| Author |
Message |
Jack Gillis
Guest
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 Posted:
Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:46 am Post subject:
Reverse DNS Question |
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My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned. Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it. I try to keep most if not all cookies off of my machine.
Maybe I'm paranoid.
What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run without
it for a long time and haven't seen any bad effects because of the lack
thereof.
Should I insist they disable it?
Thank you very much. |
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Neil W Rickert
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:46 am Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
"Jack Gillis" <XXXXXXXX@widomaker.com> writes:
| Quote: | My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned.
|
They are correct.
| Quote: | Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it.
|
If your ISP allocates dynamic IPs, then that is wrong. When your IP
changes, so will the hostname. If your IP is allocated statically (i.e.
you get the same IP each time) then the web site can recognize you by
IP address even without reverse DNS.
| Quote: | What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run without
|
Reverse DNS is good. It causes no problems.
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iD8DBQFBv6vuvmGe70vHPUMRAjjzAKDCuuvLfQYv4g+6KmijEE1S+D8jswCgkQ5E
smXrnOfP6SeQ1WjhnQp3knk=
=W+um
-----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
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Erik Freitag
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:04 am Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
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On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 19:22:46 -0500, Jack Gillis wrote:
| Quote: | My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned. Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it. I try to keep most if not all cookies off of my machine.
Maybe I'm paranoid.
What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run without
it for a long time and haven't seen any bad effects because of the lack
thereof.
Should I insist they disable it?
|
Some unix servers won't let you connect (to ftp or telnet for instance)
unless you have a working inverse lookup. What is this Shields Up of which
you speak, anyway? |
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David Mahon
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:38 pm Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
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In article <10rv0uptbnun1f5@corp.supernews.com>, Jack Gillis
<XXXXXXXX@widomaker.com> writes
| Quote: | My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned. Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it. I try to keep most if not all cookies off of my machine.
Maybe I'm paranoid.
What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run without
it for a long time and haven't seen any bad effects because of the lack
thereof.
Should I insist they disable it?
|
No, reverse DNS should be set. Not having it set can cause problems,
especially if you ever run a mailserver.
If you really are paranoid, you want dynamic IP assignment rather than
static IP assignment anyway. Use a firewall. And for the truly paranoid,
you want to use TOR and mixmaster.
--
David Mahon |
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Jack Gillis
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Dec 15, 2004 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
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"Neil W Rickert" <rickert+nn@cs.niu.edu> wrote in message
news:cpoa5h$n0p$1@usenet.cso.niu.edu...
| Quote: | -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
"Jack Gillis" <XXXXXXXX@widomaker.com> writes:
My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it
to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned.
They are correct.
Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it.
If your ISP allocates dynamic IPs, then that is wrong. When your IP
changes, so will the hostname. If your IP is allocated statically
(i.e.
you get the same IP each time) then the web site can recognize you by
IP address even without reverse DNS.
What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run
without
Reverse DNS is good. It causes no problems.
|
That pretty well sums it up and I thank you.
| Quote: |
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Version: GnuPG v1.3.91 (SunOS)
iD8DBQFBv6vuvmGe70vHPUMRAjjzAKDCuuvLfQYv4g+6KmijEE1S+D8jswCgkQ5E
smXrnOfP6SeQ1WjhnQp3knk=
=W+um
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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Jack Gillis
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Dec 15, 2004 4:06 pm Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
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"Erik Freitag" <erik.freitag@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:pan.2004.12.15.06.04.40.730703@pobox.com...
| Quote: | On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 19:22:46 -0500, Jack Gillis wrote:
My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it
to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned. Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it. I try to keep most if not all cookies off of my
machine.
Maybe I'm paranoid.
What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run
without
it for a long time and haven't seen any bad effects because of the
lack
thereof.
Should I insist they disable it?
Some unix servers won't let you connect (to ftp or telnet for
instance)
unless you have a working inverse lookup. What is this Shields Up of
which
you speak, anyway?
|
Thank you. Rather than try to explain something I really don't
understand here is a link to it. I've used it for years. You may find
it interesting.
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 |
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Erik Freitag
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:35 pm Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
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On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 06:06:52 -0500, Jack Gillis wrote:
| Quote: |
"Erik Freitag" <erik.freitag@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:pan.2004.12.15.06.04.40.730703@pobox.com...
