Choose a DNS Service
Internet connections rely on DNS to translate names such as lifewire.com into public IP addresses. To use DNS, computers and other home network devices must be configured with DNS servers’ addresses. Internet providers supply DNS server addresses to their customers as part of setting up the service. Typically, these values are configured automatically on the broadband modem or broadband router via DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol). Large internet providers maintain their own DNS servers. Several free internet DNS services exist as alternatives. Some people prefer to use certain DNS servers over others for reliability, security, or better name lookup performance.
Change DNS Server Addresses
You can set several DNS settings for your broadband router’s home network (or other network gateway device). Changing a DNS server requires only entering the chosen IP numbers into the appropriate fields of the router or other specific device configuration page. The exact fields to use vary, depending on the type of device. Here are some examples of the fields:
D-Link routers: Primary DNS server and Secondary DNS serverLinksys routers: Static DNS 1 and Static DNS 2Netgear routers: Primary DNS and Secondary DNSWindows devices: TCP/IP properties of the network connection, Preferred DNS server, and Alternate DNS serverMac OSX and macOS: System Preferences > Network > Advanced > DNS tab for the network connectionApple iOS and Android: DNS section of Wi-Fi settings
About OpenDNS
OpenDNS uses the public IP addresses 208.67.222.222 (primary) and 208.67.220.220. OpenDNS also provides some IPv6 DNS support using 2620:0:ccc::2 and 2620:0:ccd::2. How you set up OpenDNS varies, depending on the device.
About Google Public DNS
Google Public DNS uses the following public IP addresses:
IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and 2001:4860:4860::8844
