How to change DNS in Windows, and how to choose the fastest public DNS server (or why pages in the browser may open slowly). How to speed up your Internet connection using fast DNS
In fact, on the Internet there are only IP addresses in digital format, and all the usual literal links, such as, for example, are converted to standard IP addresses. And the Domain Name Service (DNS) servers are responsible for these transformations, determining the IP address by the domain name.
How to change DNS
To override DNS, go to the “Network Center” section of the classic.
Select the TCP/IPv4 protocol and click “Properties” again.
Choose alternative address DNS.
Best DNS Servers
Google Public DNS
Perhaps the most popular server, operating for almost 8 years. Its addresses are known to everyone - 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Together with Google Public DNS your online security will be high, and your surfing speed will be optimal, since the server closest to you will be determined using Anycast technology. In addition, this service from Google is highly resistant to hacker attacks.
OpenDNS
DNS server service operating since 2006. It has paid (corporate) and free (home) operating modes. Home version will also provide parental control and protect against . The server addresses are as follows:
- 67.222.222;
- 67.220.220;
- 67.222.220;
- 67.220.222.
DNS.WATCH
A very fast and minimalistic DNS service, with a main focus on speed and viewing censored sites. Server addresses are 82.200.69.80 and 84.200.70.40.
Level3 DNS
Reliable and powerful DNS service. Of course he is much less Google, however, with a developed server infrastructure, your surfing speed will be maximum. Level3 is available at 209.244.0.3 and 209.244.0.4.
Comodo Secure DNS
This service is offered by a well-known computer security software developer. The system will select the server closest to you so as to provide the fastest and most safe surfing. Comodo Secure DNS addresses are 8.26.56.26 and 8.20.247.20.
OpenNIC DNS
If your ISP restricts access to sites, great solution will be installing OpenNIC DNS. The service has a very large infrastructure and therefore, before using it, you will first need to go to the project website. There the system will select best servers depending on your current location.
DNS, also known as Domain Name System, is a domain name system. This system associates website names with IP addresses corresponding to pages on that site.
A DNS server is a computer on the Internet that stores information about these matches. We wrote more about what DNS is and how a DNS server works in.
DNS and website loading speed
Depending on the selected DNS server, the loading speed of Internet pages may differ, since the Internet provider's server is most often used as the DNS server. Often such DNS servers are very busy, serving a large number of user requests. Therefore, some large companies have registered alternative DNS servers that work independently of the main ones and can completely replace them. The most popular alternative DNS - DNS server addresses Google: "8.8.8.8" and "8.8.4.4". Any user can connect to them.
To increase page loading speed, you can change the DNS server to one whose response speed is faster. In this case, you can choose both free and paid DNS servers. Review of recommended public DNS servers are listed in .
To change the DNS to the selected one, use. Changing DNS on Android devices is different from DNS changes on Windows.
Android is one of the famous operating systems for mobile devices. This is an open operating system - anyone can make changes to it. software and release your firmware.
Changing DNS on Android Devices Without Getting Super User Rights
Without super user rights, you can change DNS only in the Wi-Fi connection properties. In this case, the DNS will have to be changed on every connection you use.
To do this, open “Settings” and select Wi-Fi settings. Long press the name of the network you are setting up and the settings menu will open. Click on "Connect to a network".
In the window that opens, check the “Show additional options” checkbox.
This will open the connection properties. Select “IP Settings” – Static.
This will make the IP and DNS fields available for completion. Enter the addresses of the DNS servers you selected in the DNS fields. After filling out all the fields, click “Connect”.
Changing DNS on Android devices with super user rights
If you have super user rights ( root rights), you can use applications for DNS changes. The application will allow you to apply the specified parameters to everyone Wi-Fi connections and mobile data connections (3G and 4G). As you remember, without super user rights, it is impossible to change mobile data transfer settings. An example of such applications are: DNS Changer, Set DNS and others. After installation, you need to log into the application and set DNS server addresses manually or select DNS providers from the list.
When using rooted Android devices, remember that the operating system developers Android systems and applications are moving away from supporting rooted smartphones. Thus, to install updates and most applications, very soon you will have to restore the device to its original state.
