How Linux Resolves Names: resolv.conf, systemd-resolved, nsswitch
dig tests a nameserver. getent tests name resolution. The full path from nsswitch.conf to the wire, with the resolver deliberately broken and fixed.
DNS
Name resolution and the failures that look like everything else. Articles tagged DNS cover resolvers, record types, zone behavior and query troubleshooting.
Latest posts
host: The Fastest DNS Lookup Tool
One name in, one line out, and the only exit status of the three you can trust. Plus the timing test that complicates the fastest claim.
nslookup: Quick DNS Queries That Still Matter
Declared deprecated for twenty years and still on every machine. What it does well, where it will mislead you, and the debug flag nobody uses.
dig: The Complete DNS Query Guide
Read the status line first. Flags, sections, TTLs, delegation traces and DNSSEC, all against a real authoritative server in the lab.
dnswalk: Audit a DNS Zone for Consistency
dnswalk transfers a DNS zone and audits it for internal consistency: missing PTR records, mismatched addresses, and bad delegations. Real Kali output shows you how to read what it flags.
dnstracer: Follow the DNS Delegation Chain
dnstracer follows the DNS delegation chain from the root servers down to the authoritative source instead of just dumping records. You see where a nameserver's answer actually comes from, with real output captured from Kali in the lab.
massdns: High-Performance DNS Enumeration at Scale
massdns is a high-performance stub resolver that pushes over 350,000 DNS queries per second by spreading load across public resolvers. See how internet-scale subdomain enumeration works, with real output from Kali in our lab.
dnsmap: DNS Subdomain Brute Forcing on Kali
When zone transfers are refused, brute force is how you enumerate a domain. dnsmap grinds a wordlist of common hostnames against a target and keeps every name that resolves. Real output captured from Kali against a BIND9 server in the lab.
dnsenum: Enumerate a Domain's DNS End to End
Point dnsenum at a domain and get nameservers, MX records, zone transfer attempts, subdomain brute forcing, and reverse sweeps in one report. Every capture is real output from a Kali box against a BIND9 server in the lab.
dnsrecon: The Complete DNS Enumeration Tool Guide
dnsrecon rolls zone transfers, SRV enumeration, subdomain brute forcing, and reverse lookups into one Python tool. Every command here was run from Kali against a real BIND9 server, with XML, CSV, and JSON export covered.