CIRA Canadian Sheild
Hello,
I just read an article from CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority), dated July 8, 2021: https://www.cira.ca/blog/canadian-shield/mozilla-firefox-cira-canadian-shield?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=organic-email&utm_campaign=FY21&utm_content=the-dot-11
In it, they write, "Mozilla is enabling CIRA Canadian Shield as the default trusted recursive resolver (TRR) for Canadian Firefox users." I'm such a user. I also know *just* enough about the vast electronic highway system called the "Internet" to know I need safety and security measures in place.
I'm using FF 78.12 on MacOS Sierra.
I thought I'd see if CIRA Canadian Shield was the default proxy by going to Preferences > General > Network Settings. "Enable DNS over HTTPS" is selected, and the default provider is "Cloudflare." I clicked the drop down menu to see if CIRA Canadian Shield was offered as a selection. Alas, it is not. So, I selected "Custom" and typed in "CIRA Canadian Shield" (without quotation marks) and pressed "OK."
My questions are:
1) Is Mozilla enabling CIRA Canadian Shield by default as suggested in the article? 2) If so, why is it not indicated in the drop down menu? 3) Have I enabled CIRA Canadian Shield by typing it in the name as a custom proxy server?
Thank you for your help in advance. Please note, I have a rudimentary understanding of how this all works, so your simplified and somewhat non-technical answers are appreciated.
Chosen solution
Some DoH providers were overwhelmed by having too many Firefox users enabled at once, so Mozilla seems to be going slower on this one. Currently, CIRA is being rolled out to users of the "Nightly" pre-release version (future Firefox 92) through the Normandy ("shield studies") mechanism. I think it's probably best to wait for it to mature to release in a couple months.
Read this answer in context 👍 1All Replies (5)
The default provider switch is being rolled out gradually . See: https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/news/firefox-by-default-dns-over-https-rollout-in-canada/ Firefox extends privacy and security of Canadian internet users with by-default DNS-over-HTTPS rollout in Canada (July 8, 2021) (quote) CIRA Joins Firefox’s Trusted Recursive Resolver Program
In a few weeks, Firefox will start the by-default rollout of DNS over HTTPS (or DoH for short) to its Canadian users in partnership with local DoH provider CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. DoH will first become a default for 1% of Canadian Firefox users on July 20 and will gradually reach 100% of Canadian Firefox users in late September 2021 – thereby further increasing their security and privacy online. This follows the by-default rollout of DoH to US users in February 2020. <snip>
The Firefox DNS over HTTPS article does say that you can switch providers in Firefox Network settings in the Use Provider drop-down under Enable DNS over HTTPS. Screenshot from the article:
On my Windows 7 system, the drop-down arrow is all the way to the right of Cloudflare (Default)
On how to switch to "CIRA Canadian Shield", the DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) FAQs article currently says this, under What resolver will Firefox be using?: (quote) In each country where we launch DoH, we will have a default resolver (e.g., in the US the default resolver is Cloudflare). Users may alternately select from a list of additional providers in our Trusted Recursive Resolver program, which requires compliance with our policy requirements regarding user privacy and security.<snip>
The additional providers page shows CIRA and the URL, https://private.canadianshield.cira.ca/dns-query under Conforming Resolvers. I don't know what you should enter in the drop-down field when selecting "Custom". Hopefully someone else can help with that.
Modified by AliceWyman
Thanks AliceWyman for your reply.
Because I don't understand what resolvers are, or how they work, I thought a simple drop down would be easiest for me to manage. I think for now I'll leave it on Cloudflare and wait until the default CIRA Canadian Shield rollout hits me.
But, if someone can explain how to switch to CIRA Canadian Shield easily, I'll certainly try.
I'll leave this as unsolved for now.
Chosen Solution
Some DoH providers were overwhelmed by having too many Firefox users enabled at once, so Mozilla seems to be going slower on this one. Currently, CIRA is being rolled out to users of the "Nightly" pre-release version (future Firefox 92) through the Normandy ("shield studies") mechanism. I think it's probably best to wait for it to mature to release in a couple months.
Thank you, all. The information you've all provided is very interesting and helpful.
I'll leave things as they are for now and wait for the rollout, and mark this issue as solved.