DNS-Swapper

If you are using a network wide ad-blocker, such as Pi-Hole, then there might be situations when you need to switch the DNS in order to access a website. Generally speaking, you can achieve this by either temporarily disabling the ad-blocker or change it manually in the window configuration.

DNS-Swapper is a tool that simplifies the entire thing, as it provides a straightforward way to toggles DNS servers as necessary.

Following a quick installation, you can access the tool for the System Tray and configure it. The actual configuration in this case entails specifying the addresses for the primary and secondary DNS servers. The settings are saves automatically, but if you prefer to do it manually, access the File menu. As indicated in the UI, the tool replaces all DNS that are already configured on your PC with the values you just entered.

As far as the use goes, all you need to do is right-click to switch between the two servers. For extra convenience, the developer included color codes, so a blue icon indicates the ad-blocking server, whereas the red one means the non ad-blocking DNS is active. A yellow exclamation mark over the app’s icon in the System Tray indicates that something went wrong while switching the DNS servers, so you will need to review your configuration.

Granted, the program is designed with Pi-Hole in mind, based on color notifications and developer descriptions. Then again, it is safe to assume that it can be used with other DNS servers by anyone who needs to switch DNS configurations on their Windows computer.

While Pi-Hole does a great job at blocking ads across the network, there may be situations when you actually want to see the advertisements or use a service, such as Google Ad-Links, for instance. Using a tool like DNS-Swapper can certainly make things faster and smoother in these cases.