Smart DNS is one of the several tools to unblock any type of internet restrictions. The function of Smart DNS is similar to VPN, but there are lots of differences that make Smart DNS to be less preferable to use. This unblocking tool works by allowing you to access the special DNS server where your online traffic will be re-routed before reaching the website that you want to visit. So, for instance, if you are living in Asia and you want to access the Smart DNS server in the US, your online traffic will be re-routed to the US server before you actually visit the designated website. As a result, your traffic will look like a regular US traffic for the website that you access, allowing you to access many blocked websites on the way.
While the way it operates is similar to VPN, Smart DNS has its own advantages and disadvantages. Unlike VPN, it only alters your DNS address while keeping your IP address intact, and it doesn’t have any type of privacy protection for your online activity. Here are the 5 things that make Smart DNS different from the virtual private network:
1. It Provides Faster Speed Than Most VPN Services
The main highlight of Smart DNS is speed. By using a different DNS server, you can effectively increase your connection speed because it can provide a more stable connection for you. However, in the case of Smart DNS, it is already tweaked for best speed and performance, so you can easily stream any content that is bandwidth-heavy with this unblocking tool without worrying about performance drops. It is also very reliable in terms of the performance that it delivers, making it the best choice if you want to just stream content from different regions with full speed, unlike the VPN connection that might give you some slowdowns during the streaming process.
2. It Doesn’t Hide Your Real IP Address
While VPN is the best way for you to protect your privacy and security online, Smart DNS is not designed to protect your online privacy. With this service, you only be able to change your DNS address, but not your IP address. As a result, you will always display your real IP address on the websites that you visit. It means that you can’t use this unblocking service to hide your online privacy, as it doesn’t come with any privacy protection feature. It simply redirects your initial traffic to the DNS server and then re-route it to your destination websites.
3. It Can Unblock Website Restrictions Just Like VPN
The good news about Smart DNS is that it can be used to unblock any type of region restrictions for any online content. For instance, if you want to access Netflix US from the country that you live in, this service is quite robust and reliable to allow you to access the Netflix US just by changing the DNS server. In fact, the setup for this service is easier than the setup of a VPN software or apps because you simply need to change the DNS address and you can immediately unblock any website restrictions without any complicated steps.
4. You Are Still Prone To Cyber Attacks And Third-party Monitoring With Smart DNS
Because this unblocking service doesn’t provide you with any IP address masking feature, it means that you will always expose your IP address to the websites that you visit. Also, it means that you don’t have the robust privacy and security protection just like the VPN connection, which makes it possible for hackers or any unscrupulous third parties from monitoring your traffic and stealing your important data. When using this service, your online privacy is your sole responsibility, and you have to use your network connection as carefully as possible.
5. It Doesn’t Have Additional Security Features
Again, the purpose of Smart DNS is to re-route your traffic and unblock any region restrictions that prevent you from accessing certain websites. Moreover, it provides the best optimized speed for you to access region-protected content so that you won’t have any performance problem in the process. But, it doesn’t offer any additional security features unlike the VPN connection. It means that by using this unblocking service, you might come over a malicious website and there will be no security protection measure that prevents you from accessing such a dangerous website. In other words, your online security will be at risk.
Those are the differences between Smart DNS and VPN. In short, Smart DNS is designed for speed, performance, and reliability, which allows you to access any website that is blocked by your government. On the other hand, VPN offers you the complete online privacy and security protection while allowing you to unblock or bypass any internet restrictions that you have, giving you the freedom in your online activity.