Most people consider saving milliseconds of time to look up websites through the Domain Name System isn’t a big thing; we would want to say, think again!
You can save real-time and make your life a bit easier and pleasant by optimizing your DNS lookups.
As most of us already know, DNS is the primary address book of the Internet. This directs the traffic to your email and websites to your inbox by domain name mapping, like Google.com to an IPv4 address.
In most cases, you start to interact with the DNS invisibly when you are doing something on the Internet.
What most Internet denizens do not know is that the DNS lookup roughly takes about 30 milliseconds, which may not sound like much. However, most simple websites will perform more than a dozen DNS lookups.
Every image, program, and link that are not present on a page’s site will demand a DNS lookup. For instance, links for social networking platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
All these platforms require different DNS lookups. Even if the page makes use of Google Fonts, it will require DNS lookups as well.
It is understandable. No person in the world likes a slow-working internet connection. This is the reason why most people are looking for ways to speed up the DNS lookups for faster Internet performance.
In this article, we will talk about some of the best DNS servers of 2021.
What is a DNS Server?
The DNS server, or also known as the Domain Name System, is considered the phonebook of the Internet. When you type in names like nytimes.com or google.com, the DNS will look for the right IP address for these sites.
The web browsers will then use these addresses to communicate with the CDN edge servers or the origin servers to access website information. The DNS servers are the machines that will answer the DNS queries.
Let us get into how the DNS server can help resolve the DNS query.
If you are looking into a DNS query that does not have any caching, there are four types of servers that work in unison to deliver you the IP address – the authoritative nameservers, the TLD nameservers, the root name servers, and the recursive nameservers.
The DNS recurse server first receives the query from the DNS client. Next, it will interact with the other servers to look for the right IP address.
The resolver will then receive the request from the client and will start acting like the client. This will put the query to the rest of the DNS servers, which will start looking for the right IP address.
Why is a DNS Server Important?
As mentioned above, the DNS server is considered a phone directory of the Internet. This means that each time we visit a new webpage, our computer system will start a DNS search across the many existing ones.
On the other hand, if the website has a very complex code, the system will perform multiple DNS lookups before loading the page.
From this, it is understandable that our computer system will perform more than a single DNS search per day, which will all depend on the number of visited websites and the complexity of each one of them.
Best DNS Servers
Now that you have a basic idea about what DNS servers are all about, let us learn about some of the best DNS servers in the market today.
All the mentioned servers are public and free to use. They include:
1. Cloudflare (Great for Gaming/PS4/PS5/XBOX One)
- Primary DNS: 1.1.1.1
- Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.1
Cloudflare is considered one of the fastest DNS servers today. Additionally, this DNS server is also renowned for never using your information to target ads, sell your demographic data, or log in to your IP address.
The primary DNS of Cloudfare will also stop others from spying on the search history and your overall internet activity by simply encrypting the traffic of your web browser.
2. Google (Great for Gaming/PS4/PS5/XBOX One)
- Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
- Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4
Google DNS server was launched in 2009 under the claim that it will make the internet a much safer and faster place. It is easily one of the largest public DNS and manages more than 400 billion server requests each passing day.
Instead of the traditional DNS servers, Google makes use of custom-designed technology for operative purposes.
Google is also considered one of the top companies that take DNS security very seriously. For a standard breach in security, the attack tragedy will intercept a DNS server and will direct the path of the website from authentic servers to malicious ones.
In such cases, Google will record the trials that will prove to be robust against spikes in the DNS server, which also includes Denial of Services (DoS); these are types of cyberattacks where the hacker will try to make the resources of a system unavailable by stalling the services of the host connected to the web or disrupting it.
In most cases, DoS is achieved by flooding the resource by sending hundreds of unwanted and redundant requests to a server.
This, in turn, will overload the system, which results in legitimate requests getting blocked. This slows down the server speed and can also cause web traffic.
3. OpenDNS
- Primary DNS: 208.67.222.222
- Secondary DNS: 67.220.220
OpenDNS is a DNS server that is used by more than 90 million users from all around the world. The server is known to provide various options for parental control. This way, you are offered protection where you can block various types of content.
For example, one of these controls, the OpenDNSFamilyShield, allows you to block adult control. OpenDNS has global data warehouses that work hard to shorten data routes between data centers and networks to make access to the internet even faster.
4. QUAD9
- Primary DNS: 9.9.9.9
- Secondary DNS: 149.112.112.112
Bolstered by IBM, Quad9 is a non-profit DNS server community. Most online security firms make use of this system to operate various security-related free and public DNS servers.
