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.
Intercept – Devices send DNS queries to a recursive resolver you control.
Inspect – The resolver compares each domain against real-time threat intelligence curated by ThreatSTOP’s Security, Intelligence, and Research (SIR) team.
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.
|
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
|
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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