To change the DNS server settings on a home computer or network is as simple as entering a few numbers on a page. A person just has to know where to look.

Choosing a DNS Service

Internet connections rely on the Domain Name System (DNS) to translate names like “D106” into public IP addresses.  To use DNS, computers and other home network devices must be configured with addresses of DNS servers. 

Internet providers supply DNS server addresses to their customers as part of setting up the service. These values are often automatically configured on the broadband modem or broadband router via DHCP. Larger Internet providers maintain their own DNS servers. Several free Internet DNS services also exist as alternatives.

Some people prefer to use certain DNS servers over others. Some may be more reliable (fewer outages), trustworthy (from a security perspective), or offer better name lookup performance (often depending on a person’s location).

Changing DNS Server Addresses

DNS several settings for the home network can be set on the broadband router (or other network gateway device). When DNS server addresses are changed on a specific client device, the changes apply to that one device only. When DNS addresses are changed on the router (gateway), they apply to all devices connected to that network.

Changing a DNS server requires only entering the chosen IP numbers into the appropriate fields of the router (or specific device) configuration page.

The exact fields to use vary depending on the type of device. Here are some examples:

• D-Link routers:  “Primary DNS Server” and “Secondary DNS” server
• Linksys routers: “Static DNS 1” and “Static DNS 2” fields
• Netgear routers: “Primary DNS” and “Secondary DNS” fields
• Windows devices: “TCP/IP Properties” of the network connection, “Preferred DNS server” and “Alternate DNS server” fields
• Mac OSX:  “DNS” tab for the network connection
• Apple iOS and Android: “DNS” section of Wi-Fi settings

How to Set Up OpenDNS

OpenDNS uses the following public IP addresses: 208.67.222.222 (primary) and 208.67.220.220.

OpenDNS also provides some IPv6 DNS support also using 2620:0:ccc::2 and 2620:0:ccd::2.

More – Setting up OpenDNS

How to Set Up Google Public DNS

Google Public DNS uses the following public IP addresses:

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

More – Configure your network settings to use Google Public DNS