Simple question from a home user

Website, Application, Performance Getting Started
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1

Hi all,
I am a home user in the UK.
I have a windows 7 PC, an android tablet and an android smartphone. Having just become aware of yourselves via TV NCIS, I was thinking of installing Cloudflare onto all 3 devices.
However, having now looked into it, I may very well have misunderstood the application of Cloudflare in the home. Is it of any relevance to me?
I can find a Cloudflare app in the android play store; does using this protect my smartphone using the legendary lava lamp or equivalent randam system?
I cannot find a similar addon on Firefox.
So, have I gone on a wild goose chase?

2

Cloudflare is primarily for protecting websites, however 1.1.1.1 is a DNS resolver that you could use on your devices to encrypt your DNS queries through Cloudflare.

1 Like
3

Thank you Dom.
Iā€™m an old COBOL and powerbuilder programmer, so Iā€™m not quite up-to-date with things(I do use Norton everywhere though).
So I can install the app I can see in the android play store and this will at least ensure that I donā€™t suffer any hacked(?) redirects to incorrect websites?
What about firefox or IE? Can I install something that will always use 1.1.1.1 for my requests?

4

https://1.1.1.1 has all the instructions for installation on mobile devices and PC.

It is explained in more detail there but basically it is a private, encrypted, fast DNS resolver.

1 Like
5

Thank you :+1:

6

1.1.1.1 is an official app that basically adds a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that routes all your DNS requests through 1.1.1.1.

While there are a few ā€˜Cloudflareā€™ apps, but they are 3rd Party Apps that any support for those would have to go through the developers of those apps.

As said, other than the 1.1.1.1 usage on devices Cloudflareā€™s service really only cover server infrastructure, so if you had a website, youā€™d integrate ā€˜cloudlfareā€™ with your website, not your home.

The official 1.1.1.1 app is here 1.1.1.1
You may hover over this link and it should display ā€˜com.Cloudflare.onedotonedotonedotoneā€™ as the App ID.
As you listed your devices, I suggest using 1.1.1.1 as an app on your android devices, and you may be able to add 1.1.1.1 as a dns server in your windows 7 settings, but beyond the scope of my knowledge currently as I havenā€™t used windows as a primary OS since 2013

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Thanks to all.
Well Iā€™ve installed the App in android and all seems fine.
Firefox already uses cloudbase as a partner, so thatā€™s sorted.
I have just changed ipv4 and ipv6 in the adapter settings as described in the instruction for Windows 7 64bit (although I cocked it up first by putting them in the IP address fields instead of the DNS!) and all seems fine.

2 Likes
8

I thought all was fine, but I now discover that speedtest.net gives errors; is this a symptom of using Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 DNS?

9

Do you feel comfortable giving a screenshot of the error?

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Sureā€¦

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I ask that because if you donā€™t blur anything you may be giving your home IP out. And I donā€™t want to infringe on your privacy nor open you up to doxing

12

no problem, iā€™ll blur anything personalā€¦soon

13

BTW itā€™s a socket error, and only on EI 11.
Speedtest works okay on Firefox

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ipv6
ipv6.JPG734Ɨ591 57.4 KB

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ipv4
ipv4.JPG551Ɨ592 54.2 KB

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IE%2011%20speedtest%20error
IE 11 speedtest error.JPG1310Ɨ844 66.9 KB

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I think the error here is the browser that itā€™s too old. Internet Explorer is mostly dead. Try using Chrome (Google Chrome - Download the Fast, Secure Browser from Google) or Firefox (Download Firefox for Desktop ā€” from Mozilla).

DNS shouldnā€™t interfere at all with downloads. A failure with 1.1.1.1 would show as a site that canā€™t be reached, here you can reach the speedtest.net page.

18

Hello,

Some Internet Service Providers make use of 1.1.1.1 as an internal address for their routers. Thatā€™s the case here where I live in Brazil. You could test your settings by going to the 1.1.1.1 address on your browser. If this opens a router config screen, then you may not be able to use 1.1.1.1 as indicated.

To circumvent this issue, I have the following in my home PC, cell and table for the 1.1.1.1 service settings:

Preferred DNS Server: 1.0.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.8.8 (This one is Google's DNS resolver)

for IPv6 I just follow the 1.1.1.1 app instructions.

Also, if this is not your case, it may help to flush the DNS from your machine. On Windows, open Power Shell as Administrator, and run the following command:

ipconfig /flushdns

A message should indicate the DNS cache has been cleared.

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ā€œSocket errorā€ in the siteā€™s styling sounds to me as if websockets were involved, which are used by Speedtest and which were not supported before IE 10.

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That isnā€™t an error with DNS since the page loads fine.