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OpenDNS - safer, faster and smarter DNS

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sri:

This is a nice free option to change your DNS servers to from the default ones provided by your ISP.

DNS, the Domain Name System, translates the human addresses of websites and servers (like wikipedia.org) to the numerical address used by computers (207.142.131.203).

Why is OpenDNS faster than other DNS services?

Two things make OpenDNS faster than similar services. First, OpenDNS runs a really big, smart cache, so every OpenDNS user benefits from the activities of the broader OpenDNS user base. Second, OpenDNS runs a high-performance network which is geographically distributed and serviced by several redundant connections. OpenDNS responds to your query from the nearest location. That means we're very fast (and extremely reliable, to boot).

Why is OpenDNS smarter?

We fix typos in the URLs you enter whenever we can. For example, if you're using OpenDNS craigslist.og will lead directly to craigslist.org.

How do I start using OpenDNS?

Change your DNS settings to the OpenDNS servers:

    * 208.67.222.222
    * 208.67.220.220
--- End quote ---

OpenDNS is free to use.

Here's a recent testimonial from our IRC channel:

[09:56] <Gothi[c]> srikat: thanks, openDNS seems to be working allooooot faster :)
--- End quote ---


I've been using it ever since it came out and have had no problems so far. It works in the background and we hardly notice its usage.

f0dder:
OpenDNS: a stupider DNS service.

1) decent ISPs already do caching (in fact, who don't?)

2) your ISP DNS is probably faster:
OpenDNS:
Reply from 208.67.222.222: bytes=32 time=108ms TTL=53
Reply from 208.67.220.220: bytes=32 time=107ms TTL=53
versus CyberCity Denmark:
Reply from 212.242.40.3: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=58
Reply from 212.242.40.51: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=58

3) "fixing" misspelled URLs is just retarded, breaks applications that rely on getting a DNS error on bad URL, and is just an advertising scheme anyway. Besides, who controls what is a typo? Filtering in such a basic service as DNS is BAD.

Also, do check out this query and this query.

It's funny how every ISP that have done similar stuff has been flamed to death over it, while a "free service" doing it are embraced by some people...

mouser:
see previous discussion here: https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=4317.0

Gothi[c]:
It was faster because my ISP is having serious DNS trouble today.

Their primary dns server went completely down, all their other dns servers are horribly slow, and the isp's main website went down.

It took about 10 seconds to resolve an ip with the ISP dns servers, 0.1 seconds with openDNS, in normal situations, the ISP servers are ALWAYS (On second thought, lets not forget that there is some evil sucky isp's out there that don't know what they are doing out there.) going to be better, no doubt. But it's deffinitly a good backup.

sri:
I went thru the other forum thread now and agree w/ what housetier said.

https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=4317.msg30669#msg30669

While I haven't found any speed improvements, at the same time I didn't find it slowing down as well.

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