How to speed up your computer with one weird (DNS) trick

Photo: Chombosan/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Cloudflare's DNS service is encrypted.

Cloudflare's DNS service is encrypted.

On April 1, a company called Cloudflare launched a service that claims to speed up access to websites and provide privacy protection in the process. Cloudflare, which is the in business of boosting the performance and security of websites, released a consumer Dynamic Name Service offering called 1.1.1.1.

DNS, as it's more commonly known, is the essentially the contact list for the internet. Just as you tap on a name in your smartphone's contact list and it dials the number without you needing to know that number, the DNS system converts the name of an internet domain or website into its numeric address.  For example, when you click on google.com, you're really going to 172.217.6.142.

The speed with which a DNS server can make this conversion can impact how quickly web pages appear in your browser. While the conversion typically happens in milliseconds, a laggy DNS can make your web surfing seem slower than it should be.

Better Wi-Fi: How to improve the Wi-Fi reception in your home

Get more tasty tech news at TechBurger. And follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Subscribe to the Chronicle for regular access to TechBurger stories and to be able to comment.

This was a bigger deal in the early days of the internet, when most people had much slower connections than they do today. But a faster DNS can still make a noticeable difference.

Your internet provider has its own set of DNS servers, but typically they are not as fast as they could be. That's why it might be worth switching to a different service.

Cloudflare claims its 1.1.1.1 service is about 28 percent faster than top competitors, such as OpenDNS or Google's Public DNS. Cloudflare also makes some important privacy promises, saying it won't keep logs of what websites you visit for more than 24 hours (it says it needs them this long for troubleshooting purposes), and more importantly, it promises not to sell your data to third parties.

That's a big promise in the wake of a legislation passed last year that allows internet service providers and other online gateway businesses - including DNS operators - to sell browsing histories. And yes, quite a few DNS services sell the data they collect, including OpenDNS.

Cloudflare's service is also encrypted, so information about the sites you're visiting can't be read by prying eyes.

Roll your own: How to use your own modem and router with Comcast

I've been playing with Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 and it is indeed faster on my desktop and notebook computers, both noticeably and in tests. For example, accessing houstonchronicle.com with the Geektools Dig tool - which lets you check the performance of DNS servers - takes about 20 milliseconds using Comcast's DNS. With 1.1.1.1, it takes just 2 milliseconds. There are similar speed gains over Google's Public DNS and OpenDNS.

There are a couple of caveats, however. Your results may vary based on your internet provider, your location and other factors. And in some cases, switching from your internet provider's DNS settings may impact some other online services. For example, in the past, video streaming over Apple TV would lag when a third-party DNS was used, but I have not experienced that with Cloudflare's service.

Also: I didn't see noticeable gains when I setup 1.1.1.1 as the DNS on my iPhone 8 Plus.

Here's how to set up a Windows or Macintosh computer to use 1.1.1.1., adapted from Cloudflare's own instructions.

Windows

Go to the Control Panel, then click on Network and Internet.

Click on Change Adapter Options.

Right click on the Wi-Fi network you're on, then Properties.

Click Internet Protocol Version 4, then Properties

Chances are, your computer is set to "Obtain DNS server address automatically". Change to "Use The Following DNS Server Addresses."

Enter the 1.1.1.1 DNS addresses

Click OK, then Close.

Restart your browser (but no need to restart the computer).

Mac

Launch the System Preferences app.

In the search box, search for DNS Servers and select it from the resulting dropdown.

Click the + button below the left box to add a DNS Server and enter 1.1.1.1

Click + again and enter 1.0.0.1 

Click Ok, then click Apply.

To see how to set up 1.1.1.1 for an iOS or Android device, or to make it your home router's default DNS, go to the 1.1.1.1 setup instructions.

Update: If you're using AT&T's fiber-based internet service, you may find 1.1.1.1 doesn't work. That's because some providers have been using that IP address, which was previously unused, for non-standard uses. At least one AT&T router is set up that way. However, 1.0.0.1, the secondary Cloudflare DNS server, reportedly does work.

Dwight Silverman is the technology editor for the Houston Chronicle and the grillmaster for the TechBurger tech news site. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

Get more tasty tech news at TechBurger. And follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Subscribe to the Chronicle for regular access to TechBurger stories and to be able to comment.