Do you use a custom DNS server?

[pr0m3th3u5]

• Do you use anything specifically for adblocking?
• On the devices or router/modem? If on the modem do you use custom firmware to enable encrypted DNS queries?
• Do you know of any DNS servers that are fast when using BSNL? Mention location also.

FYI - BSNL has a supposedly fast unicast DNS server: 61.1.1.1

 

[pr0m3th3u5]

Me:

• Yes I use DNS for ad blocking. Adguard & NextDNS.
• Adguard on router for others devices and I personally use NextDNS DoT on my devices.
• NextDNS, has non unicast DoT and DoH server which are really fast in Hyderabad. If your DoT DNS setup requires IP address then using a non-unicast server is not possible.

 

[JB701]

1. AdGuard Home for adblock with the default blocklists
2. I run AdGuard Home on my PFSense box, using multiple encrypted DNS Servers with parallel querying as well as setting a huge cache & long TTL (so the domains are retained in cache for long)

Not the most privacy friendly approach using multiple upstream servers but it sure is fast

 

[Chip]

I use pfBlockerNG on pfSense + Adguard. Does the job quite well I must say. Shifted over to using encrypted DNS only. This is not on my BSNL fibre but on TPBB and Airtel.

 

[jelegend]

I use a custom DNS server which uses Blitz AHADNS where I can custom choose from prepared lists of what to block.

I have seen and tried things like Adguard DNS but compated to the above new service launched recently nothing comes close in both control over blocking and even more importantly the speed of DNS.

 

[NikhilS]

I use NextDNS

 

[vishalrao]

So pihole no longer popular???

 

[Lolita_Magnum]

• Using ControlD. It's surprisingly really good and the POP is very close to me. They use anycast IPs.
• Initially, I was directly pointing to the DNS, but Jio seems to be unreliable so I have set up a local DNS caching server using OpenWRT. I don't have the time to set up exclusive hardware for just DNS and I had a TP-Link router lying around, hence the software.
• I guess it depends on preference and needs; oh, and also location. There are various DNS Testing tools that you can try, but in the end, having a local server will always be the fastest and I don't mean relay servers.

 

[wheatbread]

I have dual dnsproxy (Adguard Home without the webui, in short) setup on two tiny SBCs with a mix of upstream resolvers (pretty much all queries goes to Cloudflare and Google).
On phone DoT to the same.

 

[jelegend]

• Using ControlD. It's surprisingly really good and the POP is very close to me. They use anycast IPs.
• Initially, I was directly pointing to the DNS, but Jio seems to be unreliable so I have set up a local DNS caching server using OpenWRT. I don't have the time to set up exclusive hardware for just DNS and I had a TP-Link router lying around, hence the software.
• I guess it depends on preference and needs; oh, and also location. There are various DNS Testing tools that you can try, but in the end, having a local server will always be the fastest and I don't mean relay servers.

I also liked ControlD and used it earlier but then them being based in Canada (5 eyes) and slightly slower speed compared to blitz ahadns sort of discouraged me from them.

Still I use them as one of my backups in case current setup fails