[Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
Lo, I have been trying OpenDNS and have noticed similar services while googling. I have it setup now but was wondering if anybody else had tried other services and has any comments on whether they are faster more reliable or have better privacy policies? thanks Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
On 15 April 2010 16:31, trotter wrote: > I have been trying OpenDNS and have noticed similar services while > googling. > > I have it setup now but was wondering if anybody else had tried other > services and has any comments on whether they are faster more reliable > or have better privacy policies? The main downside of OpenDNS (and many similar services) is that nonexistent domains resolve to one of their ad servers. So when you type a nonexistent domain into a web browser, you get an advert. This "feature" breaks such things as the search bar in Epiphany for single terms (because the browser checks whether that word is actually a host on the network first). I don't like it because they break the protocol - although it's possible to block the wildcard domain using dnsmasq, for instance. There's nothing particularly "open" about it. Now, Google Public DNS doesn't do this, and provides a similar service - it falls under Google's standard privacy policy. I'm tempted to use it at work, because our main DNS server is a bit flaky... -- Tim Retout -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
> The main downside of OpenDNS (and many similar services) is that > nonexistent domains resolve to one of their ad servers. You can turn that off - but IMO, you shouldn't have to. But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own resolver? It's dead easy, and is the single biggest improvement to web browsing I've made. The only downside is when it comes to diagnosing problems for BT or Virgin customers - by not using their indescribably bad services, you fail to realise the problems faced by these customers... Vic. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
--- On Fri, 16/4/10, Vic wrote: > > > The main downside of OpenDNS (and many similar > services) is that > > nonexistent domains resolve to one of their ad > servers. > > You can turn that off - but IMO, you shouldn't have to. > I stopped using openDNS just over a year ago because they began throwing adds at me even for valid domains such as 'google' and 'ebay' etc. > But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own > resolver? It's > dead easy, and is the single biggest improvement to web > browsing I've > made. Thats exactly what I did and I agree. tchau Isaac -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
Vic wrote: > But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own resolver? It's > dead easy, and is the single biggest improvement to web browsing I've > made. I would be fascinated to increase my geekdom a notch and learn a little more as to how I can move towards dong that - it sounds very interesting! -- alan cocks Ubuntu user -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
At 13:04 16/04/2010, you wrote: > > The main downside of OpenDNS (and many similar services) is that > > nonexistent domains resolve to one of their ad servers. > >You can turn that off - but IMO, you shouldn't have to. > >But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own resolver? It's >dead easy, and is the single biggest improvement to web browsing I've >made. Running my own resolver would require a PC up 24/7 wouldn't it? So you have noticed an improvement in how quick a websites starts to load? I have noticed this with OpenDNS but wasn't sure since i have only been using it for a day whether it was the ADSL connection or the DNS server Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
At 09:02 16/04/2010, you wrote: >On 15 April 2010 16:31, trotter wrote: > > I have been trying OpenDNS and have noticed similar services while > > googling. > > > > I have it setup now but was wondering if anybody else had tried other > > services and has any comments on whether they are faster more reliable > > or have better privacy policies? > >The main downside of OpenDNS (and many similar services) is that >nonexistent domains resolve to one of their ad servers. So when you >type a nonexistent domain into a web browser, you get an advert. I dont mind that with the advantage it seems to provide in startup speed >Now, Google Public DNS doesn't do this, and provides a similar service >- it falls under Google's standard privacy policy. I'm tempted to use >it at work, because our main DNS server is a bit flaky... How long do they retain search data? I cant remember if its 6months or 2 years and they have been criticised for it so I get the impression there policy leaves something to be desired. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
>> But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own >> resolver? > > I would be fascinated to increase my geekdom a notch and learn a > little more as to how I can move towards dong that - it sounds very > interesting! It's usually just a case of installing the package & kicking it off. For RH-type distros, you usually just do :- yum install bind chkconfig named on Then update /etc/resolv.conf so that the "nameserver" line has "127.0.0.1" in it. The trickiest part is stopping things like NetworkManager from changing resolv.conf every five seconds - chattr is your friend :-) Vic. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
> Running my own resolver would require a PC up 24/7 wouldn't it? No. Why would it? There's no need to run a resolver when you haven't got any clients needing resolution... > So you have noticed an improvement in how quick a websites starts to > load? Yes. ISPs frequently under-invest in DNS. There's little point having super-fast data transfer if it takes you half an hour to find the server you need in the first place... Vic. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
At 15:43 16/04/2010, you wrote: > > Running my own resolver would require a PC up 24/7 wouldn't it? > >No. Why would it? > >There's no need to run a resolver when you haven't got any clients needing >resolution... Ok thanks. > > So you have noticed an improvement in how quick a websites starts to > > load? > >Yes. ISPs frequently under-invest in DNS. There's little point having >super-fast data transfer if it takes you half an hour to find the server >you need in the first place... Good stuff not my imagination after all then. thanks Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
I used OpenDNS for a while, since it was better than Virgin Media's dog-slow servers. It wasn't totally satisfactory however. I tried dnsmasq to do some caching, but it was still slow. Since I upgraded my home router, and used it's internal DNS, the responses have improved dramatically. The router is still using Virgin Media's DNS, so I guess it's caching it more effectively. MikeD -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
On 16 April 2010 16:12, alan c wrote: > Vic wrote: > > > But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own > > resolver? It's dead easy, and is the single biggest improvement to web > browsing I've > > made. > > I would be fascinated to increase my geekdom a notch and learn a > little more as to how I can move towards dong that - it sounds very > interesting! > > -- > alan cocks > Ubuntu user > > -- > Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk > Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire > LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk > -- > Me, too! CAS -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:41:18 +0100 (BST) "Vic" wrote: > > >> But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own > >> resolver? > > > > I would be fascinated to increase my geekdom a notch and learn a > > little more as to how I can move towards dong that - it sounds very > > interesting! > > It's usually just a case of installing the package & kicking it off. > For RH-type distros, you usually just do :- > > yum install bind > chkconfig named on > > Then update /etc/resolv.conf so that the "nameserver" line has > "127.0.0.1" in it. > > The trickiest part is stopping things like NetworkManager from > changing resolv.conf every five seconds - chattr is your friend :-) I use the package resolvconf in Debian to ensure my preferred nameservers stay as I want them, but I have used chattr in the past. -- John Lewis using Debian sid -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
