Frequently Asked Questions

TreeWalk is FREE for personal use! Dial-up users should review "How do I use TreeWalk on Dial-up?".
Note: "DNS" is an acronym for either "Domain Name System" or "Domain Name Server". In some situations "DNS server" has been used to help clarify the differences.

Do you need a TreeWalk licence?

TreeWalk was designed and developed for FREE use as a Personal DNS Caching Server only! If you wish to use it as a Mail Server or Web Server DNS application, please contact support@treewalkdns.com for details.

Select an item from the list below for an answer:

Forums for TWDNS Support: TreeWalk Support forums and newsgroups provide TreeWalk users with access to shared help and advice. If you're going to post a message asking for help with your TreeWalk problem, please be sure to include specific details about your computer (memory and processor speed), Operating System, connection type (how you connect to the Internet), third party software (anti-virus, anti-Trojan, firewall, anti-scripting, etc.), the version of TreeWalk (or BIND-LE) you're using, networking configuration and hardware, and any relevant error messages. This will aid greatly to find the solution for your problem as soon as possible.

"Free if used for educational or home use" users of TreeWalk are invited to join in discussions taking place in the forums and place support questions in the forum ntc.support.questions. Licensed users should continue to contact the TreeWalk site for private email support but are still invited to take part in general discussions.

Answers

Click the item link to return to the FAQ index:

What is TreeWalk DNS/BIND-LE? TreeWalk is a "free personal use", automatically installed DNS name-caching only server which is similar to, but more efficient than using your default ISP's DNS servers. A lookup only, non-persistent caching version called BIND-LE for Windows 95/98/ME®™ is also available from our Downloads page ("non-persistent" means BIND-LE does not record the fastest routes to RAM between browsing sessions).
What does TreeWalk do? Essentially, putting a "name" into the browser doesn't get you anywhere. The "name" must be translated into machine recognizable numbers (octets) such as 64.233.167.99 which takes you to Google.com (the Google Search Engine).

That's what DNS servers do; they match the Name with an IP address using numeric octets and send that info back to the browser. Only then can you connect to the website you wish to visit, whether for surfing, AV updates, Email or posting to and reading Newsgroups. Instead of giving the task to the ISP's DNS servers (or other servers) to do the lookups (resolutions), TreeWalk does this directly from your computer and saves the results for even quicker site access upon the next visit (only during the same session with BIND-LE). TreeWalk uses it's dynamic "cached" library which is held not on the HDD but in RAM, which is much faster. (Not much RAM is required.)

What else it does is more like fixing what the default ISP DNS servers don't or won't do:
- TWDNS allows complete access to all websites and TLDs, not just .com, .edu, .mil, .net, .org and some countries. A few .biz domains may be difficult to resolve, but those are generally server-side issues unrelated to TreeWalk. We can't fix the Internet, but we do improve it's access times.
- TreeWalk provides 99.5% to 100% accuracy instead of the fluctuating accuracy most often experienced with an ISP's DNS servers due to overload or time-outs. It is virtually impossible to overload TreeWalk on a single workstation.
  
