Alternatives to CIRA Canadian Shield
A free protective DNS service from Canada's domain registry that blocks malware, phishing and scams. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
CIRA Canadian Shield
A free protective DNS service from Canada's domain registry that blocks malware, phishing and scams.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as CIRA Canadian Shield.
Quad9
Free public DNS resolver that blocks known malicious domains.
Quad9 is a free Swiss non-profit resolver blocking malicious domains with a no-client-IP-logging policy, but it offers no adult content filtering option.
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1
Fast public DNS resolver with a filtered option for families.
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 is a free global resolver with a Families option for content filtering, run by a US company rather than a Canadian not-for-profit.
OpenDNS Home
A public DNS service from Cisco with phishing protection and optional content filtering for home networks.
OpenDNS Home from Cisco provides free phishing protection and content filtering for parental controls, with queries going to a US company's resolver.
DNS4EU
A free public DNS resolver hosted in the EU that blocks malware, phishing and ransomware domains.
DNS4EU is a free resolver hosted in the EU blocking malware, phishing and ransomware, with variants offering different filtering levels.
CleanBrowsing
A DNS filtering service that blocks malware, phishing and adult content at the network level.
CleanBrowsing is a freemium filtering service blocking malware, phishing and adult content with enforced Safe Search, configured by changing DNS settings.
AdGuard DNS
Public filtering DNS resolver with encrypted transports.
AdGuard DNS is a freemium filtering resolver that also blocks ads and supports DNS-over-QUIC, with custom rules requiring a paid account.
NextDNS
Cloud DNS filtering with per-device profiles and detailed logs.
NextDNS adds granular blocklists, per-device profiles and detailed logs, but its free tier is limited to a monthly query allowance.
Control D
Customisable DNS filtering service with per-device profiles.
Control D offers per-device profiles and granular per-service rules with apps for every major platform, though most useful features need a paid plan.
Also worth comparing
These listings name CIRA Canadian Shield as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Safe Surfer
A parental-control DNS filtering service that blocks harmful content on phones, computers and home routers.
CIRA Canadian Shield is free, run by a Canadian not-for-profit, and offers optional adult content filtering, but has no screen time controls.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
