DNS Leak Detection
Test if your proxy or VPN is leaking your real IP address through DNS requests. DNS leaks can reveal your actual location and ISP even when using anonymity tools.
DNS Leak Test
DNS Servers Detected: 0
Detected DNS Servers
Your Connection Info
A DNS (Domain Name System) leak occurs when your DNS requests are sent outside your encrypted VPN or proxy tunnel, revealing your browsing activity to your ISP or other third parties.
How DNS Works
- DNS Resolution: Translates domain names (like google.com) to IP addresses
- DNS Servers: Usually provided by your ISP or configured manually
- DNS Requests: Every website visit requires a DNS lookup
- DNS Cache: Results are cached to speed up subsequent requests
When using a VPN or proxy, your DNS requests should go through the encrypted tunnel. A DNS leak occurs when these requests bypass the tunnel and go to your ISP's DNS servers instead.
DNS leaks can expose your real IP address and browsing history even when using a VPN or proxy:
Types of DNS Leaks
- ISP DNS Leak: Requests go to your ISP's DNS servers, revealing your location
- IPv6 DNS Leak: IPv6 DNS requests may bypass the VPN tunnel
- WebRTC DNS Leak: Browser WebRTC can make direct DNS requests
- Smart Multi-Homed Name Resolution: Windows feature that can cause leaks
Privacy Implications
- Your ISP can see all websites you visit
- Your real geographic location is exposed
- Browsing history can be logged and sold
- Government surveillance becomes possible
- Targeted advertising based on DNS queries
Several methods can help prevent DNS leaks:
VPN Configuration
- Use VPN's DNS: Configure your VPN to use its own DNS servers
- Enable DNS Leak Protection: Most VPNs have this option in settings
- Kill Switch: Blocks all traffic if VPN disconnects
- IPv6 Disable: Turn off IPv6 if your VPN doesn't support it
Manual DNS Configuration
- Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1 - Privacy-focused, fast DNS
- Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 - Reliable but logs queries
- Quad9: 9.9.9.9 - Security and privacy focused
- DNS over HTTPS (DoH): Encrypts DNS queries
- DNS over TLS (DoT): Alternative encrypted DNS protocol
For Web Scraping
- Puppeteer/Playwright: Configure DNS settings via browser args
- Requests Library: Use custom DNS resolvers
- Scrapfly: Automatic DNS leak protection with proxy rotation
Always test for DNS leaks after configuring a VPN or proxy. Use encrypted DNS (DoH/DoT) when possible, and ensure your VPN provider has DNS leak protection enabled.
This tool tests for DNS leaks by making multiple DNS requests and analyzing which DNS servers respond to those requests.
How the Test Works
- Multiple unique DNS requests are made to bypass caching
- The responding DNS servers are identified and logged
- Server information is compared against known proxy/VPN DNS servers
- Results indicate whether your DNS traffic is properly tunneled
Possible Results
No Leak Detected
All DNS requests are going through your VPN/proxy DNS servers. Your browsing activity is protected from DNS-based tracking.
Leak Detected
Some DNS requests are being sent to your ISP's DNS servers. Your browsing activity may be visible to your ISP.
Blocked/Timeout
DNS requests were blocked or timed out. This could indicate strong privacy protection or network issues.
What to Do If a Leak is Detected
- Enable DNS leak protection in your VPN settings
- Configure your system to use VPN's DNS servers
- Disable IPv6 if your VPN doesn't support it
- Consider using DNS over HTTPS (DoH)
- Test again after making changes
DNS leaks in web scraping can expose your infrastructure and lead to IP bans. Scrapfly provides automatic DNS leak protection for all scraping requests.
Why DNS Matters for Web Scraping
- DNS queries can fingerprint your scraping infrastructure
- ISP DNS servers may log and rate-limit your requests
- DNS-based blocking can prevent access to target sites
- Geographic DNS routing affects content delivery
Scrapfly's DNS Protection
With Scrapfly's proxy infrastructure:
- All DNS requests are tunneled through our proxy network
- No DNS leaks from your scraping infrastructure
- Geographic DNS resolution matches proxy location
- Fast, reliable DNS with global coverage
Example:
from scrapfly import ScrapflyClient, ScrapeConfig
client = ScrapflyClient(key='YOUR_API_KEY')
result = client.scrape(ScrapeConfig(
url='https://example.com',
asp=True, # Full protection including DNS
country='US' # DNS resolves from US location
))
print(result.content) # No DNS leaks!
