There are many factors that influence the proper functioning of our Internet connection. We must take into account the importance of having a good equipment, router, cabling … But the configuration we have and everything related to the software will also influence. One of the fundamental points is the DNS servers . In this article we are going to talk about how to use Google’s and why it may be interesting to change the ones we have in our system.
What are DNS
DNS is the domain name system. Basically what it does is associate the information we enter with domain names that are assigned. A kind of translator of IP addresses into names of web pages that we can remember and enter in our browser.
They are very important since they allow us not to have to remember numbers for each page we visit. We would not have to put the IP address corresponding to each of them to enter a site. We simply put the corresponding name, such as this article, and access the page.
The DNS servers are responsible for converting that name, as this article would be, into the corresponding IP address to be able to enter the website. Now, for this process to take place properly we have to have up-to-date, properly trained and fast servers. Otherwise we could have problems.
Therefore, we can say that DNS servers are part of our day to day on the Internet and are essential for browsing. However, we will have different options and we can easily change them in Windows and other operating systems.
Why is it interesting to change DNS
Can it be interesting to change the DNS we have in Windows? The answer is that in many cases it can come in handy to improve the connection. We are not only talking about making our Internet work better, but also other values as important as security or avoiding blockages.
Speed
One of the reasons to switch to Google DNS servers in Windows is to improve speed . As we have mentioned previously, they serve to translate the domain names that we put in the browser and take us to the corresponding website.
In many cases, users use the operator’s DNS, which can be slow or malfunction at certain times. This is going to make that when entering a web it takes time to load and we have problems to visualize it correctly. We can therefore improve the loading speed.
Security
Another issue that can improve the change of DNS servers is security. There are some that are focused precisely on improving the security and privacy of users when browsing the Internet. For example, they can block access to certain domains that are considered insecure.
However, this point must be taken with caution since it could be the case that DNS blocks sites that are safe but that they consider as a danger. Therefore, it is necessary to choose very well in this case which servers to use.
Avoid saturations
We could also run into the problem that the DNS servers we are using are saturated . In this way, by switching to Google DNS, we can avoid this inconvenience and improve the fluency when opening web pages and correct possible problems that may arise.
Have a more up-to-date DNS server
DNS servers could also be out of date. This could cause trying to open a web page not loading. It does not recognize the corresponding IP address and therefore cannot adequately translate the content.
If we change the servers we can use more updated ones , with greater capacity also to be able to open websites without problems. In this way we will correct those problems that may exist to enter more recent pages, for example.
Avoid restrictions
One more issue that can occur is that DNS servers are blocking access to certain web pages. This can happen especially when we use those of the operators. We can easily avoid it if we change to others, such as Google’s DNS.
How to use Google DNS in Windows
We have seen what DNS is and why it might be interesting to change it. Now we are going to explain how to put Google DNS in Windows. It is a simple process and we simply have to perform a series of simple steps that we are going to mention. In this way we can take advantage of changing the ones we are using at the moment and thus avoid possible problems that may arise.
To configure Google DNS in Windows, the first thing we have to do is go to Start, enter Settings, click on Network and Internet and there we will Change adapter options , which appears on the right.
When we have reached that step, a new window will open where all the physical and virtual network adapters appear. We simply have to choose which one we are using and we want to change the DNS servers used by Google. We click on it with the second mouse button and click Properties.
Once this is done we have to click on Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP / IPv4) and we click Properties again. There a new window will open with the information of the IP address and DNS that we are using. There may be something, which means that we have it configured manually, or it may be blank and that means that it is set automatically.
We have to check the option to Use the following DNS server addresses. Fill in the gaps with the following:
- Preferred DNS server: 8.8.8.8
- Alternate DNS server: 8.8.4.4
When we have filled in the corresponding data, we just have to click OK. From that moment on, our Windows system will be using Google’s DNS servers . We should do the same process on any other network card that we are using on that computer.
In short, by following these steps that we have mentioned, we can use Google’s DNS in our Windows system. It is a quick and easy process, as we have seen. At any time we could go back to the DNS that we were previously using or configure it automatically, if we wanted to.