My ISP is AT&T (located in the U.S.) and I have issues loading random websites. Currently have Google DNS set in my router, which works great. But I’m guessing there’s a better, more private, option?
I use Mullvad DNS when I’m mobile and unbound on my pi when I’m at home
If you need a traditional, unencrypted DNS service, check out Quad9 and AdGuard’s Public DNS. If you can use DoT or DoH, use LibreDNS or Mullvad DNS. If you want more customization, check out NextDNS.
Even DNSCrypt, but I think nobody really uses that.
I use the cloudflare dns, but there are all kinds of adguard ones too. The Adguard app itself has a big list of options for the fallback.
If you’ve never used adguard, check it out, it can run as a container or on a pi, you just point your router dns at it
Check out PrivacyGuides. They have recommendations for DNS including what others have commented
Quad9 (9.9.9.9) is my go to.
This tool is great for figuring out which one is the fastest for you: https://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm
Light + TIF https://sky.rethinkdns.com/1:AAkACAQA Normal + TIF https://sky.rethinkdns.com/1:AAkACAgA Pro + TIF https://sky.rethinkdns.com/1:AAoACBAA Pro plus + TIF https://sky.rethinkdns.com/1:AAoACAgA Ultimate + TIF https://sky.rethinkdns.com/1:gAgACABA Light + TIF https://dns.dnswarden.com/00000000000000000000048 Normal + TIF https://dns.dnswarden.com/00000000000000000000028 Pro + TIF https://dns.dnswarden.com/00000000000000000000018 Pro plus + TIF https://dns.dnswarden.com/0000000000000000000000o Ultimate + TIF https://dns.dnswarden.com/0000000000000000000000804 Light https://freedns.controld.com/x-hagezi-light Normal https://freedns.controld.com/x-hagezi-normal Pro https://freedns.controld.com/x-hagezi-pro Pro plus https://freedns.controld.com/x-hagezi-proplus Ultimate https://freedns.controld.com/x-hagezi-ultimate TIF https://freedns.controld.com/x-hagezi-tifRethink DNS, DNS Warden, and ControlD with Hagezi blocklists via DoH/3. I highly recommend the ‘+ TIF’ as they are threat intelligence feeds which are up to date lists of bad actors/malware.
A simple solution is Quad9 aka 9.9.9.9. NextDNS is fairly simple but allows customization.
Go directly to the root.
Controld.com. I use their free version that blocks ads and online tracking and malware.
I recently switched to NextDNS. I used to run my own AdGuard Home with multiple DNS provider as upstream.
NextDNS is the move, the clients are open sourced and they encrypt everything. Plus their free option covers all my devices, no problem. Highly recommended!
I use 1.1.1.1 as my dns because I don’t forget it. Should I not be?
The question to ask yourself is why is cloudflare offering that service for free? Probably because they get something out of it, like analysing the data.
I use a local unbound DNS server on my router with Quad9 as upstream. I actually have google DNS entirely blocked/rerouted on my router because google uses it for advertising tracking, but I get creepers out by targeted ads showing up in random places when I do do something on a totally unrelated site. Most important thing, though, is to use
DNSSECDNS over TLS or DNS over HTTPS to reduce middlemen from using your DNS info to track what sites you visit and sell that data. Of course ISPs still see the destination of all of your data for tracking what sites you visit unless you use a VPN or similar tools, so you can’t hide it from them that way.Edit: DNS over TLS not DNSSEC, totally different thing…
DNSSEC is a means of authenticating the data receives was not tampered with, such as MITM attacks, thus ensuring data integrity. It uses PKI but it’s not an alternative to DoH or DoT which encrypts the DNS traffic, either over HTTPS or TLS, providing confidentiality.
DNSSEC can be used in conjunction with DoH or DoT to achieve the Security CIA triad - Confidentiality, Integrity, Authenticity.
Thanks for the correction, that was a typo based on a long work day screwing with my brain processing acronyms. I meant to say DNS over TLS or DNS over HTTPS.
Do you have the local unbound server respond to DoH so that the browser also uses encrypted client hello?
No. I don’t use DoH inside my network because I redirect DNS traffic on my primary VLAN to a pihole for ad and malware reducing. But I also control what has access to that VLAN pretty strictly. I have another VLAN for guests and untrusted devices that doesn’t use the redirecting, but does use the Unbound server as the default DNS, just doesn’t enforce it. And I have an even more locked down VLAN for self-hosted servers that also doesn’t use the pihole, but does use Unbound.
Yeah fair. I tried setting it up, but honestly probably not worth the effort in home networks. Problem is browsers don’t know that the other end of the unbound DNS server is DoH, so it won’t use ECH. Even once set up, most browsers need to be manually configured to use the local DoH server. Once there’s better OS support and auto config via DDR and/or DNR it’ll be more worth bothering with.
Adguard DNS, so I can block ads in my entire house without having to invest in a PiHole. dns.adguard-dns.com More IPs
I’ve been using Adguard public DNS for over a year across my LAN and it works great, with much less hassle than a pihole, which I previously used for years.
I miss the ability to add random hosts to either black or white lists, but in reality only used it sporadically.
NextDNS has the ability to change the logging region to one that’s outside your governments jurisdiction
Regular DNS can be monitored, intercepted, and modified however your ISP decides, even with you specifying custom DNS servers.
I run pihole on my LAN, with cloudflared as its upstream DNS. Cloudflared translates regular DNS into DOH using cloudflare and quad9 as the upstream DOH providers (configurable).
Finally I block all port 53 (dns) traffic at the router so it cannot leave my LAN. All LAN devices that want regular DNS are forced to use the LAN DNS server which wraps their requests in DOH for them. (as well as blocking ads, tracking/telemetry, and known malware sites)
Adguard Home supports TLS, HTTPs, QUIC and other stuff natively, in case anyone reading wants to set up a pihole equivalent with less work for encrypted DNS.
https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdGuardHome/wiki/Configuration#upstreams
What ISP do you use that makes you trust Cloudflare more than your ISP? You must really be between a rock and a hard place.
I’m not all that concerned about either tbh; I was just already capturing DNS traffic and funneling it through pihole for the customizable blocking, and figured I may as well add DOH while I’m at it.
Just sharing the knowledge for those that are interested. You can use any DOH provider you like.
You can run Unbound with PiHole, that way its upstream is root servers instead of a single site.
But at that point pihole is just a fancy web interface with some nice looking but for most purposes useless graphs. I just let Unbound filter stuff with the same filter lists pihole would use.
True, but there’s use in the UI. I.E. manual blocking/unblocking is simplified. Some use ot for DHCP, too.
Why would you need cloudflared? Can’t you justbset DoH/DoT servers as a backend in Pi-Hole?
Pihole doesn’t directly support DOH. What I linked is their official guide for implementing it: using cloudflared.
There is other ways you can do this. This is just what I’ve been using.
