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How to use custom DNS servers on your Windows computer
There are plenty of good reasons to use a custom DNS server on your computers. Some services -- like Google DNS -- can provide a speed boost to your Web browsing. Other services -- like OpenDNS and Sunbelt ClearCloud -- can protect you and your family from inappropriate content and malware. So how do you set them up?
The best place to program a custom DNS server is on your router -- where it can take care of every computer on your network. If you're not comfortable poking around your router settings, however, you can make the necessary change on your computers instead.
Start by opening the Start Menu (hit the Windows Flag key!), typing ncpa.cpl, and pressing enter (as detailed in our previous how-to). Many computers have more than one network adapter -- like the plug-in and wireless ones in a laptop, for example. More than likely, only one is actually connecting you to the Internet.
To find out which connection is active, click the arrow shown in the screenshot above and select Details from the drop down list. The connectivity column displays Internet Access next to your active connection. Double click the appropriate connection, and when the connection status window appears press the Properties button. Next, double-click Internet Protocol version 4. You're almost finished now!
On the TCP/IP properties page, click the radio button next to Use the following DNS server addresses. Here's where you enter your custom servers!
- Google DNS Primary / Secondary: 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4
Good for a little extra speed on many Internet connections - OpenDNS Primary / Secondary: 208.67.222.222 / 208.67.220.220
Offers content filtering - Sunbelt ClearCloud Primary / Secondary: 74.118.212.1 / 74.118.212.2
Offers protection against known malware and phishing sites
Comments
13
Subscribe to commentsUlysisAMJan 18th 2011 11:54AM
Excellent post.
I used NameBench to see what the best performance I can get just so I can test it on my PC before changing the DNS on my router.
I highly recommend NameBench because I was able to find a DNS server that improved my speed by over 300%. That is incredible for me.
UnknownJan 18th 2011 12:01PM
I wonder whether this will impact your ability to use wireless services, such as the one in your hotel room, that may open custom locations.
JamesJan 18th 2011 12:11PM
Keep in mind it will take 72hours to take effect unless you clear your DNS cache. To clear it, simply open up Command Prompt by typing "cmd" in the run window, and type "ipconfig /flushdns", this will clear it and will allow you to take advantage of using a better DNS service.
MxxConJan 18th 2011 2:27PM
@James this is absolutely 100000% wrong. the change in dns servers is active instantly, the moment you press Apply button.
what you are possibly referring to are 'already cached' entries. some of those could be cached for 72hours, depending on the domain's settings. but if that's the case, flushing your dns cache will only slow things down because you are forcing your computer/browser to resend lookup requests for entries it would've already known about.
JamesJan 19th 2011 11:28AM
@MxxCon Apologies, I understand my mistake, thanks for correcting it, and yeah I posted in reply to the wrong comment.
daniel freeJan 18th 2011 3:14PM
while doing this can be advantageous to a lot of people if you dont live in USA it can be a real slowdown.
as these public DNS are almost all located in america a lot of sites use a lazy way of determining your location based on where the DNS request came from. This results in you being pointed to the american download servers or content servers and as a result you will have trouble being able to even watch a youtube video if you are somewhere like NZ.
there was a slashdot article on this a week or 2 ago.
MxxConJan 18th 2011 4:27PM
@daniel free, both opendns and google have presence in asia and europe.
that kind of dns loadbalancing is not "lazy". there are some legitimate technical reasons for doing it this way.
KualaBeeJan 18th 2011 3:23PM
If you use DNS strictly to block malware, then Norton DNS may be better for you than Clearcloud. Recent (last 2 months) anedoctal test on youtube shows that Norton DNS is more effective in block malware sites and in my personal namebench test Norton is faster than Clearcloud. Also as a person who has used both, Norton DNS has less false positives which can block access to legitimate websites.
Laura OppenheimerJan 18th 2011 4:42PM
This is a great guide to getting a custom DNS server set up on Windows -- something that isn't always the easiest to understand. One thing to note is that OpenDNS also protects users from phishing and malware sites, and makes your Internet faster, in addition to its Web content filtering options.
Google Public DNS only promises faster Internet; Sunbelt/Clearcloud doesn't make your Internet any faster or more reliable, and has never said what type of malware its blocking (so it's hard to know how comprehensive it is).
Thanks,
Laura
OpenDNS.com
jasrayJan 18th 2011 8:12PM
No mention of DNS Jumper? Trash program or people prefer something better? Odd exclusion from the article.
MxxConJan 19th 2011 12:05AM
@jasray it might be good, but you shouldn't really have to change your DNS servers so often that you need a support utility for it..
it should be 'set it and forget it'..
JamesJan 19th 2011 11:27AM
@MxxCon Apologies, I understand my mistake, thanks for correcting it.
tat2jrJan 19th 2011 12:35PM
I need to know how to block ads at the router level so I can surf ad free on my android tablet and phone while using WIFI at home......
Been looking, but haven't found what I'm looking for. Anyone got a link or suggestions?