Fast speed is important in daily internet usage. Sometimes people experience slow speed because of the slow DNS servers. Fast DNS servers are required to solve this problem. The servers can be used on different devices. Many best public DNS servers can be used to attain faster internet speed and a better user experience.
DNS and DNS Servers
DNS refers to Domain Name System. It is a system that converts the website names to an IP address number. Whenever you type any domain name, it automatically converts this into an IP address and redirects your request to the correct server for web browsing or downloading purposes. Information in DNS is stored in several distributed servers, known as DNS Servers.
When your browser wants to find the IP address for any given domain name, it automatically sends a request to these servers. The server on which this particular record is kept will answer and provide you with the appropriate information about it. Internet Service Provider (ISP) provide their users with the DNS server. It is also possible to change DNS servers provided by ISP and use public ones instead.
Public DNS Servers provide better performance and speed than ISP’s ones. They also offer some additional features and options. Public servers do not store any personal data about users. Changing your default server with these best public DNS servers can boost connection speed a lot.
1. Google’s Public DNS Server
Google’s public DNS server is one of the best and most reliable servers available in the market. It provides fast speed, security from malware attacks and protects your privacy. Google Public DNS Server resolves internet requests faster than ISP’s default ones so that you can access websites without facing long load times or page refreshes.
It also supports IPv-over-HTTPS and DoH (DNS over TLS) protocols. It allows users to block unwanted ads with its ‘Family Shield’ service, which can be easily activated by changing the DNS settings of your device. Google Public DNS Server also offers secure connections through DNSSEC that protects against forged or manipulated data tampering in transit between name servers and resolvers.
Google’s public DNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
- Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4
2. Cloudflare
Cloudflare has its own set of features that are not provided by any other free public servers. The company offers an advanced set of security measures to protect your information and privacy. Cloudflare DNS is the fastest server on this list. It is capable of handling around 15% more traffic than other servers.
Cloudflare DNS has a ‘privacy mode’ feature that protects your privacy and security by hiding your personal information on the internet, such as location, identity, or browsing history, from hackers and ISP’s. This server also offers DoH (DNS over TLS) protocol to secure connections between your device and the DNS server. This enhanced security feature protects you from spying, spoofing and man-in-the-middle attacks that may happen on unencrypted data flows.
It has an excellent CDN feature that increases the speed of your website. CDN is very helpful for sites that are visited by many people all over the world. Cloudflare servers can be easily configured on different devices through simple DNS settings or directly from your router itself.
It also provides DNSSEC support to validate data integrity and authenticate origin servers to prevent forged DNS responses, carrying viruses or spammy messages into users’ browsing sessions. The new services introduced (1.1.1.2/1.0.0.2 and 1.1.1.3/1.0.0.3) help to filter malware and adult information blocking.
Cloudflare public DNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 1.1.1.1
- Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.1
3.Quad9
Quad9 DNS is also one of the fastest servers available in the market. It is a secure DNS server that protects your browsing history and location from hackers, ISP’s or other spying agencies. It uses DNSSEC to protect users against forged data tampering on unencrypted flows.
It has an extra security feature called ‘No Queries logging’ that ensures complete privacy of your browsing history. Quad9’s ‘Secure Web Gateway’ blocks phishing, malware or other scam sites to protect you from hackers and online frauds.
In case of a cyber threat, Quad9 automatically blocks access and does not store personal data. It does not include screen content; only phishing and malware-infected domains are blocked.
Quadra has one of the best security features including DDoS attack prevention, content filtering and protection against spying agencies. It also provides a CDN feature for faster speed to websites worldwide through its nine ‘Points of Presence’ servers located in different parts of the world.
Quad9 DNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 9.9.9.9
- Secondary DNS: 149.112.112.112
4.OpenDNS
OpenDNS is an accessible public DNS server, which Cisco has acquired from the previous owner, DCHP. OpenDNS has many advanced security features that make it one of the most preferred DNS servers in the public domain like ‘PhishTank’ and ‘OpenLinkProfiler.’
It blocks access to phishing websites by using information from the Phishtank database. This helps users to avoid scam sites or untrustworthy pages. OpenDNS also blocks spammy sites, malware-infected websites and other scam sites to protect users from online frauds. It offers high speed with 100% uptime.
It also lets you block unwanted ads on your device using the ‘FamilyShield’ service. OpenDNS offers more than just DNS security. It also provides web-filtering to block adult content, phishing or malware on various devices through one account. Besides, OpenDNS provides free email support to OpenDNS users with all DNS services.
OpenDNS was the first company that started offering DNSSEC service in 2005 and still has the largest number of signed domains (more than 50 million). This is an excellent feature for those who want secure DNS service.
OpenDNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 208.67.222.222
- Secondary DNS: 208.67 .220 .220
5. Comodo Secure DNS
It is a product of Comodo Group and has been authorized by ICANN as a domain registrar. Comodo Secure DNS focuses on security. It is excellent in dealing with parked domains, phishing and malware-infected websites.
The Comoro Dome Shield service is quite different from other DNS servers. It lets you manage your browsing experience to block ads, prevent tracking and block malware or phishing websites. This feature is available only in the paid variant of Comodo Secure DNS. It also offers DDoS attack protection for websites that are prone to frequent attacks by hackers or cybercriminals. You can use the free SSL tool provided by Comodo-DNS to secure multiple devices at once.
Comodo Secure DNS offers security against DNS spoofing, Man-in-the-middle attack or Denial of Service attacks, etc., to protect users from cybercrime activities. It acts as an internet filter for filtering adult content, gambling sites and malicious domains without affecting the existing internet filter settings. Comodo users use this feature to protect kids from adult sites without changing the current internet filters. Comodo Secure DNS has advanced security features like DNSSEC, which ensures data integrity and authentication on secured internet connections.
