How to flush DNS in Windows 10 and why you should

How to flush DNS in Windows 10

Knowing how to flush DNS in Windows 10 can help you speed up things a little bit.

Are you looking for ways to clear the DNS cache on your Windows 10 computer without getting lost in complex DNS settings?

This article features three step-by-step methods that will help you resolve all your DNS-related problems in less than 1 minute.

Table of Contents

  1. How to flush DNS in Windows 10
    1. Using Command Prompt
    2. Using the Run Prompt
    3. Using Windows PowerShell
  2. What is DNS?
    1. Why should you clear the DNS cache?
    2. Checking your DNS cache in Windows 10
  3. Wrap Up

How to flush DNS in Windows 10

Flushing DNS cache alone can fix many website errors including, “Page not found” and “HTML 404” errors.

Once you clear the DNS cache, your invalid records will automatically be deleted, and you will be able to regain access to your favorite web pages.

Here are the 3 super-easy and reliable ways of flushing the DNS Windows 10:

Using Command Prompt

Command Prompt is perhaps the easiest way of clearing DNS cache in a few seconds. Here is what you need to do:

  • Open the “Start menu”, type “cmd” and click on “Run as administrator”. This will allow you to use the Command Prompt as an admin;

  • Type or paste the following commands one by one in the command prompt window and press Enter:

ipconfig /flushdns

ipconfig /renew

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /registerdns

Using the Run Prompt

  • Press the “Windows +R” keys to open the Run dialog box;
  • Type or paste the command “ipconfig /flushdns” in the dialog box and click OK.

A command box will appear on the screen for a few seconds, and the DNS Resolver cache will be removed.

Using Windows PowerShell

  • Press the Windows key and type “PowerShell” in the search bar;

  • Open “Windows PowerShell”, type or paste the command “Clear-DnsClientCache” in the command line, and then tap Enter to remove the resolver cache.

Note: Remember, this step will only delete the DNS client resolver cache.

  • Finally, use the command “Clear-DNsServerCache” to delete the DNS server cache as well.

The Windows PowerShell and Windows Command methods are also applicable to the previous versions of Windows.

What is DNS?

Before we move on to necessary the steps to flush DNS, it is essential to know what it means and what part it plays in your computer system.

The term DNS stands for “Domain Name System”, and it is a crucial part of the internet. Every time we search online, we do it by inputting the website or domain name in the search bar like docs.google.com.

However, web browsers access the required information using IP addresses. And, this is where the DNS plays its part.

It converts the website or domain names into IP addresses, so the browsers can easily understand the query and search for relevant results efficiently.

Every device linked to the internet uses a specific IP address like 192.168.0.1, and this address is essential to locate the relevant device.

Fortunately, we don’t have to memorize these complicated numerical IP addresses and instead rely on DNS to do all the work.

The Windows OS automatically saves the previously accessed DNS address to enable faster web loading. Generally, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) has provided their DNS server, which is defined for your internet device. Your device uses this DNS server to keep a record of all public web pages along with their IP addresses.

Why should you clear the DNS cache?

The primary purpose of DNS cache is to accelerate the browsing process and provide fast and more relevant results in less time.

It is also called DNS resolver cache and works by storing the locations of your recently accessed web servers.

So, the DNS cache allows users to keep a record of their recent activity in a browser and ensure swift access when required.

However, if the address of any web server gets changed, you will not be able to access it until you delete your obsolete, irrelevant cache. Therefore, clearing the resolver cache is necessary to maintain steady access to a web server.

The DNS resolver cache may save inaccurate results due to DNS cache poisoning, which can corrupt the website name by interfering with DNS cache records.

Therefore, flushing the DNS cache regularly will protect your network against security threats such as misuse of personal web data, Malware infection, and data theft.

Checking your DNS cache in Windows 10

Since now you know what DNS resolver cache is, it’s time to learn how to view it in Windows 10.

Remember, different operating systems have different steps to view the DNS cache. For example, MacOS will require you to enter the command “Sudo discoveryutil udnscachestats” in an app to get the cache details. However, for Linux OS, you will need to enter “sudo service nscd status” in the command terminal.

The steps to view the Windows DNS cache using the command prompt are the following:

  • Type cmd in the Windows search bar and hit Enter to open the Command Prompt;

  • Type or paste the command “ipconfig /displaydns” in the command prompt and press “Enter” to obtain your DNS information.

Wrap Up

A DNS cache stores the addresses of the recently accessed pages on a web browser. And this gives you a reliable and super-fast browsing experience.

However, a clear DNS cache will protect you against all kinds of cybercrime like DNS poisoning, hacking, phishing, etc.

You can also reboot your networking device (router or adapter) to get rid of the temporary cache stored there!

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