Smart DNS is one of the widely used Smart DNS services today. It can be used to access 300+ channels in 29 countries with blazing speeds.The company is based in Seychelles and features 200+ servers globally. It supports VPN and SmartVPN.
The Smart DNS Proxy Company is a brand of Global Stealth Inc., which has been a player in the world internet security, encryption and anonymity services since the mid-90s.
In this Smart DNS Review, we are going to tell you more about the service so you can know what to expect from the provider.
Pricing & Plans
Just like any other Smart DNS service, Smart DNS Proxy offers lower rates in comparison to their VPN counterparts.
Their pricing plans are broken down into the monthly plan, and the multi-month plans. There are three multi-month plans:
- the 3 Months Plan
- the 12 Month Plan
- the 24 Month plan.
Here is a distribution of the pricing;
Monthly Plan: Available for $4.9/ month
3 Month Plan: Available for $4.3/ month, which totals up to $12.9
12 Month Plan: Available for $2.91/ month, which totals up to $12.9
24 Month Plan: Available for $2.08/ month, which totals up to $49.9
One thing you should note is that when your multi-month subscription expires, it is automatically converted into a recurring monthly plan.
The Free Trial
One thing that we liked is the fact that they offer a 14-day free trial. To try SmartDNS for free you don’t even need to provide your payment details.
The free trial, however, does not include their VPN service, but you can effectively use it to unblock any website.
Payment Methods
To subscribe the service you have 2 payment options, PayPal, and the Credit Card.
Functionality
Smart DNS Proxy was created with the intention of providing a faster, more stable and more secure network that offers high value to the user. It was inspired by the demand by customers in conjunction with the experience they had in the security and internet traffic encryption field.
Smart DNS is dedicated to offering users a reliable mode of unblocking websites, global video and music streaming services.
Most of these services, for example, Netflix (which is the most loved on-demand video streaming service), offer content depending on the location of a particular user.
This means that some on demand content is only limited to certain countries on purpose.
Unblocking this geo-restricted content is the primary role of Smart DNS Proxy.
While VPNs have been offering this solution, Netflix cracked down on this massively, and some of them now aren’t so reliable.
Smart DNS Proxy routes your request through their DNS, so all your traffic goes through their network.
They then route your query to the proper US Netflix servers enabling you to stream properly. This is not only for Netflix but for any other site you may need to unblock.
Smart DNS also edges VPNs by offering faster speeds since your data does not need to go through encryption channels, something which significantly brings down VPN speeds.
Servers Available
SmartVPN network is unique with over 300+ servers globally.
Users can access all global channels from any SmartVPN network. So they don’t need to connect to a US server to access US channels.
They can connect to the closest VPN server to their physical location. This provides the fastest speed for our users while accessing other country streaming channels.
Device Compatibility
One high note of Smart DNS Proxy is that it supports a wide range of devices to enable everyday usage.
Most of the popular devices used to access the internet are supported, and these include computers, smartphones, set-top boxes, smart TVs, and Game consoles. You can set it up on the following platforms;
- Computers: Mac OS X, Windows OS, Chromebook, Ubuntu
- Mobile Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod
- Televisions: LG Smart TV, Panasonic TV, Samsung TV, Sony TV
- Gaming Consoles: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360, PS Vita, Wii, Wii U
- Set Top Boxes: Apple TV, Amazon Kindle Fire TV, Chromecast, Boxee Box, Google TV, Roku, WD TV Live Devices
- Routers: Basically, all popular routers are supported by Smart DNS Proxy Service
Features
Security & Privacy
This is only a SmartDNS provider and therefore does not offer VPN encryption connection security. All that the service does is re-route your traffic to their DNS, enabling you to access geo-restricted content. If you want more privacy and encryption you should use their VPN connection instead.
Getting Started on Smart DNS Proxy
To start using Smart DNS Proxy, you don’t really have to download a software.
Service is offered online, and therefore you only need to go to their Website.
You can then enroll for a 14-day free trial, which won’t need you to feed your payment information.
Signing up is pretty easy, as you only need your Name, Email, and a Password
After providing the few required details, you will need to activate your account from the email sent to you. You can then Log in to Smart DNS Proxy.
In order for the DNS to work, you have to set it up.
In this Smart DNS Proxy Review, I’ll show you how to set up your DNS to work with Smart DNS Proxy. We will do this Using a Windows 10 PC.