  For more on this topic, please review "More About TWDNS".
I'm new to TreeWalk DNS. How do I install it? Assuming you've already downloaded and extracted the latest version of TreeWalk to a handy location on your machine and you have ensured that you have an active Internet connection from a Windows computer that has been previously and adequately secured, just double-click the executable (.exe) file to begin the setup routine. Follow all prompts and read the documentation supplied during the install. Finally, you'll be asked to reboot (restart) your computer, so select the "Yes" button when you're asked if you would like to restart now. After you've rebooted, find the "Check server" icon (Start > [All] Programs > TreeWalk > tools, select "Check server") and follow the prompt you'll see in the resulting window. That's it! If you're still unsure how to tell if TreeWalk installed properly, please review "How can I tell if TreeWalk is working?", also described on this FAQ page.
How do I upgrade to a new version of TreeWalk? First, you'll need to uninstall any slave-root software if you've installed it and stop the "twdns" service to begin removing your old copy. You can stop the service from Start > (All) Programs > TreeWalk > service (select "Stop DNS Service", from the TreeWalk Control Panel via Start > (All) Programs > TreeWalk, select "TreeWalk control panel" and press the "Stop" button, or start a run box and type "net stop twdns". Next, go to Start > (All) Programs > TreeWalk and select "Uninstall TreeWalk DNS" or choose the uninstall option from the "Add/Remove Programs" applet in the (Windows) Control Panel. You'll be asked to reboot your machine to return your computer to it's previous settings. You must do this! Now, assuming you've already downloaded and extracted the latest version of TreeWalk to a handy location on your machine and you have ensured that you have an active Internet connection (on a Windows computer that has been previously and adequately secured), just double-click the executable (.exe) file to begin the setup routine. Follow all prompts and read the documentation supplied during the install. Finally, you'll be asked to reboot (restart) your computer, so select the "Yes" button when you're asked if you would like to restart now. After you've rebooted, find the "Check server" icon (Start > [All] Programs > TreeWalk > tools, select "Check server") and follow the prompt you'll see in the resulting window. That's it! If you're still unsure how to tell if TreeWalk installed properly, please review "How can I tell if TreeWalk is working?", also described on this FAQ page.
How can I tell which TW version I'm using? Actually, there are several ways to determine which version of TreeWalk you are using. The following methods are also reflected in the TreeWalk "Programs" icon group, except for the first and last listed here. The simplest way is to select the "Start" Menu button, select "All Programs" (or "Program Files"), select "TreeWalk", select "docs", select "TreeWalk Read Me". You will see the current version and Code Name near the top of that file.
- Also, at a Command Prompt you can type:
  %systemroot%\system32\dns\bin\named -g -v
  That will display the TW version too. It is currently:
  TreeWalk 9.4.0-(Hawk)-8.21
- To open and display the TW Control Panel, type:
  %systemroot%\system32\dns\bin\BINDCtrl
  The version of the Control Panel executable is (currently) shown as Version 6.0.3.0
- To review the TreeWalk Read Me, type:
  %systemroot%\system32\dns\doc\readme.txt
- This command:
  %systemroot%\system32\dns\bin\dig
  ...can be used to determine your current root-hints and the TW version, but it will (currently) show like this:
  <<>> DiG 9.4.0-(Hawk)-8.21 <<>>
As mentioned, these or other, similar functions can be accessed from the Start Menu. (Review How can I tell if TreeWalk is working further down this page for more information about TreeWalk's tools.)
Can I use TreeWalk on a LAN? TreeWalk is capable of supporting a "huge" volume of traffic as it uses the "full" BIND (not a stripped down version), but the TreeWalk distribution was created with the home user or small personal LAN in mind. Using it within a Corporate network is possible, but the current setup doesn't handle the details of such an environment (such as VPNs, internal DNS servers and so on). For this type of usage, contact support@treewalkdns.com for licensing details and additional setup information.

On a small home LAN, just select a machine as the TreeWalk server, set it up with a static (fixed) IP address and install TreeWalk. After this, change any other machines' TCP/IP network configurations to use the TreeWalk machine as the primary DNS server. For example, if the machine running TreeWalk has a (fixed) IP address of 192.168.10.1 then all the other computers in your LAN will need to use 192.168.10.1 as the primary DNS server. It's that simple! More about Networking with TreeWalk: ICS and Router Networks
Is TreeWalk DNS compatible with ISC BIND? TreeWalk DNS is compatible with standard "ISC BIND" configurations towards TreeWalk DNS, however the TreeWalk DNS "configuration files" will not be compatible if used on a standard BIND DNS setup due to having a different feature set and configurable options.
Do you have a TreeWalk DNS manual? The TreeWalk DNS site is our manual! You should be able to find any information you want regarding TW by using the site's search database, the forums' FTS capabilities or the topics listed on the Site Map page. For typical BIND information purposes only, we also provide the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual in HTML Format and the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual in PDF Format. (These links take you to our "Miscellaneous Information" page. Please read the descriptions for them there.)
I'm running another BIND distribution. What do I do? If you are already running another distribution of a BIND Server (or other DNS server) you'll need to stop the BIND (or other) service and completely uninstall it, otherwise the TreeWalk DNS distribution may conflict with that "running" version or fail to completely install any needed files and settings to operate correctly.
Should I turn off my script blocker? If you have some scripting blockers (anti-virus option) they may interfere with the installation so please test the files manually if you like, then disable the anti-virus or script blocker until the installation is completed. Once installed this is not a factor. After the reboot please use the "Check config" and "Check server" icons to verify if your TreeWalk DNS server is working correctly. If the "Check config" utility reports a wrong configuration (i.e. no 127.0.0.1 as first DNS server) please refer to any additional documentation on this site.
What Services does TreeWalk alter? The setup program changed your local DNS Client/Cache Service to Manual Startup mode, so if the Service was enabled, it will not be started after the reboot. This is done due to the fact that most programs will work better with the local TreeWalk if such a service is not active. Paste the following command into a "Run" box to change the setting only if absolutely necessary:
%systemroot%\system32\services.msc /s
Upon uninstalling TreeWalk DNS that setting is returned to however it was at pre-install, and any DNS servers originally listed will also be restored at that time (only the first entry is actually changed).
Can I manually update the root-hints? Depending on some factors independent of this custom DNS distribution, the named.root (root-hints) file may become outdated. To do this, simply use the "Update root-hints from ..." icons you'll find in the "TreeWalk" program group to update your root-hints file either using the standard ICANN root hints, the ORSN root-hints, or the alternative ORSC hints (which includes all ICANN TLDs plus others supported by the TreeWalk default setup). Those icons will use the "dig" command to download the updated file while stopping and restarting your BIND-based TreeWalk server so that the new changes will be implemented. Only one zone can be updated at a time, and bear in mind that the ICANN and ORSN updates may prevent you from reaching some alternate TLDs that are accessible only with the ORSC root-hints.

