Cloudflare Safe DNS

Are you looking to protect your workforce or your family from malware or adult content on the internet? Cloudflare are leading the way according to DNS research group DNSPerf with their resolution times so why wouldn’t you also look to use their free DNS protection service.

Since the introduction of Cloudflare’s DNS service they have worked tirelessly for safe and protected end user experience. This has lead Cloudflare to release 1.1.1.1 for Families. This free to use service adds two more DNS resolvers in 1.1.1.2 and 1.1.1.3 based on what you want to protect.

Use the following DNS resolvers to block malicious content:

• 1.1.1.2
• 1.0.0.2
• 2606:4700:4700::1112
• 2606:4700:4700::1002

Use the following DNS resolvers to block malware and adult content:

• 1.1.1.3
• 1.0.0.3
• 2606:4700:4700::1113
• 2606:4700:4700::1003

After configuring the DNS settings above you can test if it is working as intended with the following URLs:

https://malware.testcategory.com/Open external link

https://nudity.testcategory.com/Open external link

For most businesses this can a simple change on their DNS as a forwarder to Cloudflare, however, this can also be set at a device level across the majority of operating systems.

Changing DNS settings on home ISP services can sometimes be problematic with these settings often locked down.

Virgin Media: Currently there is no way to configure your Home Hub with Cloudflare DNS. You can set this across the devices you wish you protect though, achieving the same goal. 

BT: The BT Smart Hubs can be configured with manual DNS settings. Follow that link for the Smart Hub 2 guide.

Sky: Much like Virgin Media, this cannot be done on the provided router. You can set this across the devices you wish you protect though, achieving the same goal.

For more specific vendor guides if you are not using a tied-down ISP router, Google is your friend as most will produce online guides for changing DNS settings.

Cloudflare information sourced from: https://developers.cloudflare.com/1.1.1.1/setup/?ref=blog.cloudflare.com

Jake Garratt

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