How to change DNS servers for faster browsing on Linux, Windows and Mac?
Changing your computer's DNS system settings allows you to use something more secure and reliable than what your ISP provides.
The built-in DNS, which is your ISP's domain name server, can be slower, unstable, and not very private. To optimize your browsing experience, you can always use a variety of third-party converters.
In this article, we'll look at how to change your DNS settings for faster browsing on both Windows and Linux.
What is DNS?
Domain Name System (DNS) servers resolve domain names and determine the IP address of a website. This allows you to quickly access any website with a distinguished name. It's just a phone book for the web, like saving contacts using name for mobile numbers.
Without them, surfing the Internet would be difficult.
Your internet connection becomes unstable if your DNS slows down or becomes unreliable. In such cases, you can connect to the Internet on your computer using an alternative, secure and reliable DNS.
It may be easier to change the DNS settings on your Wi-Fi network so that all devices connected to it can use it. However, you can update the DNS settings on individual devices, especially your computer.
You can easily update DNS settings in Windows and Android in several ways.
DNS server settings
OpenDNS, Cloudflare, Comodo Secure DNS and Google Public DNS are some of the best and free public DNS servers.
Cloud DNS : 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
Google DNS : 8.8.8.8 ΠΈ 8.8.4.4
Comodo Secure : 8.26.56.26 and 8.20.247.20
Open DNS : 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
There are other reasons people want to change the DNS besides improving security and reliability, such as using parental controls and web filtering business features.
Change DNS in Linux
Setting up DNS servers on Linux is very easy. You need to add nameservers to the config file.
On most Linux-based operating systems, the /etc/resolv.conf file specifies the DNS servers that the system utilities use to resolve names. The file must contain at least one nameserver line. The DNS server is determined by each nameserver line. The priority of name servers is determined by the order in which the system finds them in the file.
Simply follow the steps below to change your Linux server's DNS settings.
Step 1: Open a terminal and run the following commands one by one in root user mode.
rm -r /etc/resolv.confnano /etc/resolv.conf
Step 2: Type the following lines into the text editor after opening it.
nameserver 1.1.1.1nameserver 1.0.0.1
The above addresses are the addresses of Google's DNS servers. You can use any DNS server address here. Make sure you have added the correct address.
Step 3: The next step is to save and close the document. To save and close the file, press Ctrl + X then Y. Continue typing in the terminal.
Step 4: Enter the following command in the terminal to make resolv.conf immutable for modifications.
sudo chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf
Step 5: Once the files have been saved, you can make changes by restarting your computer or by running the command below.
sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart
That's all! You are now using the new DNS servers you have added.
Changing DNS in Windows
We can change DNS settings in Windows manually or with the help of some free and reliable tools.
Using the Control Panel
Step 1: Open the Control Panel.
Step 2: Select Network and Internet from the drop-down menu.
Step 3: Select Network and Sharing Center
Step 4: In the left pane, select the Change adapter settings option.
Step 5: Select "Properties" from the context menu of the network interface.
Step 6: Select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) option.
Step 7: Click the "Properties" button.
Step 8: Enter "preferred" and "alternate" DNS addresses in the respective fields. After the procedure is completed, the device will immediately start using the DNS settings you selected.
Changing DNS in Windows Using the Command Prompt
Alternatively, you can change DNS settings in Windows using the command line. Complete the following procedures to change the device's DNS settings using the command line.
Step 1: Open a command prompt and run it as an administrator.
Step 2: To open the network settings utility, type the following command and press Enter.
netsh
Step 3: Use the following command and press Enter to see the network adapter names.
interface show interface
Step 4: To set the primary DNS IP address, type the following command and press Enter.
interface ip set dns name="ADAPTER-NAME" source="static" address="X.X.X.X"
Don't forget to change ADAPTER-NAME for the network interface adapter name you chose in step 4 and XXXX for the IP address of the DNS server you want to use.
For example:
interface ip set dns name="Wi-Fi 2" source="static" address="8.8.8.8"
Step 5: Add your preferred DNS server address. To add an alternative DNS IP address, use the following command.
interface ip add dns name="ADAPTER-NAME" addr="X.X.X.X" index=2
Once the procedure is complete, Windows will begin converting domain names to numeric addresses using the new DNS server addresses.
Change DNS in MAC
You can change your DNS settings very easily on Mac OS.
Step 1: Choose "System Preferences" from the Apple menu.
Step 2: Select the "Network" control panel from the drop-down menu.
Step 3: Select a network interface from the list on the left (for example, "Wi-Fi" or "Ethernet"), and then click "Next".
Step 4: In the lower right corner of the Network window, click the Advanced button.
Step 5: To change, add or remove DNS records, go to the DNS tab at the top of the screen.
Step 6: Once you have completed the DNS setup, click the OK button. For the DNS changes to take effect, click Apply and then exit System Preferences as usual.
The highest performing DNS servers will be consulted first, so place the highest performing servers at the top of the list for optimal results.
Summarizing π¨βπ»
When it comes to changing DNS settings, there is no best or best option. Each public DNS has its own privacy and performance benefits. Cloudflare and Google DNS are used by millions so you can try this to see if it works for you.
Feel free to learn about the best DNS monitoring tools for performance and configuration changes. Also, learn how to check and clear the ARP cache or how to detect rootkits on Windows, Linux and Mac.