By Adela D. Louie, Last updated: December 18, 2019

Ever wonder what DNS servers on your Mac are? Would you want to know on when or how are this DNS servers work? Well, in this article, we are going to know more about the DNS server on your Mac and on how you can find them. So if you are one of those people who are actually curious about it, then this is for you.

Part 1: What is A DNS Server?

If a certain device such as your Mac does not have a DNS server, then you will not be able to access the internet on your device. This is because a DNS server is one of the most crucial parts of the DNS infrastructure. DNS stands for Domain Name System.

This is where you will be able to find the IP addresses and as well as the hostnames and the data that is used for you to fix any problems that the user might encounter on a certain website, a device or some other network system that is using an IP address. Truly, DNS is very handy.

Part 2: When Do We Use DNS Servers?

Once that a user types in a certain host or website or a URL on the address bar on one of their browsers, the DNS resolver will then immediately contact the DNS server for it to be able to find the IP address that is somewhat connected to the website that you are trying to access. And, once that the DNS server is not able to locate any information that it needs, then it will move along to the DNS server in the DNS hierarchy until such time that it was able to locate the data that it needs.

Part 3: How to Find DNS Server on Mac

• Welcome to the Geekbench Mac Benchmark Chart. The data on this chart is calculated from Geekbench 5 results users have uploaded to the Geekbench Browser.To make sure the results accurately reflect the average performance of each Mac, the chart only includes Macs with at least five unique results in the Geekbench Browser.
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• To find out which DNS server you should be using, check with your ISP or network administrator. For help interpreting the results or to see how you can use the underlying nslookup or dig command to see more DNS information, open Terminal (in Applications Utilities), then type man dig at the command line. Open Terminal for me.
• Explore the best Servers software for Mac. Browse our catalog of over 50 000 mac apps. MacUpdate is serving app downloads since 1997.

Now, for you to be able to check on the DNS server that you have on your Mac, here are the steps that you should follow.

1. Go ahead and launch System Preferences. You can see this from the Dock of your Mac or you can also go to the Apple menu and then choose “System Preferences”.
2. And then, once that the System Preferences appears on your screen, go ahead and choose the “Network” icon. Then the network configuration will be shown on your screen. This will show you the status of the active ports.
3. Then, in the left-hand area, go ahead and select the network that you would want to see.
4. After that, go ahead and click on the “Advanced” button and as well as the DNS tab.

'Raw Performance' is the speed when querying each nameserver directly 'Resolver Simulation' simulates the algorithm of public DNS resolvers and shows the performance from the resolver's point of view 'Uptime' shows the real uptime of DNS provider.

NOTE: If you were able to enter the setting manually, then the MIT DNS servers will be listed on your screen in black font. If you have this, you can go ahead and click on the minus (-) sign for you to remove it. However, once that the DNS server appears grey on your screen, then that means that they were assigned automatically. And once that you have left the MIT campus, then the DNS settings will be updated on your local network provider.

That is how easy to find the DNS server on your Mac if you are wondering about where you can check on it.

Part 4: How to Flush DNS Cache on Mac – FoneDog PowerMyMac

In this part, we are going to show you the easiest and quickest way for you to be able to clear out the DNS cache on your Mac. All you need to have is the FoneDog PowerMyMac and rest assured that you will be able to do this task as quick and easy as possible.

The Flash DNS feature of the FoneDog PowerMyMac will be able to help you in solving any network problems that you are having on your Mac. There are actually three possible situations that you might encounter and that you will be needing to flash your DNS cache from your Mac.

• First one is that if you are actually having the inability to connect to some of the websites on your Mac.
• Another thing is that if you are experiencing that your network is slowing down randomly
• And if it used in any of the related issues.

The good thing about the FoneDog PowerMyMac is that, aside from the fact that you will be able to fix the problem with regards to your DNS server, you will also be able to make your Mac as good as new. Meaning, if you are going to have the FoneDog PowerMyMac, you will be able to do a lot of things with it. It will all depend on what you need. Here are some of the best features of the FoneDog PowerMyMac program.

• It can become a Mac Cleaner that will allow you to free up more of your storage space and make the performance of your Mac better.
• It can become a Duplicate Finder, which means that it can help you locate and remove all those duplicate files that you have on your Mac.
• It can become an App uninstaller as it can do the job better.
• You can also use the PowerMyMac for you to be able to secure the privacy of the files that you have on your Mac because you can set up a password so that no one will be able to access it.
• It can become a performance monitory wherein you will be able to use it for you to check up on the system status of your Mac.
• It can be a file unarchive, and a lot more.

With all the said features, there are still a lot more than the FoneDog PowerMyMac can do and you can find it all out once that you have the program installed on your Mac. Because of this, the FoneDog PowerMyMac is considered to be as an all-in-one Mac application and so far the best one ever.

