Is creating a network location safe?

[AppleInLVX]

Someone please put the paranoia department of my brain to ease…

Big Sur 11.3 somehow killed my mac’s ability to use the internet. While it connected to the home network via both WiFi and ethernet (and the LAN worked), the connection was slower than the old 300 baud modems I remember from before the earth cooled. I looked for solutions online and eventually found this web site with suggestions. I followed all to number 5, and number 5 solved the issue entirely.

I’ve never done this before, and my concern is in using IP addresses, etc from random internet sites could pose a security risk. Can someone with more networking knowledge than I respond with yes or no if this is true?

Very appreciative of a reply.

 

[ian87w]

If number 5 works, that could just mean your ISP's DNS server is having issues/down.
8.8.8.8 is Google's public DNS sever. You can check their official site here: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns

This is their privacy statement: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy

Generally, all the things they do are also being done by your ISP with the default DNS server. I doubt that using Google public DNS will pose a security risk. Sometimes, it might even be more secure as their servers might be more reliable and updated than your ISP's.

 

[AppleInLVX]

If number 5 works, that could just mean your ISP's DNS server is having issues/down.
8.8.8.8 is Google's public DNS sever. You can check their official site here: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns

This is their privacy statement: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy

Generally, all the things they do are also being done by your ISP with the default DNS server. I doubt that using Google public DNS will pose a security risk. Sometimes, it might even be more secure as their servers might be more reliable and updated than your ISP's.

Thank you so very much! I really appreciate the piece of mind you’ve given me.

Oddly though, all other devices on my network including two other macs, two iPads and iPhones all worked fine. This problem was limited to the one Mac. So I don’t know if it was the ISP. I can’t think what it was though, so I’m good just chalking it up.

again, cheers, mate.