In addition to increasing the speed of loading pages on the Internet, the need to change DNS may also arise when a user wants to increase his anonymity on the Internet, or access to a site is limited to users from a certain country.
No matter what reason you decide to change DNS on your Android device, our article will help you do this quickly and easily. To check the DNS server address used on this moment, use our
When talking about securing your Internet connection or accessing blocked content in your geographic area, you've probably heard about DNS. Although all providers provide their own default DNS server, you can use an alternative one. The DNS service is used to determine the IP addresses of websites based on their domain. Everything is very simple - in fact, there are no letter addresses on the Internet like a website; all communications and messages between computers are carried out via IP address. Here's to define it by domain name and DNS servers are used, which store a huge table of correspondence between domain names and IP addresses.
Using an alternative DNS server provides several benefits:
- The closer you are to the DNS server, the faster name resolution will be.
- If your provider's DNS is not very reliable, an alternative DNS will improve stability.
- You will get rid of restrictions on access to content based on geographic location.
If these reasons, or at least one of them, interest you, it's time to set up a DNS server on your system. In this article we will talk about how to set up a DNS server in Linux, how to find out its speed, and also look at best DNS servers. You can choose the best one depending on your needs.
Since our site is still about Linux, let’s look at how to set up Linux DNS servers. The DNS server settings in any Linux distribution are located in the /etc/resolv.conf file. The DNS server address is specified in the following format:
nameserver 192.168.137.1
Here 192.168.137.1 is the DNS server address. But the setting in this file will only work until you reboot, since this file is regenerated every time the system boots.
If you use NetworkManager, you can configure the DNS server there, in the connection properties. Open Settings network connections, click in context menu ANDchange For required connection, then on the IPv4 tab specify the desired DNS server:
Now the settings are saved even after a reboot.
You can test the speed of the DNS server using the utility nslookup. For example:
time nslookup www.google.com 208.67.222.222
Server: 208.67.222.222
Address: 208.67.222.222#53
Non-authoritative answer:
Name: www.google.com
Address: 173.194.113.209
Name: www.google.com
Address: 173.194.113.212
Name: www.google.com
Address: 173.194.113.210
Name: www.google.com
Address: 173.194.113.211
Name: www.google.com
Address: 173.194.113.208
real 0m0.073s
user 0m0.012s
sys 0m0.004s
The first parameter is the address of the site that we will measure, the second is the DNS server address. Team time measures execution time nslookup in milliseconds. Now let’s move directly to the list of “good DNS servers”.
Best DNS Servers
1. Google Public DNS
The first DNS server on our list is a server from Google - Google Public DNS. It has been operating since December 2009 and its goal is to make users' online experience faster, safer and more convenient. It is currently the largest government DNS entity in the world. For using Google Public DNS is enough to use the IP address of the DNS server 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4.
Switching to Google Public DNS improves security and optimizes speed because Google actually uses Anycast routing to find the nearest server. In addition, it is resistant to DNS attacks Cache, as well as DoS.
2.OpenDNS
If you're not just looking for a replacement for regular DNS, but an advanced version that gives you more control, try OpenDNS. According to the company, you will take another step towards security by implementing this service. There are two options for OpenDNS - home and corporate. The home version comes with parental controls, phishing protection, and improved speed. The enterprise version of OpenDNS has full functionality to protect the enterprise network. For home use you can get OpenDNS for free. To configure Linux DNS servers, simply set the following DNS addresses: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. OpenDNS also supports Anycast.
3. DNS.WATCH
DNS.WATCH is a minimalistic DNS service that allows you to have fast access to the Internet without censorship. Because this service is built on freedom principles, you can be sure that your request will reach its target and no redirects will be used. The server is fast and stable. If you live in a censored country, this will be a great solution. DNS service servers: 82.200.69.80 and 84.200.70.40.
4. Norton ConnectSafe
Norton ConnectSafe is another DNS service designed for enhanced protection your internet. It should be noted that Norton has been involved in the security aspects of many devices for a long time. So you can be confident in the quality of Norton ConnectSafe. The service offers three various options protection: protection from malware, phishing and scams, protection against pornography and other threats. Each type uses different IP addresses. To protect your entire home network, simply configure your router.