Since it is a free technology, it will protect your main system and various other connected devices and apps from a wide range of cyber-attacks.
This system will obstruct admission to websites that have been red-flagged as malicious, without releasing any personal information of the user. Another important aspect of Quad9 is that it will not screen any content, except for the ones that potentially contain malware, like phishing websites.
When you use Quad9, you will notice that cyber attackers will be unable to influence the malicious domain servers that can be otherwise be used to control your system.
The capacity of the attacker to draw information and cause massive damages will be minimized.
For companies using this system, it will not record the specific IP addresses; however, it will only contain the physical location and will only use this data to detect malicious bugs.
Additionally, it will also not store any data of the users.
Recommended DNS Servers For Business
1. Comodo Secure DNS
- Primary DNS: 8.26.56.10
- Secondary DNS: 8.20.247.10
The Comodo Secure DNS server is considered one of the most reliable and solution-based servers that have been operating for more than two decades now. It provides control and protection from any device located in any part of the world.
With hosts in more than 25 different countries, it is a cloud-based DNS server, mostly used by gaming consoles and corporations since these platforms have the highest risk for phishing and malware formation.
Additionally, it will also panel the web traffic of the user and shield it. The server is transparent and will offer a wide range of functionalities; additionally, all the reports of usage on the internet will be mailed directly to your inbox.
The system follows strict policies to ensure minimum invasion and maximum security. Additionally, the services can be used on more than 80 million types of devices.
Additionally, you can also add various types of customizable logos to any type of blocked page to recognize whether these are spam pages or not.
Also, there are more than 80 various categories of content that you can filter based on a timing of your choosing. Next, the system will add phishing malware into its list of malware so that there is no added intrusion.
Comodo Secure DNS promises to deliver a safer, smarter, and faster internet browsing experience to offer a one-month trial so that you can try out the services first.
2. Oracle Dyn (Dynamic DNS)
Oracle Dyn is one of the top DNS providers that has changed this game today. With the help of this system, you will be allowed to select a customizable and unique hostname for any device that is IP-compatible.
All the changes that you make on the data and device will be updated frequently so that users get the best user experience possible and also minimize unwanted delays.
The upgrades are timely and automated so that you can stay connected to the services in real-time; this is also what people look for when they pay for a service.
Dym is mostly used for gaming consoles like PS4 and can register multiple locations and devices so that no saved process and/or data are wasted.
Of course, you would have to immediately change the hostname when there is a change in the IP address of the device.
Thankfully, the change does not take more than 20 seconds, which means that you will not end up wasting time upgrading your devices.
The company has put years and expertise to develop the Oracle Dyn system as it is today – it is known for its reliability, security, and speed.
The company is known to have been the brand image for more than 2,000 various types of startups, most of which are involved in development and gaming.
Oracle Dyn promises to deliver the best user-friendly interface and stability so that such companies continue to evolve in their domains.
3. Verisign Public DNS
- Primary DNS: 64.6.64.6
- Secondary DNS: 64.6.65.6
Yet another DNS server for the public, Verisign Public DNS offers a wide range of services related to security, which also includes DoS and protection against cyber threats.
This DNS system respects privacy and will not sell the profile data and demographics to third parties or redirect any type of ads whenever the user chooses to make a query.
Verisign Public DNS has a very streamlined process for gaming consoles and web pages, which include:
- Inputting the name of the domain
- Activating the Verisign Public DNS
- Rooting the servers so that the location of the domain name can be entered
- The location getting recognized and the server comes back to the root
- The root server becomes the actual location for the website
- Recommended DNS Servers for ad-free safe browsing
Recommended DNS Servers for Safe Browsing with No Ads
1. Alternate DNS
- Primary DNS: 23.253.163.53
- Secondary DNS: 198.101.242.72
If you are looking for free options, then Alternate DNS is considered the best choice. This is a free DNS server that will block out unwanted and redundant ads; additionally, it will also improve the security of your system so that the browsing and gaming speeds are faster than ever before.
The server will send a void or null response to the ad sender’s IP address to facilitate the ad-blocking process.
Alternatively, it will also make use of a well-cataloged database to ensure that the ad does not get through the network of the user. This way, it will hasten the browsing process and ensure maximum security.
With the help of such an independent DNS server, you can also make use of a malware and phishing block list so that blocking spam should not have to be repeated.
Most people have no idea how much of a difference it will make. Of course, it will save quite a few seconds each day, on every webpage that is loaded within your organization.
If you add all these seconds up, you will have already saved an ample amount of time, especially considering that people are always looking out for fast Internet speeds.
This will keep everyone happy and productivity will continue to be optimized.
