Use FreeDNS (afraid.org) with your domain: setup and DDNS alternatives

FreeDNS, from afraid.org, lets you manage DNS records and update a dynamic IP address. You can use it with your own domain even if it is registered with another company. The domain registration, its nameservers and the device it points to are separate pieces.

If you came here looking for the old Windows updater, we no longer recommend it. This guide explains the current options and how to choose between FreeDNS and the dynamic DNS available at Hostsuar.

What you need before setting up dynamic DNS

DDNS keeps a name, for example casa.yourdomain.com, pointing to your connection's public IP when it changes. The router, NAS or other device has to report those changes to the DNS provider.

Having DDNS doesn't open ports or, on its own, solve a connection behind CG-NAT. If the name returns the right IP but you can't connect, also check remote access, the firewall and the terms of your connection. Publish only the services you need and keep them up to date.

Use your own domain with FreeDNS

1. Go to FreeDNS and add your domain under Domains. Check its sharing options: Private doesn't mean other people are completely prevented from creating names under that domain. The FreeDNS FAQ explains the public, private and unshared modes.
2. Prepare the records you'll need. If the domain already has a website or email, also keep its A, AAAA, MX, TXT and other records in use; adding just the name you want to update isn't enough.
3. To delegate the whole domain to FreeDNS, set the nameservers FreeDNS gives you for that domain at your registrar. First check any existing DNSSEC configuration and coordinate its keys with the change of provider.
4. Under Subdomains, create or check the name that should point to your connection, with a record that matches its IP.
5. Under Dynamic DNS, find the record's Direct URL link. Set up a maintained client that supports FreeDNS and HTTPS updates. How you enter the key depends on the device: follow its manual and the FreeDNS router guide.

The update URL or key lets anyone change where the name points. Store it like a password; don't publish it in screenshots, public questions or repositories. If the client only supports HTTP, look for an option that allows HTTPS before entering it.

If you only want to delegate a subdomain, the DNS procedure is different from changing the whole domain's nameservers. Don't change the whole zone to meet a need for a single name without first checking the effect on your website and email.

Check that it works

After the first update, look up the record for the name you set up. From a terminal you can use the following, replacing the example with your domain:

nslookup casa.yourdomain.com

Compare the result with the public IP your device should be announcing. If it doesn't match, check where the authoritative DNS is, the record you chose and the DDNS client's result. An old answer may stay cached for a while.

When your IP changes, check that the client reports the new one and that the name ends up resolving to it. If you manage several records in FreeDNS, also check its linked updates option so you don't change other names by accident.

Alternative: manage dynamic DNS with Hostsuar

If you'd rather keep the domain and its DNS management together in your Hostsuar account, choose the tool that matches your service:

The update must act on the DNS that actually serves your domain. Registering the domain here doesn't on its own change a zone that is still delegated to FreeDNS.

If you're going to change DNS provider, set up the destination zone first, configure the client with its new URL and check your website, email and remote access after the change. Keep the previous configuration until you have verified the result; one provider's keys don't work with the other.

If you used the old Windows updater

The previous version of this manual linked to a client distributed over HTTP that asked for credentials. Don't reinstall that tool by following old copies of the guide. Uninstall it and remove its update task if you still use it; change the credentials you gave it and replace the update mechanism with a maintained one.

The FreeDNS service and that client are different things: no longer using that program doesn't mean abandoning a DNS configuration that still works.