Quick Start Guide to Using Google Public DNS on a Mac
Swapping to the Google Public DNS server/s had an immediate effect on the speed with which sites loaded in Safari. They load visibly faster.
These instructions are taken from Google's 'Using Google Public DNS'.
Setup
- From the Apple menu, click System Preferences, then click Network. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
- Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
- To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, select Built-In Ethernet, and click Advanced.
- To change the settings for a wireless connection, select Airport, and click Advanced.
- Select the DNS tab.
- Click + to replace any listed addresses with, or add, the Google IP addresses at the top of the list: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
- Click Apply and OK.
Test It
- From your browser, type in a hostname, such as http://www.google.com. If it resolves correctly, bookmark the page, and try accessing the page from the bookmark. If both of these tests work, everything is working correctly. If not, go to step 2.
- From your browser, type in a fixed IP address. You can use http://18.62.1.6/ (which points to the website http://eecs.mit.edu/) as the URL*. If this works correctly, bookmark the page, and try accessing the page from the bookmark. If these tests work (but step 1 fails), then there is a problem with your DNS configuration; check the steps above to make sure you have configured everything correctly. If these tests do not work, go to step 3.
- Roll back the DNS changes you made and run the tests again. If the tests still do not work, then there is a problem with your network settings; contact your ISP or network administrator for assistance.
