Q&A with Kiran Kumar - Webroot DNS Protection

When will the Dynamic DNS-P Be brought back? And in the meantime, can we simply set the roaming agent policy to the endpoints without having to set any DNS settings on a router for a client?

Hi,
 
I have a question: One of my users had these two sites blocked as a result of them being categorised incorrectly : Where do I submit categorisation errors?
 
" 
www.gemmaatkinson.co.uk is a gym wear website-not sex education
 www.smababy.co.uk is a baby milk website-not sex education
"

One way to request categorization changes is to go to https://www.brightcloud.com/tools/url-ip-lookup.php and enter in the site and once the results show you can place a ticket there to have it changed. But yes this is a good feature that needs to be added to the GSM so we can do this without going externally.

@ wrote:
When will the Dynamic DNS-P Be brought back? And in the meantime, can we simply set the roaming agent policy to the endpoints without having to set any DNS settings on a router for a client?

Hi @, Great to hear from you. We are looking at few different options for dynamic IP based on the use cases - we are close on finalizing on one. I am happy to provide an update when we are closer to it.
 
wrt your question ard policy setting -  If I could get more clarification or if you could drop me an email or PM me so that I understand your scenario correctly. 
 
 
 
 

 
Would you please explain what DNS is all about?

@ wrote:
Hi,
 
I have a question: One of my users had these two sites blocked as a result of them being categorised incorrectly : Where do I submit categorisation errors?
 
" 
www.gemmaatkinson.co.uk is a gym wear website-not sex education
 www.smababy.co.uk is a baby milk website-not sex education
"

Hi @ - 
 
Thanks for reaching out. You can submite requests via https://www.brightcloud.com/tools/url-ip-lookup.php and you will also get notified once its updated. 
 
Thanks
-Kiran

@ wrote:
 
Would you please explain what DNS is all about?

I equate DNS, or Domain Name System, to a phonebook for the internet.  It contains the addresses for internet resources.  When you ask for a website, this DNS phonebook is used to locate the corresponding address. Ex: when you make a request via the browser to google.com, in the background its converted to a resolving IP address (172.217.11.4)of google.com and you are directed there.
 
Webroot’s DNS-Protection Web Filtering service enables you to control the address book by setting policies for your network.  For example, if a request comes through for a known malware site, instead of routing you to that bad address, an alternate IP is returned – one that corresponds with a safe site – usually a block page.  There is no better way to protect a system than to never expose it to a threat to begin with.
This can also be used to filter the type of sites available as well – such as blocking torrenting sites or maybe access to sites that HR would prefer we not visit at work.
 
Please feel free to PM message me if you would like to see how DNS-Protection can be a fit for your needs. 
 
Thanks
-Kiran. 

@ asks: "Is there any plan for Consumers to get to use Webroot's DNS service? It would be nice if we could!"

@ wrote:
One way to request categorization changes is to go to https://www.brightcloud.com/tools/url-ip-lookup.php and enter in the site and once the results show you can place a ticket there to have it changed. But yes this is a good feature that needs to be added to the GSM so we can do this without going externally.

Thanks @ for being my partner on this live Q&A 🙂. Definitely looking at putting a lookup tool as well as submit request from the console as well as in the blockpage. 

@ wrote:
TripleHelix asks: "Is there any plan for Consumers to get to use Webroot's DNS service? It would be nice if we could!"

Hi @ - WE are actively assessing go to market opportunities for DNS for consumers. Do you u think wifi security is something that consumers will pay?  

@ asks: "What is DNS to the normal person on the street?"

Client ISP is dynamic, but they want to protect their systems. Can we simply have the agent based on the systems without having to adjust any DNS on the router? Essentially have the local DNSP agent running. 

@ asks: "@kkumar, Perhaps an overview of how the DNS-P functions for the mobile devices that steps outside the network occasionally?"

@ wrote:
@asks: "What is DNS to the normal person on the street?"

Hi @ .. 
 
Assuming how easily we can identify normal people on the street these days 🙂 - just kidding
 
I provided a high level overview to the question posed by @ .. please let me know if you would like to dig a little deeper and we can get into some specifics on how it can fit your needs. 
 
Thanks much. 
-Kiran

@ wrote:
Client ISP is dynamic, but they want to protect their systems. Can we simply have the agent based on the systems without having to adjust any DNS on the router? Essentially have the local DNSP agent running. 

Definitely one way to do it @  for businesses.. but if its guest wifi environments then it may not work because there may not be a laptop/desktop, etc. 
 
Let us have a phone or email conv. and go through your scenario. 

Hi All - 
 
This has been great experience for me .. thanks for sending in prior as well as interacting here in the forrum - really enjoyed these conversations/chats as well as its a great way for PM's to get a pulse on the product used by customers and prospects .. so, definitely appreciate your participation. Please keep it coming and you are always welcome to personal message me @ to talk DNS, security or abt identifying normal people 🙂. 
 
Thanks all. 

@ asks: "Without naming names, can we expect to see parity with other dns filtering/protections on the market? If so, can you highlight anything coming or a roadmap?"

