How to change DNS to surf the web faster, increase Internet speed

Over the past two decades, technological advances have dramatically improved Internet speeds. Broadband and fiber-optic connections have created lightning-fast networks where even high-definition media content can be downloaded in seconds.

That doesn't mean there's nothing to improve. Changing your DNS settings is often considered one of the easiest ways to optimize your internet speed. So let's learn how to change your DNS settings on your devices.

Table of Contents

• Change DNS on Windows
  • Change DNS on Windows 10, Windows 7/8.1/8
  • Change DNS on Windows XP
  • How to change DNS Windows Vista
  • Change DNS for the entire computer network to OpenDNS
  • Change DNS with DNS Jumper
  • Speed ​​up access with HOSTS file
  • Adjust Windows DNS cache
• How to Change DNS Settings on macOS
• How to Change DNS Settings on iPhone
• How to Change DNS Settings on Android
• Why can changing DNS help speed up the Internet?
• Video tutorial on how to change DNS on Windows

Change DNS on Windows

Changing DNS on Windows has many benefits, such as: Accessing some blocked websites, speeding up internet connection, improving network stability. Changing DNS is changing the way your computer uses the Domain Name System (DNS), the basic technology for all web browsers today. It is also a quick and free way to speed up the Internet . Here's how to change DNS on Windows 10, Windows 7 and other versions of Windows.

Before changing DNS, please choose a DNS you want to change. Refer to the list of best DNS that WebTech360 has compiled to choose a satisfactory DNS.

You can use OpenDNS 's free DNS :

• IPv4: 208.67.222.222 (primary DNS server) and 208.67.220.220 (secondary DNS server)
• IPv6: 2620:0:ccc::2 (primary DNS server) and 2620:0:ccd::2 (secondary DNS server)

Or Google DNS:

• IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
• IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and 2001:4860:4860::8844 (abbreviated) or 2001:4860:4860:0:0:0:0:8888 and 2001:4860:4860:0:0:0:0:8844 (full)

Change DNS on Windows 10, Windows 7/8.1/8

If you are using Windows 7, Windows 8, 8.1 or Windows 10, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Go to Control Panel > select Network and Sharing Center or right-click on the network icon in the system tray, select Open Network and Internet Settings, scroll down to find the option Change adapter options (Windows 10) || Open Network and Sharing Center (Windows 7).

Step 2: Click Change Adapter settings on the left (2nd line from top to bottom).

Step 3: Select the Internet connection you are currently using (can be wired or wifi), right-click and select Properties .

Step 4:

Click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Properties > General > Use the following DNS server addresses (here I choose Google DNS):

• Preferred DNS server: 8.8.8.8
• Alternate DNS server: 8.8.4.4

Click OK to complete selecting DNS server addresses to speed up the Internet.

Step 5: Configure IPv6, in the Ethernet 2 Properties window, select Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) > Properties > General > Use the following DNS server addresses:

• Preferred DNS server: 2001:4860:4860::8888
• Alternate DNS server: 2001:4860:4860::8844

Click OK to save changes.

Step 6: Save all settings and now you are using a DNS with faster web surfing. Thanks to this DNS, the Internet speed has been improved a lot.

Change DNS on Windows XP

If you are using Windows XP, first select Control Panel --> Network and Internet Connections --> Network Connections , right-click on the network connection in the Network Connections window , select Properties . The dialog box as shown below appears

Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties

In the scroll down list, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties . In the lower part of the new window that appears, select " Use the following DNS server addresses ". In the Preferred DNS server section , enter the address 208.67.222.222. In the Alternative DNS server section , enter the address 208.67.220.220 (shown below). Click OK , click Close and Close again to close all windows. Restart your computer for the settings to take effect.

Enter the address to tell your computer that you are using an OpenDNS server.

How to change DNS Windows Vista

If using Windows Vista, select Control Panel --> Network and Internet --> Network and Sharing Center . Click on the View Status connection on the right part of the screen. The Local Connection Status screen appears as shown below, click Properties

Click Properties to set up using OpenDNS

You will see a dialog similar to the one in Windows XP to set up using OpenDNS servers.

