Question from Brad: I recently replaced Windows Vista on my old Dell desktop computer with Linux Mint based on your recommendation in this post.
I’m happy with the upgrade (and it really is an upgrade), but I need your help with something.
On my Windows systems I have the DNS server settings all pointing to Open DNS because it seems to work so much better.
I’d like to change the DNS settings on this machine too but I’m afraid I might mess something up if I just go in there changing things without knowing what I’m doing.
Can you give me step-by-step instructions for changing the DNS server to Open DNS in Linux Mint?
Thanks in advance for your help. PS. Love your blog!!!
Rick’s answer: First of all, thanks for the kind words about my blog, Brad. I really appreciate the feedback!
Like you, I also prefer using Open DNS because it really does speed things up when I’m using the Internet.
Truth be told, it’s just as easy to change the DNS IP addresses in Linux Mint as it is in Windows. Just follow the steps below for the type of Internet connection you’re using.
Follow these steps if your computer is connected to the Internet via a wired Ethernet connection:
1 – Click the Network icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen (you should find it adjacent to the Time/Date display).
2 – Click Network Settings.
3 – Click Wired over in the left-hand pane.
4 – Click the “gear” shaped Settings icon in the right-hand pane.
5 – Click on IPv4.
6 – On the “Addresses” line select Automatic (DHCP).
7 – Select Off for the “Automatic” setting on the”DNS” line.
8 – Copy and paste 208.67.222.222 into the first “Server” field.
9 – Copy and paste 208.67.220.220 into the second “Server” field.
Note: If you see only one “Server” field click the plus sign (+) to display another one.
10 – Click Apply.
11 – Restart the computer to make the changes take effect.
Follow these steps if your computer is connected to the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection:
1 – Click the Network icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen (you should find it adjacent to the Time/Date display).
2 – Click Network Settings.
3 – Click Wi-Fi over in the left-hand pane.
4 – Click on the name of the Wi-Fi network that your machine is currently connected to.
5 – Click the “gear” shaped Settings icon beside the active Wi-Fi connection in the right-hand pane.
6 – Click on IPv4.
7 – On the “Addresses” line select Automatic (DHCP).
8 – Select Off for the “Automatic” setting on the”DNS” line.
9 – Copy and paste 208.67.222.222 into the first “Server” field.
10 – Copy and paste 208.67.220.220 into the second “Server” field.
Note: If you see only one “Server” field click the plus sign (+) to display another one.
11 – Click Apply.
12 – Restart the computer to make the changes take effect.
After your computer has booted back up to the Mint Desktop your Internet connection should be using the Open DNS server. You can verify that the changes did indeed take effect by following these steps:
1 – Open a Terminal window.
Note: You can open a Terminal window by either clicking the Menu button followed by the Terminal icon or by clicking the Menu button and typing the word terminal into the Search box.
2 – Copy and paste the following into the Terminal window and then press the Enter key:
nmcli dev show | grep DNS
You should now see the IP addresses that are currently assigned to your Internet connection’s DNS server settings.
If you see the addresses 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 that means your connection is using Open DNS. Congratulations!
That’s all there is to it, Brad. Good luck!
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