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In addition to static IP addresses, DNSFilter allows the use of Dynamic DNS hostnames for your network. This is useful in scenarios where the egress IP is subject to change, which is common in locations with a residential-grade internet connection (small offices/home offices). We have a list of providers for which we support instantaneous updates, but all dynamic DNS hostnames are automatically updated within 60-90 seconds, regardless of provider.

If a location does not have Dynamic DNS hostnames configured, and the external IP address changes, users will receive the following notice when they attempt to surf:

Already using dynamic DNS?

If you already have a dynamic DNS service, you may simply add the hostname for the desired network as shown below. As your Dynamic DNS updater software provides updates for that hostname, DNSFilter will update our network to expect traffic accordingly. You may want to check if you are using one of our supported providers, and consider switching if your provider is unsupported.

⚡️ Pro Tip: When adding multiple IPs/DNS Hostnames, make sure the DDNS Hostname doesn't resolve to any of the IP addresses: this will cause an error during the configuration. 

Not using Dynamic DNS?

If you do not have a Dynamic DNS provider, you’ll need to create an account with one, and also configure a client that will provide updates on your <> to your provider. Most routers, firewalls, and other network appliances have a Dynamic DNS functionality built in, and you may need to refer to the documentation for the specific network appliance being used in your network.

It’s also possible utilize a Dynamic DNS updater on an individual server or computer within a network, in case the network appliance does not have Dynamic DNS built in.

DNSFilter recommends the following Dynamic DNS updater software:

• Windows Desktop/Server (32+64bit): Marcs Updater
• Linux/MacOS: ddclient

Recommended Dynamic DNS providers

While we technically support all Dynamic DNS providers, the following Dynamic DNS providers are directly supported by DNSFilter, and result in instantaneous updates to the DNSFilter system. DNSFilter accomplishes this by proxying requests to these services, thereby updating our own record of your Dynamic DNS hostname, and then forwarding the update to the original provider.

Supported providers are ones which utilize HTTP for dynamic DNS updates, rather than HTTPS.

• DynDNS - Starts at $55.00 per year
• no-ip - Starts at $29.95 per year
• NameCheap - Starts at $12.88 per year
• Zoneedit - Starts at $1.40 per month
• Hurricane Electric and Tunnelbroker - Free
• Dynu - Free
• Afraid.org - Free
• ChangeiP - Free or Paid (Starts at $6 per year)
• TP-Link (tplinkdns.com) - Free

Allowed providers

If you’re currently using a Dynamic DNS provider which is not in the above list, the Dynamic DNS update may not occur, and it’s recommended to use a Supported Provider.

If an Unsupported Provider must be utilized, the device which performs the Dynamic DNS updates cannot utilize DNSFilter for DNS resolution, because DNSFilter will block the request from unknown IP addresses. Some networking equipment and Dynamic DNS updater software (ddclient) allow a third-party DNS server to be used for the DNS lookup portion of the Dynamic DNS update.

If using an Unsupported Provider, and when DNSFilter is not utilized to resolve DNS on that device, DNSFilter will automatically check all dynamic DNS hostnames every 90 seconds for updates, so there will be a slight delay involved. Mikrotik routers have the flexibility to use our Dynamic DNS providers above, using the fetch command.

By default, the fetch command uses the “address” and “src-path” properties, but must be changed to use the “url” property as follows:

Mikrotik routers

Mikrotik routers have the flexibility to use our Dynamic DNS providers above, using the fetch command.

By default, the fetch command uses the "address" and "src-path" properties, but must be changed to use the "url" property as follows:

url="http://members.dyndns.org/nic/updatehostname=$hostname&myip=$currentIP"

However, Mikrotik also runs its own Dynamic DNS service (IP Cloud). To activate this service, type the following commands into the RouterOS terminal:

/ip cloud set ddns-enabled=yes
/ip cloud print

It will print a “dns-name” property which you can input into the DNS Filter dashboard.

Refer to the following Mikrotik resources for further information:

IP Cloud

Fetch command

FRITZ Box

Many FRITZ!Box devices use the ISP’s DNS servers, and not the DNS servers configured in DHCP/DNS forwarding; there is no way to change this behavior.

If you are using a FRITZ!Box device, you can still use DynDNS using a custom URL by selecting the User-defined option in the Dynamic DNS settings and entering the following URL:

http://dyndns.dnsfilter.com/nic/update?hostname=YourDynDNSHostname&myip=<ipaddr>&username=YourDynDNSUsername&password=YourDynDNSPassword&updater=fritz

Fill out the Domain name, User name, and password fields with your normal DynDNS account credentials.

This will send the request to us, allowing us to update our system, subsequently forwarding the request to DynDNS to update any other services that depend on Dynamic DNS updates.

If your device is unable to use DNSFilter’s DNS servers to perform DNS requests, or you require using other DNS servers on this device, you can still use DynDNS if your Dynamic DNS updates device allows for custom Dynamic DNS URLs/domain names

Simply use dyndns.dnsfilter.com, leaving all other information the same, and we will update our system, subsequently forwarding the request to DynDNS to update any other services that depend on Dynamic DNS updates.