5. Level3 DNS
Level3 DNS is a great DNS service if you are looking for a reliable DNS server with excellent performance. While Level3 isn't as big as Google, it has an impressive infrastructure. You can be sure that the speed will be at top level. DNS IP addresses servers: 209.244.0.3, 209.244.0.4, 4.2.2.1, 4.2.2.2, 4.2.2.3 and 4.2.2.4.
6. Comodo Secure DNS
Comodo Secure DNS is another service that combines speed, reliability and security. Comodo uses a huge network that includes a large number of DNS servers. Speed will be optimized by selecting a server based on your location. In addition, Comodo takes care of security by supplying a list of dangerous sites, and the DNS service will make sure that you do not visit any of them. Comodo Secure DNS IP addresses: 8.26.56.26 and 8.20.247.20.
7.OpenNIC DNS
Although OpenNIC DNS is last on the list, it is a great solution if you want free access to the Internet without government censorship. OpenNIC DNS has a very large network infrastructure and therefore will most likely find a DNS server that is close to your physical location. Just choose required server from the list .
conclusions
As you can see, some of these servers provide regular DNS bypassing the provider's restrictions, while others have additional features- protection against attacks, phishing and dangerous programs. All of them are the best DNS servers and you can choose one of them depending on your needs.
By default, you use your ISP's DNS servers, but you can opt out. There are a number of reasons to use DNS servers third party providers. They may be faster than your ISP's DNS servers, have advanced security features, or help you bypass Internet censorship filters. There are several free domain name support services that you can switch to.
The need to use alternative DNS servers is especially relevant for Internet banking and non-cash payments. The expanding fleet of electronic trading equipment in stores and supermarkets allows you to pay for purchases without using plastic cards. You can read about point-of-sale equipment on the supplier’s website, and we will focus on how to prepare your device for secure payments.
How to change DNS settings if you don't have root rights
Finally, there is an application called DNSet that allows you to change the DNS servers used by the device and does not require superuser privileges to run. WITH free version DNSet You can only install Google Public DNS on your device, but the Pro version allows you to use any DNS servers of your choice. DNSet works for both Wi-Fi and data connections on 3G/4G networks.
If you do not root your device, you will have to face some limitations of the Android system. First, changing DNS settings will only affect the current network Wi-Fi connection. Additionally, there is no option to change DNS settings for your 3G/4G data networks. Secondly, you must change DNS settings-servers for each Wi-Fi networks that you want to connect to.
To change DNS settings to:
- Open Settings on your device.
- Select "Wi-Fi".
- Long press on the current network and then select Change Network.
- Check the "Show additional options" checkbox.
- Change IP settings to static (Static)
- Add the IP addresses of the DNS servers to the “DNS 1” and “DNS-2” fields.
- Click the Save button, disconnect from the network, and connect again for the changes to take effect.
Please note that setting the IP settings to Static will affect how DHCP address allocation occurs and should only be used as a short-term solution. In order to work correctly, you must configure the router and assign a static IP address to the MAC device.
How to change DNS settings if you have superuser rights
If you have root rights on your Android device, you can use the free and simple application DNS Changer. Using DNS Changer you can quickly set the IP addresses of DNS servers manually or select them from the list of DNS providers. You can configure the program to automatically apply these settings for both Wi-Fi connections, and for data transmission via 3G/4G.
The most popular free DNS servers:
- Google Public DNS: DNS 1: 8.8.8.8, DNS 2: 8.8.4.4
- OpenDNS: DNS 1: 208.67.222.222, DNS 2: 208.67.220.220
- Comodo Secure DNS: DNS 1: 8.26.56.26, DNS 2: 8.20.247.20
- Norton ConnectSafe: DNS 1: 198.153.192.40, DNS 2: 198.153.194.40
But for now we'll just talk about why you might want to change your DNS server.
Speed increase possible
Third-party DNS servers may be faster than your ISP's DNS servers. This is not guaranteed, it will depend on your geographical location - how close to you are third party servers DNS and how slow your ISP's DNS servers are.
