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DNS0.EU private DNS service shuts down over sustainability issues. The DNS0.EU non-profit public DNS service focused on European users announced its immediate shut down due to time and resource constraints. Based in France, the service was built as a resilient infrastructure across several hosting providers in every member state of the European Union. The team behind DNS0.EU replaced all content on the website with a short announcement informing that they discontinued the service. "The dns0.eu service has been discontinued. We would have liked to keep it running, but it was not sustainable for us in terms of time and resources," the DNS0.EU operator said. Available alternatives The team thanked infrastructure and security partners, and recommended that people switch to DNS4EU, a privacy-focused resolver developed by ENISA, or NextDNS, whose founders helped create DNS0.EU. A DNS resolver translates the human-readable domain names into the numerical, machine-readable IP addresses so browsers can load the correct internet resources. By default, connected devices use the DNS service from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) but they can choose other options, like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), Google (8.8.8.8), or OpenDNS (208.67.222.222). DNS0.eu was a public recursive DNS resolver service launched in 2023 as a French-based non-profit organization. It promised no-logs functionality, end-to-end encryption for resistance to eavesdropping and tampering, as well as protection against malicious domains, be they phishing domains, or command-and-control (C2)  malware servers. It offered a free, secure, and GDPR-compliant DNS resolver that supported DNS‑over‑HTTPS, DNS‑over‑TLS, DNS-over-QUIC, and DNS‑over‑HTTP/3. It operated 62 servers in 27 cities in all EU member states, boasting a median latency of 12 milliseconds. In addition, DNS0.EU provided child safety-focused filters for adult content, piracy, and ads, as well as increased detection of potentially malicious domains by looking into typosquatting, domain parking patterns, TLD reputation, homograph domains, and DGA-created URLs. DNS0.EU team's recommendations for users, DNS4EU and NextDNS also include protection features against fraudulent and malicious content. However, NextDNS provides more granular filtering for websites and apps through privacy, security, and parental control options. DNS4EU, co-funded by the European Union, is easier to set up and offers IP resolution that can block access to websites with fraudulent or malicious content, protect against content that is explicit or inappropriate for children, and stop ads. BleepingComputer has contacted DNS0.EU to learn more about the reasons behind the shut down of the service, and we will update this post when we hear back. Picus Blue Report 2025 is Here: 2X increase in password cracking 46% of environments had passwords cracked, nearly doubling from 25% last year. Get the Picus Blue Report 2025 now for a comprehensive look at more findings on prevention, detection, and data exfiltration trends.

Daily Brief Summary

MISCELLANEOUS // DNS0.EU Shuts Down Citing Sustainability Challenges in Europe

DNS0.EU, a non-profit DNS service based in France, announced its immediate closure due to unsustainable time and resource demands.

The service was designed to provide a resilient DNS infrastructure across all EU member states, with 62 servers operating in 27 cities.

DNS0.EU offered no-logs functionality, end-to-end encryption, and protection against malicious domains, including phishing and malware command-and-control servers.

Users are advised to transition to DNS4EU or NextDNS, both offering robust privacy and security features, including protection against fraudulent and malicious content.

DNS4EU, co-funded by the EU, provides straightforward setup and blocks access to inappropriate content, while NextDNS offers detailed filtering capabilities.

The shutdown reflects the ongoing challenges faced by non-profit cybersecurity initiatives in maintaining operations without adequate resources.

The closure may impact users seeking GDPR-compliant and privacy-focused DNS solutions, emphasizing the need for sustainable support in digital infrastructure projects.