Quad9 is a nonprofit public DNS resolver focused on security and privacy. Its recommended service blocks malicious domains, validates DNSSEC, and avoids EDNS Client Subnet by default.

Why it is included:

  • Strong daily-driver pick for privacy plus malware protection
  • Explicit privacy policy: Quad9 says it does not collect or record IP addresses and does not correlate IPs with DNS query data
  • No account or dashboard required
  • Good default for routers, operating systems, and browsers that support custom DNS

Recommended setup:

Tradeoffs:

  • Malware blocking can occasionally create false positives
  • It is not customizable like dashboard-based filtering resolvers
  • Encrypted DNS protects the DNS lookup in transit, but it does not make traffic anonymous

Verdict:

Use Quad9 when you want a simple, trustworthy default resolver with strong privacy posture and useful security blocking.

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