TechAsh's Blog

Hello again,

Most of my blog posts so far have been on the subject of web hosting and web design. Today I've decided to write about something slightly different. OpenDNS. OpenDNS is a free service (You can pay for more advanced features) that provides a fast and reliable DNS service along with website filtering and protection from some botnets. I have been using it for a while now and find it extremely useful.

I'll briefly explain what DNS is then run through some of OpenDNS's best features.

Very simply DNS is what converts the website address that you type into your browser (eg. http://techash.tk) into an IP address that a server can understand (eg. 123.456.789.123). Exactly how it does this is beyond the scope of this post, but without it the Internet would not be anywhere near as useful and popular as it is.

Most people use their ISP's (Internet Service Providers) DNS service, however these can often be slow and unreliable and don't usually come with filtering services. This is where OpenDNS comes in, you set up your computer/router to use OpenDNS's DNS servers and optionally create an account on their website and you instantly have access to a much better DNS service.

Some of the features include:

• Fast DNS resolution wherever you are in the world. OpenDNS have a number of servers in the US and Europe with plans to add more in Eastern countries.
• Automatic rerouteing. If one of OpenDNS's servers is offline all DNS traffic is seamlessly redirected to another server meaning zero downtime.
• Smart caching. OpenDNS remembers the last working address for a website, so even if the website has problems with it's DNS servers you can still access it.
• Website filtering. Keep you family or employees safe online by blocking dodgy websites. There is a wide range of categories that can be blocked, and the list of sites is community generated and constantly updated.
• Statistics - You can access statistics allowing you to see which websites you visit the most, as well as a list of all sites that have been blocked.

Some technical knowledge is required to set up OpenDNS on your computer, but you can find helpful step-by-step guides on the OpenDNS website. I would strongly recommend OpenDNS to anyone, even to non-technical people, as it can help to improve the speed and safety of you internet browsing.