How to Verify Browser Security with Cloudflare Security Check

Developing a more private and secure browsing profile should be a priority for anyone, but sometimes we simply don't know where to begin. The implementation of HTTPS on most sites has been a very important step; however, there are still several aspects to protect, including DNS requests. The folks at Cloudflare offer their Browsing Experience Security Check, a site that verifies the overall status of DNS, the TLS version in use, and whether the SNI function is encrypted or not.

Protecting our sessions, reducing our digital footprint, being careful not to accidentally leak personal information… in other words, developing good behavior in computer security. It's not easy, I'm the first to admit it, but we can always start somewhere. Example? Adopting a password manager. Repeating passwords is convenient, and a terrible idea at the same time.

You can choose a solution like KeePass (offline, free and open source), or explore our list of recommended managers. It's also not a bad idea to verify browser security, especially at the DNS level. Exposed requests reveal a lot about our daily browsing, and this is where Cloudflare comes in with its Browsing Experience Security Check.

How to Verify Browser Security

Very easy: Visit the official Cloudflare Browsing Experience Security Check page, and click the button Check My Browser. The checks are four: whether DNS is secure (compatible with DNS over HTTPS), whether DNSSEC extensions are enabled (an extra layer of authenticity and integrity that makes it harder to inject malicious DNS records), what the active TLS version is (should be 1.3 at least), and finally SNI encryption or Server Name Indication. By encrypting the SNI function, the user keeps the name of the host they connect to private.

The only browser that can currently pass all four Cloudflare tests on its own is Firefox. The process requires a visit to about:config, change the value of network.security.esni.enabled to «true», that of network.trr.mode to «2», and configure network.trr.uri with the address «https://mozilla.cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query». DNSSEC and TLS 1.3 are not a problem in Chrome, but Secure DNS requires the help of Simple DNSCrypt on Windows.

Chrome developers are already working on SNI encryption, and it should arrive in stable builds soon. Now, the fact that browsers are "approved" by Cloudflare does not guarantee that domains have done their part. Security has to be optimized on both sides, and this represents only our half.

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