Webpages do not load or DNS leaks when connecting via NetworkManager

When you connect to a VPN server using the NetworkManager, you might discover that it does not apply IVPN DNS IP address automatically. This may lead to either websites’ domain names not resolving or your real DNS is being used, which is considered as a leak.

IVPN DNS IP addresses and details are listed here. The 198.245.51.147 address referenced below is our public DNS server. Addresses in the private address space, like 10.0.254.x are internal to the VPN connection. For the internal DNS, feel free to use any from the list, like to activate different levels of the AntiTracker.

If you are more comfortable with NetworkManager, feel free to apply IVPN DNS IP addresses manually:

1. Install the resolvconf package:

   #sudo apt-get install resolvconf
   

2. Open head file..:

   #sudo nano /etc/resolvconf/resolv.conf.d/head
   

   … and on the new line (without quotes) enter nameserver 10.0.254.1 and on another line nameserver 198.245.51.147. Ctrl+X to save changes and exit the file.

3. Restart your system to apply the DNS changes or edit the resolv.conf file to apply the DNS immediately:

   #sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf
   

   Add both of our DNS IP addresses:

   nameserver 10.0.254.1
   nameserver 198.245.51.147
   

   Remove or comment out (by adding ‘#’ at the beginning of the line) lines containing your real DNS IP address

4. Confirm that your system is now using IVPN DNS. Running the, e.g. nslookup ivpn.net command should provide you with the following output.
   When disconnected from IVPN, your system should use 198.245.51.147 IP address:

   Server: 198.245.51.147
   Address: 198.245.51.147#53
   Non-authoritative answer:
   Name:	ivpn.net
   Address: 167.114.18.34
   

   When connected to IVPN, 10.0.254.1:

   Server: 10.0.254.1
   Address: 10.0.254.1#53
   Non-authoritative answer:
   Name:	ivpn.net
   Address: 167.114.18.34
   

Troubleshooting

1. In some Linux distros, there may be multiple services affecting the DNS sub-system. If you see an entry like nameserver 127.0.0.53 in the /etc/resolv.conf file after making the changes above and rebooting your computer system, you may have to disable the systemd-resolved service and reboot your system:

   sudo systemctl disable systemd-resolved.service
   

2. Another way to put and keep DNS servers in the resolv.conf file involves creating a file and changing a file attribute to preserve the file and contents:

   sudo rm -i /etc/resolv.conf
   

   Add our DNS servers to the resolv.conf file:

   #sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf
   nameserver 10.0.254.1
   nameserver 198.245.51.147
   

   Press Ctrl+X to save and exit the nano editor, then change the file attribute to prevent writes or file changes:

   sudo chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf
   

   This file attribute change persists over a reboot. Undo this change with:

   sudo chattr -i /etc/resolv.conf
   

   … then restart your computer system to allow the resolv.conf file to be populated automatically.

Related Articles

• Linux - How do I prevent VPN leaks using nftables and OpenVPN?
• Linux - Fedora Silverblue
• Autostart OpenVPN in systemd (Fedora)
• Building the IVPN CLI Client for Linux on a Raspberry Pi
• Managing the IVPN Linux CLI client at System Boot