Home Network
OpenDNS FamilyShield (208.67.222.123)
A free DNS filter from Cisco that blocks adult content, phishing, and — uniquely — proxy and anonymiser sites children use to bypass other filters.
About home network controls
Router and DNS controls apply to every device on your home network simultaneously — phones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs, and gaming consoles — without installing anything on each device. They are the highest-leverage parental control layer available to parents.
⚠️ What network controls cannot do: They do not work when children switch to mobile data (4G/5G) instead of home WiFi. A VPN app on a child's phone bypasses DNS filtering. HTTPS prevents routers from reading page content — they can only block or allow entire domains, not individual pieces of content within a site.
Coverage at a glance
Yes
All WiFi devices
No
Mobile data
Medium (higher than Cloudflare for Families due to proxy blocking)
Bypass resistance
5 minutes
Setup time
What it blocks
- Adult content.
- Phishing sites and malware.
- Proxy sites and anonymisers used to bypass filters.
- Some VPN provider domains.
What it cannot block
- VPN apps with hardcoded IP addresses.
- Mobile data.
- DNS-over-HTTPS bypass.
- Content within allowed HTTPS domains.
Step-by-step setup
Complete setup guide
- 1
Log into your router admin panel
Open 192.168.1.1 in a browser. The credentials are usually on the router label. Find DNS settings under Internet, WAN, or Advanced.
- 2
Enter the OpenDNS FamilyShield addresses
Set Primary DNS to 208.67.222.123 and Secondary DNS to 208.67.220.123, then save and restart the router.
- 3
Test by visiting a blocked category site
Try a known adult site. It should redirect to the OpenDNS block page confirming that the filter is active.
- 4
Create a free OpenDNS account for the dashboard
Go to opendns.com/home-internet-security and create a free account. Link it to your home IP address following the on-screen instructions. This gives you a real-time log of blocked requests and allows custom category control.
- 5
Use the dashboard to add custom blocks
In your OpenDNS dashboard, add any specific websites you want blocked that are not already covered by the default categories.
- 6
Whitelist any school or educational sites that get blocked
Some legitimate educational sites are occasionally over-blocked. The dashboard lets you whitelist specific domains without weakening the rest of the filter.
Tip
OpenDNS blocks proxy and anonymiser sites by default — these are the tools children often use to bypass basic content filters. That makes it meaningfully harder to circumvent than Cloudflare for Families alone.