Question VPN DNS Filtering

[n8chavez]

Many VPNs now have DNS filtering. Mullvad, hide.me, ivpn, and airvpn, among others I'm sure all have that feature. This is great in theory; having your IPs coming from the same place. But how do you know it's actually filtering anything? There's no webgui, or stats to indicated allows vs blocks. So how do we know how effective it is? I've been trying to answer these questions for myself and I've come up empty. I've tested using both Mullvad and hide.me, and I've yet to see it actually block anything. With both of these VPNs you can set the DNS blocking category, such as trackers, malware, porn, and ads. With both of these VPNs, I toggled the categories to block them all. I disconnected the VPNs and reconnected, just to be sure. I would think that would be enough to block the categories I chose. But nothing seems to have been block; I was still able to access sites I know things that should have been blocked. Does this happen with anyone else? Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that anything is being blocked using VPN DNS filtering.

As always, these are just musings from a self-proclaimed idiot.

Thoughts?

 

[Back3]

I use Windscribe Pro. It has DNS filtering, but I don't enable it. I use NextDNS : on my iPhone and iPad, it is efficient and blocks a lot of bad or annoying stuff. So, for me, i'ts a keeper! On my PC, I also have uBlock Origin, so it's difficult to pinpoint what is being blocked by NextDNS or my extension.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

Test your self either via this link or going to domains where there is content you are trying to block.

Debug | DNSFilter

debug.dnsfilter.com

 

[n8chavez]

Test your self either via this link or going to domains where there is content you are trying to block.

Debug | DNSFilter

debug.dnsfilter.com

That link was very helpful. After turning off other blockers, namely uBo, it proves that VPN DNS filtering is not working at all. Every single thing on that test was allowed.

 

[brambedkar59]

Test your self either via this link or going to domains where there is content you are trying to block.

Debug | DNSFilter

debug.dnsfilter.com

I think that test is only for DNSFilter services and not for other DNS providers. I tried blocking everything inside parental control setting of NextDNS, flushed DNS cache for both browser and System, restarted browser and ran test. No matter which browser I used it all showed as "allowed", even though I can't actually open websites of that category.

Spoiler

 

[n8chavez]

But what happens if you use another blocker, such as uBo? When I tried everything was blocked with it. I like the idea of VPN DNS filtering, and the fact that your IP and DNS IP will be the same. That of course assumes that filtering works correctly. I use ControlD. That really works. But my IPs are not the same. So I was hoping VPN filtering would work. It seems it doesn't.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

I think that test is only for DNSFilter services and not for other DNS providers. I tried blocking everything inside parental control setting of NextDNS, flushed DNS cache for both browser and System, restarted browser and ran test. No matter which browser I used it all showed as "allowed", even though I can't actually open websites of that category.

Spoiler

View attachment 278633View attachment 278634View attachment 278635

Google AI on search came up with the solution, it states those are test domains, whether specific for that company or not is unsure. I tried the same test on that site, cloudfair dns test and a couple others with the same conclusions.

You can test a DNS filter in a few ways:

• Visit debug.dnsfilter.com to test all categories at once.
• Visit a domain in your policy block list.
• Open your terminal and type dig example.com (or nslookup example.com if you're using Windows) to see if Gateway is successfully blocking example.com.
• Attempt to browse to a well-known domain that is allowed by your policy, such as google.com.

You can also test categories individually by browsing the domains shown below in the content categories. For example, if you want to test your block page against adult content, visit adult.filterdns.net.

 

[HarborFront]

But what happens if you use another blocker, such as uBo? When I tried everything was blocked with it. I like the idea of VPN DNS filtering, and the fact that your IP and DNS IP will be the same. That of course assumes that filtering works correctly. I use ControlD. That really works. But my IPs are not the same. So I was hoping VPN filtering would work. It seems it doesn't.

Is uBO use to filter DNS queries or IP queries or both?

 

[brambedkar59]

Google AI on search came up with the solution, it states those are test domains, whether specific for that company or not is unsure. I tried the same test on that site, cloudfair dns test and a couple others with the same conclusions.

You can test a DNS filter in a few ways:

• Visit debug.dnsfilter.com to test all categories at once.
• Visit a domain in your policy block list.
• Open your terminal and type dig example.com (or nslookup example.com if you're using Windows) to see if Gateway is successfully blocking example.com.
• Attempt to browse to a well-known domain that is allowed by your policy, such as google.com.

