🛡️ Why You Should Use Quad9 as Your DNS Resolver – And How to Set It Up

DNS Smartphone iPhone Sicherheit Internet iOS Chrome SSL-TLS Linux

One simple trick that protects you from millions of cyberattacks – free, set up in under 5 minutes, and completely without any software installation.

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🔍 What Is DNS Anyway?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is like the phone book of the internet. When you type a website like www.example.com, the DNS resolver translates that name into an IP address so your device can load the page. By default, you use your internet provider's DNS server – but there are better alternatives.

URL: (https://quad9.net/)[https://quad9.net/]

🌐 What Is Quad9?

Quad9 is a free, public DNS resolver headquartered in Switzerland 🇨🇭. It was built with a clear focus on security and privacy and is operated by a non-profit organization.

✅ 5 Reasons Why You Should Use Quad9

1. 🔒 Protection Against Malware & Phishing

Quad9 automatically blocks access to known malicious domains – including malware, phishing sites, and botnet infrastructure. Over 100 million attacks are blocked every day.

2. 🕵️ Maximum Privacy

Quad9 does not store IP addresses of its users. The service is fully GDPR-compliant and is subject to Swiss data protection law – one of the strictest in the world. Your browsing habits remain private.

3. 🔐 DNSSEC Validation

Quad9 cryptographically verifies whether DNS responses are authentic. This protects you from DNS spoofing and cache poisoning – techniques attackers use to redirect you to fake websites.

4. 🌍 Global Infrastructure

With over 259 locations in 106 countries across six continents, Quad9 offers excellent performance and minimal latency.

5. 🔑 Encrypted DNS Queries

Quad9 supports modern encryption standards:

  • DNS-over-TLS (DoT) – Port 853
  • DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) – https://dns.quad9.net/dns-query
  • DNSCrypt

This keeps your DNS queries protected even on public Wi-Fi networks.

⚙️ How to Set Up Quad9 with Cloudflare as Secondary DNS

The combination of Quad9 (primary) and Cloudflare (secondary) gives you maximum security and redundancy. If one service is temporarily unavailable, the other takes over.

📋 DNS Addresses Overview

Role Provider IPv4 IPv6
Primary Quad9 9.9.9.9 2620:fe::fe
Secondary Cloudflare 1.1.1.2 2606:4700:4700::1112

!💡 Optionally, you can also add the secondary addresses of each provider:

  • Quad9 secondary: 149.112.112.112 / 2620:fe::9
  • Cloudflare secondary: 1.0.0.2 / 2606:4700:4700::1002

🔎 Why 1.1.1.2 instead of 1.1.1.1? Cloudflare offers different DNS variants:

  • 1.1.1.1 – Standard DNS without any filtering
  • 1.1.1.2 – Additionally blocks known malware domains
  • 1.1.1.3 – Blocks malware and adult content

Combined with Quad9, we recommend 1.1.1.2 as it gives you a double layer of protection against malicious software – without unnecessary content filtering.

🖥️ Setup on Windows 10/11

  1. Settings → Network & Internet → Advanced network settings
  2. Click on your network adapter → Edit
  3. Under DNS server assignment, click Edit
  4. Select Manual and enable IPv4:
    • Preferred DNS: 9.9.9.9
    • Alternate DNS: 1.1.1.2
  5. Optionally enable IPv6:
    • Preferred DNS: 2620:fe::fe
    • Alternate DNS: 2606:4700:4700::1112
  6. Save ✅

🍎 Setup on macOS

  1. System Settings → Network
  2. Select your active connection (Wi-Fi/Ethernet)
  3. Click Details → DNS
  4. Remove existing entries and add:
    • 9.9.9.9
    • 1.1.1.2
    • Optional IPv6: 2620:fe::fe and 2606:4700:4700::1112
  5. OK → Apply ✅

🐧 Setup on Linux

Option A: Via systemd-resolved (Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch etc.)

  1. Edit the configuration file:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/resolved.conf
  1. Add the following lines under [Resolve]:
[Resolve]
DNS=9.9.9.9 1.1.1.2
FallbackDNS=149.112.112.112 1.0.0.2
DNS=2620:fe::fe 2606:4700:4700::1112
DNSSEC=yes
DNSOverTLS=yes
  1. Restart the service:
sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved
  1. Verify:
resolvectl status

Option B: Directly via /etc/resolv.conf

If you don't use systemd-resolved:

sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf

Replace the content with:

nameserver 9.9.9.9
nameserver 1.1.1.2

⚠️ Note: Some systems overwrite resolv.conf after a reboot. To prevent this:

sudo chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf

Option C: NetworkManager (GUI)

  1. Settings → Network → Gear icon next to your connection
  2. Tab IPv4 → DNS method set to Manual
  3. Enter DNS servers: 9.9.9.9, 1.1.1.2
  4. Optional tab IPv6: 2620:fe::fe, 2606:4700:4700::1112
  5. Apply and reconnect ✅

📱 Setup on Smartphones

iOS: Settings → Wi-Fi → Info icon (i) → Configure DNS → Manual → Add Server: 9.9.9.9 and 1.1.1.2

Android: Settings → Network & Internet → Private DNS → Enter hostname: dns.quad9.net

🌐 Setup on Your Router (recommended! 🏆)

The best method is to configure DNS directly on your router – this way all devices on your network benefit automatically:

  1. Open your router's admin panel (e.g. 192.168.1.1)
  2. Navigate to DNS settings (often under WAN/Internet)
  3. Enter:
    • Primary DNS: 9.9.9.9
    • Secondary DNS: 1.1.1.2
  4. Save and restart the router 🔄

🧪 Verify It's Working

After setup, you can test:

  • Visit on.quad9.net – this shows you if Quad9 is active
  • Use the command line:
nslookup example.com 9.9.9.9

🎯 Conclusion

The combination of Quad9 as primary and Cloudflare as secondary DNS gives you:

  • ✅ Protection against malware and phishing
  • ✅ Privacy thanks to Swiss data protection law
  • ✅ Speed through global infrastructure
  • ✅ Redundancy through two independent providers
  • ✅ Free and set up in just a few minutes

🛡️ A small change in your DNS settings – a giant leap for your online security.

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