The recent Oracle / Dyn DNS outage has caused frustration and inconvenience for many businesses and individuals who rely on DNS services to keep their websites and applications accessible. For those affected by the outage, it has become clear that relying on a single DNS provider can be risky. In the wake of the outage, many have made the switch to No-IP, a reliable and trusted provider for Dynamic DNS and Managed DNS services.

No-IP offers a range of Dynamic DNS and Managed DNS solutions to businesses and individuals, helping them keep their websites and applications accessible and secure. No-IP’s Dynamic DNS services provide remote access to devices and applications, allowing users to connect to their network from anywhere in the world, while No-IP’s Managed DNS services provide a robust and highly scalable network of DNS servers that provide a range of features and capabilities for managing and optimizing DNS performance.

Some of the key features of No-IP’s DNS infrastructure include:

Anycast Network Routing: 
No-IP uses Anycast Network routing to automatically route DNS queries to the nearest data center, ensuring low latency and fast response times.

Global Network of Data Centers:
With over 100 data centers located around the world, No-IP’s DNS infrastructure provides high availability and reliability.

DNS Failover:
No-IP’s DNS failover feature can automatically redirect traffic to a backup server in the event of an outage or server failure.

By switching to No-IP, businesses, and consumers can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their websites and applications will remain accessible, even in the event of a DNS outage. No-IP has a track record of reliability and uptime, making it a trusted and effective alternative to single DNS providers such as Oracle / Dyn DNS.

In conclusion, the recent Oracle / Dyn DNS outage has highlighted the importance of having a reliable and robust DNS provider. No-IP offers a range of Dynamic DNS and Managed DNS solutions that are backed by our robust Anycast DNS network which includes 100+ points of presence, ensuring that users can keep their websites and applications online and accessible at all times.

By making the switch to No-IP, businesses, and individuals can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their online presence is secure and reliable.

After you create your No-IP account, you can easily access our secure and reliable DDNS and Managed DNS services, which can help you efficiently manage your domain and ensure its availability on the internet.

Get Started Now with our Dynamic DNS services, or purchase a Managed DNS service.

If you need assistance with migrating to No-IP, don’t hesitate to contact our US-Based Customer Support Team. They are available to provide guidance and support throughout the process.

Our last blog for the “Refresher” series is about something that offers the most underestimated layer of security: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates.

What Are They?

SSL Certificates are data files that create an encrypted and private connection between the web server and the web browser. However, SSL Certificates do a lot more than that: They verify domain ownership and make it so hackers cannot reproduce false pages to trick users or intercept your private information. Think of sending a package to a friend, but that package is enclosed in a special metal box that makes it so it cannot be intercepted by thieving hands but also confirms to your friend that it came directly from you. To learn more, you can take a look at one of our past blogs “A Beginner’s Guide to SSL Certificates” for more details.

How Do They Work?

First, the SSL Certifications get installed on a web server that allows a secure connection between the web server and the browser. You can tell when it is installed because there is a padlock icon next to the URL and the page URL changes from “HTTP://” to “HTTPS://”. You will notice this on banking, shopping, and even social media sites where log-in and private information are entered into various fields. We’ve also shared in a past blog that websites without “HTTPS://” are now being flagged as insecure, and you might even get a warning on Google Chrome when you try to visit a flagged site.

For small business owners and startup companies, incorporating SSL Certificates is essential to meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards for credit card transactions, but another nice perk is increasing your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google or Bing love the added security because it means providing users with a trustworthy and bonafide website, and therefore will bump websites with SSL certificates higher than those that do not.

Why Are They Important?

There are various ways that hackers can intercept your private information if SSL Certificates are not installed. For example, they can install a “listening device” that will collect all the information they can get. They can also trick you into entering your information on a log-in page or link very similar to what you are used to, but upon closer inspection, have bogus details.

These days, it is really easy for hackers to collect private information from users, especially those that let their guard down or don’t think twice about their web presence. Sure, technology has made things a lot easier like shopping, transferring funds, and scheduling appointments, but that shouldn’t ever be at the expense of your livelihood and finances.

Furthermore, as a user it is great to be able to navigate and shop confidently when you see the SSL Certificate indications enabled in the URL bar. With so much spam and shady traps to avoid online, it is nice to have these safeguards in place to ensure that our private information stays safe.

Interested in adding SSL Certifications to your web pages?