Now, if you would want to start flushing your DNS cache from your Mac, all you have to do is to follow the steps below.

Step 1: Download and Install

First is that you will be needing to download the PowerMyMac from our official website. And once that you are done, you can go ahead and install it on your Mac.

Step 2: Open the PowerMyMac

Once that you are done with the installation process of the program, go ahead and simply launch it on your Mac.

Step 3: Check on Your Mac Status

If you would want to check up on the status of your Mac, all you have to do is to click on the “Status” option at the top of your screen. And then the PowerMyMac will show you the status of your Mac such as CPU, Memory, and your Disk.

Step 4: Choose Toolkit

After checking up on the status of your Mac, go ahead and click on the “Toolkit” option from the top of your screen.

Step 5: Choose Maintenance

From the list under Toolkit, go ahead and click on the “Maintenance” option.
If necessary, please press the little 'Scan' button on the right side of 'View' to rescan your Mac.

Step 6: Choose Flush DNS and Clean

Then, under the Maintenance option, go ahead and choose “Flush DNS”. From here, you will be able to clean up the DNS cache on your Mac. All you have to do is to click on the “Clean” button and the process will then start.

So that is how easy and quick to flush your DNS cache from your Mac using the most powerful tool today – the FoneDog PowerMyMac.

Part 5: Cleaning DNS Cache Manually on Mac

Before we go ahead and proceed with the cleaning of your DNS cache on your Mac, we have to warn you that doing this will interrupt any active web. That is why it is better for you to close any browsers first before doing this.

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The methods that we are going to show you will depend on what type of Mac you are using. So, just go through the methods and look for the one that has the type of the Mac you are using.

Method #1: Flushing DNS Cache on macOS High Sierra

1. Go ahead and launch Finder on your Mac.
2. And then, choose Applications, then click on Utilities and then Terminal.
3. After that, go ahead and enter these commands: sudo killall -HUP mDNSRespoder; sleep 2; echo macOS DNS Cache Reset | say
4. After entering the command, go ahead and press on the Return button and then enter your password. And once again, press the Return button.
5. Then, you will be able to see a message on your screen that says “macOS DNS cache reset”.
6. Then once you are done, go ahead and exit Terminal.

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Method #2: Flushing DNS Cache on macOS Sierra

This method is actually a little similar on flushing DNS on a High Sierra Mac. However, only the syntax for this one is different. Here is what you need to do.

1. Go ahead and launch the Finder on your Mac.
2. And then, go ahead and choose Applications and then choose Utilities and then choose Terminal.
3. After that, go ahead and this command: sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;say DNS cache has been flushed
4. After entering the command, go ahead and press the Return button and then key in your password. Once done with the password, press the Enter command again.
5. And then lastly, listen to the audio alert. Once that you hear that alert, then that means that the DNS cache was successfully removed from your Mac.

NOTE: If the command that we have provided above does not work for you, then you can go ahead and use this alternative syntax.

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;sudo killall mDNSResponderHelper;sudo dscacheutil -flushedcache;say Mac DNS cache has been cleared

Method #3: Flushing DNS Cache on Mac OS El Capitan and Yosemite

This method can be both applied on the El Capitan and Yosemite version of Mac. So here is how to do this.

1. Go ahead and launch Finder on your Mac.
2. After that, go ahead and click on the Applications and then choose Utilities and then click Terminal.
3. Once that you are in Terminal, go ahead and enter the following command:
4. sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;say cache flushed
5. And then, go ahead and press on the Return button and then key in your password. Once done, press on the Return button again.
6. After that, wait for the alert tone which means that the process is successful.
7. Then once that you are done, go ahead and exit Terminal.

TIP: If you are using the OS X Yosemite version 10.10, 10.1, 10.10.2 and the 10.10.3, then the process of these are a bit different. For you to be able to completely flush your DNS cache, you have to clear out the Multicast DNS and as well as the Unicast DNS.

• For you to clear the MDNS cache, all you have to do is to enter these command in the Terminal:

sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache

• And then, for you to be able to clear the UDNS cache, just do the same process above but enter this syntax on Terminal:

sudo discoveryutil ednsfushcaches

• And then, for you to be able to clear both the MDNS and UDNS cache at once, go ahead and do the same steps but enter these command line:

sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache;sudo discoveryutiludnsflushcaches;say flushed

Part 6: Conclusion

Now, you already know how you can find the DNS server on your Mac both manually and the easiest way. Now, if you are actually facing some problems about the websites that you are trying to visit, then it is a great idea that you clear out your DNS cache on your Mac. This way, your problem will be resolved quickly.

And in doing this, we highly recommend that you use the most powerful program for your Mac. And that is the FoneDog PowerMyMac. Every task will be as quick as possible.

Anyone who uses the internet leaves some kind of digital footprint. Cookies and Javascript are often used to monitor the behavior of website visitors.

