# OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration In this guide, we will tell you how to migrate from OpenDNS to SafeDNS while keeping all settings and preferences. The guide includes an example of router setup, filtering policy settings migration, and categories migration. --- #### 1. Set up the router Change the DNS servers in your router to **195.46.39.39** and **195.46.39.40**. Please note, that your router's interface might be different from the one in the picture. [![1. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2022-09/scaled-1680-/LgsG0QONyUrQGcbS-1-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2022-09/LgsG0QONyUrQGcbS-1-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) --- #### 2. Add public IP address Add the public IP address of your network to the [SafeDNS Dashboard > Settings > Devices.](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/devices/) For your convenience, it is always shown at the top of the page, under "Your IP address". This setting is similar to the OpenDNS's Network Settings section. **OpenDNS** [![2. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2022-09/scaled-1680-/G3UYrkJvBpKrDxKN-2-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2022-09/G3UYrkJvBpKrDxKN-2-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) **SafeDNS** Just copy your public IP address, paste it into the IP address field, and click "Add". [![1. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/zqNro5a3qJtf5ptr-1-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/zqNro5a3qJtf5ptr-1-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) SafeDNS also supports Dynamic IP addresses, DynDNS hostnames, and IPv6. More information about router setup can be found here: https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/router-setup IPv6 router setup: https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/router-setup-ipv6 --- #### 3. Create a custom filtering policy If you need more than one filtering policy, you can always create a new one in the [SafeDNS Dashboard > Settings > Policy tab](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/policy/). [![2. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/g3kUt9f3y8zJUPco-2-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/g3kUt9f3y8zJUPco-2-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) Each filtering policy has its settings for the [Advanced Settings](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/advanced/), [filtering Categories](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/categories/), [AppBlocker](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/app_blocker/), and [Allow](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/allowlist/)/[Denylists](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/denylist/). [![3. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/zmADbv2UsDoRuHCf-3-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/zmADbv2UsDoRuHCf-3-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) --- #### 4. Apply filtering categories OpenDNS security settings are built into the SafeDNS filtering Categories. For example, Malware/Botnet protection, and Phishing Attacks options of OpenDNS are identical to SafeDNS Botnets, Phishing & Typosquatting, and Malware categories. These categories are already blocked by default in the [SafeDNS Dashboard > Categories tab](https://www.safedns.com/cabinet/categories/). [![4. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/5kgP5VWy4TC52wfn-4-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/5kgP5VWy4TC52wfn-4-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) The "Allowlist only" feature blocks access to any domain not listed on the Allowlist (see below). SafeDNS also has the "Unknown Sites" category for the new non-categorized domains. [![5. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/cTBiU0YmqHWkBXbR-5-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/cTBiU0YmqHWkBXbR-5-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) Transfer settings from the Web Content Filtering tab of OpenDNS to more than 65+ SafeDNS Categories. ##### **OpenDNS** [![8. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2022-09/scaled-1680-/G5rqCcrayXmndsnE-8-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2022-09/G5rqCcrayXmndsnE-8-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) ##### **SafeDNS** [![6. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/M81aqZ8T7J6ljMwj-6-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/M81aqZ8T7J6ljMwj-6-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) Here is a transfer list of content filtering categories of OpenDNS vs SafeDNS.
**OpenDNS category** **SafeDNS primary category** **SafeDNS additional category**
Academic Fraud Academic Fraud
Adult Themes Adult Sites
Adware Online Ads
Alcohol Alcohol & Tobacco
Anime/Manga/Webcomic Adult Sites
Auctions Trackers & Analytics
Automotive Automotive
Blogs Blogs
Business Services Business Corporate Sites
Chat Chats & Messengers
Classifieds Classifieds
Dating Dating
Drugs Drugs
E-commerce/Shopping E-commerce Shopping
Educational Institutions Education
File Storage File Storage
Financial Institutions Finances
Forums/Message boards Forums
Gambling Gambling
Games Games
German Youth Protection German Youth Protection Child Sexual Abuse (IWF)
Government Government
Hate/Discrimination Hate & Discrimination
Health and Fitness Health & Fitness
Humor Humor
Instant Messaging Chats and messengers
Jobs/Employment Jobs & Career
Lingerie/Bikini Adult Sites
Movies Movies & Video
Music Music & Radio
News/Media News & Media
Non-Profits Non-profit
Nudity Adult Sites
P2P/File sharing Torrents & P2P
Parked Domains Parked Domains
Photo Sharing Photo Sharing
Podcasts Music & Radio
Politics Politics
Pornography Pornography & Sexuality
Portals Portals
Proxy/Anonymizer Proxies & Anonymizers
Radio Music & Radio
Religious Religious
Research/Reference Science & Technology
Search Engines Search Engines
Sexuality Pornography and sexuality
Social Networking Social Networks
Software/Technology Computers & Internet Science & Technology
Sports Sports
Tasteless Tasteless
Television Movies & Video
Tobacco Alcohol & Tobacco
Travel Travel
Video Sharing Movies & Video File Storage
Visual Search Engines Search Engines
Weapons Weapons
Web Spam Botnets Phishing & Typosquatting
Webmail Webmail
--- #### 5. Set up Allow/Denylists You can always allow or block custom domains using Allow/Denylist. Simply enter a domain you want to allow or deny to the list and click "Add". You can also add domains in bulk using the "Edit as list" button. [![7. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/rDORP8WA67gCyCsq-7-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/rDORP8WA67gCyCsq-7-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) More information about Allow/Denylists and Named lists can be found **[here](https://docs.safedns.com/books/guides/page/allowdenylists-and-named-lists)**. --- #### 6. Explore additional features ##### Advanced settings Here you can enable Safe Search for Google and Bing, force the Restricted mode for Youtube, create a custom Blockpage, set up the filtering in the Active Directory environment, and redirect domains to different IP addresses with the Aliases. [![8. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/z1EIMR7ghsiJSmL2-8-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/z1EIMR7ghsiJSmL2-8-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) ##### Schedule Unlike other content filtering systems that use simple schedules with complete blocking of internet access based on time, SafeDNS uses a complex system of schedules that can be flexibly configured for any needs and any scenario. [![9. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/CxiRwJu6XmycOXu9-9-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/CxiRwJu6XmycOXu9-9-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) ##### AppBlocker Here you can block individual applications or ecosystems. It is similar to Categories - just select the app you need to block and press "Save changes". [![10. OpenDNS to SafeDNS migration.png](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/scaled-1680-/qSCMTrciYXKBCosX-10-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png)](https://docs.safedns.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/qSCMTrciYXKBCosX-10-opendns-to-safedns-migration.png) --- #### 7. Download the SafeDNS Agent app Our service can also be set up on the individual devices. SafeDNS Agent is available for Windows, Linux, and Android systems. iOS and macOS agents are coming soon. More information about the Agent can be found here: Windows - [https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/safedns-agent-for-windows-setup](https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/safedns-agent-for-windows-setup) Linux - [https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/safedns-agent-for-linux-setup](https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/safedns-agent-for-linux-setup) Android - [https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/safedns-app-for-android-setup](https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/safedns-app-for-android-setup) Unsupported mobile devices (yet) - [https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/mobile-devices-filtering-setup](https://docs.safedns.com/books/installation-guides/page/mobile-devices-filtering-setup) --- #### Support
If you have any questions about the migration to SafeDNS, please contact our support team via online chat or by email at