Comodo Secure DNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 8.26.56.26
- Secondary DNS: 8.20.247.20
6. AdGuard
AdGuard DNS supports two sets of DNS servers; Default and Non-filtering servers. Default servers filter unwanted and malicious content. Non-filtering servers offer a secure and reliable connection filtering anything. The AdGuard DNS servers are faster than the other public DNS servers because they do not provide filtering services by default. They keep track of all ads, tracking or unwanted pages, and block them in real-time through its “Dynamic filter” system.
Adguard DNS also offers a ‘Family Protection’ feature that lets you manage devices connected to your home network. It also provides a Parental Control service for Windows users that helps parents protect kids from inappropriate websites like pornography or violent videos without changing any settings of the existing internet filters.
Adguard DNS offers security against DDOS attacks, tracking, and malware-infected websites to protect users from cybercrime activities. DDOS attacks can slow down an internet connection and affect the performance of a website.
AdGuard DNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 94.140.14.14
- Secondary DNS: 94.140.15.15
7.SafeDNS
SafeDNS also lets you access blocked websites like Facebook, YouTube, etc., if they are not available in your country due to censorship issues by the government or ISPs. It uses DNSCrypt protocol to secure data transfer between web servers and end devices of users over public internet connections. This feature enhances security on unsecured internet connections like WIFI Hotspots at airports, hotels, etc where attackers can intercept and change the DNS server settings.
SafeDNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 195.46.39.39
- Secondary DNS: 195.46.39.40
8.CleanBrowsing
This DNS server is easy to configure. It offers a DNS-over-TLS feature that secures internet connections by encrypting the communication between web servers and end devices of users, making it difficult for hackers or cybercriminals to intercept data packets. It has three options: security filter, adult filter and family filter.
Security filter enhances privacy on the internet by removing ads, trackers and malware-infected websites. Adult filter helps parents to block adult content from reaching kids’ devices at home. Family Filter offers a Parental Control service for Windows users that lets you efficiently manage the browsing experience of multiple Windows PC or laptops connected with your home network through a single account.
All three filters can be used simultaneously by users to get the best internet experience. Also, it is possible to disable all three filters at once. This feature lets users switch between different filtering levels according to their requirements and needs.
CleanBrowsing uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 185.228.168.9
- Secondary DNS: 185.228.169.9
9. Alternate DNS
Alternate DNS offers two sets of servers to users, one for standard internet connections and the other for mobile data networks. The Standard server list contains six public DNS IP addresses faster than ISP-provided ones because they do not offer any filtering service to its users by default.
A Mobile Data server is not necessary to configure if your internet connection type does not support it or you are outside the US. The DNS servers are only for mobile data networks that use PPP connections to connect to the internet like GPRS, EDGE or UMTS. The Mobile server list has only four public DNS IPs that speed up mobile internet connections by caching DNS queries.
All the records of the public and private IP addresses for each domain on all these servers are updated every week, which offers users the latest data over their devices connected to the internet.
Alternate DNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 76.76.19.19
- Secondary DNS: 76.223.122.150
10.ControlD
ControlD DNS is designed with low latency and high performance. It provides free DNS service to users with an ad-supported model. The server does not log or keep the DNS queries of users.
ControlD DNS uses clean and open source software (GNU GPL) to manage its servers. It can be used with any ISP and internet connection type like cable, fiber or satellite. It is compatible with all devices that use DNS like desktops, laptops or mobile phones. It can also speed up internet connection for any device connected to the network through a static IP address or DHCP protocol. Control does not provide pre-configured settings of its servers for individual users; it allows them to configure.
It supports secure protocols like DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS to protect its users from man-in-middle attacks. Web browsers use DNS-over-HTTPS to enhance security on unsecured internet connections like WIFI Hotspots at airports, hotels etc. DNS-over-TLS is used to secure data packets between clients and servers by encrypting the entire process so hackers or cybercriminals can’t intercept it easily through a public Internet connection.
ControlD DNS uses IP address:
- Primary DNS: 76.76.2.0
- Secondary DNS: 76.76.10.0
Why Public DNS Servers Matter
Speeds up internet connection
Public DNS servers like Google Public DNS, OpenDNS and Level-IP are faster than ISP servers because they do not offer any filtering service by default to their users. This lowers the latency of data packets sent from the user’s device to the content server, resulting in better connectivity and performance over the web.
Offers security on public Wi-Fi networks
Most internet connections are shared among different users at various locations like airports, coffee shops or restaurants. If they are not appropriately encrypted using SSL/TLS encryption by websites to communicate between client and servers, anyone can snoop in over your data packets. Public DNS servers offer secure protocols to protect your data packets from cybercriminals to maintain privacy over the internet.
Blocks malicious domains automatically
Some public DNS servers like OpenDNS and Comodo offer advanced functions over their free versions to protect users’ devices from malware, phishing, or any other type of cyber attack launched through the internet by blocking access to those domains in real-time.
All the records are updated every week
Public DNS servers like Google Public DNS, OpenDNS and Level-IP all contain the latest data of domain names or IP addresses in their system, updated weekly to provide users with up-to-date information over their devices connected to the internet.
Secure with two encryption layers
Public DNS servers like Google Public DNS, OpenDNS and Level-IP use secure protocols like DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS over TLS to protect users against man-in-the-middle attacks launched through an internet connection by any cybercriminal or hacker.