The update process may be performed on a periodic basis so that your personal DNS will always have the latest name-server list for the Root Zone that you choose. The TreeWalk program group icons also contain tools which can be used to verify that your new TreeWalk DNS resolver really is performing hostname resolution!

In most cases you'll notice an improvement after installing TW with the default setup and may never need to adjust the root-hints. Additional information, can be found on the "More About TWDNS" page. If you experience any problems with other root-hints switch back to the default ICANN hints.
How do I use TreeWalk on Dial-up? Please! Create a dial-up connection with your provider before you install TreeWalk DNS! Note that on some systems with only one active DUN connection, TreeWalk may setup your Networking Properties without any further configuration required by you. But, due to many Dial-up Networking variables, the TreeWalk setup may not configure multiple dial-up connections to use the local DNS. This message is conveyed to you by a notification window during the install process if TreeWalk finds a working dial-up modem on your system. Proceed with the installation at this point, and test your connection after the required reboot. If you find that you will need to recreate your dial-up connection, follow the simple instructions listed here (you can also view more detailed text files for Windows 2000 Pro Dial-up, Windows XP Dial-up and Windows 98 Dial-up online, download zipped versions of them or obtain graphical instructions from the links below):
- Make a note of the current dial-up connection settings (they will be needed to recreate the connection)
- Here's a generic list to create a new Dial-up Connection:
- Select "Internet Connection"
- Select "Manual configuration"
- Select "Using Dial-up (modem)"
- Enter the required phone information
- Click the "Advanced" button
- Select the "Addresses" tab and set the first DNS server to 127.0.0.1
- Set any other necessary parameters (from your notes) and complete the creation of the new connection
- Set the newly created connection as your "Default" connection
  
  Then just use the new connection whenever you will need to connect to the Internet and you will be using your local TreeWalk DNS server automatically. Please review our "Dial-up Instructions" page for graphical versions of the above (also available in Adobe's .PDF format) or download these text documents in .zip format:
  · Windows XP TreeWalk Dial-up Text.
  · Windows 2000 TreeWalk Dial-up Text.
  · Windows 98 TreeWalk Dial-up Text.
  
  Also review "Any other tips for Dial-up users", "Any tips for Windows XP (and newer) users", "Why won't TreeWalk setup multiple DUN connections?" and the rest of this page for more help.
Any other tips for Dial-up users? Some Dial-up users may find that certain networking variables beyond our control may require a simple edit to overcome. If you've tried the "Microsoft Loopback Adapter" discussed in "Any tips for Windows XP users" below and it doesn't solve your issue, you might try the following solution.
- Open the "named.conf" file (with Notepad or other suitable editor) located at:
  %systemroot%\system32\dns\etc\named.conf
- Locate the "dialup no;" and "interface-interval" lines similar to the following example:
  
  ============================== /* ** TreeWalk master config file */ <snip>   version "TWDNS";   hostname none;   server-id none;        dialup no;   interface-interval 0; <snip> ==============================
  
    Edit those two lines to reflect these settings:
  
