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Customizing Your DNS Resolvers

Every time your server needs to connect to a domain name — whether it is downloading a software update from ubuntu.com, fetching an API response from api.stripe.com, or resolving any hostname at all — it asks a DNS resolver to translate that human-readable name into a numeric IP address. Think of DNS resolvers as the internet’s phone book. Your server knows it wants to call “google.com,” but it needs the resolver to look up the actual number (IP address) before it can place the call. The resolver you use affects how fast that lookup happens, how private it is, and whether it includes any built-in security filtering. The FREAKHOSTING VPS Control Panel lets you swap between popular public DNS resolver providers with a couple of clicks — no SSH required, no config files to edit.

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

2 Minutes

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Changing DNS Resolvers

1

Navigate to Your Server

Log in at cloud.freakhosting.com, click Servers in the top navigation bar, then click Manage next to the server you want to configure.
2

Open the Network Tab

Click on the Network tab in the server management navigation.
3

Locate the DNS Resolvers Section

Scroll down past the IPv4 Addresses table to the IPv4 Public DNS Resolvers section. You will see a note that reads: “A server requires two DNS resolvers. You may swap the system defaults for a preferred set of public resolvers.”Below that are two dropdown menus — Primary and Secondary — each showing the currently selected resolver with a globe icon and its IP address.
4

Select Your Preferred Resolvers

Click on each dropdown and choose from the available DNS providers. The default configuration ships with System Default resolvers (Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 as primary and Google 8.8.8.8 as secondary). Your changes take effect immediately — no reboot required.
For maximum reliability, consider choosing resolvers from two different providers — for example, Cloudflare as your primary and Google as your secondary. That way, if one provider ever has an outage, your server seamlessly falls back to the other without any interruption in DNS resolution.
Here is a detailed look at the most common options available in the dropdown menus, along with their strengths and trade-offs:
ProviderIP AddressesSpeedPrivacySecurityBest For
Cloudflare1.1.1.1 / 1.0.0.1Fastest globallyCommits to purging logs within 24 hours; independently auditedDNSSEC validationRaw speed and privacy
Google8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4Very fastLogs queries but anonymizes after 48 hoursDNSSEC validationMaximum reliability and uptime
Quad99.9.9.9 / 149.112.112.112FastNo personally identifiable data loggedBlocks known malicious domains automaticallyBuilt-in threat protection

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Which Should You Choose?

Speed Priority

Go with Cloudflare (1.1.1.1). It consistently ranks as the fastest public DNS resolver in independent benchmarks worldwide. If your server makes a lot of DNS queries (think API-heavy applications, web crawlers, or busy web servers), faster resolution translates directly into lower latency for your users.

Reliability Priority

Go with Google DNS (8.8.8.8). Backed by Google’s global infrastructure, it offers exceptional uptime and has handled enormous query volumes for over a decade. It is the safe, boring, rock-solid choice — and sometimes boring is exactly what you want for critical infrastructure.

Security Priority

Go with Quad9 (9.9.9.9). It automatically blocks access to known malicious domains — phishing sites, malware distribution servers, and command-and-control infrastructure. This gives your server an extra layer of protection without installing any additional software or configuring blocklists.

Maximum Redundancy

Mix providers. Set your primary to one provider and your secondary to another (e.g., Cloudflare primary + Google secondary, or Quad9 primary + Cloudflare secondary). This ensures DNS resolution continues even if one provider has a rare outage.

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The System Default Configuration

Out of the box, FREAKHOSTING configures your server with the System Default resolvers:
  • Primary: 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) — shown with a globe icon in the dropdown
  • Secondary: 8.8.8.8 (Google) — shown with a globe icon in the dropdown
This is already a strong default — you get Cloudflare’s speed as the primary lookup and Google’s reliability as a fallback. Many users will never need to change this. But if you want Quad9’s malware blocking, or prefer a different combination, swapping is just two clicks away.

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Practical Scenarios

Set both resolvers to Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 as primary, 1.0.0.1 as secondary). Cloudflare’s globally distributed network means DNS queries resolve as quickly as possible, which reduces the time your server spends waiting before it can actually connect to the API endpoint.
Set Quad9 (9.9.9.9) as your primary resolver. Quad9 maintains a constantly updated threat intelligence database and will refuse to resolve domains known to be associated with malware, phishing, or botnets. It is like having a basic firewall for DNS lookups at zero cost and zero configuration.
DNS resolver changes take effect immediately but should not break anything — all major public resolvers handle the same domain lookups. If you experience issues, switch back to the System Default and check whether the problem persists. If a specific domain is not resolving, it may be blocked by Quad9’s threat filter (by design) or experiencing a temporary issue unrelated to your resolver choice.
Redundancy. If the primary resolver is temporarily unreachable (due to a network blip or rare provider outage), your server automatically falls back to the secondary resolver. Without a secondary, a primary resolver outage would mean your server cannot resolve any domain names — effectively cutting it off from the internet until the resolver comes back online.
Changing DNS resolvers is a safe, non-disruptive operation. Your server simply starts using a different DNS service for new lookups. All running services and applications continue to work normally — active connections are not affected. The only difference is that future domain name lookups may be slightly faster, slightly slower, or filtered differently depending on which provider you chose.
The panel-level resolvers set the initial configuration for your server’s network. If you have manually edited /etc/resolv.conf or configured DNS settings within your operating system, those OS-level settings may take precedence. For most users, managing resolvers through the panel is the simplest and recommended approach.

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Need Extra Help?

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Last Updated: March 2026 | VPS Support: DNS configuration simplified.