DNS Stamp Generator and Decoder Tool

DNS Stamps represent a revolutionary approach to encoding DNS resolver information into compact, shareable strings that simplify secure DNS configuration across applications and platforms.

This encoding standard transforms complex DNS server configurations, including encryption protocols, authentication parameters, and resolver addresses, into single base64-encoded stamps that users can easily share and implement.

Understanding DNS Stamps enables network administrators, developers, and security professionals to streamline DNS configuration while ensuring consistent security settings across diverse environments.

The DNS Stamp specification addresses a critical challenge in modern DNS infrastructure : the complexity of configuring encrypted DNS protocols like DNS-over-TLS (DoT), DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), and DNSCrypt.

Traditional DNS configuration requires users to manually enter multiple parameters including server addresses, port numbers, certificate hashes, and provider names. DNS Stamps consolidate all these parameters into a single string that applications can parse automatically, reducing configuration errors and improving security adoption.

Trustico® recognizes the importance of secure DNS infrastructure in conjunction with SSL Certificates for comprehensive internet security. While SSL Certificates protect data transmission between browsers and servers, secure DNS prevents interception and manipulation of domain resolution requests.

Our DNS Stamp generator and decoder tool empowers users to create and analyze these encoded configurations, supporting the broader goal of encrypted communications across all internet protocols. Trustico® DNS Stamp Generator 🔗

Understanding the DNS Stamp Format and Structure

DNS Stamps begin with the prefix sdns:// followed by a base64url-encoded string containing all configuration parameters for a specific DNS resolver. This standardized format ensures compatibility across different applications and platforms that support DNS Stamps.

The encoded data includes a protocol identifier, resolver properties, address information, and optional parameters like provider names and certificate hashes.

The first byte of the decoded stamp identifies the protocol type, supporting plain DNS, DNSCrypt, DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-QUIC, and oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS. Each protocol type requires specific parameters that the stamp format accommodates through variable-length fields. This flexibility allows DNS Stamps to support current protocols while remaining extensible for future encrypted DNS standards.

Properties encoded in the stamp communicate important resolver characteristics including DNSSEC support, logging policies, filtering status, and ECS (EDNS Client Subnet) handling. These properties help users make informed decisions about resolver selection based on privacy preferences and security requirements. The standardized encoding ensures applications interpret these properties consistently across implementations.

Protocol-Specific DNS Stamp Configurations

Plain DNS stamps encode traditional unencrypted DNS resolver configurations, primarily useful for internal networks or testing environments where encryption isn't required. These stamps contain the resolver's IP address and optional port information, providing a standardized format even for legacy DNS configurations. While plain DNS lacks encryption, stamps still communicate important properties like DNSSEC validation support.

DNSCrypt stamps include the provider's public key, provider name, and resolver address, enabling authenticated and encrypted DNS queries. The stamp format handles both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses seamlessly, with automatic detection based on address format. DNSCrypt stamps represent one of the most widely supported encrypted DNS protocols in privacy-focused applications.

DNS-over-HTTPS stamps encode the complete HTTPS URL for the DoH endpoint along with optional certificate hashes for pinning. This protocol leverages existing HTTPS infrastructure and SSL Certificates, making it compatible with corporate firewalls and content delivery networks. The stamp format supports both IP addresses and hostnames, with automatic bootstrap resolution when needed.

Security Properties and Privacy Features

The properties field in DNS Stamps uses bit flags to indicate critical security and privacy characteristics of the resolver. DNSSEC validation ensures responses haven't been tampered with, providing cryptographic proof of authenticity similar to how SSL Certificates verify website identity. Resolvers that perform DNSSEC validation protect users from cache poisoning and response manipulation attacks.

Logging policies encoded in stamps inform users whether the resolver maintains query logs, crucial information for privacy-conscious users. No-logging resolvers provide greater privacy but may complicate troubleshooting and abuse prevention. The stamp format allows resolvers to clearly communicate their logging stance, enabling informed user choice based on individual privacy requirements.

Filtering properties indicate whether resolvers block certain categories of domains such as malware, phishing, or adult content. While filtering can enhance security by preventing access to known malicious domains, some users prefer unfiltered resolution for complete internet access. DNS Stamps make these filtering policies transparent, avoiding surprises when certain domains become inaccessible.

Creating and Using DNS Stamps with Trustico® Tools

The Trustico® DNS Stamp generator simplifies creation of properly formatted stamps for any DNS resolver configuration. Users input their resolver details including protocol type, server address, and security properties through an intuitive interface. The tool automatically handles encoding complexities, producing standards-compliant stamps ready for distribution or implementation. Trustico® DNS Stamp Generator 🔗

Our decoder tool performs the reverse operation, parsing existing DNS Stamps to reveal all encoded parameters in human-readable format. This transparency enables security audits of DNS configurations and helps administrators understand exactly what settings a stamp will apply. The decoder validates stamp format and highlights any potential security concerns in the configuration.

Integration with existing DNS management workflows becomes seamless through DNS Stamps, as administrators can maintain libraries of tested configurations for different use cases. Development teams can embed stamps in application configurations, ensuring consistent DNS security across deployments. The standardized format eliminates ambiguity in DNS configuration documentation and deployment procedures.