If all you need is just good speed, you can see the benefits of switching to a third party DNS server, or you may not see it. To find out for sure, you should run a DNS benchmarking tool like Namebench, which will make DNS queries to your current DNS server and other DNS servers, checking how long each of those servers takes to respond.
Popular third party services DNS providers such as Google Public DNS or OpenDNS may be faster for you. If so, Namebench will let you know.
Please note that Namebench cannot evaluate the effectiveness of each factor. For example, Google Public DNS and OpenDNS participate in , which allows participating DNS services to learn your IP address and respond from IP addresses that are closer to you, thereby increasing communication speeds. Other DNS servers, like those offered by your ISP, are not as adept at implementing such new technologies.
Possible improvement in reliability
This is closely related to the speed improvement opportunity already noted. If your ISP doesn't care too much about keeping its DNS servers fast and stable, you may experience periods where websites fail to load or load very slowly due to DNS lookups taking too long. If your ISP isn't doing its job properly, switching to a third-party DNS server may bring you greater reliability.
Parental control
If you have young children and want to set up web filtering, there are many different ways you can do this. One of the most simple ways web filtering settings is to change your DNS servers to OpenDNS servers. Change the DNS server on your router and you can configure the settings parental controls on the OpenDNS website, which will allow you to block certain categories of websites and view websites accessible from your home network.
This is especially convenient because once you change the settings on your router and set up parental controls on the OpenDNS website, the settings will apply to every device on your home network - PCs running any operating system, game consoles, smartphones, tablets, etc. When a DNS request for the IP address of such a website has been sent, OpenDNS returns a different IP address. The user's browser connects to this address and receives a message that the website they are trying to access has been blocked.
Please note that this is not very reliable. A user on your network can simply change their device's DNS server to bypass filtering. Young children won't be able to do this, but teenagers might - just like most other parental controls.
Phishing protection
OpenDNS also performs filtering to block phishing sites. U modern browsers there is built-in protection against phishing, but if you work on a network that includes computers with Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6, then using OpenDNS will give all these computers some protection against identity theft that they would not otherwise have.
Other DNS services do not offer this feature. For example, Google Public DNS does not include content filtering functionality because it aims to function simply as a fast DNS service without any frills.
Means of protection
Third-party DNS servers, such as OpenDNS and Google Public DNS, also offer security features that many providers' DNS servers have not yet implemented. For example, Google Public DNS supports DNSSEC to ensure that DNS requests are properly signed and are trustworthy. Your provider's DNS servers may not yet have such security features implemented.
If SOPA had been passed, no US DNS servers would have supported DNSSEC because SOPA would have outlawed DNSSEC. If Americans wanted the benefits of DNSSEC, they would be forced to use foreign DNS servers.
Accessing geo-blocked content
Special third-party DNS servers may also allow you to access certain geo-restricted content. For example, by switching to Unblock-Us you can access media like Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer no matter where in the world you are. When your computer makes a DNS query, the DNS service does some tunneling to make the service assume that you are somewhere else in the world. This convenient opportunity, because it allows you to reach these services from any device just by changing the DNS server on your router.
You shouldn't use free service as your primary DNS service - switching to it is bound to slow down your web browsing. If you use one of these, you'll need to use a tool like DNS Jumper to fast switching on it when you need it, and switch back when you're done.
And they work in the same way and do not have this limitation, but on the other hand, you will have to pay for them.
Bypassing web censorship
Some ISPs and governments only block websites at the DNS level. For example, an ISP can “block” example.com by redirecting its ingress DNS to another website. If a website is blocked by this method, replacing your DNS server with a third-party one DNS service, which does not block this website, will allow you to access it. As an example, we can cite an incident that occurred at a time when The Pirate Bay was blocked in the UK. People could change their DNS servers so they could use it again.
Please note that websites are often blocked at the IP level, so this will not always work. For example, a firewall uses many techniques to block websites, including DNS blocking.
Namebench includes an option that tests DNS servers for censorship to determine whether the output of current DNS servers is censored.
If you want to change DNS servers, then you will probably want to change the DNS server on your router, which will affect your entire home network. You can also change the DNS server on a single computer, which will only affect that specific computer.
What DNS services do you use? For what purpose? Share your experience and settings in the comments.
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