I recently came across a a free new web service that will make web browsing faster and safer. It's called OpenDNS. DNS stands for "Domain Name System" and you use it every time you type a web domain in your browser and press Enter. Web site address names need to be translated into their respective IP address. It is like a phone number or ID for a computer. For example, the IP address of www.mtholyoke.edu is 138.110.28.9. Put either in the address bar of your web browser and you'll arrive at the same web site, but www.mtholyoke.edu is easier to remember than 138.110.28.9.
OpenDNS can provide a faster Internet connection because it maintains a very large DNS cache. Meaning that if someone before you has been to a web site, OpenDNS will be able to serve up that address faster. Every ISP offers this service. You may not notice much of a speed difference if you have a large ISP, such as Comcast. However, if you have a local ISP provider you should see a speed increase.
Other than speed OpenDNS has other benefits, it protects you from phishing — bad websites trying to steal your personal information. When you try to go to a phishing site, they let you know. Phishing sites and malware are bigger threats now than viruses. You can optionally block adult sites as a category, or individual websites of any type. These services help you better protect those on your network from websites they shouldn't be visiting, such as, eBay or pornographic sites. You can track sites that were visited for each IP address on you network. There are graphical reports, as well as, comma delimited files that you can download. Ideally a web proxy would work better, but I do not hav ethe resources for a transparent proxy and a tech savvy user could easily disable the proxy settings in the a web browser.
You can also create web shortcuts. For example, when I type "mh" it takes me directly to the Mount Holyoke College web site.
There is no software to download and install. You simply edit the DNS server settings in your computer or router. Clear easy to follow step-by-step instructions are featured for Windows, Mac, Unix, mobile devices, routers and gaming consoles. the DNS server addresses:
- 208.67.222.222
- 208.67.220.220
The way OpenDNS makes money is when you mistype a URL. A search page appears with some Google text ads with suggestions for other web site addresses that are similar to what you typed. If is a common typo it will autocorrect the address.
The site has received positive reviews from PC World, Computerworld and the New York Times. Some individuals raise privacy concerns, because OpenDNS tracks the sites you visited, your IP address, browser type, operating system and so forth. However, every web site does that. We do it on the Alumnae Association web site via Google Analytics to see where people are coming from, what they are looking at and the type of browser they are using so we can be sure to keep our web site compatible. If you are concerned about privacy you probably should not be on the web or you should use a proxy/anonymizer, such as, TOR.
For me, OpenDNS is a helpful web enhancement and network managment tool both at home and the office.
10 September 2007, 12:11
Ed,
Thanks for sharing your experience with OpenDNS, and glad it's been so positive.
I'd add some clarification around privacy.
First of all, a DNS service only "sees" your DNS requests: the web traffic doesn't go through the DNS servers.
Second, OpenDNS removes personal information from its logs in 2 business days for those without accounts. Members with free accounts can choose to have OpenDNS provide statistics and reports in various formats, or tell OpenDNS not to store anything. No other DNS service in the world offers that choice, that we know of. Details here: http://blog.opendns.com/2007/07/23/privacy-policy-update/ and http://www.opendns.com/privacy/
We welcome both work and home usage, and look forward to hearing how else we can improve.
Cheers,
John Roberts
OpenDNS
19 September 2007, 23:26
Using OpenDNS aused a problem with PeachTree Complete Accounting 2007 on a client workstation that was accessing the financial data on another computer, the server.
02 January 2008, 00:06
A proxy server is well known term used by various companies today. The word proxy itself means impersonating or in short your computer answer’s all the questions but only under proxy’s name. Proxy is either a software or hardware based product. It’s basically used to allow internal or corporate users to gain access to internet based websites. In similar terms a web proxy can allow an internet user to access certain websites which are known for generating SPAM or are risky. If you are not certain, the website you are going to access contains any SPAM or harmful virus or Trojan, try going via web proxy as they have well defined filters which can block any intrusion attempts.
In other scenarios where you don’t want the websites to record your IP address you can go through a proxy server. Going through proxy server will always register proxy’s IP address and not your client computer’s. Using proxy server will protect you from any internet dangers and it’s often very useful in protecting you and your computers identity. Day-by-day web proxy usage is increasing. While you are browsing through certain web pages, there is every possibility that your personal information might go out of computer into wrong hands. A proxy server will block any such hidden request for personal information in first place itself.