  ==============================       dialup yes; // interface-interval 0; ==============================
- Be sure to save the "named.conf" file with the same name and in the same location
- Restart TreeWalk from it's Control Panel (Start > (All) Programs > TreeWalk, select "TreeWalk control panel" and alternately press the "Stop" and "Start" buttons when ready)
- Determine if this has fixed the problem
- Note that you will need to repeat the above whenever you upgrade to a newer version of TreeWalk DNS
If your problem still exists, please post a message in the "support" forum, detailing what you've tried and what has transpired. (Further helpful tips for new posters are accessible at the Forums page of our site. Please review them to simplify and expedite troubleshooting for the TWDNS Crew.)
Any tips for Windows XP (and newer) users? Not really, but due to some changes in the network stack, Microsoft® Windows XP, 2003 (and later) may not play well if you use 127.0.0.1 as the DNS address. If you experience excessive CPU usage from the TreeWalk process, try the following:
- Uninstall TreeWalk, reboot
- To manually install the Microsoft Loopback adapter in Windows XP, follow these steps from the Microsoft site (use the links provided further below for Windows 2000 instructions):
- 1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
  2. If you are in Classic view, click Switch to Category View under Control Panel in the left pane.
  3. Double-click Printers and Other Hardware, and then click Next.
  4. Under See Also in the left pane, click Add Hardware,and then click Next.
  5. Click Yes, I have already connected the hardware, and then click Next.
  6. At the bottom of the list, click Add a new hardware device, and then click Next.
  7. Click Install the hardware that I manually select from a list, and then click Next.
  8. Click Network adapters, and then click Next.
  9. In the Manufacturer box, click Microsoft.
  10. In the Network Adapter box, click Microsoft Loopback Adapter, and then click Next.
  11. Click Finish.
- Open the newly installed adapter properties and setup its TCP settings using a subnet different from any other subnet you're using and save the new settings (a good choice may be using 172.31.254.254 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0)
- Now proceed installing TreeWalk with all adapters enabled and once the setup completes, reboot the machine, then edit your TCP settings and replace the DNS address from 127.0.0.1 to the address you used for your loopback adapter (e.g. 172.31.254.254)
- Reboot again (if the system requests it) and you'll be up and running
- An alternative to the above may be to apply this XP patch listed at the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
- Use the following Microsoft link to install the loopback adapter for Windows 2000 or preview this article in our own "Tweaks and Repairs" section (originally compiled by the late Ted Quantrill for his "Tip Quarry" collection).
- We provide a page of recommendations on how to configure TCP/IP Properties after you've created the loopback adapter.
Uninstalling: to remove the Microsoft Loopback Adapter, right-click any "My Computer" icon, select "Properties", open the "Hardware" tab, press the "Device Manager" button, scroll to and expand "Network adapters", right-click "Microsoft Loopback Adapter" and select "Uninstall". Reverse any earlier changes to relevant adapters if any were required and reboot if your system requests a restart. Check for Internet connectivity.
What can I do about Logging and Debugging? This program has the ability to show you logs in real time but to see the logs you'll need to download a tool called "DebugView" from System Internals. Once downloaded, just extract the files from the zip archive to any suitable folder then run the "dbgview.exe" program. Take some time to customize the various settings as you like then just start TreeWalk while the debug viewer is running and you will see all the messages in real time. To increase the logging level you could use the TreeWalk Control Panel (located in the Start Menu Program group), keeping in mind that if you increase the debug level or enable querylog the TreeWalk performance will be negatively affected due to the fact that the program will need to log a large amount of information.
Could my third-party firewall be causing problems? TWDNS can be completely trusted and full, bi-directional "server rights" should be allowed for "named.exe" ("named95.exe" in BIND-LE). Some new TreeWalk users have reported problems with their third-party software firewalls, so we have included an unbiased page of recommendations that have been submitted by them (and others) so that their fellow firewall users may not experience the same troubles. Please also review the FAQ item "Which ports does TreeWalk use?" and our "TreeWalk and Firewalls" page for more information. Note that if you use XP SP2, you could try disabling your third-party firewall and turning on the Windows Firewall to see if that eradicates the problem (if it does, then it's safe to assume that a specific setting in your third-party firewall may be the culprit).
Can TreeWalk block Ad Servers? Absolutely. Some sites link to ads from "Ad Servers" specifically designed to display ads to you which can be quickly and easily blocked with TWDNS. Sometimes these Ad Servers may attempt to gather information from you, cause slower loading for the site you're visiting, serve annoying popup ads, or worse, all three of the above. Within minutes you can make some simple file changes that will enable TreeWalk to block these types of ads, as explained on our "Ad Server Blocking" page. You can also make your own Ad Blocker Updater with a simple batch file and GNU's "wget".

