How To Make Your Internet Faster For Free (DNS Tutorial)

We all know how frustrating it is to have a slow internet connection. You are paying a lot of money each month to your Internet service provider, but your Netflix movie is often buffering and webpages are taking long to load.

 If you want to speed up your internet connection, then this tutorial might help you. 

You will learn how to change DNS settings on your PC to get a faster and more secure connection. 

What Is DNS?

A DNS, or Domain Name Server, is the phonebook of the Internet. It helps translate human-friendly URLs, like nechstar.com or nechgear.com, into computer-friendly IP addresses. This is what enables your devices to connect to the internet and access the content you want to see.

 

Why should you change DNS?

Because changing the DNS server on your computer or router is often cited as one of the easiest ways to get optimal internet speed. 

So, let’s take a closer look at how DNS works and how to change your DNS settings.

 

What Is Wrong On My Current DNS Settings?

There are faster and slower DNS providers available. In most cases, the DNS provided by your Internet service provider (ISP) is slow. 

Why? 

Because DNS speeds are not a priority for them. So, why should they invest in this? They also often don´t offer phishing protection and don’t always have reliable up-to-date DNS servers.

Optimizing DNS is a good way to make your work more efficient and more productive. Thankfully, there are few reliable and free options for DNS servers out there.

Here are the best free DNS providers you can use for your home network: Google Public DNS, OpenDNS, and Cloudflare DNS

Google Public DNS

Google DNS is the best known and most used public DNS service. It is run by Google, of course, and is totally free and really fast. 

Thanks to the fact, that Google has its servers located all around the world, it automatically connects you to the best location at any given moment. 

Unfortunately, it only offers DNS resolution and caching. Don’t expect any extra features such as site-blocking, and the privacy protections of Google DNS aren’t quite as good as some of its competitors. 

OpenDNS

Another leading alternative DNS provider with fast service that includes automatic blocking of phishing sites and optional filtering of adult content. 

Owned by Cisco, the OpenDNS has two free options you can choose from. Family Shield and Home. The Family Shield plan is great for parents who want to be sure their kids have no access to inappropriate content. The Home option focuses on internet performance and safety. 

Cloudflare DNS

Cloudflare is a well-known content delivery network which only got into the DNS game fairly recently. 

Their DNS servers don’t have some fancy add-ons others do, such as anti-phishing, content filtering, or ad-blocking. 

So, why we mention this DNS service here? 

Because their DNS servers are extremely fast. Cloudflare DNS is probably the fastest public DNS server available at the moment. 

Thankfully, along with speed, they promise extreme privacy. According to Cloudflare, it will never write querying IP addresses to disk and any logs that do get created will be deleted within 24 hours.

How To Change DNS Server In Windows 10

The absolutely best way to change your DNS settings is at the router level. If you change your DNS server on your router, this change will apply to every device on your home network.

However, in this guide, we will show you the easiest way to change DNS servers on Windows 10. Watch the video or read the instruction below:

 

 

Step 1

Left-click the Windows Start menu icon in the lower-left corner.

Step 2

Then click on Settings.

Step 3

Now, go to the Network and the Internet.

Step 4

In the left panel, based on your connection, choose either Ethernet or Wi-Fi

Step 5

For this computer that would be Wi-Fi.

Step 6

Select Manage known networks, and click on the network you want to make DNS change.

Step 7

Now, click on Properties, find the IP settings section, and click on Edit

Step 8

You will see a dropdown menu, where you should select a Manual

Step 9

Now, toggle the switch on for IPv4.

Step 10

Preferred DNS and Alternate DNS are only two boxes you should pay attention to. Here, you need to put the information from your new public DNS servers. 

What Is Wrong On My Current DNS Settings?

Google Public DNS

  • IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
  • IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and 2001:4860:4860::8844

OpenDNS

  • IPv4: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
  • IPv6: 2620:119:35::35 and 2620:119:53::53

Cloudflare DNS

  • IPv4: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
  • IPv6: 2606:4700:4700::1111 and 2606:4700:4700::1001

 

Alternative Way To Change DNS Server On Computer

Step 1

Click Change adapter options.

Step 2

Right-click on the Ethernet/Wifi you are using then click Properties.

Step 3

Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then Properties.

Step 4

Replace the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server with the ones you picked from our list then click Ok on this window and the one before. 

how to change DNS settings on Windows 10

Google Public DNS

  • IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
  • IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and 2001:4860:4860::8844

OpenDNS

  • IPv4: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
  • IPv6: 2620:119:35::35 and 2620:119:53::53

Cloudflare DNS

  • IPv4: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
  • IPv6: 2606:4700:4700::1111 and 2606:4700:4700::1001

 

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