On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 19:22:46 -0500, Jack Gillis wrote:
My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it
to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned. Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it. I try to keep most if not all cookies off of my
machine.
Maybe I'm paranoid.
What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run
without
it for a long time and haven't seen any bad effects because of the
lack
thereof.
Should I insist they disable it?
Some unix servers won't let you connect (to ftp or telnet for
instance)
unless you have a working inverse lookup. What is this Shields Up of
which
you speak, anyway?
Thank you. Rather than try to explain something I really don't
understand here is a link to it. I've used it for years. You may find
it interesting.
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
|
It does a reverse lookup of your IP address and gives you the name
associated with that. I just don't see the harm in that. The site is
slightly misleading when it says "the text below might uniquely identify
you on the Internet". It identifies your IP address, not you, and there's
no guarantee it is unique. |
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Jack Gillis
Guest
|
| Posted:
Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:18 am Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
|
|
"Erik Freitag" <erik.freitag@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:pan.2004.12.15.17.35.12.978434@pobox.com...
| Quote: | On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 06:06:52 -0500, Jack Gillis wrote:
"Erik Freitag" <erik.freitag@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:pan.2004.12.15.06.04.40.730703@pobox.com...
On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 19:22:46 -0500, Jack Gillis wrote:
My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought
it
to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned. Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as
I
understand it. I try to keep most if not all cookies off of my
machine.
Maybe I'm paranoid.
What does conventional wisdom say about reverse DNS? I've run
without
it for a long time and haven't seen any bad effects because of the
lack
thereof.
Should I insist they disable it?
Some unix servers won't let you connect (to ftp or telnet for
instance)
unless you have a working inverse lookup. What is this Shields Up of
which
you speak, anyway?
Thank you. Rather than try to explain something I really don't
understand here is a link to it. I've used it for years. You may
find
it interesting.
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
It does a reverse lookup of your IP address and gives you the name
associated with that. I just don't see the harm in that. The site is
slightly misleading when it says "the text below might uniquely
identify
you on the Internet". It identifies your IP address, not you, and
there's
no guarantee it is unique.
|
It fits. Thank you for I shall rest easier now. |
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NormanM
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Dec 20, 2004 2:50 pm Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
|
|
In article <10rv0uptbnun1f5@corp.supernews.com>, Jack Gillis says...
| Quote: | My ISP just added reverse DNS to my ADSL line. Shields Up brought it to
my attention and I asked the ISP about it. They say I shouldn't be
concerned. Shields Up says that any Web site I long on to can
recognized my computer without setting a cookie, as least as far as I
understand it. I try to keep most if not all cookies off of my machine.
Maybe I'm paranoid.
|
Maybe. The site says that the rDNS "...might uniquely identify you on the
Internet". But it has more details further down the page. The detailed
explanation is, in part:
"But the beginning of the string uniquely identifies your Internet
connection. The question is: Is the beginning of the string an "account ID"
that is uniquely and permanently tied to you, or is it merely related to
your current public IP address and thus subject to change?"
Most rDNS names that I have seen are pretty generic, and no more revealing
than the IP address. Such as my current connection:
adsl-66-125-91-50.dsl.sntc01.pacbell.net
....which isn't revealing much more than a lack of rDNS would reveal; and not
nearly so much as a tracking cookie.
--
Norman
~Win dain a lotica, En vai tu ri, Si lo ta
~Fin dein a loluca, En dragu a sei lain
~Vi fa-ru les shutai am, En riga-lint |
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NormanM
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Dec 20, 2004 2:52 pm Post subject:
Re: Reverse DNS Question |
|
|
In article <pan.2004.12.15.17.35.12.978434@pobox.com>, Erik Freitag says...
| Quote: | It does a reverse lookup of your IP address and gives you the name
associated with that. I just don't see the harm in that. The site is
slightly misleading when it says "the text below might uniquely identify
you on the Internet". It identifies your IP address, not you, and there's
no guarantee it is unique.
|
For anybody who only reads the attention grabbers, that is true. Farther
down the page the "might" is explained; some rare ISPs incorporate something
more than the IP address in an rDNS name, something closer to what a
tracking cookie might do. Like an account name. Most rDNS names I have seen
are pretty generic, though.
--
Norman
~Win dain a lotica, En vai tu ri, Si lo ta
~Fin dein a loluca, En dragu a sei lain
~Vi fa-ru les shutai am, En riga-lint |
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