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Europe just launched DNS4EU, a public DNS resolver with privacy and security options

DNS is one of the cornerstones of the Internet. Put simply, it is designed to turn domain names, say ghacks.net, into IP addresses. This process is usually handled by the Internet service provider, but it is often not the best option.

ISPs may sell DNS data, they may offer services that do not offer good performance, or they may block access to certain content.

Public DNS servers promise to do better. There are plenty out there, and while many promise better performance, they too may be used to collect and sell data, or use data otherwise.

Tip: check out Mullvad DNS, a public DNS service by the makers of Mullvad VPN.

DNS4EU

DNS4EU is a new DNS resolver that has been co-funded by the European Union. It is privacy-compliant. The IP address of the user is "fully anonymized" and no "private data is collected anywhere". This means that it aligns fully with the GDPR and other European data protection regulations.

One downside is that it supports locations in Europe only, from Spain to Greece, and Ireland to Poland. That is fine if you connect from one of these locations, but performance may suffer if you connect from other locations.

With that out of the way,  here are the five IP addresses that you may set up:

  1. Protective Resolution
    1. IP address 86.54.11.1
    2. IPv6: 2a13:1001::86:54:11:1
  2. Protective + Child Protection -
    1. IP address 86.54.11.12
    2. IPv6: 2a13:1001::86:54:11:12
  3. Protective + Ad blocking
    1. IP address 86.54.11.13
    2. IPv6: 2a13:1001::86:54:11:13
  4. Protective + Child Protection + Ad blocking
    1. IP address 86.54.11.11
    2. IPv6: 2a13:1001::86:54:11:11
  5. Unfiltered Resolution
    1. IP address 86.54.11.100
    2. IPv6: 2a13:1001::86:54:11:100

The unfiltered resolution is the only option that does not block anything. Protective resolution adds threat intelligence and protections to the DNS. Put plainly, it blocks known malicious IP addresses, and thus sites, automatically.

Connections fail automatically, if an IP address is on the blacklist. It features threat intelligence and real-time updates, makes use of artificial intelligence, and has a focus on regional threat intelligence to better protect European users.

Child protection and ad blocking are the two content filtering options.

Child protection aims to block access to child-inappropriate content such as sexual content, weapons, drugs, terrorism, racism, or violence.  Ad-blocking blocks advertisement, similarly to how AdGuard DNS does it.

The website includes instructions that explain how to change the DNS on devices. It covers Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, home routers, and browsers.

How fast are the DNS4EU DNS servers?

I downloaded the latest version of the free DNS Benchmark software by Gibson Research, added the five DNS server IP addresses to it, and ran the test.

Here is the result.

DNS Benchmark

The unfiltered DNS server finished in second place, the protective and child protection server in fourth. That is a good result, but you need to remember that your mileage may vary if you connect from outside the EU.

Closing Words

DNS4EU adds another option for Internet users when it comes to switching from their ISP's DNS servers to better ones. While it works best from a European location, it does allow connections from locations outside of the European Union. Performance suffers then, however, so that most users may want to pick a better performing DNS server instead.

Tests need to show how well the content blocking, child protecting, and malware blocking really works. You can skip all of that if you use the unfiltered server though.

Now you: what is your take on this? Would you use the DNS server from the EU, or do you favor another one? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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