Home computers vulnerable to DNS hijacking

Can I get better protection against hackers by switching to an independent internet connection service, such as Google Public DNS, Cloudflare or Quad9?

The hacking you refer to redirects your web browser to a malicious website. This redirection is accomplished by DNS hijacking, which tampers with the Domain Name System, the internet equivalent of a phone directory. This directory comes into play whenever you type a name such as Amazon.com into your browser. The directory matches a name to the string of numbers that is the website’s real address, then connects you with that site. If that directory is hacked, your browser might be taken to malicious imitation websites.

This DNS directory exists on virtually every computer between you and the website you want to reach — yours, your router and many internet servers. If a hacker can tamper with the directory anywhere in that chain, your browser can be redirected.

The companies you mention are called DNS providers, and they offer an alternative pathway to the internet that takes the place of one your internet service provider op- erates. They claim (and this is impossible to verify) that by using their network, you will be more protected from DNS hijacking on the internet.

But protection from DNS hijacking on the internet won’t protect you from attacks on your home computer or router. Your best home defense is to have good antivirus software installed on your computer, and to protect your router by changing the pass- word that was put on it at the factory — hackers know all the factory passwords.