If it is not possible to change the router DNS settings then you will need to configure each internet-enabled device individually.
It is usually necessary to log into the router to make changes to any of the settings, here again Google will provide you with the necessary information on how to do this.Ģ.
Firstly, see if you can change the DNS settings on your router (simply type in the ISP provider plus the router model into Google and see what this turns up).
CleanBrowsing offer both free and paid content filters, the one I will focusing on is the free Family Filter service but the approach is the same for whatever option you may decide to use.ġ. The following guide covers the broad steps involved, however there are more specific instructions on the CleanBrowsing website for different device types (check out for more details). You do not need to be very technically minded to change DNS settings, it will mostly be a matter of doing a small bit of research on Google to figure out how to access the appropriate settings on the device of interest. In such an instance the only option available is to change the DNS settings on each device that connects to the router, or to try the wifi hotspot workaround described later on. Unfortunately some ISPs do not permit its customers to change the DNS settings on their routers. The best place to change the DNS settings is on your router, as that way any device that connects to the router will automatically benefit from the DNS filtering.
The specifics in the instructions provided below are for the CleanBrowsing FamilyShield service however the same approach applies to any of these providers.
There are a variety of different DNS service providers which offer this free DNS filtering service, such as CleanBrowsing, Open DNS, Comodo and Neustar. And as mentioned previously, some of the companies who provide this service do so free of charge for home and personal use. It has the added advantage that once the change has been made it does not require any further user input as the list of blocked websites is constantly updated by the DNS server provider. The process of changing DNS servers is fairly straightforward, and does not involve installing any software. 2 shows how a request to a DNS server can be allowed through to the destination website (Fig. Switching to one of these DNS servers will ensure that any attempts to access an undesirable website will automatically fail. Several DNS providers offer a filtering service whereby undesirable websites (such as pornography, gambling or violence) are blocked by the DNS server so the end-user is unable to access these sites.
Another reason to do it is to avail of the ability of DNS servers to filter web content at source.
There are a variety of reasons why someone may want to try a DNS server other than the default one, such as trying to increase browsing speed. Most people use the default DNS settings that are pre-selected by their Internet Service Provider (ISP), however it is possible to change the DNS servers from the default option to one of your choice. a DNS server is like an automated phone book that looks up the IP address of the website that you entered into your browser, and then connects you to that IP address.