DNS over corporate Wi-Fi

[misamarumaru 0]

Hi. I have no problems to report but I do have a technical question. I use AirVPN over OpenVPN Connect on my Mac when I use the Wi-Fi of my [very large] company. When I first joined this network I had to accept a security certificate. Looking at the certificate in macOS Keychain, I can see a long list of DNS Servers under the 'Subject Alternative Name' section. It's marked as 'Critical: NO'.

I understand that my web traffic is encrypted through OpenVPN, and I'm fairly sure the application changes my Mac's DNS server to use those of AirVPN and not the Cloudflare one I manually set in System Preferences. BUT is that still the case on my company Wi-Fi as a result of that certificate having DNS Servers specified? I'm wondering if they are prioritised over any others as a prerequisite to using the company Wi-Fi.

Thanks to anyone who can shed light on this. Although I'm not using the Wi-Fi for anything my employer would object to, I'd still like to know whether or not they'd have any knowledge of my network activity. For instance, I sometimes connect to my home PC to stream games from Steam at lunchtimes, and I'd rather keep that between me and my sandwiches and let my employer assume I'm using my lunch break to keep working.

[benfitita 39]

Hi. You can use https://ipleak.net to verify which DNS server you are connecting to. Look for the "DNS Address" field.

Out of curiosity, why are you using Cloudflare DNS instead of AirVPN?

[misamarumaru 0]

Thank you, testing that now!

On Cloudflare, I have 1.1.1.1 configured in macOS for the times AirVPN is inactive, for instance on my home Wi-Fi. I'd take advice if this is not advised!

I ran IPLeak and got DNS Address - 1 server detected, 192 tests
217.151.98.163
United Kingdom
United Kingdom 
AirVPN Server (Exit, Alshain) 

So that must be good right?

[benfitita 39]

I thought you were using CloudFlare with AirVPN, but that’s clearly not the case.

Yes, your result looks good – when connected to AirVPN, your system is using AirVPN DNS. That means no DNS leaks which is perfect. 

[misamarumaru 0]

Thanks so much for the helpful replies!