Here is how;
- Access your Control Panel
2. Select ‘Network and Internet’
3. Go to ‘Network and Sharing Center.’
4. Select ‘Adapter Settings’
5. Depending on your Internet connection, double click on your adapter.
6. Next, open the adapter’s ‘Properties.’
7. Select the IPV4 Protocol
8. The next step is to switch from “Obtain DNS Server Automatically” to “Use the following DNS Server Addresses.”
9. Fill the DNS fields with Smart DNS Server IPs that are the closest to your physical location. You will find the Server IPs below:
- Preferred DNS server: Enter the IP of the closest physical location from below
- Alternate DNS server: Enter the IP of the next closest physical location from below
Using the closest servers of your physical location will give you better speeds of DNS resolution.
10. Make sure that the “Validate settings upon exit” box is checked and then Click on OK.
Windows network diagnostics will try to identify any errors. Please wait until it finishes. You can then Close.
11. After this, make sure you restart your PC then log in to your Smart DNS Proxy account. Their systems will identify your IP address and then configure it to work with their servers.
If you do not complete the process, the DNS service won’t work.
Unblocking Content using Smart DNS Proxy
Specifically, you can use Smart DNS Proxy for unblocking Netflix, Pandora, Spotify, Hulu, Rdio, NBC, Last.FM, CBS, MOG, Crackle, MTV, SyFy, HBO Go, Fox, AMC, 3D Go, Oxygen, Logo TV, Turkcell, The Loop, OnDemand Korea, rTVe, Zattoo, BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, ITV, 4oD, France TV, RTE, Big Bash, STV Flow, MBC and many others.
Unblocking Netflix using Smart DNS Proxy
As mentioned earlier, Netflix is usually limited outside the US. However, you can unlock the full content of Netflix using Smart DNS Proxy. You will have to set the region to the US, otherwise, you won’t have access.
Before you set it up, you can see from the figure below that is usually ‘off’.
You can go to ‘Regions,’ and the first option you’ll find is Netflix. Set it to ‘US’ which is the default option, and press ‘Update.’
You will then be prompted to restart your computer, in order for the settings to take effect.
If you have not yet restarted for the DNS IPs, you can do it after this step, and both will pick up just fine.
After the restart, log on to the Smart DNS Proxy Website, and you should be able to access Netflix!
You should note that while Smart DNS Proxy offers Netflix US, you won’t be able to access the Live Stream service.
The Windows Client
Smart DNS Proxy doesn’t have a separate client for setting up services. This is unlike some other SmartDNS providers, but then it saves you having to install yet another software on your computer. This, however, becomes a problem when your IP changes.
The frequency of which your IP can change usually depends on your ISP or if you disconnect your Internet Service. While using SmartDNS Proxy and your IP changes, you have to visit their website and activate your new IP to work with their system.
However, that’s virtually the only thing you need to do as Smart DNS Proxy does a great job at not needing you to change any settings. Once you configure your computer to work with their system, you won’t need to update the configuration.
Speed, DNS, and IP Test
As mentioned earlier, Smart DNS Proxy does not offer any form of IP protection. This means that your IP remains the same, and we could see our own IPs during in the IP test.
In the DNS leak test, we were happy to see the only result was the DNS IP that we set up during the configuration.
In terms of speed, Smart DNS Proxy is an excellent choice.
The fact that there is no encryption means that your speeds are not significantly affected, and this can be shown below.
The speed test here was done with a connection that has a speed of 32 Mbps. You can see that it only drops slightly to 30Mbps.
Customer Support
Smart DNS Proxy offers you some of the best support that you can get. While doing this review, I contacted them on some queries I had and in a matter of seconds I was chatting with an agent.
Apart from being quick to reply, he was also very helpful. There is also a ticket/email support system that you can use for more technical purposes, and it’s just as great.
Smart DNS Proxy Pros & Cons
Pros
- Speedy local servers
- Locations all around the world
- Fantastic value
- Superb customer support
Cons
- Setting up is a bit of a hassle. It needs you to read and understand instructions properly. However, once connected, you won’t need to set it up again.
One comment
hosting murah
July 9, 2017 at 8:44 pm
Everything is very good with a clear explanation of the challenges.
It was truly informative. Your site is very useful.
Thank you for sharing!