In this article

These commands can be useful during initial deployment, troubleshooting issues, scripting, or getting some help from our Support team.

If troubleshooting Windows agent issues, start with our DNSFilter troubleshooting article for common errors and misaligned configurations, especially during deployment. 

Install Windows Roaming Client

PowerShell

• mkdir C:\temp
  Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://download.dnsfilter.com/User_Agent/Windows/DNSFilter_Agent_Setup.msi" -OutFile "C:\temp\DNSFilter_Agent_Setup.msi"
  msiexec /qn /i "C:\temp\DNSFilter_Agent_Setup.msi" NKEY="SITESECRETKEY"

• mkdir C:\temp
  Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://download.dnsfilter.com/User_Agent/Windows/DNS_Agent_Setup.msi" -OutFile "C:\temp\DNS_Agent_Setup.msi"
  msiexec /qn /i "C:\temp\DNS_Agent_Setup.msi" NKEY="SITESECRETKEY"

Command Line

• msiexec /qn /i "C:\path\to\DNSFilter_Agent_Setup.msi" NKEY="SITESECRETKEY"

• msiexec /qn /i "C:\path\to\DNS_Agent_Setup.msi" NKEY="SITESECRETKEY"

Start, Stop, or Check service

The tray icon for the Roaming Client should be Blue or Green. If it is Red, this is an indication that the client is not actively filtering DNS queries. There may be a problem with the system service. Verify the status with these steps. 

1. Select ⊞ Win + R to open the Run dialog
2. Type in services.msc and select Enter
3. Scroll down to the service called DNSFilter Agent or DNS Agent (MSP Version)

The Agent Status should be “started” and “running." If the agent is “stopped,” restart it from the services menu. 

The service status can also be checked from the command-line.

• SC START "DNSFilter Agent"
  SC STOP "DNSFilter Agent"
  SC QUERY "DNSFilter Agent"

• SC START "DNS Agent"
  SC STOP "DNS Agent"
  SC QUERY "DNS Agent"

Uninstall Windows Roaming Client

These commands only work with agent version 1.15.3 and older. See our Windows agent version 2.0.1+ documentation to uninstall the latest versions of the Roaming Client.

PowerShell

• $Prod = Get-WMIObject -Classname Win32_Product | Where-Object Name -Match 'DNSFilter Agent'
  $Prod.UnInstall()

• $Prod = Get-WMIObject -Classname Win32_Product | Where-Object Name -Match 'DNS Agent'
  $Prod.UnInstall()

Command Line

• wmic product where "name='DNSFilter Agent'" call uninstall

• wmic product where "name='DNS Agent'" call uninstall

VPN

This example uses a PANGP adapter, so edit the PANGP value in the command for other adapters. The script automatically recognizes the interface value.

$interfaceName = get-wmiobject win32_networkadapter | Select-Object netconnectionid, name | Where-Object { ($_.name -like 'PANGP*') } | Select-Object -ExpandProperty netconnectionid

$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\DNSFilter\Agent'

Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'IgnoreVpnInterfacesNames' -Value $interfaceName

Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'IgnoreVpnInterfaces' -Value 'true'

Restart-Service -Name 'DNSFilter Agent'

Port Binding

Determines what other applications might be listening or bound to port 53—the port the agent needs to bind to for filtering.

Run this prompt command:

netstat -ban | findstr :53 

The image below illustrates the ideal output of the command.

The first highlighted line shows that the local listen to address and port (TCP) 127.0.0.2:53 is listening for connections from any address (0.0.0.0:0). The LISTENING message shows that this connection is actively bound by the Roaming Client and listening for traffic.

The second highlighted line shows the same thing for UDP (although the connection is not active).

Netstat showing proper Roaming Client binding

If there are other connections listening on 127.0.0.X:53, there may be a port binding conflict between that software and the Roaming Client. 

Remove or uninstall the other software that is listening on the port and restart the agent to resolve the issue. 

DNS-over-TLS

• reg add "HKLM\Software\DNSFilter\Agent" /v UpstreamOrder /d "tcp-tls,udp,tcp" /f

• reg add "HKLM\Software\DNSAgent\Agent" /v UpstreamOrder /d "tcp-tls,udp,tcp" /f