Whenever people click a link, open an app, or visit a website, the very first thing their device does is ask the Domain Name System (DNS) for directions. Protective DNS turns that humble step into an early-warning radar, stopping malicious traffic before it ever reaches your network. In plain language, Protective DNS checks every domain request against constantly updated threat intelligence. If a request points to ransomware, phishing, or any other malicious destination, the connection is blocked instantly and the user is steered to safety.

How Protective DNS Works in Three Simple Steps

  1. Intercept – Devices send DNS queries to a recursive resolver you control.

  2. Inspect – The resolver compares each domain against real-time threat intelligence curated by ThreatSTOP’s Security, Intelligence, and Research (SIR) team.

  3. Protect – Malicious or policy-violating domains are returned as “blocked,” preventing any connection. Legitimate requests pass through without delay.

Because DNS resolution happens before web, email, or API traffic flows, Protective DNS neutralizes threats earlier than any traditional firewall or endpoint agent can.

A Sample of Threat Vectors Stopped in Their Tracks just this week:

Threat Category

Example Scenario

How Protective DNS Helps

Command and Control Callbacks

Ransomware beaconing to a control server

Blocks the domain so malware never receives instructions

Phishing & Brand Impersonation

User clicks a fake Microsoft 365 login page

Redirects the request to a safe landing zone before credentials can be stolen

Data Exfiltration via DNS Tunneling

Insider tool hides data inside DNS queries

Detects abnormal DNS patterns and cuts communication

Peer-to-Peer Malware Updates

Botnet nodes share IPs over domain lookups

Interrupts domain lookups used to spread updates

Spam & Malware Distribution

Malicious email loads tracking pixels from bad domains

Prevents the remote content from ever being fetched

DDoS Coordination

Attacker uses DNS fast-flux for botnet agility

Recognizes and blocks rapidly changing malicious domains

Invalid or Parked Traffic

Ads and click-fraud domains waste bandwidth

Filters out domains that add zero business value

Threat vectors evolve daily, but a DNS-level control point keeps your network one step ahead.  The above table is a small sample.

Why We Outperform the Competition

ThreatSTOP ships more actionable protections than anyone else. Administrators can enable over 770 discrete threat categories and policy toggles, compared to just 126 offered by our nearest competitor. Need to block a specific collaboration tool, social-media app, or cloud storage service? Our optional App Control bundle lets you do exactly that, aligning security with business policy at the click of a checkbox. More choices mean tighter policies, fewer false positives, and broader coverage against emerging threats.

ThreatSTOP: The Fastest Path to Protection

Protective DNS in Any Environment

  • DNS Defense Cloud – Point your DNS forwarders to ThreatSTOP’s global anycast network and activate enterprise-grade protection in minutes, no hardware required.

  • DNS Defense – Keep resolution on-prem or in the cloud while enriching your own DNS servers with ThreatSTOP intelligence feeds. Perfect for organizations with internal DNS appliances or BIND-based services.

Together, these offerings form our Protective DNS portfolio, allowing every organization to choose the deployment style that fits best.

Beyond DNS: IP Defense

Some threats attempt to bypass DNS entirely. IP Defense lets you push the same high-confidence block lists to routers, firewalls, load balancers, and cloud security controls such as AWS WAF. A single policy engine covers every connection path.

Why Customers Choose ThreatSTOP

  • Real-time protection driven by thousands of proprietary and third-party feeds, curated and validated by the SIR team.

  • Five-minute setup with zero maintenance overhead for DNS Defense Cloud.

  • Granular policy control to tailor protections for specific business units, geographies, and compliance requirements.

  • Proven performance with micro-second query processing and 100 percent SLA on global resolver uptime.

Get Started Today

For those interested in joining the ThreatSTOP family, or to learn more about our proactive protections for all environments, we invite you to visit our product page. Discover how our solutions can make a significant difference in your digital security landscape. We have pricing for all sizes of customers! Get started with a Demo today!

 

 

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

ATT&CK Tactic

Relevant Technique ID

Description

Protective DNS Impact

Initial Access

T1566.002

Spearphishing Link

Blocks malicious phishing domains before users connect

Command and Control

T1071.004

Application Layer Protocol: DNS

Disrupts malware that relies on DNS for C2 callbacks

Command and Control

T1568

Dynamic Resolution

Prevents domain-generation algorithms from resolving

Exfiltration

T1048.003

Exfiltration Over Unencrypted Non-C2 Protocol

Detects and stops DNS tunneling attempts

Defense Evasion

T1090.003

Multi-Hop Proxy: Domain Fronting

Identifies suspicious fronting domains and blocks them

Impact

T1486

Data Encrypted for Impact

Cuts off ransomware domains used for key exchange

Collection

T1114.001

Email Collection via Client

Blocks tracking and malicious domains embedded in email

 

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