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*January 2025 — *We’re at that point in the story of technological advancements where the digital landscape is evolving at breakneck speed. However, with this rapid digitalization of personal information, data privacy has become more crucial than ever. Gone are the days of the late 90s when Internet users could largely ignore how their browsing habits were being tracked and exploited. Throughout 2025, the need for greater security and privacy online will be undeniable — especially at the foundational level of our Internet connections: the Domain Name System (DNS). Security and privacy-centric DNS services are not just a fringe solution reserved for the tech-savvy. They are now an essential part of any modern Internet user’s toolkit. This month, we will discuss the risks of ignoring this critical layer of protection, the benefits for individuals, businesses, and society at large, and why using a privacy-centric DNS service in 2025 should be standard operating procedure for anyone with a connected device.

The holiday shopping season is upon us and with it comes a surge in online activity. Unfortunately, this increased online traffic also presents a prime opportunity for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities and steal sensitive information. To protect our users, Quad9 blocks DNS lookups of malicious host names from an up-to-the-minute list of threats.

At Quad9, we aim to show appreciation for the dedication of our staff and their contributions to the growth and health of the organization by showcasing quarterly staff highlights. This quarter, we are featuring Director of Operations, Babak Farrokhi.

To protect our users, Quad9 blocks DNS lookups of malicious host names from an up-to-the-minute list of threats. This blocking action protects your computer, mobile device, or IoT systems against a wide range of threats, such as malware, phishing, spyware, and botnets, and it can improve performance and privacy. This blogpost provides security insights on the threats blocked by Quad9 DNS between January and June 2024. The report combines DNS telemetry data and open-source intelligence with statistics and analysis to provide security insights on the top malicious domains visited by our users and blocked by Quad9 DNS. Additionally, the post presents key regional threats targeting Quad9 users.

Quad9’s Post-Deployment Observations of Malawi’s Cybersecurity Landscape. Quad9 is a global DNS service that offers enhanced cybersecurity measures, privacy protection, and improved Internet performance. Quad9’s arrival in Malawi marks a pivotal advancement in fortifying the country’s digital infrastructure, bringing with it enhanced cybersecurity safeguards, robust privacy protection, and a boost in Internet performance.

While our case in Germany has been found in favor of Quad9, we have been served with another demand from commercial interests in an EU nation to block domain names, again based on alleged copyright violations. Italian legal representatives have presented us with a list of domains and a demand for blocking those domains. Now we must again determine the path to take forward fighting this legal battle, in another nation in which we are neither headquartered nor have any offices or corporate presence.

Today marks a bright moment in the efforts to keep the internet a neutral and trusted resource for everyone. Quad9 has received word from the courts in Dresden, Germany in the appeal of our case versus Sony Entertainment (Germany). The court has ruled in favor of Quad9, clearly and unequivocally. Needless to say, we are elated at the news.

In the third quarter, our users were targeted by a variety of threats, including phishing, banking trojans, crypto-malware, and stalkerware. This quarterly report analyses the top malicious domains blocked by Quad9 DNS and the threats associated with them. For more detailed data on the specific threat categories and volumes of attempted access, please refer to the dedicated sections of this report.

Quad9 has been part of a potentially precedent-setting legal case involving Sony Music Entertainment (Germany). The suit involves Sony’s demand that Quad9 block DNS resolution for our users for a specific domain, unrelated to Quad9, on which Sony asserts there are web-based links that lead to copyright-infringing content.