Norton ConnectSafe was a free public
DNS service offered by
Symantec Corporation
Gen Digital Inc. (formerly Symantec Corporation and NortonLifeLock) is a multinational software company co-headquartered in Tempe, Arizona and Prague, Czech Republic. The company provides cybersecurity software and services. Gen is a Fortune 50 ...
that claimed to offer a faster and more reliable web browsing experience while blocking undesirable websites.
The service was retired on November 15, 2018.
History
The service was opened to the public in June 2010.
Norton ConnectSafe retirement has been announced and is planned to occur November 15, 2018.
Functionality
It provides protection from web threats in three protection policies. It automatically blocks known unsafe, fraudulent, phishing and infected websites which can cause harm to a device. It also blocks unwanted content, which is not suitable for children. Users can use Norton ConnectSafe by setting their DNS server addresses to those of the Norton ConnectSafe servers. Client software for Windows, Mac OS X, and
Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
is available to automatically configure devices to use Norton ConnectSafe.
DNS queries routed through Norton ConnectSafe are checked using the
Norton Safe Web
Norton Safe Web (sometimes abbreviated NSW) is a service developed by Symantec Corporation that is designed to help users identify malicious websites. Safe Web delivers information about websites based on automated analysis and user feedback.
T ...
database to ensure that they do not point to malicious or inappropriate websites. Symantec thus seeks to block
malware
Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, depri ...
and
phishing attempts,
as well as pornographic and inappropriate websites if the user desires. Norton ConnectSafe will also intercept misspelled domain names and offer suggestions or display advertising.
This redirection breaks some non-Web applications that rely on getting an NXDOMAIN response for non-existent domains.
IPv4 addresses
The following addresses are registered to Norton ConnectSafe:
;Policy A — Security: This policy blocks all sites hosting malware, phishing sites, and scam sites. To choose Policy A, use the following IP addresses as preferred and alternate DNS server addresses:
*199.85.126.10
*199.85.127.10
;Policy B — Security + Pornography: In addition to blocking unsafe sites, this policy also blocks access to sites that contain sexually explicit material. To choose Policy B, use the following IP addresses as preferred and alternate DNS server addresses:
*199.85.126.20
*199.85.127.20
;Policy C — Security + Pornography + Non-Family Friendly: This policy is ideal for families with young children. In addition to blocking unsafe sites and pornography sites, this policy also blocks access to sites that feature mature content, abortion, alcohol, crime, cults, drugs, gambling, hate, sexual orientation, suicide, tobacco, or violence. To choose Policy C, use the following IP addresses as preferred and alternate DNS server addresses
*199.85.126.30
*199.85.127.30
See also
*
Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to ...
*
Public recursive name server
A public recursive name server (also called public DNS resolver) is a name server service that networked computers may use to query the Domain Name System (DNS), the decentralized Internet naming system, in place of (or in addition to) name servers ...
*
Name server
*
OpenDNS
*
Google Public DNS
Google Public DNS is a Domain Name System (DNS) service offered to Internet users worldwide by Google. It functions as a recursive name server.
Google Public DNS was announced on December 3, 2009, in an effort described as "making the web faster ...
*
Quad9
Quad9 is a global public recursive DNS resolver that aims to protect users from malware and phishing. Quad9 is operated by the Quad9 Foundation, a Swiss public-benefit, not-for-profit foundation with the purpose of improving the privacy and cy ...
References
{{Symantec
ConnectSafe
Gen Digital software
Alternative Internet DNS services