OpenDNS
A couple weeks ago I switched my router over to start using OpenDNS and I have to sing the praises of the free service. The most simple way to explain DNS is that it translates the URL that you type into your browser into the IP address of the web page that you are visiting. I am a Comcast customer and I suppose I was so used to the delay while Comcast's DNS resolved the hostname lookup of the web page I was visiting that I grew used to waiting. Recently I started to really notice this delay had worsened and wondered if a change in DNS would make a big difference. For me the change with the speed pages loaded was noticeable immediately after switching to OpenDNS.
Several years ago I had set my DNS to not be Comcast's slow DNS servers, at that time the servers seem to just go AWOL now and then. Along the way I changed routers a couple times and lost the DNS servers I had been using. I ended up just using the default for the past couple years and really did not give much thought to changing my DNS. A while back I heard about OpenDNS but just never looked into using the service. When I noticed web pages were resolving very slowly as of late, and since it seemed to be the resolution of the web pages name I was pretty certain it was a DNS issue. The first thing I really liked about OpenDNS, there was no need for me to signup. The setup and DNS server IP addresses were right there for me to grab. With family members sometimes using my computers, I liked the idea of the phishing protection.
I encourage anyone on Comcast especially to give OpenDNS a try. If you use another ISP, you may not notice any speed increases. Comcast has been notorious for having bad DNS and obviously from my experience they have not improved. By the way, if you are considering trying OpenDNS, just make the change on your router, not on every computer you own. Really the only way there is an advantage to changing the DNS directly on your computer is if you own a laptop and are always on the go using different networks. I would be curious to hear others opinions who have tried OpenDNS or perhaps another DNS service.