Thank you so much @!:D

@ wrote:

@ wrote:
TripleHelix asks: "Is there any plan for Consumers to get to use Webroot's DNS service? It would be nice if we could!"

Hi @ - WE are actively assessing go to market opportunities for DNS for consumers. Do you u think wifi security is something that consumers will pay?  

Hi Kiran, why just for wifi? My ISP provides a Modem/Router and I have a wired connection with other devices using wifi? I have tried other DNS services such as Open DNS and 1.1.1.1 is a public DNS resolver that makes DNS queries faster and more secure. So it would be nice if we could test/try Webroot's DNS service!

@ wrote:
@ asks: "Without naming names, can we expect to see parity with other dns filtering/protections on the market? If so, can you highlight anything coming or a roadmap?"

We did not create the DNS Protection solution to target parity compared another solution.  We saw an opportunity to leverage our industry leading BrightCloud Threat Intelligence through DNS, as well as a need for an easy to use and manage DNS web filtering solution
 
Webroot DNS-P is first and foremost a security offering that’ll protect against Phishing attacks, Ransomware and domain hijacking at the DNS layer and When setup for a network, we can filter DNS requests for every device connected.  This not only covers laptops and Desktops, but also IoT devices – such as your Nest Thermostat or Smart Doorbell. DNS-P is powered by industry leading BrightCloud Threat Intelligence that is relied by leading network and security vendors.
 
Our approach in bringing solutions to market is driven by customer pain points and meeting key use cases for the SMB/MSP marketplace. We will continue to evolve DNS-P in meeting needs around Security as well as making it easier for our customers to manage and configure.
 
- Some recent enhancements we have made is the ability to apply unique DNS filtering policies can be applied to the network, groups of systems and even specific individual systems – all managed through the existing Webroot GSM console.
 
- Very soon (look for an announcement) again based on  feedback, we will be providing a way to get visibility into your DNS data through our comprehensive unity API which will enable you to slice and dice the data, as well as providing greatly expanded reporting capabilities.
 
 

@ wrote:
@ asks: "@kkumar, Perhaps an overview of how the DNS-P functions for the mobile devices that steps outside the network occasionally?"

Hi @ - The ability to incorporate DNS service on roaming mobile devices can be easy (MDM on corp devices) or challenging (BYOD). Securing the corp. environment is a MUST and DNS-P allows you to do just that for ALL devices v. easily. For roaming mobile devices, we are looking at potential options including partnerships to see how best DNS-P can be integrated in a non-intrusive way without breaking the bank. .. 
 
Thanks
-Kiran
 

Hey folks,
 
It's now after 10:30am MDT, if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post them and Kiran will respond when he's able. Thank you everyone for your time here today!

@ wrote:

@ wrote:

@ wrote:
TripleHelix asks: "Is there any plan for Consumers to get to use Webroot's DNS service? It would be nice if we could!"

Hi @ - WE are actively assessing go to market opportunities for DNS for consumers. Do you u think wifi security is something that consumers will pay?  

Hi Kiran, why just for wifi? My ISP provides a Modem/Router and I have a wired connection with other devices using wifi? I have tried other DNS services such as Open DNS and 1.1.1.1 is a public DNS resolver that makes DNS queries faster and more secure. So it would be nice if we could test/try Webroot's DNS service!

HI @ - Definitely. we could v. easily setup a  Webroot DNS trial for you so that you can test it and perhaps we can get your perspective from a consumer standpoint and that can help us forumlate as we assess go to market plans for DNS to consumers. Would you be open to a phone conversation? 
 
@, let's connect with @
 
Thanks
-Kiran

Thanks everyone for your time and engagement this morning. From @, @, and myself we truly appreciate it. 
 
Kiran will be posting a recap later today on this thread so please be on the lookout for that. 
 
We hope to do more of these in the future and welcome your feedback on how this went so we can better our process. Please feel free to PM me about this. 
 
Thanks again and have a wonderful day. 
 
Drew
 
 

@ wrote:

@ wrote:

@ wrote:

@ wrote:
TripleHelix asks: "Is there any plan for Consumers to get to use Webroot's DNS service? It would be nice if we could!"

Hi @ - WE are actively assessing go to market opportunities for DNS for consumers. Do you u think wifi security is something that consumers will pay?  

Hi Kiran, why just for wifi? My ISP provides a Modem/Router and I have a wired connection with other devices using wifi? I have tried other DNS services such as Open DNS and 1.1.1.1 is a public DNS resolver that makes DNS queries faster and more secure. So it would be nice if we could test/try Webroot's DNS service!

HI @ - Definitely. we could v. easily setup a  Webroot DNS trial for you so that you can test it and perhaps we can get your perspective from a consumer standpoint and that can help us forumlate as we assess go to market plans for DNS to consumers. Would you be open to a phone conversation? 
 
@, let's connect with @
 
Thanks
-Kiran

Sounds great! Also I have a Gigabit connection so would that be affected?
 
Thanks,