Smart DNS (SDNS) services enable their users to avoid geographic restrictions to content (i.e., geoblocking) with minimal internet quality of service overhead. While previous research has shown that usage of SDNS has numerous associated privacy risks, the security and privacy perceptions of users of SDNS are unexplored. In this paper, we perform a survey of n = 63 SDNS users, finding that many have limited understandings both of how these systems work and their overall security/privacy properties. As a result, many users put undue trust in purveyors of SDNS services and in the security they provide.

Smart DNS (SDNS) services advertise access to geofenced content (typically, video streaming sites such as Netflix or Hulu) that is normally inaccessible unless the client is within a prescribed geographic region. SDNS is simple to use and involves no software installation. Instead, it requires only that users modify their DNS settings to point to an SDNS resolver. The SDNS resolver “smartly” identifies geofenced domains and, in lieu of their proper DNS resolutions, returns IP addresses of proxy servers located within the geofence. These servers then transparently proxy traffic between the users and their intended destinations, allowing for the bypass of these geographic restrictions.