How to Change DNS Settings on Your Computer

Directly changing the DNS port on your computer can be a complex task due to the standard operating behavior of DNS. However, you can easily modify the DNS server address in your network settings. For advanced users, setting up a custom DNS resolver or local DNS server can achieve your goal. Below are the detailed steps for different operating systems.

changing DNS settings on Windows

To modify DNS settings on a Windows computer, follow these steps:

Open Network Connections Right-click on the network icon in the system tray and select ldquo;Open Network and Internet Settingsrdquo;. Select your network connection (e.g., Ethernet or Wi-Fi). Right-click on the connection and select ldquo;Propertiesrdquo;. Click on ldquo;Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)rdquo; or ldquo;Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)rdquo;. Select ldquo;Propertiesrdquo;. Click on ldquo;Advancedrdquo;. Go to the ldquo;WINServersrdquo; tab and add your preferred DNS server. Select ldquo;Use the following DNS server addressesrdquo; and enter your custom DNS server IP addresses. Optional: For advanced users, you can use third-party DNS resolvers or a local DNS server that listens on a different port.

For further customization, you can install additional software like Dnsmasq or PowerDNS.

changing DNS settings on macOS

To change DNS settings on a macOS computer, follow these steps:

Open System Preferences Click on the Apple menu and select ldquo;System Preferencesrdquo;. Select ldquo;Networkrdquo;. Choose the network interface you are using (e.g., Wi-Fi or Ethernet). Click on the ldquo;Advancedrdquo; button. Select the ldquo;DNSrdquo; tab. Add your preferred DNS server IP addresses. Optional: For advanced users, you can use third-party DNS resolvers or a local DNS server listening on a different port.

changing DNS settings on Linux (example: Ubuntu)

To change DNS settings on a Linux system, follow these steps:

Open Settings Click on the network icon in the top right and select ldquo;Settingsrdquo;. Select your network connection (e.g., Wi-Fi or Ethernet). Click on the gear icon. Select ldquo;Edit Connectionsrdquo;. Select your network connection type. Click on ldquo;Set as defaultrdquo; and ldquo;Connect automaticallyrdquo;. Click on ldquo;Editrdquo; and go to the ldquo;IPv4rdquo; or ldquo;IPv6rdquo; tab. Select ldquo;Manualrdquo; as the method. Add your preferred DNS server IP addresses. Optional: For advanced users, you can use third-party DNS resolvers or a local DNS server listening on a different port.

Note on Custom Ports

If you specifically need to use a different port for DNS like 853 for DNS over TLS, you usually need to set up a DNS resolver or proxy that listens on that port. Standard DNS clients do not typically allow changing the port directly. Configure your applications or system to use the proxy.

Conclusion

While you cannot directly change the DNS port on your computer, you can easily change the DNS server address in your network settings. If you need to use a non-standard port, consider using a DNS proxy or resolver.

Understanding DNS Requests and Responses

DNS requests will go to port 53 on the computer that hosts the DNS service. The replies will come back to a randomly selected port on your Internet router and are then forwarded to a different port on your computer. You don’t control these randomly selected ports or the use of port 53 for DNS queries on a computer owned by someone else.

If you are hosting your own name service, that’s a different scenario. Generally, it seems you are not hosting your own service, which makes changing the DNS port less critical.