Change DNS for the entire computer network to OpenDNS

When you configure a computer to use OpenDNS, only that computer can use the OpenDNS server. If you want all computers on the network to use it, you must configure the router to use the OpenDNS server. By following this router configuration method, you will not have to configure each PC individually.

There are a few ways you can change your router and it will depend on whether you are configuring it for home, small office or corporate use. For home and small office routers, you will have to go into the router, find the DNS settings and then use the OpenDNS settings 208.67.222.222 for the primary DNS server and 208.67.220.220 for the alternate DNS server.

Whether you run a small or large network, you can benefit from faster DNS. The service also provides you with a number of DNS management tools such as domain blocking, statistics, and network usage graphs.

On the Linksys SRX 400 and many other Linksys routers, access to the router must be via the address 192.168.1.1, using admin as the password and leaving the username blank. On the login page, scroll down to Static DNS 1, Static DNS 2 and change it (as shown below), click Save Settings. Restart the router and computers on the network, all your computers will now use OpenDNS DNS servers.

Change the DNS settings in this window to use
OpenDNS servers for the entire network.

Note that OpenDNS may not work when using a virtual private network (For example, I couldn't get it to work when using a Cisco VPN). And if you're on a corporate network, you should double check with your system administrator before using OpenDNS.

OpenDNS also allows you to create shortcuts to your favorite sites by simply entering a word or phrase instead of the entire URL. To do this, you must first register (it’s free, of course), then go to the OpenDNS website, log in to your registered account, and click on the Shortcuts link. On the page that appears, enter the short name of the website in the top box and the URL in the bottom box; then click Create Shortcut. From now on, you can quickly access the website that has the shortcut by entering the short name of the website in the browser window address and pressing Enter, the entire URL of the website will be filled in.

Create shortcut in OpenDNS

Change DNS with DNS Jumper

This is an application that helps to change DNS server quickly. Just download DNS Jumper , install it on your computer, you will see a list of DNS servers like Google Public DNS, Open DNS, Yandex and more, choose a favorite server and click Apply DNS .

With DNS Jumper you can switch to a DNS server for faster internet access with just a few clicks instead of having to manually change DNS.

Speed ​​up access with HOSTS file

Here’s another way to speed up DNS – by creating and editing the HOSTS file on your computer itself. This file contains URLs (also known as hostnames) and IP addresses that are exchanged. Windows will first look in this file for the address you need to enter, and if it finds one in the list, it will decide to use that address. This way, you won’t be able to leave the DNS server and have to wait for a response before you can access the website.

The HOSTS file is simply a plain text file that can be created or edited using a simple text editor like Notepad. You'll find the current HOSTS file at C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\HOSTS for both Windows XP and Windows Vista (in some versions, you may find it at C:\Winnt\System32\Drivers\HOSTS ). This file has no extension; its name is simply HOSTS. If you don't find such a file, you can create it directly using Notepad.

Open the HOSTS file with Notepad, enter the IP address and hostname of the websites you often visit, for example: 65.182.110.189 WebTech360com .

Each entry in the file must be on its own line. The IP address must be in the first column and the corresponding hostname in the next column. There should be at least one space between the two columns. When you are finished editing the file, save it before exiting.

You must ensure that you regularly check your HOSTS file and keep it up to date, otherwise you may be denied access to some websites. For example, if the website www.quantrimang.com changes its IP address but your HOSTS file still holds the old IP address, the address is incorrect and your browser will not be able to find the website.

Adjust Windows DNS cache

To speed up DNS, Windows places DNS information in your computer's DNS cache when you visit a website. So when you want to visit a website, Windows first looks up the DNS cache, calls the transfer cache, and sees where the DNS information is stored. So if it finds information on your local machine, it doesn't look in the HOSTS file or query a remote DNS server for IP information. The cache is built using recently queried names and entries taken from the HOSTS file.

The cache contains both rejected entries and validated entries. Validated entries are those DNS entries that were successfully found and you were able to connect to the website. When Windows searches the cache, if it finds a validated entry, it immediately uses that DNS information and sends you the requested website.

Denied entry points are those where a mismatch is found and you get an error message “ Cannot find server or DNS ” in your browser. Similar to the above, when Windows searches the cache and finds a denied entry point, it returns an error message without continuing to look for the site.

