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GoGuardian DNS is a network-level web filtering solution. It works by routing traffic through GoGuardian’s DNS resolvers and applying filtering rules to every device that connects to a filtered network. No extensions or software are required on individual devices. GoGuardian DNS is designed for K-12 schools that need CIPA-compliant filtering across all devices on campus — including BYOD, guest, and unmanaged devices that do not have the GoGuardian extension installed.

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Understand How DNS Filtering Works

DNS stands for Domain Name System — the system that translates domain names like goguardian.com into IP addresses. GoGuardian DNS intercepts these translation requests and applies your filtering policy before any device can reach a blocked domain. Because filtering happens at the network level, GoGuardian DNS:
  • Covers all devices connected to your filtered networks, regardless of operating system or browser
  • Requires no software installation or agent deployment on individual devices
  • Applies the same filtering rules to managed and unmanaged devices on the same network
When a device on your filtered network attempts to access a blocked domain, the DNS request is denied and the user is redirected to a block page.
If a blocked site uses HTTPS, the browser may display a “Your connection is not private” warning. This is expected behavior. The warning appears because the requested certificate (for the blocked site) does not match the certificate from GoGuardian’s block page redirect.

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Understand What GoGuardian DNS Filters

GoGuardian DNS applies filtering at the domain level. It uses the same policy framework as GoGuardian Admin, with important differences: URL path filtering example: A policy rule that blocks sites.google.com/unblockedgames targets the path /unblockedgames. GoGuardian DNS ignores the path and would need to block the entire sites.google.com domain to enforce that rule — which would block all of Google Sites. For path-level rules, use GoGuardian Admin filtering. Wildcard filtering: Wildcards like *unblock* match domains and subdomains — for example, unblockedgames.com. They do not match URL paths.

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Understand When to Use GoGuardian DNS

Use GoGuardian DNS when you need:
  • Filtering for BYOD, guest, or unmanaged devices on campus
  • A network-level filtering layer that works regardless of browser or operating system
  • A supplement to GoGuardian Admin that extends coverage beyond managed Chrome devices
GoGuardian DNS does not replace GoGuardian Admin for managed devices. Use both products together when your environment includes both managed Chrome devices and unmanaged or BYOD devices.

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Resources

Last modified on July 15, 2026