Use Cloudflare's New 1.1.1.1 DNS And Make Your Internet Faster And Private

In the past, we have already told you about what is the Domain Name System (DNS) and what are its benefits. A DNS resolver returns the relevant IP address against a website name sent by the client device.

Internet enthusiasts have always preferred custom DNS servers over the ones provided by the ISPs. The reason is simple: custom DNS servers are mostly faster and reliable than the ISPs default DNS servers.

If you’re a regular user of custom DNS servers, then you might have inclined yourself to Google Public DNS and OpenDNS. Now, there is another name to add to your list of DNS services, 1.1.1.1 by Cloudflare.

Becuase of its April 1 launch, many people are thinking that it’s a prank, but it’s a real resolver for public use. There is an explanation for the release date. When we write April 1, 2018, in the American style, it’s 4/1/2018. So, there is 4 and 1. The DNS service 1.1.1.1 also has four 1s.

1.1.1.1 is Cloudflare’s second solution after the authoritative DNS service 172.217.10.46. The company says it’s memorable. What could have been simpler than 1.1.1.1?

As per their claims, Cloudflare has the fastest DNS service with a global response time of 14ms. The numbers are 20.64ms for OpenDNS and 34.51ms for Google, according to DNSPerf. The reduced latency makes websites load faster because it takes less time to resolve an IP address. The use of DNS doesn’t have any impact on your actual internet bandwidth.

On the privacy part, the fours 1s DNS service supports features like DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS. Thus, it makes harder for the internet providers to track your internet activity. The system is designed to wipe all the DNS query logs after 24 hours.

While Cloudflare’s DNS might give you a privacy advantage than traditional DNS resolvers, VPNs should be preferred for a full-fledged cover. Also, you shouldn’t ditch other custom DNS right away, Google supports DNS-over-HTTPS and provides IPv6 address support.

How to configure Cloudflare public DNS?

You can configure Cloudflare’s DNS the same way do it for Google or OpenDNS. Read our post to setup custom DNS for Windows OS. Follow the steps and use the addresses 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1.