Flush DNS Cache

Overview

A DNS cache acts as a memory bank for website information, storing IP addresses and other DNS results to speed up subsequent requests to the same host. Your DNS cache may become outdated, causing incorrectly displayed websites, internet connectivity issues, and DNS errors. Flushing your DNS also protects against DNS cache poisoning or spoofing.

Steps

Windows

1. To access Windows Command Prompt, click on the search bar in your taskbar and type command prompt or cmd. This should put the application on the top of the search window.
2. In the right panel, click Run as administrator.
3. To view what is currently in your DNS cache before clearing it, enter the following command and press Enter.
   ipconfig /displaydns
4. To flush your DNS cache, enter the following command and press Enter.
   ipconfig /flushdns
5. You should see the message Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

MacOS

1. Open the terminal by using Spotlight Search and typing terminal. Double click the Terminal application to open it.
2. Enter the following command and press Return.
   sudo sdcacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder 
3. Enter your Mac’s password and press Return.