A denied entry point can be the cause of the problem. When you try to make a connection to a website that has a denied entry point in the cache, you will just get an error message, even if the website's issues have been fixed and it is now accessible.

You can solve this problem by modifying the Registry. By default, Windows stores denied entries for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, they are automatically deleted from your cache.

But if you don't want that, you can tell Windows not to save these points and you'll never have this problem. Open the Registry Editor by typing Regedit in the command prompt or in Vista, type it in the search box and press Enter . Then go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters

Create a new DWORD value named NegativeCacheTime and set it to 0 (This value may already exist, if not, change it to 0)

This new DWORD specifies how long (in seconds) to keep denied entries in the DNS cache. If you want, you can keep entries active for one second by setting the value to 1.

Once you have finished editing, exit the Registry. For the changes to take effect, you must either restart your computer or clear all existing caches on your computer by using the ipconfig /flushdns command in a command window. This will clear your entire DNS cache (both authenticated and denied entries) and it will start saving websites you visit in the future. However, denied entries will not be cached if you set the DWORD value to 0.

You can also use the Registry to control the total amount of time authentication entries are kept in the cache. By default, they are kept for 24 hours. To change this default, go to Registry Editor, go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters

You create a DWORD value named MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit (If it already exists, you just need to edit the value, no need to create a new one). Enter the Value of that DWORD equal to the time (in seconds) you want to save the entry point (make sure you use a basic decimal number).

How to Change DNS Settings on macOS

To change DNS on your macOS device, open System Preferences . From there, click Network > Advanced . On this page, navigate to the DNS tab. Unlike on Windows, you can easily add and remove DNS servers using the + and - buttons in the lower left of the window. When you click the + icon , you can enter the IP address of the provider you want.

How to Change DNS Settings on iPhone

Let's say you want to change your DNS server on your iPhone, open Settings > Wi-Fi . Tap the 'i' icon next to your connected network. This will open the settings page for the wireless network you want to adjust. Scroll down the page until you get to the DNS heading.

Tap the Configure DNS option. By default, this will be set to Automatic. Select Manual to enable other options. The Add Server field will appear under DNS Server. Tap that button and enter the IP address of the provider you want. Once you're done, tap Save at the top right of the screen.

How to Change DNS Settings on Android

The steps to change your DNS on Android vary depending on the device you have. However, for stock Android 9.0 and above, open Settings > Network and Internet .

Click the arrow to expand Advanced settings. By default, the Private DNS field will be set to Automatic. Selecting that option will open an input window. Click Private DNS provider hostname . Here, you will need to use the hostname of the DNS server, instead of the IP address, as shown below;

• Google DNS: dns.google.com
• Cloudflare: 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com

Why can changing DNS help speed up the Internet?

The last part of the article, WebTech360 spends a little time talking about why changing DNS helps speed up the browser and speed up the internet.

If you do not understand DNS and how it works, do not miss the article about what DNS is on WebTech360.

DNS servers exist on the Internet, and your computer contacts them to translate and resolve domain names. When you use an Internet Service Provider (ISP), your computer automatically uses the ISP's default DNS servers; you may not need to set up DNS. If your computer is on a corporate network, your company's system administrator may set your computer to use specific DNS servers.

If there is a delay in contacting the DNS server, or if the DNS server takes too long to resolve the address, you will have to wait to access the web. Even with the fastest connection in the world, your web browsing can be slowed down.

If you can increase your domain name resolution time, then your web browsing can also increase. And that is exactly what I want you to see and do in the following scenarios.

To know if the DNS connection to the site has a problem, you must first use the ping command to check for the website that cannot be connected:

ping quantrimang.com

If the website still exists, you will be returned the following results (Note: Figures may vary for each website):

If the website has no errors, you will receive a message like this:

Ping request could not find host.
Please check the name and try again.

That's a few things about DNS, now you probably want to know how to change DNS to speed up web surfing, right? Check out some of the ways below.

Video tutorial on how to change DNS on Windows

Here are some DNS methods to speed up Internet access. By following these simple instructions, you can easily speed up web browsing, file downloading and have a better Internet experience.

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