Question 1

What is DNS propagation and why does it take time?

Accepted Answer

DNS propagation is the timeframe required for changes in Domain Name System records (like IP addresses or nameservers) to update across all global internet service providers and caching resolvers. Due to TTL (Time to Live) caching, resolvers around the world update at different intervals, typically between a few minutes up to 48 hours.

Question 2

Which DNS record types can I test with GovAudit?

Accepted Answer

GovAudit supports 9 core DNS record types: A (IPv4), AAAA (IPv6), CNAME (Canonical Name), MX (Mail Exchange), TXT (SPF, DMARC, Domain Verification), NS (Authoritative Name Server), SOA (Start of Authority), CAA (Certificate Authority Authorization), and PTR (Reverse DNS).

Question 3

Which geographic resolver locations are queried?

Accepted Answer

We query 16+ global servers across India (Mumbai, New Delhi), Southeast Asia (Singapore), North America (New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas), Europe (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam), East Asia (Tokyo), and Oceania (Sydney) utilizing Tier-1 providers like Google Public DNS, Cloudflare, Quad9, OpenDNS, Level3, and AdGuard.

Question 4

Why is CAA and SPF/DMARC verification required for Indian government portals?

Accepted Answer

Under CERT-In guidelines and GIGW 3.0, government domains must configure CAA records to restrict which Certificate Authorities are authorized to issue certificates, and deploy SPF/DMARC TXT records to prevent email spoofing and phishing campaigns impersonating public officials.