Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook Talking technology, computers, and the Internet… for the average computer user

I’ve been using the services of OpenDNS for over a year now. I am very impressed! I realized that I have never mentioned it here before, so here I go! OpenDNS is a free DNS service, offering speedier DNS service than your ISP’s service, Internet filters, and phishing filters.

DNS is “domain name system.” This system is needed to translate “computer speak” into “people speak.” Whenever you type in, for example, www.wordpress.com, the computer reads it as, for example, 72.233.2.57. People find it easier to type in “wordpress.com,” so the DNS translates the “wordpress.com” into the computer language 72.233.2.57. Most ISPs do this DNS translation service, but most ISPs are extremely slow at it, are not a quick to update changed DNS numbers, and do not have filters to prevent access to and from phishing sites and other sites.

OpenDNS is a huge database of all those DNS names and numbers, located in several locations across the U.S. and U.K. When you switch over to using OpenDNS to translate DNS for you, OpenDNS does it faster. And they also have a huge listing of bad sites, like phishing and pornographic sites, that block access to and from your computer network. If you sign up at OpenDNS, you can create a customizable filter of sites you do and do not want to access. This is great for families! I love having that extra added security, so that if one of the kids ever mistypes a website address, they won’t get a perverted surprise in their browser. There are white lists and black lists and generic topic lists. So let’s say you want to block all access to medical/pharmecutical websites, but you want to allow access to certain weight loss pill reviews sites, you can do it. I really love the filtering feature. OpenDNS offers special settings for home networks, businesses, and schools, too.

And OpenDNS is free! That’s what attracted me to it in the first place. You can read all about the OpenDNS service at their website. There is a lot there, so take your time. But basically, to use OpenDNS, all you have to do is change the DNS numbers on your DSL router or computer. There are special instructions for the most common routers (Linksys, Belkin, D-Link, etc). When changing over to the numbers provided by OpenDNS, be sure to first write down the DNS numbers assigned by your ISP, in case you ever need to switch back. Mine were all at 0.0.0.0, so I have no problem remembering.

The OpenDNS server settings are those numbers, above. Like I said, every router is different, so finding out where to type in OpenDNS numbers is different for everyone. You can go to OpenDNS and see where to locate your router’s DNS settings. (And in case you didn’t know, you can access your router’s software by opening your browser and typing in 192.168.1.1. You will need to have your username and password handy to access the settings. If you have no idea what I am referring to, check with your ISP for that information).