Tips How to Change DNS Settings on Windows 11

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What is DNS in Windows 11?​

DNS or Domain Name System is like a phonebook of the internet. When you open a website, your computer connects to a DNS server to find the IP address of the website. That’s how it locates the address and connects you to the website. The DNS server is needed so that you don’t have to remember the complex IP addresses of websites.

There are many DNS servers out there, from ISP ones to servers offered by Google, Cloudflare, OpenDNS, etc. Each DNS server claims that it can retrieve information faster than the other. Some offer built-in security like DNS-over-TLS, and some offer lower latency. It depends on which one you would like to use on your Windows 11 PC.

That said, the reason I suggest users to change the default DNS server in Windows 11 is because ISPs are increasingly logging the DNS query, which is not good for your privacy. This means your Internet provider can know which website you visited through the DNS log. So to be on the safer side, use custom DNS servers that are well known, that do not log your queries, offer reliable performance, and security against phishing and malware attacks.

Now, having made that clear, let’s go ahead and learn about some popular DNS servers for Windows 11.

Free DNS Servers for Windows 11​

Here are some free and popular DNS servers that you can use on your Windows 11 PC. We have added both preferred (also called primary) and alternative (also called secondary) DNS addresses of popular services.

1. Cloudflare

Preferred DNS: 1.1.1.1
Alternative DNS: 1.0.0.1

2. Google (FYI: Eto po ang gamit ko kadalasan kasi eto pinakamabilis na DNS)

Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8
Alternative DNS: 8.8.4.4

3. OpenDNS

Preferred DNS: 208.67.222.222
Alternative DNS: 208.67.220.220

4. Comodo Secure DNS

Preferred DNS: 8.26.56.26
Alternative DNS: 8.20.247.20

5. Quad9 DNS

Preferred DNS: 9.9.9.9
Alternative DNS: 149.112.112.112