{"id":2128,"date":"2017-03-30T08:55:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T13:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/?p=2128"},"modified":"2018-06-26T12:03:57","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T17:03:57","slug":"12-steps-make-infrastructure-secure-implement-hosted-dns-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/12-steps-make-infrastructure-secure-implement-hosted-dns-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Steps to Make Your IT Infrastructure More Secure: Implement a Hosted DNS Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DNS<\/a>At this point, you\u2019re nearly halfway done with the process of making sure your IT infrastructure is secure. The sixth step involves leveraging a hosted DNS solution as an extra layer of prevention against cybersecurity threats like malware.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t been following our series of blogs on protecting your IT infrastructure, you might want to review the first five steps of the process:<\/p>\n

1. Performing a security audit<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Creating and enforcing IT security policies<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Updating your anti-virus solution<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Updating workstations and servers<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Guarding your email with a hosted spam solution<\/a><\/p>\n

Why you should leverage a DNS filtering solution
\n<\/strong>When we detailed guarding your email with a hosted spam solution, we discussed how end users can accidentally open the door to hackers and expose sensitive data by clicking on links in or downloading attachments from malicious emails.<\/p>\n

Similarly, end users can unintentionally expose your IT infrastructure to cybercriminals if they visit websites that infect their PCs with malware. If that happens, the malicious programs could go on to affect other machines and impact your company\u2019s entire network.<\/p>\n

A hosted Domain Name System (DNS) solution plays an important role in preventing this scenario from occurring. Although some companies have internal firewalls that can filter which websites end users can visit, this function might not be set up, require a subscription, or fall short of being able to identify all security threats<\/a>. A hosted DNS filtering solution acts as an extra line of defense against malicious programs and hackers<\/p>\n

How DNS filtering works
\n<\/strong>A hosted DNS filtering solution protects your business from malware lurking on the Web by filtering particular websites. It might block Web pages that contain specific keywords or that fall into certain categories. With a DNS solution in place, end users won\u2019t be able to visit risky websites where they could inadvertently pick up malware and expose your IT infrastructure to cybercriminals. This can also have the added benefit of preventing your employees from getting distracted and spending their time browsing sites that aren\u2019t related to their work.<\/p>\n

A DNS filtering solution also adds business value in the following ways.<\/p>\n