The Cloudflare company has been going strong with its mobile VPN service together with DNS 1.1.1.1 nicknamed Warp. The Smartphone application allows us to use this fast DNS service with the click of a button and connect to a highly secure global VPN. That is why we are going to review it to see what this service can offer us and if it is an advantage in terms of its use for mobile Internet.
What is DNS?
Before explaining what Warp consists of, it would not be a bad idea to know a little more about the role that DNS performs in our connection and access to the Internet.
DNS or in Spanish, Domain Name System, is a protocol through which a domain name can be associated with an IP address. What it does then translates the names of the URL addresses that we write in the browser to addresses that can be understood by the network protocol and the connected systems, that is, to a numerical address such as the IP. For example “profesionalreview.com” would be the name that we would place in the browser, and the address “213.162.214.40” would be the address that our router would understand.
A DNS server uses a decentralized and hierarchical database where all these relationships between URL and IP that exist on the Internet are stored. In addition to URLs, we also have information about email addresses and everything related to access through the network. In general, we use the DNS server provided to us by our internet service provider, and not only will the address be resolved by a single DNS server, but we will find multiple ones on our way to the real domain address.
We will start by typing a web address into our browser, it needs to perform a DNS lookup to associate the name with the actual IP address. So, the first thing our system does is check if the response that the browser is requesting is found in the local DNS cache, on our own PC. If it is, it will automatically send the associated IP to establish the remote connection. In the event that this information is not saved, the device will connect to a DNS server that it finds in its path to request the ISP service.
But at any time, we can assign this work directly to an external server such as the one that Cloudflare gives us for free. Our team will connect to the DNS server through the address 1.1.1.1 and it will resolve the address and provide us with access, and also encryption.
What makes 1.1.1.1 different from the rest
A few days ago, Cloudflare announced to the world its next step in terms of the possibilities of its free-access DNS service for users. As shown to us in the service information, https//1.1.1.1 is the fastest and best privacy DNS service found on the Internet. Undoubtedly very daring words compared to giants like Google, IBM, or OpenDNS.
Cloudflare uses a keyword to differentiate its service from the others available, and it is privacy, a service where the user can navigate completely and securely through the Internet while being fast. To do this, the company agrees to delete all DNS query logs every 24 hours. DNS servers have always been quite a key aspect when it comes to Internet security, since the DNS servers of the ISPs store all the queries that we make and that go through it, this means that there will be a database with Absolutely all of our registered accesses, a bit uncomfortable, right? Well, Cloudflare wants to break this modus operandi and preserve, above all, our security.
This new DNS also offers us support for both DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS, which are the two main ways to safely browse Internet web pages. In addition, Cloudflare is negotiating with companies like Mozilla to implement 1.1.1.1 in their browser in a simple and convenient way for users to use. According to the records, the DNS service has a global latency of 14 ms, which is considerably less than, for example, the 34 ms of Google or 20 ms of OpenDNS. What remains to be seen is whether this service, now with VPN, does not lose speed as more users use it.
All this and more with Warp the application for mobile Internet
The big news is that Cloudflare has launched a free and easy-to-use application for all those users who want to use the company’s DNS on their mobile phones. Speed and security are what Warp promises.
For technical purposes, Warp acts as a link to connect to Cloudflare’s VPN network, a network through which we can navigate safely and keep access data confidential, as we have seen before. What always happens with VPNs? Well, the first, is that they limit the speed, and the second, is that they increase the latency. Well, with Warp, the company wanted to improve all this and even surpass the benefits offered by other servers without such a degree of protection.
One of the advantages that we obtain with this is that we will be able to browse “non-secure” web pages, that is, HTTP without the s, with native encryption. Warp and VPN make the connection automatically encrypted by default. This is a great advantage since it is the necessary filter to prevent hacker attacks and the entry of viruses from unsafe pages.
One of the main disadvantages of the TCP protocol is that it was never designed for mobile internet, which causes higher recovery times for lost data. So Cloudflare’s global network is based on a mobile-optimized UDP protocol that enables faster connections even with poor coverage and far-away Wi-Fi.
The promised security enhancements remain in the app:
- User identification data is not collected
- The browsing data will be invisible and will not be used to advertise.
- DNS 1.1.1.1 can be used without creating an account or anything like that
- navigation data will be deleted every 24 hours
Let’s say then, that it’s like browsing through a corporate VPN with dedicated security, but with access to the entire Internet, this means zero advertising. Obviously, we will have to trust them, of course, we will not be able to see their facilities first hand.
So what do these people eat?
Well, even though the service is free, they need to make money with it for Warp to be profitable. And they also report on this quite clearly:
- Warp+ – The app has a Premium registration option for users who want to get even more speed on the network. This would be the first way.
- Make business VPN sales contracts: it happens the same as with WinRAR, a normal user can use it for free, but there is a license market behind it for companies. The same goes for VPNs, Cloudflare can provide VPN support to businesses that need it.
- Boost access to content for your customers: Cloudflare is a company that provides Internet content services to customers, so this VPN network will boost that content to keep your customers happy.
How to install and use Warp on Android or iOS
Enough of all this talk and we are going to see how to install Warp on Android to see first-hand how it is used and what we are going to find.
Well, the first thing we will have to do is look for it in our Play Store, and be careful, because it is not called Warp. If we place this, only applications to modify the face of our friends will appear. In this case, we will have to put 1.1.1.1 so that an application whose name is 1.1.1.1 appears: Faster & Safer Internet.
Once installed, we will open it so that it shows us some information or other before accessing the main screen. We are warned that If we already have an application that uses VPN on the mobile, this connection will be deactivated.
It will ask us for permission to install a VPN profile on the mobile, to which we say yes, and finally, we will be on the main page. Well, it would be By pressing the button we will be connected to the Cloudflare VPN network and we will have 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 as DNS servers.
We can still make some changes to the configuration by clicking on the menu button. In addition to placing the dark theme, we can also exclude the applications that remain from the use of this VPN or check the connection data directly in our browser. We can also deactivate the DNS Logs that the application creates, modify the tunneling method, etc.
As we can see, we will have no problem connecting to websites both in Wi-Fi and in data. Also, if any application gives us connectivity problems, we will only have to add it to the exclusion list of the DNS application. We will also comment that battery consumption has not been altered by the mere fact of having it open.
Conclusion about 1.1.1.1 Warp
This little article ends here where we explain a little better the basic premises that Cloudflare offers with its DNS service with VPN Warp and this new application for Mobile Internet. We recommend that you try it so that you can at least feel more secure browsing, as it is free and quite easy to use, it will at least be worth trying it and see if it convinces you.