Control D

Stop thinking about DNS

4.3•12 reviews•

30 followers

Stop thinking about DNS

4.3•12 reviews•

30 followers

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Safety and Privacy platforms

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Security software

Control D is a customizable DNS filtering and traffic redirection platform that leverages Secure DNS protocols like DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-QUIC, with support for Legacy DNS. - Block malicious threats - Block unwanted types of content network wide (ads & trackers, IoT telemetry, adult content, socials, and more) - Gain visibility on network events and usage patterns, with client level granularity - Re-route traffic via proxies (through DNS) for improved privacy and security

Control D Reviews

Name: Control D
Rating: 4.33 (12 reviews)

The community submitted 12 reviews to tell us what they like about Control D, what Control D can do better, and more.

4.3

Based on 12 reviews

Review Control D?

Reviewers largely see Control D as a flexible, powerful DNS service that works well for ad, tracker, malware, and content blocking, with many saying it replaced Pi-hole or other DNS filters and works smoothly on a router for whole-home or business use. Speed, customization, and geo-redirection are recurring strengths, though several users note a learning curve, especially around redirection and advanced router setup. A minority report serious problems, including slow page loads, poor support, or setup failures, so sentiment is strong overall but not unanimous.

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•1 review

It has a pleasant UI and is easy to use. There is a good amount of customization options. Their own Adblock filter is well enough. Slow while loading pages and streaming video. The customer support experience was very poor and unprofessional. The representative I spoke with was rude and discourteous, which made the whole situation even more frustrating.

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3 views2yr ago

•1 review

Ignore the last 2 reviews as these people don't know what they're talking about. Control D is a DNS resolver, that blocks malware and ads (really well). Yes you can do "geo-unblocking" with it but that is a niche feature they dont even advertise. I personally use it for BBC iplayer, it works fine, but even if it didn't I'd still use Control D for managing my networks and child devices. A+ for me (as a person who actually understands what this service does).

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4 views2yr ago

•1 review

Best VPN service I ever used. Retired my pihole, and could not be happier.

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1 view2yr ago

•4 reviews

Overall, an excellent experience. I would describe it as catering to the more sophisticated user of DNS services, but that's fine, average users are more than adequately served by services already available (and it's hard to compete with free). It's not the only service to offer privacy for your DNS lookups, but I prefer it over the others I've tried. I don't personally use the block lists much, but it's a feature that's offered. The initial design concepts seem more focused on a model where devices on the network are configured individually to use ControlD; I use it on the router to handle all the DNS traffic from my home network through one central point. Recently, features have been added to make this 'centralized on the router' model work more effectively. These features aren't (yet?) exposed through the (nice) web interface on the service side, so to take advantage of them, you'll be manually editing the configuration files on the router. A web UI may be coming, I don't know. It may be difficult to expose both conceptual models in one user experience without it becoming confusing. One of the powerful features is the ability configure it to redirect traffic to a country-specific proxy when a host resolves to an IP address located in a country you configure. In practice, this is closer to the 'Smart DNS' feature offered by some VPN providers, and isn't a substitute for a VPN connection to a server in the destination country. Still, it's a useful feature to have in some circumstances. Just don't expect it to fool Netflix or BBC iPlayer's geo-locked content protection :)

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2 views2yr ago

•2 reviews

Using ControlD in business. Handles the load perfectly, anycast is great. We use ad and malware blocking filters, machine learning AI - there were only two false positives, which were promptly fixed. We use domains to redirect geo, the number of servers to choose from is awesome. Thanks to the ControlD team! I plan to take a personal subscription for myself (there are features that are personally applicable), not just as a business.

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2 views2yr ago

•1 review

I was hesitant to try this, as Windscribe already offered most of its functionality, although using different tech. Boy, I'm glad I did! First thing I set up on my devices and operating systems. Even my family uses it, whitout them thinking about it; I set it up as default on our router, which I can manage and fine tune when it's needed, with a different profile for me. Highly recommended.

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1 view2yr ago

•1 review

I've used it for several months after trying other DNS filters and find it extremely flexible, fast and easy to use. There is some learning curve concerning redirection, but once I figured that out it was very smooth sailing.

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1 view2yr ago

•1 review

I used Control D to replace my self-hosted pi-hole and thusfar I couldn't be happier with how it's performed. Really cool tool with amazing customizability

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1 view2yr ago

•1 review

Great service that gives me total control over my devices. adblocking, tracker blocking and keeping undesirable content out of my kids phones is great!

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1 view2yr ago

•1 review

A special DNS service with unique features. Helps me access geo-blocked content on any device and blocks tracking and ad-domains.

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1 view5yr ago