OpenDNS

I came across OpenDNS today via Geek News Central. I have been meaning to look for something like this for quite some time. Basically, it is a DNS service, used by your computer to look up the IP address of a domain name. Whenever you setup your Internet connection on your computer, or router, or other device, you have to enter DNS servers that it can use to “resolve” domain names (convert to an IP). Until finding OpenDNS, I had just used the ones I was given from Telus six years ago, because I had memorized them. I always knew there was something better though:

OpenDNS makes the Internet experience safer, faster and smarter for you and everyone using your network. OpenDNS service is free. OpenDNS makes money by serving clearly labeled advertisements on search results pages where we cannot resolve your intent (i.e., not a known typo).

They have a big cache, and geographically dispersed servers, which should speed up requests. OpenDNS will also identify phishing sites and display a warning message. And finally, they will automatically correct spelling mistakes (I want this feature, though it doesn’t seem to be working for me yet, maybe I have to restart – I already flushed the DNS and restarted the browser…).

I just started using it this evening, so I don’t have much to report yet. I don’t think they’ll make any money off me directly, as I won’t click the ads on their search page, but they might indirectly, as I’ll probably start using their servers when I setup computers and networks for people. Give it a shot if you want.

Read: OpenDNS