Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
uk666

Best free and public DNS servers of 2020

Recommended Posts

Best free and public DNS servers of 2020

DNS-Servers-1.jpg

What is DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. We access information online through domain names. Web browsers interact through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load Internet resources.

Each device connected to the Internet has a unique IP address which other machines use to find the device. DNS servers eliminate the need for humans to memorize IP addresses such as 192.168.1.1 (in IPv4), or more complex newer alphanumeric IP addresses such as 2400:cb00:2048:1::c629:d7a2 (in IPv6).

Your ISP will assign you DNS servers whenever you connect to the internet, but these may not always be the best choice. Slow DNS servers can cause a lag before websites start to load, and if your server sometimes goes down, you may not be able to access any sites at all.

Switching to a free public DNS server can make a real difference, with more responsive browsing and lengthy 100% uptime records meaning there's much less chance of technical problems.

Some services can also block access to phishing or infected sites, and a few offer content filtering to keep your kids away from the worst of the web.

Primary DNS servers are sometimes called preferred DNS servers and secondary DNS servers sometimes alternate DNS servers. Primary and secondary DNS servers can be "mixed and matched" from different providers to protect you if the primary provider has problems.

If you're an old hand at swapping DNS, you can get started immediately by reconfiguring your device to use the OpenDNS nameservers.

DNS-Servers-2.jpg
 

Best three free and public DNS servers

OpenDNS

Primary, secondary DNS servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

Founded in 2005 and now owned by Cisco, OpenDNS is one of the biggest names in public DNS

The free service offers plenty of benefits: high speeds, 100% uptime, phishing sites blocked by default, optional parental controls-type web filtering to block websites by content type, along with free email support if anything goes wrong.

Commercial plans enable viewing a history of your internet activity for up to the last year, and can optionally lock down your system by allowing access to specific websites only. These aren't going to be must-have features for the average user, but if you're interested, they can be yours for around $20 (£14.30) a year.

Just have free DNS without creating an account.

https://welcome.opendns.com/
https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/

Put in the OpenDNS server addresses as your DNS server settings and save/apply.

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

Cache Flushing.

In Microsoft Windows, you can flush the local DNS cache using the ipconfig /flushdns command in a Command Prompt.

Test your new settings.

https://welcome.opendns.com/

Cloudflare

Primary, secondary DNS servers: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1

Best known for its top-rated content delivery network, Cloudflare has extended its range to include a new public DNS service, the catchily-named 1.1.1.1.

The product doesn't have any of the extras you'll often see elsewhere. There's no anti-phishing, no ad-blocking, no content filtering or other attempts to monitor or control what you can access, and what you can't.

Instead, Cloudflare has focused much more on the fundamentals. These start with performance, and independent testing from sites like DNSPerf shows Cloudflare is the fastest public DNS service around.

Privacy is another major highlight. Cloudflare doesn't just promise that it won't use your browsing data to serve ads; it commits that it will never write the querying IP address (yours) to disk. Any logs that do exist will be deleted within 24 hours. And these claims aren't just reassuring words on a website. Cloudflare has retained KPMG to audit its practices annually and produce a public report to confirm the company is delivering on its promises.

https://1.1.1.1/

Put in the OpenDNS server addresses as your DNS server settings and save/apply.

1.1.1.1

1.0.0.1

Cache Flushing.

In Microsoft Windows, you can flush the local DNS cache using the ipconfig /flushdns command in a Command Prompt.

Test your new settings.

https://welcome.opendns.com/

Google Public DNS

Primary, secondary DNS servers: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Google has its fingers in most web-related pies, and DNS is no exception: it's free Public DNS is a simple and effective replacement for your own ISP's nameservers.

Privacy can't quite match the 'we don't keep anything' promises of Cloudflare, but it's not bad. The service logs the full IP address information of the querying device for around 24 to 48 hours for troubleshooting and diagnostic purposes. 'Permanent' logs drop any personally identifiable information and reduce location details to the city level, and all but a small random sample of these are deleted after two weeks.

There's a further benefit for experienced users in Google's detailed description of the service. If you'd like to be able to assess the significance of Google's privacy policy, for instance, you can read up on absolutely everything the service logs contain to find out for yourself.

https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/

Put in the OpenDNS server addresses as your DNS server settings and save/apply.

8.8.8.8

8.8.4.4

Cache Flushing.

In Microsoft Windows, you can flush the local DNS cache using the ipconfig /flushdns command in a Command Prompt.

Test your new settings.

https://welcome.opendns.com/

If you're a newbie.

Some site offers only very basic guidance targeted at experienced users, warning that "only users who are proficient with configuring operating system settings [should] make these changes." If you're unsure what you're doing, here are sits that give setup instructions for PCs, Macs, mobile devices, routers.

Check the tutorials:

https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/
https://www.howtogeek.com/167533/the-ultimate-guide-to-changing-your-dns-server/
https://www.dignited.com/33627/change-your-phone-dns-server/

https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/ is really good.
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×