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Monday, February 20, 2012

alternative DNS server options

as with probably 99.5%* of the online population, i have for years used the default DNS servers that get assigned to me by my ISP as part of the DHCP process. i knew that other DNS servers existed, but never thought about using any alternatives. in recent months, i've found out about two such options, both free:
  1. OpenDNS, which claims to be "the leading provider of Internet security and DNS services", featuring
    • Industry leading malware and botnet protection 
    • Award winning Web filtering 
    • Faster, reliable, more secure DNS 
    • Ultra-reliable, globally distributed cloud network 
    • Simple, Smart, Easy
  2. Google public DNS, which claims to give performance and security benefits
i haven't tried google's public DNS, but have been using the familyshield product from opendns, which comes preconfigured to block adult websites, on top of other standard opendns features. it's quite easy to setup, and seems to be working fairly well thus far, though i can't say i've really noticed much difference (performance wise) compared to my ISP default. well it is meant to be a set and forget thing, so here's hoping i don't need to remember it much.

* yes i totally made that up, but that doesn't mean it's wrong :p

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