Overview

This page explains how DNS works with Decodo proxies, what a DNS leak looks like, and why online DNS tests can sometimes show confusing results.

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DNS Setup

To change the DNS on your desired operating system, follow these OS guides:

• Windows DNS setup
• macOS DNS setup
• Android DNS setup
• iOS DNS setup

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DNS and Proxies

When you connect to a proxy, websites see the proxy’s IP address, not your real one. But DNS (the system that converts hostnames like example.com into IP addresses) can still leak information about:

• Which domains do you visit
• Your approximate location, if DNS is resolved by your ISP or local network

For privacy, geo-targeting, and bypassing DNS-based blocks, it’s best for the DNS to behave predictably and match your proxy connection.

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How Proxies Resolve DNS

It depends on the type of proxy and how your tool is configured:

• HTTP/HTTPS proxies
  • In typical setups, your app sends the hostname (e.g., example.com) to the proxy.
  • The proxy then resolves DNS and connects to the site.
  • DNS appears to come from the proxy location.
• SOCKS5 proxies
  • There are two types, controlled by your tool configuration:
    • SOCKS5: many tools resolve DNS locally and send only the IP to the proxy.
    • SOCKS5h: tools send the hostname (not the IP) to the proxy, so DNS is resolved on the proxy.
  • Whether DNS is local or remote depends on how your software uses SOCKS5, not just the proxy itself.

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DNS Leaks

In the context of proxies, a DNS leak is when your queries are being resolved by your ISP or local network, even though your traffic itself is going through a proxy. In other words: the party that should no longer see which domains you visit (e.g. your ISP), still does, because your device is sending DNS queries outside of the proxy path. What may not be a DNS leak:

• DNS is resolved by a public resolver (Google, Cloudflare, etc.) in a country different from:
  • your real country
  • the proxy server you’re connecting to
• DNS tests show a location that belongs to our DNS provider, a CDN, or a large anycast network, not exactly the proxy IP/location.

These can look strange in DNS leak tests, but they are often simply the resolver’s own infrastructure, not an exposure of the real IP or ISP.

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Reduce DNS issues

If you want more control and consistency over DNS, you can:

1. Set a trusted DNS resolver on your device, such as:
   • Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
   • Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
2. Prefer proxy modes that resolve DNS on the proxy, such as:
   • HTTP/HTTPS proxies
   • SOCKS5H

For our DNS OS setup guides, click here.

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