For a HOSTS file and blacklist aggregator with installer and built-in updater, check out the ConFetch Plug-ins for TreeWalk site.
Should I flush the cache in TreeWalk? It's unlikely that under normal use you would ever need to flush the cache. TreeWalk constantly (and automatically) purges stale answers from the cache before they become unreliable, using normal DNS expiration times.

The flush of cache is a safety mechanism so that should a site unexpectedly and suddenly change its location (perhaps by moving their web host), then by emptying the cache TreeWalk is forced to immediately refresh the DNS data for the site location (when required).

The TreeWalk cache is separate from your browser cache. You should only use the TW tools provided when required. TreeWalk is specially designed to save the cache between reboots so that your computer will retain ready location answers for the sites you visit often. This speeds up your browsing considerably.
How can I tell if TreeWalk is working? TreeWalk installs to most Windows platforms flawlessly if you follow the simple procedure and heed the notices displayed during installation. If you don't notice an increase in browsing speed after a few sessions of surfing the 'Net to some of your favorite sites, then there are a few simple checks you can perform from the icons provided within the program's group, accessible from the Start Menu. First, make sure TreeWalk is running: click the "Start" button, select "All Programs" (or "Program Files"), then access "TreeWalk" and click on "TreeWalk control panel" and look for "Service is running" in the bottom-left corner of the resulting window. If you see "Service is stopped", click the "Start" button to start the service. If that's okay, then open the "config" folder to click "Update root-hints from ICANN" and look for errors in the routine that follows.

Another method is to use the built-in "Check server" utility (look for "Check DNS server" for BIND-LE) which you'll also find included in the program's icon group under "tools". Start "Check server" by clicking on it then follow the few, easy instructions and "Press any key to continue" to start a small utility called "dig.exe".

"Dig" will perform a few DNS queries against a short, pre-configured list of domains and test recursive name resolution for a handful of well-known sites. When the test is completed, you will be presented with a text document called "testdns.txt", which is a printout containing the results of those queries. You can look for errors like "SERVFAIL" in the text or, if you are still unsure, you can compare this sample copy of testdns.txt to yours for similar results (there may be some minor differences from the example file). Most importantly, the "Check server" routine should show 127.0.0.1 as the first server address:
;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
If you're still not convinced that TreeWalk is working fine for you, then you can try re-installing it as a last check (if you're using a root-zone plug-in you will need to remove that first). Be sure to disable any anti-virus, anti-Trojan, script-blocking or registry-monitoring software that might normally run in the background, perform the necessary reboots and repeat the simple steps above (software you've disabled should start after the required TW reboot anyway). In the unlikely event that TW still isn't working for you, please review the rest of this FAQ page and our forums. If you decide to post in the newsgroups, please provide basic information about your Operating System, which version of TreeWalk you're using, list any security-type programs you're using, tell us how you connect to the Internet and mention the steps you've taken to try installing TreeWalk.
Which ports does TreeWalk use? TW and BIND-LE both use TCP and UDP ports 53, while TreeWalk also listens on TCP:953. UDP packets over 512 bytes will usually be resent over TCP, and DNS data packets will be received over UDP or TCP high-end ports. This is all very normal DNS server/resolver message behavior. Note that it is absolutely imperative that you allow full, unrestricted, bi-directional data transfers over these ports and protocols when requested, or TreeWalk cannot properly do it's job as intended. In addition, a permanent "Permit" or "Allow" type rule should be set if your software firewall requests a connection from "named.exe" to "localhost" or "127.0.0.1". Any previously customized rules for DNS should also be reviewed (and adjusted if required). There are no known, documented security-related problems to worry about when these requirements are met on a Windows computer that has been previously and adequately secured. Please also review Could my third-party firewall be causing problems? on this page for more links and information.
Why won't TreeWalk setup multiple DUN connections? Please note that on some systems with only one active DUN connection, TreeWalk may setup your Networking Properties without any further configuration required by you. The following explanation is provided:

"The Network Configurator code already has some functions to change multiple Dial-up Connection settings but they are disabled. When the TreeWalk idea started, we decided not to tamper too deeply with dial-up connections since in some cases they're used for VPN connections and the like. Changing such connections may cause more problems than they solve, so we (myself and NT Canuck) decided to stick with changing only the network connections and leaving dial-up alone. The problem is, that from the point of view of Windows APIs you have no way to tell if a particular dial-up is used just to connect to the Internet or to connect to a remote private network or whatever else, so it isn't a matter of "change them all" since such a thing may cause troubles for users. All in all we'd like to avoid hearing users complaining about the fact that after setting up TW they lost their online-banking access, or similar complaints. We could as well setup a dialog asking the user which connection to modify but this may also be error prone, especially when taking into consideration that our initial idea behind TW was to provide easy setup for newcomers too." ObiWan
Is TreeWalk susceptible to cache poisoning? TreeWalk itself is protected and not vulnerable when TreeWalk collects information from authorized servers for each domain looked up. This is TW's preferred operation. So, you are protected from the cache poisoning issue by collecting original results and not a cached result that may have been compromised with a fake answer. Example 1 (only the TreeWalk address is listed in the netinfo.txt output generated with the TW "Check config" utility):
* DNS server(s) list..........: 127.0.0.1
The TreeWalk user may choose to allow forwarders such as an ISP's DNS server as a backup. This is a judgment call made by the user. Many ISP's are excellent, while many others are rubbish and have been shown to have compromised DNS servers. Example 2 (a trusted ISP server is added as backup):
* DNS server(s) list..........: 127.0.0.1 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (where "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" is the trusted server IP address).

"If my ISP's DNS server gets a bad answer from their source, and my TreeWalk Personal DNS server is getting the answers from the same source, won't they both be "bad"?" Authorized, official data for a domain DNS server can only ever give good answers, however typing or configuration errors may render a good answer as incorrect or unusable. Both TreeWalk and ISP's can only get good answers from an original authorized server, but a vulnerable DNS server (including on a local LAN) could permit a good cached answer to be overwritten by a vandal. This could append a bad, false answer during a reply, resulting in a completely different lookup. Likewise, a bad false answer could be just added to a cache.

To further explain, the issue with some ISP's or a local LAN Administrator is that they may run old and vulnerable servers, by not updating to the safe BIND9. Vandals can poison the database those machines use by sending false answers which are included into the cache when, in all actuality, the appended information should be ignored and trashed. Also, to save money some ISP's may buy DNS answers from vulnerable commercial DNS service providers who are not running the current BIND9 software that TreeWalk is based upon. It's also interesting to note that BIND9 implements many, but not all of the changes that were written into TreeWalk by it's developers (ObiWan and NT Canuck).
Can you tell me how to set up my Web server? Not specifically because BIND9 has extensive configuration documents already available for setting up DNS. TreeWalk uses the same BIND configuration file but does add some extra tweak features for fine tuning security and speed on a DNS server that is already functioning properly with a BIND config.

Review posts in our forums at ntc.config.faq and ntc.config.discuss for more references and information. The complete BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual (November 4, 2005) is also available from our site in Adobe's .PDF format. We also provide the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual in HTML Format, as an information service.

Please note that RFC's for running DNS require that distributed, multiple DNS servers are available 24/7 on strong, reliable connections. A single server running on a local machine will be in conflict with your contract with your Domain TLD or ccTLD Authority leading to your domain possibly being canceled. Bear in mind also that you will need external DNS servers in addition to TreeWalk in order to avoid being blacklisted and blocked by Mail providers, ISP's and anyone using 3rd party blocklists from sources like RFC-Ignorant.org.
Does TreeWalk secure my machine? No. TreeWalk will only work as well as you've set up your computer and devices to begin with. TreeWalk DNS is not a security application - it is DNS software. Your Windows machine should be properly set up and secured before you install it. For additional information regarding Windows security, please review the links for that category on our Miscellaneous Information page (under the "Computer Security" heading and other topics there) before installing TreeWalk for the first time.

Whether you decide to use TreeWalk or any other application, it is advisable to try to understand your computer's security implications, if even at a basic level. If you're interested in this topic you may wish to review our Ad Server Blocking pages as well. Note that if you make significant changes to your system afterwards, it is possible that you may have to uninstall any TreeWalk plug-ins, then TreeWalk, in that order. You can re-install TreeWalk later, then re-install any TreeWalk plug-ins that you may wish to.

TreeWalk was co-developed by NT Canuck and ObiWan, and continues to be maintained and updated by ObiWan. The site and servers are maintained by the TreeWalk DNS Crew. TreeWalk and any companion programs provided from this site are completely risk-free and will never be affiliated with any form of spyware or adware. In fact, we go to great lengths to inform our users on how to generally enhance their computer security over-all. For these and other reasons we suggest that you periodically check the site and forums for updates or recent developments.

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