Alternative DNS can present a safe connection to the internet reducing the risks of malware. When you connect, you agree to make use of the standard DNS, the same offered by the ISPs we pay to connect.Â
You can actually choose between various DNS that offer more services and a higher configuration level, in such a way as to make you stay online exactly as before, but loading the pages faster and, in some cases, solving some connectivity problems.
So let’s move on to the list of alternative DNS.
AdGuard DNS
AhaDNS
DNS-over-HTTPS IPv4
sdns://AgMAAAAAAAAACTUuMi43NS43NQARZG9oLm5sLmFoYWRucy5uZXQKL2Rucy1xdWVyeQDNS-over-HTTPS IPv6
sdns://AgMAAAAAAAAAAFlsyYTA0OjUyYzA6MTAxOjc1Ojo3NV0AEWRvaC5ubC5haGFkbnMubmV0Ci9kbnMtcXVlcnk
Alternate DNS
76.76 . 19.19 ( primary ) 76.223 . 122.150 ( secondary ) 2602 : fcbc :: ad & 2602 : fcbc : 2 :: ad ( IPv6 )
BlahDNS
A DNS project developed as a hobby, with AdBlock, HTTP / 3, DoH, DoT, DoQ, DNSCryptv2 ( donationware ) support.
Cisco / OpenDNS
208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220
Cloudflare
Primary DNS : 1.1 . 1.1 Secondary DNS : 1.1 . 1.1
Google Public DNS
Google’s public DNS is widely used as an alternative to the standard DNS provided by ISPs, as it offers speed, high performance and greater security. It is a DNS that natively supports both TCP / UDP protocol and DoH and DoT.
IPv4
Primary DNS : 8.8 . 8.8 Secondary DNS : 8.8 . 4.4
IPv6
Primary DNS : 2001 : 4860 : 4860 :: 8888 Secondary DNS : 2001 : 4860 : 4860 :: 8844
Google allows you to achieve excellent performance in the connectivity phase thanks to its public DNS servers, since they are hosted in data centers distributed worldwide, and there is practically one for every nation. In addition to traditional DNS over UDP/TCP, Google provides DNS over HTTPS, then DoH and DoT.
NextDNS
Free for up to 300,000 queries per month, it is available upon registration with an email address. Convenient because it is part of the DNS capable of filtering, without using adblocker, unwanted advertisements and any malware, thanks to a powerful open source firewall.Â
OpenDNS
208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220
personalDNSfilter
Quad9
9.9.9.9 149.112.112.112
RethinkDNS
Snopyta
DNS over TLS (DoT)
95.216.24.230@853#fi.dot.dns.snopyta.org (Hetzner – Finland)
2a01:4f9:2a:1919::9301@853#fi.dot.dns.snopyta.org (Hetzner – Finland)DNS over HTTPS (DoH)
https://fi.doh.dns.snopyta.org/dns-query (Hetzner – Finland)
UncensoredDNS
How to use alternative DNS
To make use of the alternative DNS, just go to the PC network settings and open the DNS section that you find under your network connection. Generally, unless otherwise specified, just set the primary and secondary DNS as indicated: if you put the Google DNS, for example, it will be enough (on a Mac, in the example) to set the IPs 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 to start immediately to surf with the latter.
In the following screen, you will find an example of how to set any DNS, inserting the ones you have chosen instead of the example IPs, relating to the DNS you want to use. Generally, there is no better choice than another, and it is by trying to make use of it that you will be able to understand if a DNS is for you or not. Finally, also consider that, according to the DNS, some sites may work less well or not work at all, in some cases.
What are DNS servers?
DNS servers have a very specific task in the architecture of the internet: they translate the domain name you enter in a browser into a public IP address, which is essential for your browser to actually communicate with the site. An Internet Service Provider (ISP) comes into play in this dynamic, who will automatically assign DNS servers when your smartphone or router connects to the Internet.
The filtering of some contents takes place through a DNS filter, a DNS filter that is based on the Domain Name System in order to block or allow data, generally on the basis of block lists edited by several users in a cooperative way.
Why should I choose an alternative DNS to connect to?
There are various reasons why you might choose an alternative DNS like the ones we listed on the page: better performance, speed, privacy needs, use of particular apps, and so on.
