Access Handshake names

A walkthrough for resolving Handshake domains

Handshake names live on the Handshake blockchain, which most browsers do not yet natively support. While we're waiting for browsers to catch-up, below are numerous ways you can already access Handshake names in your browser.

Level 0

Level 0 methods require trusting a central party to resolve Handshake for you, are not private because they can see which domains you're visiting, are insecure because they can MITM attack you, and requires appending something to every Handshake domain.

HNS↗TO

HNS.to is a proxy gateway created by nijynot/ that you can use to access Handshake domains without installing anything or changing your DNS settings.

Try visiting welcome.nb/ by appending hns.to at the end of the domain: welcome.nb.hns.to.

HNS↗TOhns.to

Alternatives to HNS.to

If HNS.to is down, you can use an alternative like costanzo/'s rsvr.xyz.

Level 1

Level 1 methods require trusting a central party to resolve Handshake for you, are not private because they can see which domains you're visiting, are less insecure than Level 0 methods because they aren't proxy gateways, and no longer require appending something to every Handshake domain.

HNSDoH

HNSDoH is a public DNS resolver created by Nathan.Woodburn/ that uses DNS over HTTPS to resolve Handshake. It has very little downtime compared to other public resolvers.

HNS DoHwelcome.hnsdoh.com

Bob Extension

Bob Extension is a Chrome extension created by kyokan/ that currently uses HDNS.io for resolving Handshake names directly in your Chrome browser's search bar — try using it to search "http://welcome.nb/".

Bob Extension - Chrome Web Storechrome.google.com

easyhandshake

easyhandshake is a server created by pinheadmz/ that you can use to resolve Handshake using DoH.

Resolving HNS names using DNS-over-HTTPSMedium

Level 2

Level 2 methods no longer require trusting a central party because you're accessing the Handshake blockchain directly, are private because you're recursively resolving domains locally, and are more secure than Level 1 methods because they support DANE.

Fingertip

Fingertip is an all-in-one open source resolver created by Impervious that sets up your browser for DANE and resolves Handshake trustlessly. Comes with HNSD light client installed.

Fingertip | Imperviousimpervious.com

Level 3

Level 3 methods are for developers who want to access Handshake directly without relying on 3rd party software.

HNSD (SPV node)

You can run your own SPV node with HNSD to trustlessly resolve Handshake names without running a full-node.

Handshake is the only naming blockchain with a lightweight recursive DNS resolver, which you can easily embed into browsers, apps, and devices. A recursive DNS resolver is a piece of software that can recursively resolve domain names to IP addresses. The light client can trustlessly resolve Handshake names using only 10mb of memory and virtually zero CPU. It’s the most secure way to use Handshake because it doesn’t require trusting any third party resolvers that can inspect your DNS traffic.

GitHub - handshake-org/hnsd: Handshake SPV name resolverGitHub

HSD (full node)

Run HSD locally to access Handshake in the most decentralized, private, and secure way.

GitHub - handshake-org/hsd: Handshake Daemon & Full NodeGitHub

HSD on Raspberry Pi

Install HSD on Raspberry Pi so any device connected to your home wi-fi can resolve Handshake names.

HSD on Linux

Running a Handshake Full Node on the Windows Subsystem for LinuxMedium