions, the configure file detects if you have Systemd or not. However, if you have version 1.6 systemd needs be removed from the software by leaving its references out of the configure
document before compiling.
Relevant lines can be found around 3258 to 3288 of the configure
document.
End result should look something like this:
#Manual systemd patch. Go away NSA. have_systemd=no HAVE_SYSTEMD_TRUE= HAVE_SYSTEMD_FALSE='#' #Check whether --with-systemd was given. #if test "${with_systemd+set}" = set; then : # withval=$with_systemd; #fi # #if test "x$with_systemd" = "xyes"; then : # # PKG_CHECK_MODULES(SYSTEMD, libsystemd, have_systemd=yes, # PKG_CHECK_MODULES([SYSTEMD_DAEMON], [libsystemd-daemon], [have_systemd=yes], [have_systemd=no]) # ) # case $with_systemd:$have_systemd in #( # yes:no) : # as_fn_error $? "systemd expected but libsystemd not found" #"$LINENO" 5 ;; #( # *:yes) : # #$as_echo "#define HAVE_LIBSYSTEMD 1" >>confdefs.h # # ;; #( # *) : # ;; #esac # #fi # if test "x$have_systemd" = "xyes"; then # HAVE_SYSTEMD_TRUE= # HAVE_SYSTEMD_FALSE='#' #else # HAVE_SYSTEMD_TRUE='#' # HAVE_SYSTEMD_FALSE= #fi
Now run echo /usr/local/lib > /etc/ld.so.conf.d/usr_local_lib.conf
, sudo ldconfig
and ./configure
, then make
and finally sudo make install
.
Windows
Use SimpleDNSCrypt, it just werks. If it doesn't, go talk to the developer.
iOS
You will need a jailbroken iOS device (>=5.1.1) in order to install DNSCrypt.
- Download the pre-compiled binary for iOS;
- Copy the {bin,sbin,share} directories of the archive into the {bin,sbin,share} directories of the device;
Configuration
Linux
If you would rather run the commands yourself at boot time, this section is for you. However, the following step is common amongst all Linux distros: you must edit your /etc/resolv.conf file to look like this:
/etc/resolv.conf
domain home nameserver <the DNSCrypt you picked for --local-address> options edns0
Lock it with sudo chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf
, and then, either move on to systemd/OpenRC, or run the following script every time you boot up your PC:
sudo dnscrypt-proxy --local-address=<ip>[:port] --daemonize --resolver-address=<Server address> --provider-name=<Provider name> --provider-key=<Public key> --edns-payload-size=4096 --logfile=/var/log/dnscrypt-proxy.log
Note: It is recommended to use 127.0.0.1 or 127.0.0.2, and port 40 instead of 53, should you ever want to use Unbound or Dnsmasq with it, without too much hassle.
systemd
If you didn't remove the systemd depedency, the source distribution includes the dnscrypt-proxy.socket and dnscrypt-proxy.service files. As such, in order to activate them, you need only run systemctl start dnscrypt-proxy.socket
and systemctl start dnscrypt-proxy.service
.
To ensure it starts automagically every time you boot up your PC, systemctl enable dnscrypt-proxy.socket
and systemctl enable dnscrypt-proxy.service
.
You can check if it's running by issuing systemctl status dnscrypt-proxy.service
.
Note: DNSCrypt's systemd socket uses port 53 by default. You can easily change that at will.
OpenRC
/etc/init.d/dnscrypt-proxy
#!/sbin/runscript ## Note: This may need to be changed to /bin/bash depending on system, such as a ## Debian fork that uses OpenRC. # This script is Copyright (C) 1999-2014 Gentoo Foundation # Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2 # $Id$ DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE=${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE:-/var/log/dnscrypt-proxy.log} rundir=${rundir:-/var/run/dnscrypt-proxy} pidfile=${pidfile:-${rundir}/dnscrypt-proxy.pid} rundir=${rundir:-/var/run/dnscrypt-proxy} runas_user=${runas_user:-dnscrypt} runas_group=${runas_user:-dnscrypt} depend() { use net before dns after logger } start() { if [ ! -d "${rundir}" ]; then mkdir "${rundir}" if [ -n "${runas_user}" ]; then touch "${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE}" chown ${runas_user}:${runas_group} "${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE}" chown -R ${runas_user}:${runas_group} "${rundir}" fi fi ebegin "Starting dnscrypt-proxy" start-stop-daemon --start --quiet \ --exec /usr/sbin/dnscrypt-proxy \ -- \ --pidfile="${pidfile}" \ --logfile="${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE}" \ --daemonize --user=${runas_user} \ --local-address=${DNSCRYPT_LOCALIP}:${DNSCRYPT_LOCALPORT} \ --resolver-address=${DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP}:${DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERPORT} \ --provider-name=${DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_NAME} \ --provider-key=${DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_KEY} eend $? } stop() { ebegin "Stopping dnscrypt-proxy" start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --exec /usr/sbin/dnscrypt-proxy eend $? }
You will need to make it executable, sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/dnscrypt-proxy
.