Well, you’re in luck! No-IP includes one Encryption Everywhere DV SSL with every Enhanced Dynamic DNS and Plus Managed DNS service. We know that having a secure hostname is important to you and now you can install an SSL on any hostname managed by No-IP for free!

No-IP also provides the option to purchase different SSL Certificate products depending on what you are looking for and how it fits into your IP network needs:

RapidSSL Basic DV – The most basic option in our SSL Certification products, but definitely not lacking! It’s a quick, inexpensive way to secure your website. The RapidSSL Basic DV secures a single domain with strong encryption. It is issued within minutes and can help you develop and launch a secure website quickly. Need extra reassurance? The RapidSSL Basic DV Certificates also offer a $10,000 guarantee, which is insurance for end users against any money lost during a payment transaction on an SSL-secured site.

RapidSSL Wildcard DV – The mid-range option offers secure unlimited subdomains with strong encryption. This option proves to be the most cost-effective way to secure multiple domains and also issues in minutes and a $10,000 guarantee.

GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium – Certainly the most robust of the SSL Certification options, these certificates provide comprehensive authentication procedures (domain name and identity verification) with a high warranty. This option is perfect for securing a professional domain. Although it requires 1 – 2 hours to issue, it offers a whopping $500,000 guarantee.

Important Updates to No-IP’s SSL Certificate Product:

As of February 2023, No-IP moved from TrustCor to DigiCert SSL Certificates and replaced the SSL Certificates of all current users. These replacement SSL certificates are set to the same validity date (Expiration Date) as their former TrustCor SSL certificates and with several improvements to SSL flows.

In addition, we are no longer offering free SSL Certificates to our free Dynamic DNS users.  But do not fret! If you had a TrustCor Standard SSL and are a free user, No-IP is giving you an Encryption Everywhere replacement certificate as a one-time offer.

Do you already have a free No-IP account and are interested in an SSL?

Well, you’re in luck – Upgrading to the Enhanced Dynamic DNS, which includes one free SSL Certificate, costs as low as $19.99/year and can be done within a few clicks through your account page.  This would be the same price as purchasing a DigiCert RapidSSL Certificate.

Want to know more about SSL Certificates or have any more questions? Our Customer Success Knowledge base has a robust list of guides and articles.

There is something about starting a new year that creates hope: you might look forward to new leaps and bounds in your start-up, want to finish your degree, or better organize your life. The same energy can be applied to better manage your IP network. It doesn’t matter if you are a certified Network Admin or figuring out how to run your e-commerce site yourself, everyone can use a refresher once in a while. Especially with technology constantly making strides in our daily lives, we might even find ourselves learning something new, or how to make things easier. In this series, we touch on some things that our users might find good to review, or important tools and processes that help you manage your IP network better.

The topic for this blog has to do with something that a lot of our users ask questions about – Port Forwarding. Port Forwarding has to do with your router – The router gives your computer and any other IP-enabled devices access to your internet and requested files. Think of the router as the receptionist of a company - The receptionist makes connections and determines access to regular employees or guests depending on their security clearance. However, the receptionist is not making the call about who gets access – They are being told how to determine who is cleared and who is not. The router acts the same way – They allow communication on only open ports.

So how does Port Forwarding come into play? Port Forwarding is a way to allow outside devices and networks to access a private network. This not only prevents any lag time but also provides a level of security. If you are inviting a friend to access your gaming server, or need remote access to your internal IP network, then you want to configure Port Forwarding.

Here is an example: Let’s say you want to grant your friend access to your personal server (hostname example.dnns.net) so they can view and download pictures from a shared trip. As a default, your router blocks any outside access to your server with a firewall to help keep your IP network secure. While this is usually helpful, it is not when you want someone from an outside server access to your own. To incorporate access to your server, your friend will use the hostname, which will be whitelisted in the firewall. Then, determine which port you want to open. In this case, Port 80 is a popular port used for unencrypted web pages. Adding the port to the URL allows communication through the port: example.ddns.net:80.

See some resources below and guides that our Customer Success team frequently shares with customers:

• General guide to Port Forwarding
• High-level video guide for configuring port forwarding in your router
• Port Check Tool that will assist you with checking for open ports

Port Forwarding might be a little intimidating at first, but if you do need additional support, you will want to contact your internet service provider. Once you have set the port forwarding rules, a Customer Success member will test the connection for you.