April 24

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How to find the fastest DNS Server

By NickLitten

April 24, 2018

DNS

I’ve been playing with my home Wifi this week, trying to resurrect my old SCALEO Home Server which has been in deep coma since a brown out a few months ago. But I digress… So, I’ve installed a new router (Linksys WRT03200ACM) which gets mixed reviews but it looks so bloody Funky I just couldn’t resist it. Setup the various WiFi’s and now I want to tweak the DNS Server that is provided by default.

Why change the DNS Server?

The DNS Server is the little bit of your network connection that converts the address you type in (ie: www.nicklitten.com) to the IP address of the server (ie: 192.168.123.456) I like to think of think of this as a huge table of website addresses and their real Internet Addresses. Your internet provider will generally maintain this table.

Using the default DNS server is fine but there are many alternatives. Some of these alternative DNS servers also block malware, pornography, and other types of naughty websites. Many are faster than your standard DNS Server as well  🙂

How do we find a new DNS Server

If you’re looking for a new DNS Server which might be faster or more secure than your ISP’s DNS servers, we can easily run a DNS benchmark program to find the DNS Servers and run some speed tests on them.  It’s easy and its free!

How to find the fastest dns server

Your best DNS server will depend on your location and internet service provider (ISP), so there isnt a single DNS Server that will fit everyone.

Go and grab Gibson Research Corporation’s free DNS Benchmark tool this will:

GRC’s DNS Benchmark performs a detailed analysis and comparison of the operational performance and reliability of any set of up to 200 DNS nameservers (sometimes also called resolvers) at once. When the Benchmark is started in its default configuration, it identifies all DNS nameservers the user’s system is currently configured to use and adds them to its built-in list of publicly available “alternative” nameservers. Each DNS nameserver in the benchmark list is carefully “characterized” to determine its suitability — to you — for your use as a DNS resolver. This characterization includes testing each nameserver for its “redirection” behavior: whether it returns an error for a bad domain request, or redirects a user’s web browser to a commercial marketing-oriented page. While such behavior may be acceptable to some users, others may find this objectionable.

Most DNS providers are focused on returning the name->IP in the fastest way, these means you get a faster browsing experience. So, download this free utility and find which is fastest for you.

 

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