Certificate Validation and DNS Security

DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS protocols rely on SSL Certificates to establish encrypted connections between clients and resolvers. DNS Stamps can include SSL Certificate hashes that enable SSL Certificate pinning, preventing man-in-the-middle attacks even if Certificate Authorities (CAs) are compromised. This additional security layer parallels the protection provided by HTTP Public Key Pinning (HPKP) for web connections.

The relationship between DNS security and SSL Certificates becomes particularly important when considering the complete security chain. Compromised DNS can redirect users to malicious servers even if those servers have valid SSL Certificates obtained through domain validation. Secure DNS configured through properly validated stamps prevents this initial redirection, ensuring users reach intended servers protected by legitimate SSL Certificates.

Organizations deploying SSL Certificates from Trustico® benefit from combining SSL Certificate security with encrypted DNS resolution. This comprehensive approach addresses vulnerabilities at both the domain resolution and connection establishment phases. DNS Stamps facilitate deployment of this multi-layered security by simplifying encrypted DNS configuration across enterprise networks.

Implementation Best Practices for DNS Stamps

Organizations implementing DNS Stamps should validate resolver properties against security policies before deployment. Testing stamps in isolated environments ensures compatibility with existing network infrastructure and applications. The Trustico® decoder tool assists in this validation process by clearly displaying all encoded parameters for review.

Backup DNS configurations should be maintained alongside primary stamps to ensure continuity if primary resolvers become unavailable. Multiple stamps can be configured in applications that support fallback resolvers, providing resilience against resolver outages or network issues. The compact nature of stamps makes maintaining multiple configurations more manageable than traditional lengthy configuration files.

Regular updates to DNS Stamps ensure configurations remain current with resolver changes such as address updates or SSL Certificate rotations. Monitoring resolver behavior after stamp deployment helps identify any unexpected filtering or resolution issues. Documentation of stamp configurations and their intended use cases prevents confusion in complex network environments.

Advanced DNS Stamp Applications and Use Cases

Privacy-focused applications increasingly adopt DNS Stamps as the preferred method for configuring encrypted DNS resolvers. VPN clients embed stamps to ensure DNS queries remain encrypted even when VPN connections drop. Browser configurations can include stamps for DNS-over-HTTPS settings, bypassing system DNS when enhanced privacy is required.

Enterprise deployments leverage DNS Stamps for consistent security policy enforcement across distributed networks. Mobile device management (MDM) solutions distribute stamps to ensure corporate devices use approved encrypted resolvers. This centralized configuration management reduces security vulnerabilities from misconfigured DNS settings.

Development and testing environments benefit from DNS Stamps by maintaining separate configurations for production, staging, and development resolvers. Container orchestration platforms can inject environment-specific stamps, ensuring appropriate DNS resolution in each deployment context. The portability of stamps simplifies configuration management across diverse infrastructure platforms.

Troubleshooting DNS Stamp Configurations

Common issues with DNS Stamps often relate to incompatible protocol support between stamps and implementing applications. Verifying application compatibility with specific DNS protocols prevents configuration failures. The Trustico® decoder tool helps identify protocol requirements encoded in stamps.

Network firewall rules may block encrypted DNS protocols, particularly in corporate environments that inspect DNS traffic. Testing connectivity to resolver addresses and ports before stamp deployment identifies network restrictions. Alternative protocols or resolver addresses may be needed in restrictive network environments.

SSL Certificate validation failures in DoT and DoH configurations can prevent successful connections despite correct stamp formatting. Ensuring system configurations contain necessary root SSL Certificates resolves most validation issues. Time synchronization problems can also cause SSL Certificate validation failures that appear as stamp configuration errors.

The Future of DNS Security and Stamp Evolution

Emerging DNS privacy protocols like Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS (ODoH) and DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) extend the security properties available through DNS Stamps. The stamp format's extensibility accommodates these new protocols without breaking compatibility with existing implementations. Future stamp versions may include additional properties for emerging privacy features and security mechanisms.

Integration between DNS security and SSL Certificate infrastructure continues evolving with technologies like DANE (DNS-based Authentication of Named Entities) that bind SSL Certificates to domain names through DNS records. DNS Stamps may eventually encode DANE validation requirements, creating tighter integration between domain resolution and certificate validation.

The adoption of encrypted DNS protocols accelerates as privacy regulations and security requirements expand globally. DNS Stamps lower the technical barrier to encrypted DNS adoption by simplifying configuration complexity. As more applications support stamps natively, encrypted DNS may become the default rather than the exception.

Leveraging DNS Stamps for Enhanced Security

DNS Stamps represent a critical advancement in making encrypted DNS accessible to users and organizations of all technical levels. The Trustico® DNS Stamp generator and decoder tool empowers users to create, analyze, and implement these powerful configuration strings. By combining secure DNS resolution with professional SSL Certificates, organizations build comprehensive security architectures that protect users from evolving cyber threats.

Trustico® DNS Stamp Generator 🔗

The standardization provided by DNS Stamps eliminates configuration ambiguity and reduces deployment errors that compromise security. As encrypted DNS protocols become mandatory for compliance and security requirements, stamps provide the configuration management solution needed for consistent implementation. Our tool ensures that creating and understanding these stamps remains accessible to security professionals and network administrators.