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There are two points: 1. centralization of all dns lookups is worrisome 2. Dns should not be handled by applications. It should be handled by the operating sy

There are two points: 1. centralization of all dns lookups is worrisome 2. Dns should not be handled by applications. It should be handled by the operating system. I see a lot of people conflating the two in the comments.

kbumsik 7y ago
> 2. Dns should not be handled by applications. It should be handled by the operating system. I agree with #1 but why it should be managed by the OS?
- userbinator 7y ago
  No one wants a proliferation of different applications which all have different settings to access the network, especially when the OS provides centralised functionality to do so.
- rocqua 7y ago
  Because the OS gets provisioned with DNS by DHCP. Because the OS incorporates the hosts file. Any internal domains or local domain edits are not covered by this.
- vezycash 7y ago
  It's annoying. I've already experienced this with chrome as chrome ignores my hosts file settings. Example: Say you use hosts file to block porn and other shady sites for your kid, all they have to do is use chrome.
  - Someone1234 7y ago
    This has nothing to do with the topic. Chrome isn't replacing the OS's DNS resolver, and that bug is just that: a bug. A bug that I cannot reproduce. Chrome follows my HOSTS file fine on Windows 10. But even if it didn't it would still be off-topic.
- deadbunny 7y ago
  Because I don't want to have to manage 400 configs when I can manage 1.
- unionpivo 7y ago
  Because in most cases you don't want different applications to use different settings. If you are currently using private DNS server with internal domains and don't know about changes firefox is going to make, firefox will resolve you domains incorectly while all your tools like nslookup and dig will show correct information. And then when you do figure it out, you will have to go to every single user and help them fix firefox setup. (because most of such small businesses don't have their own AD) I first though about blocking it at companies firewall level, but thats tricky, because you don't want to break everything else that uses cloudflare.
- parliament32 7y ago
  Same reason applications use syscalls instead of writing low level code to write directly to your HDD. The entire point of an OS is to abstract away low-level crap, and DNS is (imo) part of that.
Someone1234 7y ago
I want to address #2. I disagree. It has become common for the OS to handle DNS globally. This can provide nice cache efficiency/centralized configuration benefits. But it is also much less flexible and unlike e.g. the OS's Certificate Authority Registry there's no update/revocation benefits. DNS over HTTPS being configurable in the browser gives us more flexibility. For example you want to AdBlock but not risk breaking OS Updates, you want to split-tunnel a VPN connection then pick which resolver for the browser, or you even want to use a different non-"internet"/non-ICANN network only in a single browser/instance you now can. That's powerful. DNS by the OS is common in 2019. But saying it "should" without explanation isn't a strong argument except towards the status quo. PS - If you think of a web browser like an "app ecosystem" this line of thinking makes a heck of a lot of sense. The OS is just a host for a sub-"OS" ecosystem. There's a reason browsers already have their own configuration for e.g. web cams, microphones, sound/mute, language, 3D acceleration, and security that already end-run around what the OS is trying to dictate.

kbumsik 7y ago

> 2. Dns should not be handled by applications. It should be handled by the operating system. I agree with #1 but why it should be managed by the OS?

userbinator 7y ago
No one wants a proliferation of different applications which all have different settings to access the network, especially when the OS provides centralised functionality to do so.
rocqua 7y ago
Because the OS gets provisioned with DNS by DHCP. Because the OS incorporates the hosts file. Any internal domains or local domain edits are not covered by this.
vezycash 7y ago
It's annoying. I've already experienced this with chrome as chrome ignores my hosts file settings. Example: Say you use hosts file to block porn and other shady sites for your kid, all they have to do is use chrome.
- Someone1234 7y ago
  This has nothing to do with the topic. Chrome isn't replacing the OS's DNS resolver, and that bug is just that: a bug. A bug that I cannot reproduce. Chrome follows my HOSTS file fine on Windows 10. But even if it didn't it would still be off-topic.
deadbunny 7y ago
Because I don't want to have to manage 400 configs when I can manage 1.
unionpivo 7y ago
Because in most cases you don't want different applications to use different settings. If you are currently using private DNS server with internal domains and don't know about changes firefox is going to make, firefox will resolve you domains incorectly while all your tools like nslookup and dig will show correct information. And then when you do figure it out, you will have to go to every single user and help them fix firefox setup. (because most of such small businesses don't have their own AD) I first though about blocking it at companies firewall level, but thats tricky, because you don't want to break everything else that uses cloudflare.
parliament32 7y ago
Same reason applications use syscalls instead of writing low level code to write directly to your HDD. The entire point of an OS is to abstract away low-level crap, and DNS is (imo) part of that.

Someone1234 7y ago

I want to address #2. I disagree. It has become common for the OS to handle DNS globally. This can provide nice cache efficiency/centralized configuration benefits. But it is also much less flexible and unlike e.g. the OS's Certificate Authority Registry there's no update/revocation benefits. DNS over HTTPS being configurable in the browser gives us more flexibility. For example you want to AdBlock but not risk breaking OS Updates, you want to split-tunnel a VPN connection then pick which resolver for the browser, or you even want to use a different non-"internet"/non-ICANN network only in a single browser/instance you now can. That's powerful. DNS by the OS is common in 2019. But saying it "should" without explanation isn't a strong argument except towards the status quo. PS - If you think of a web browser like an "app ecosystem" this line of thinking makes a heck of a lot of sense. The OS is just a host for a sub-"OS" ecosystem. There's a reason browsers already have their own configuration for e.g. web cams, microphones, sound/mute, language, 3D acceleration, and security that already end-run around what the OS is trying to dictate.