This init script will of course require a configuration file, located here /etc/conf.d/dnscrypt-proxy file. Pick two servers (one will work as the fallback server), whilst making sure they are compatible with the options you will want to use later on (DNSSEC with unbound, for instance), and add the following text:
/etc/conf.d/dnscrypt-proxy
DNSCRYPT_LOCALIP=127.0.0.1 DNSCRYPT_LOCALPORT=40 DNSCRYPT_USER=dnscrypt DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_NAME= DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_KEY= DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP= DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_NAME= DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_KEY= DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP= DNSCRYPT_OPTIONS="--edns-payload-size=4096" DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERPORT=443
Alternatively, you could use this script to get information directly from the csv file containing the data from /usr/share/dnscrypt-proxy
(you would need to move the csv there yourself)
/etc/init.d/dnscrypt-proxy
#!/sbin/runscript ## Note: This may need to be changed to /bin/bash depending on system, such as a ## Debian fork that uses OpenRC. # Copyright 1999-2014 Gentoo Foundation # Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2 # $Id$ DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE=${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE:-/var/log/dnscrypt-proxy.log} DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERS_LIST=${DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERS_LIST:-/usr/share/dnscrypt-proxy/dnscrypt-resolvers.csv} rundir=${rundir:-/var/run/dnscrypt-proxy} pidfile=${pidfile:-${rundir}/dnscrypt-proxy.pid} rundir=${rundir:-/var/run/dnscrypt-proxy} runas_user=${runas_user:-dnscrypt} runas_group=${runas_user:-dnscrypt} depend() { use net before dns after logger } start() { if [ ! -d "${rundir}" ]; then mkdir "${rundir}" if [ -n "${runas_user}" ]; then touch "${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE}" chown ${runas_user}:${runas_group} "${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE}" chown -R ${runas_user}:${runas_group} "${rundir}" fi fi if [ -n "$DNSCRYPT_RESOLVER_NAME" -a -n "$DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP" ]; then eerror "You must set exactly one of DNSCRYPT_RESOLVER_NAME or DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP!" return 1 elif [ -n "$DNSCRYPT_RESOLVER_NAME" ]; then resolver_opts="--resolvers-list=${DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERS_LIST} --resolver-name=${DNSCRYPT_RESOLVER_NAME}" elif [ -n "$DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP" ]; then resolver_opts="--resolver-address=${DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP}:${DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERPORT} --provider-name=${DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_NAME} --provider-key=${DNSCRYPT_PROVIDER_KEY}" else eerror "You must set exactly one of DNSCRYPT_RESOLVER_NAME or DNSCRYPT_RESOLVERIP!" return 1 fi ebegin "Starting dnscrypt-proxy" start-stop-daemon --start --quiet \ --exec /usr/sbin/dnscrypt-proxy \ -- \ ${DNSCRYPT_OPTIONS} \ --pidfile="${pidfile}" \ --logfile="${DNSCRYPT_LOGFILE}" \ --daemonize --user=${runas_user} \ --local-address=${DNSCRYPT_LOCALIP}:${DNSCRYPT_LOCALPORT} \ $resolver_opts eend $? } stop() { ebegin "Stopping dnscrypt-proxy" start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --exec /usr/sbin/dnscrypt-proxy eend $? }
Make sure to substitute where appropriate. You will also have to manually create a user called dnscrypt, with:
/etc/passwd
dnscrypt:x:117:991:/var/empty:/sbin/nologin
You'll also have to create a group:
/etc/group
... dnscrypt:x:991:
To activate the init script, issue sudo rc-update add dnscrypt-proxy
.
Mac OS X
Use the dnscrypt-osxclient.
Android
iOS
- Edit the
org.dnscrypt.osx.DNSCryptProxy.plist
file to set the resolver name to use, by editing this string<string>--resolver-name=***CHANGETHIS***</string>
; - Copy the
org.dnscrypt.osx.DNSCryptProxy.plist
file into /Libary/LaunchDaemons on the device;
To get it working, simply:
- Reboot or type
launchctl load org.dnscrypt.osx.DNSCryptProxy.plist
; - Change your wifi settings to use 127.0.0.1 as a DNS resolver;
- Enjoy being less susceptible to MITM attacks whilst on public WiFis.
Additional considerations
Picking a server
One must take a few considerations when picking a server:
- Does it keep logs?
- Does it support the DNSCrypt protocol specification?
- Does it support DNSSEC (assuming you want to use it in conjunction with DNSCrypt, and use Unbound to enforce it)?
- Is the latency low enough?
- Is the company or individual running the server trustworthy, or do they appear to have ulterior motives?
As it stands, I trust the dnscrypt-eu servers. However, if you have no need for DNSSEC support, you can look into the various cryptostorm servers (if you're not in Europe), or the OpenNIC ones, if you'd like to make use of their extra TLDs.
Fallback DNS servers
It is also recommended to add a second, or even a third nameserver (that you know works) to your resolv.conf file. The default maximum you can have is 6, but you can change this number to whatever you want, by hacking MAXDNSRCH and defdname in resolv.h and recompiling the then patched libc. A resolv.conf (with more than 6 nameservers) may look like this.
Note: The fallback servers will _NOT_ go through DNSCrypt, meaning they will not be encrypted and your local network will be vulnerable to DNS spoofing (unless you're visiting a DNSSEC page and using Unbound or something else to enforce it). In order to have DNSCrypt fallback servers, you'll need to run multiple instances of the program.
Sandboxing
It is possible to sandbox DNSCrypt, and even recommended. You can also create an extra user/group to run it, with no privileges, and no home folder for an additional layer of protection.
To sandbox DNSCrypt, simply install firejail, and edit your systemd/OpenRC scripts, adding the prefix 'firejail' before dnscrypt. Firejail comes bundled with a profile for DNSCrypt and many more, which you can analyse, and even edit, by issuing vim /etc/firejail
.
Troubleshooting
Run hostip -r 127.0.0.1 example.com
. If that outputs an IP, then DNSCrypt is working and the problem lies with whatever DNS cache you're using (most likely Dnsmasq or Unbound not forwarding the right address/port). If not, then your DNS server might be down, in which case you should issue sudo chattr -i /etc/resolv.conf
to unlock your resolv.conf, and temporarily change the nameserver to a DNS server of your choice until you fix the issue (not necessary if you have fall-back DNS servers, as you should).
If none of this fixes it, look at /var/log/dnscrypt-proxy.log and figure it out yourself, or are you not a true /g/entooman?