Explain Like I'm Five

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ELI5: Does a DNS provider or an adversary know my real IP address if I have a DNS leak? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/explainlikeimfive

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I use a VPN service that is connected to a server in another country, however this VPN service does not offer control over my DNS requests to block some sites so I preferred to use another DNS resolver that has this function.

My question is: When I access my VPN's website, it accuses that a "DNS leak" is occurring. Can the DNS provider know my real IP address, or does it only know my VPN's IP?

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[–] xylogx 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If you have your router setup to resolve DNS, which is common, then while the VPN is active if you use your router for DNS, your router will be sending queries with the sites you visit from your real ip address to your DNS provider.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Can the router be configured to not resolve dns

[–] xylogx 2 points 2 months ago

Yes, you can configure non-router DNS in your DHCP server or you can manually set DNS on individual hosts. For a VPN you want to make sure the VPN connection has DNS manually configured.