But did you know that your operating system also stores information about your surfing activities? This is done via DNS cache, which you should clean up regularly to prevent problems.

This article will explain what DNS cache is, why your computer saves it, and how to flush DNS cache on Mac.

What Is the DNS Cache?

DNS servers convert domain names, like www.abc.com, into numerical web addresses that computer systems can process. By default, browsers contact the DNS servers whenever a web address is being accessed. The more visitors a URL has, the more work for the DNS server, which could lead to DNS errors, such as “DNS Server Not Responding.”

To minimize work for the DNS server and to prevent frequent fetching whenever the user is trying to access the same website, operating systems, such as Windows and macOS, include their own cache for every resolved address. This is called the DNS cache. Basically, the DNS cache stores all the relevant information required for name resolution. This way, your browser doesn’t have to access the DNS server every time a query is made.

Every DNS Cache contains the following information:

• Resource data or rdata – This data describes the record, such as the address or host name.
• Record type – This refers to the type of the created entry
• Record name – This records the domain name of the object for which the entry was made.
• Time to live – This pertains to the validity period of the resource record, usually stored in seconds.
• Class – This refers to the protocol group that the resource belongs to.
• Resource data length – This is the value for the length of the resource data.

Why You Need to Clear DNS Cache in Catalina

What are the reasons for a regular DNS flush? As discussed earlier, flushing the DNS cache regularly has its purpose. But this process is not automatic. The entries are stored in the cache unless the defined TTL expires. The user needs to initiate the flush, and there are several reasons why you need to do so.

Hide search activities

Although the monitoring of user behavior is mainly carried out through the use of cookies, JavaScript, and other software, the DNS cache still contains relatively important information, which is a potential target for data collectors. Based on the listed addresses, plus additional information saved on the cache, anyone can analyze your page history. The list of web addresses stored on the cache betrays which websites you visit more often. The more comprehensive your cached addresses collection is, the more it reveals about you and your activities.

Security purposes

This is probably one of the most important reasons why you should clear the DNS cache on a regular basis. The data saved in the cache is useful for quickly delivering web pages, but it can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. If hackers gain access to your DNS cache, they can easily manipulate the entries and alter your activities. For example, they can redirect you to the wrong websites or show different search results. This is also called DNS poisoning or DNS spoofing. This trickery is generally used to steal login information for online banking and other accounts. By flushing your DNS, cybercriminals won’t have the opportunity to steal your logins.

Resolve technical issues

When you’re having problems accessing specific websites or using web applications, flushing the DNS cache is one of the required troubleshooting steps. For instance, it is possible that the outdated version of the called website is shown due to outdated entries. This happens when the domain name stored in the cache has an incorrect or old IP address. This can easily be fixed by clearing the DNS cache. When you do this, the request will once again be routed to the appropriate DNS server, and not from the cache. This will update the address information in the process and the connection to the webpage will be restored.

How to Flush DNS Cache in Catalina and Big Sur

Now that we’ve established the importance of clearing the DNS cache, let us now discuss the steps on how to Flush DNS Cache in Catalina and Big Sur.

If you’re running an older version of macOS, the process is slightly different so this will not work. You need to be running at least Catalina for the steps to be effective.

Follow the steps here:

1. Open the Terminal by going to Finder > Go > Utilities. You can also search for Terminal using Spotlight.
2. In the Terminal window, type in the following command:
   • sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
   • sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
3. Hit Enter to execute the command.
4. Enter your admin password when prompted.
5. Close the Terminal.

When you’ve completed the steps above, then you’ve successfully cleared your DNS cache. If you encounter reset and flush DNS cache DNS issues, here are the things you can do:

Dns Benchmark Para Mac

• Restart your Mac and try clearing the cache after the reboot.
• Turn off your firewall and security software temporarily.
• Clean up junk files from your Mac using Outbyte MacRepair.
• Boot into Safe Mode and try clearing the DNS cache from there.

How to Flush DNS Cache on Mac with Older macOS

Dns Benchmark Mac Catalina

The steps above work only for macOS Catalina and Big Sur. If you’re running an older macOS, you need to refer to the appropriate commands below. You will still be using the Terminal to enter the commands, just that the command lines are slightly different.

Sierra and High Sierra:

• sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Yosemite (OS X 10.10.4) and El Capitan:

• sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
• sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Yosemite (OS X 10.10.1 to 10.10.3):

• sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache
• sudo discoveryutil udnsflushcaches

Mavericks:

Dns Benchmark Download

• sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
• sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Dns Benchmark Macbook

Summary

Dns Benchmark Pour Mac

When you clear the DNS cache using the commands above, take note that you will not get any affirmation or any message that indicates that the process was successful. The only way you’ll know that the DNS cache has been reset is when you are finally able to access the webpage you had trouble with earlier.