You can also test categories individually by browsing the domains shown below in the content categories. For example, if you want to test your block page against adult content, visit adult.filterdns.net.

Did you just copy-pasted entire solution given by Google AI? Pls read my last reply again.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

Did you just copy-pasted entire solution given by Google AI? Pls read my last reply again.

I did, because it was fun, and it was the only solution googles entire database seems to have for testing. Me personally, i would just try a few domains, like pornhub, and others that should be blocked by the settings and see. If we are left to the help provided on the search engines, it is minimal at best. Those are dummy domains, whether they work or not with other solutions is unsure as stated, and why when i posted the original i stated either try this or manually going to domains.

P.S instead of laughing, try giving a solution.

 

[n8chavez]

Is uBO use to filter DNS queries or IP queries or both?

Both. uBo is hard mode black all 3rd party requests by default. I allow the ones I need.

 

[brambedkar59]

I did, because it was fun, and it was the only solution googles entire database seems to have for testing. Me personally, i would just try a few domains, like pornhub, and others that should be blocked by the settings and see. If we are left to the help provided on the search engines, it is minimal at best. Those are dummy domains, whether they work or not with other solutions is unsure as stated, and why when i posted the original i stated either try this or manually going to domains.

P.S instead of laughing, try giving a solution.

I wasn't laughing at you but the reply given by AI, which was rather funny.
I consider pointing out that a given "solution" doesn't work as helpful.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

Both. uBo is hard mode black all 3rd party requests by default. I allow the ones I need.

try this one as well, choose public sector and toggle other in filter provider. It will give you an idea.

TestFiltering.com: Verify your Internet is Filtered | Test Filtering

TestFiltering.com enables you to check that your internet filter is working correctly without having to access harmful or illegal content manually. We work with specific partners to host test URL's on various lists and have test pages hosted where they will be blocked.

testfiltering.com

 

[brambedkar59]

With both of these VPNs, I toggled the categories to block them all. I disconnected the VPNs and reconnected, just to be sure. I would think that would be enough to block the categories I chose. But nothing seems to have been block; I was still able to access sites I know things that should have been blocked. Does this happen with anyone else? Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that anything is being blocked using VPN DNS filtering.

Are you using another DNS (DNS Over HTTPS) within your browser? I think that might take priority over the VPN's DNS server

 

[n8chavez]

try this one as well, choose public sector and toggle other in filter provider. It will give you an idea.

TestFiltering.com: Verify your Internet is Filtered | Test Filtering

TestFiltering.com enables you to check that your internet filter is working correctly without having to access harmful or illegal content manually. We work with specific partners to host test URL's on various lists and have test pages hosted where they will be blocked.

testfiltering.com

1 for 2 on that site without ubo.

 

[n8chavez]

Are you using another DNS (DNS Over HTTPS) within your browser? I think that might take priority over the VPN's DNS server

I am not. There is also no specified DNS address on my network adapters. All it sees is the VPN.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

1 for 2 on that site without ubo.

In the top on that site, if you choose schools or public sector it will give you 4 categories to test.

 

[n8chavez]

In the top on that site, if you choose schools or public sector it will give you 4 categories to test.

In that case, 2 / 4.

 

[brambedkar59]

I am not. There is also no specified DNS address on my network adapters. All it sees is the VPN.

Can you check if there is any DNS leak occuring when using VPN? Run extended test and in the result DNS server should match that used by your VPN provider.

DNS leak test

www.dnsleaktest.com

 

[n8chavez]

Can you check if there is any DNS leak occuring when using VPN? Run extended test and in the result DNS server should match that used by your VPN provider.

dnsleaktest.com

Oh, I have run that test as well as the ones listed below. They all came back no leak.

My IP Address

The main tools for checking IP address privacy. Showing Your IP Address, Reverse IP Lookup, Hostname, and HTTP Request Headers, Your Country, State, City, ISP/ASN, and Local Lime, Whois Lookup, TCP/IP OS fingerprinting, WebRTC Leak Test, DNS Leak Test, and IPv6 Leak Test.

browserleaks.com

dnscheck.tools - test your dns resolvers

A tool to test for DNS leaks, DNSSEC validation, and more

dnscheck.tools

DNS Leak Test | Perfect Privacy

Visit our free DNS Leak Test to check your VPN - Perfect Privacy VPN protects from leaks ✓ Anonymous VPN since 2008 - Our mission is your internet privacy!

www.perfect-privacy.com

https://mullvad.net/en/check