How to Install Unbound on Windows 11

Unbound is a free, open-source DNS resolver that is designed to be fast, secure, and reliable. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps to install Unbound on Windows 11.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, make sure that your Windows 11 machine meets the following requirements:

  • You have Administrator privileges.
  • You have a stable internet connection.
  • Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2019.

Step 1: Download Unbound

First, download the latest version of Unbound from http://unbound.net/downloads/ and save it to a directory on your computer.

Step 2: Install Visual C++ Redistributable

Before installing Unbound, you need to install Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2019. You can download it from the following link: https://aka.ms/vs/16/release/vc_redist.x64.exe

Once downloaded, run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install.

Step 3: Extract the Unbound Package

Open the directory where you saved the Unbound package and extract the contents of the compressed file.

Step 4: Install Unbound

Navigate to the directory where you extracted the Unbound files (e.g. c:\unbound-\bin). Right-click on the "unbound.exe" file and select "Run as administrator." This will start the installation process.

Step 5: Configure Unbound

After the installation process is complete, you need to configure the Unbound DNS resolver. To do this, you will need to create a configuration file. Create a new text file and copy the following code into it:

server:
    interface: 0.0.0.0
    access-control: 0.0.0.0/0 allow
    logfile: "c:\unbound-<version>\unbound.log"
    verbosity: 1

Save the text file as "unbound.conf" in the same directory where unbound.exe is located. Replace "" with the actual version of Unbound that you installed.

Step 6: Start the Unbound Service

To start the Unbound DNS resolver, open a command prompt as an administrator and navigate to the directory where you installed Unbound (e.g. c:\unbound-\bin). Type the following command:

unbound -c unbound.conf -d

This will start the Unbound service with the configuration file you created in step 5.

Step 7: Verify Unbound is Running

To test that Unbound is running, open a web browser and navigate to a website like https://www.google.com. If it loads without any issues, Unbound is working properly.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Unbound on Windows 11. Unbound is now your DNS resolver and will provide fast, secure, and reliable DNS resolution.