[ROUTER] Has anyone tried using OpenDNS?

[Feathers McGraw]

I had never thought about which public DNS server I was using before. In the process of researching it, I have discovered OpenDNS,

http://www.opendns.com/

Has anyone used it? If so, would you recommend it?

They do a few things, I'm talking about their free public DNS service, not any of their family filtering stuff.

Feathers

[Feathers McGraw]

Does your ISP not have DNS?
Except for curiosity I've never seen reasons to change DNS...

I think Google also has DNS, something like 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Yeah they have DNS.

Occasionally, they block sites, and I think they might be doing it with DNS. OpenDNS have a "no censorship" policy that sounds good. There's a lot of stuff in the UK at the moment about introducing "auto on" filtering (read: state censorship) that is worrying. If my ISP starts doing that, and they're doing it with DNS, then I'd rather simply not use their DNS at all than deactivate it with them and stand out for doing so.

Mainly though, in just curious like you said.

Feathers

[lcorken]

Several years ago I noticed an annoying 1 or 2 second delay from the time I clicked a link or typed a site name before it actually started loading. Using Charter cable I Googled this delay and found that Charter has an overloaded DNS server several thousand miles away from me and that some folks are using Open DNS with good results. So I started using Open DNS with good results. Also tried Google DNS which was OK but had some issue at some point. Don’t remember the details (old fart itis).

If you mistype a domain name Open DNS will suggest a list of alternatives. Payed advertisements? That’s how they provide a free service I suppose. No problem.

It’s amazing how annoying that 1 or 2 second delay can be.

The only problem I have had (once) with Open DNS was some blocked sites. Caused by “Parental Control Solutions” feature? Dynamic IP mix-up or some such. Easily fixed.

Overall I recommended OpenDNS. US user.

Ken.

[Feathers McGraw]

Thank you both for your replies.

RE the parental controls, I have a static IP so don't think I'd have a problem with being mixed up.

The next thing will be that the IP addresses of those attempting to surf to a banned site will be logged and shared with the police.

Yeah, or the list of people who have opted out will be leaked out stolen and someone will do something really stupid with it, run a headline like "your politicians are addicted to porn!"...

Feathers

[Feathers McGraw]

Also, I think it says a lot that the UK firewall is going to be implemented by... Huawei, who got the job because they have so much experience, having set up the Chinese firewall. *facepalm*

ANY kind of censorship like this is an accident waiting to happen, and the whole "think of the children" argument is ridiculous - kids always find a way around things like this because they're willing to look up how just to annoy their teachers etc... I remember it fondly myself.

I doubt the politicians and campaigners pushing it through actually understand the technical aspects of what they're doing.

[Feathers McGraw]

How many politicians really care for the technicalities once they have their mandate...
As we (I) like to assume we're still living in a democracy the real problem lies with the idiots voting these into office.
Last week's call for adding violent and 'esoteric material' is beyond the pale.

Scary:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3670771.html

And "web forums"!! Like everyone online is a paedophile... anyway, don't most victims of abuse know their abusers? Perhaps we should fit kids with selective hearing aids too.

Hopefully, the Scots don't abandon us or we're doomed to an eternal Tory government =[

[Feathers McGraw]

Beautiful photos! I love Scotland, the countryside is so unspoiled compared to England. Plus you have more rambling rights there!

Yeah, I guess it's not part of the equation of you're Scottish... if the English, N. Irish and Welsh are dumb enough to vote for Tory candidates, then that's what they/we deserve. Unfortunately.

LBC (a London talk radio station) have mentioned it though, it's a pretty good reason for us to want to convince the Scots to stay!

I'm sure a lot of the emotionally charged augments on the independence side pretty much amount to being rid of people like Cameron, even if they don't put it quite as plainly as that.

[SteveRiley]

If you mistype a domain name Open DNS will suggest a list of alternatives. Payed advertisements? That’s how they provide a free service I suppose.

This is called NXDOMAIN hijacking and I hate it.

When a DNS server can't resolve a request, it should send an NXDOMAIN message to the client resolver. Some managed DNS services hijack the NXDOMAIN and insert "helpful" substitute replies, such as paid search engines.

The *buntu repositories include Namebench, a utility that measures DNS performance of several global and regional DNS providers. When you run it, be sure to select Include censorship checks:

When Namebench finishes, it opens a browser window to display the results. Servers that perform NXDOMAIN hijacking will be indicated as such in the "Notes" column. It appears that OpenDNS isn't doing this anymore.

[SteveRiley]

I had never thought about which public DNS server I was using before... Has anyone used it? If so, would you recommend it?

Dude, given that you've got a mail server up and running, you should do your own DNS server too!

Install bind9. By default, Debian's service automatically primes itself from the Internet's DNS root servers. Point all of your local machines to your new DNS server for name resolution. Voila, your very own DNS straight from the Internet, bypassing censorship and the need for meddlesome third-party forwarders.

Furthermore, you could use your DNS server to provide name resolution for your local network. Next, of course, is to install isc-dhcp-server and use that, rather than your router, to provide DHCP to your LAN. Finally, you can learn to configure dynamic DNS -- when a client receives an address from DHCP, the DHCP server will update your local DNS zone. Now you can contact any local machine on your LAN via whatever hostname you set. Coolness!

[SteveRiley]

your politicians are addicted to porn!

For example, Florida Senator Mike Bennett.

[Feathers McGraw]

Schweet...

I may do some more research and then set something like that up, exploring things like this and rolling your own seems to be one of the best ways to learn how the internet works!

I've often wondered though, since there are so many DNRs, how do all the DNS providers keep up to date?

Are DNRs responsible for telling each and every DNS provider when you make a change to your domain's records?

Is there one "root" server that they all check? That doesn't seem like a robust solution - what if it's down?

Do they all check each other? If so, wouldn't a mistake propagate through all the DNS servers pretty quickly if you introduced it to one of them?

Feathers

[SteveRiley]

DNS is hierarchical and based on delegated zones. There is no "propagation," as such, because servers use recursion to find answers.

Start by learning the basics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dns

[GreyGeek]

How big of an HD does one need to set up their own DNS, or can one install bind9 on their laptop and use it as a server. Seems to me that it would involve a massive downloading of DNS tuplets, and regular refreshing. How much traffic would that generate? Would it saturate a 15Mb/s connection?

[dibl]

The *buntu repositories include Namebench ...

Now THERE is a useful tip -- thank you very much, Steve! I ran it at home and it showed me a pair of servers that ostensibly are 33% faster than my stupid default u-verse setup. Already converted 3 out of 5 computers.

Nice one!

[Snowhog]

Yes indeed. I download/installed/ran it last night. When it finished it reported that my ISP's DNS IP's (primary/secondary) were 37% slower than the two it recommended! I made the changes in my router and the wireless connection configuration for ipV4 in networkmanager.