I mentioned OpenDNS on 3 September and 13 July of 2007. This is a free service that looks up domain names. Domain names represent the numeric IP (Internet Protocol) addresses that are used on every server. The Domain Name System (DNS) is highly distributed, and a good target for all sorts of legal and illegal opportunities.
OpenDNS is much faster than the domain name servers I’ve used at other ISPs. Every ISP has to provide DNS services to subscribers. The DNS servers are an important part of maintaining a fast connection, but some ISPs just do not manage their DNS servers well.
OpenDNS a great way to speed up an Internet connection, especially for residential and WiFi users, by outsourcing every domain name lookup request to a dedicated set of very fast servers in North America and Europe.
It’s hard to beat secure, fast and free.
OpenDNS also includes some nice security features. The service will block phishing and adult web sites, using a constantly updated list of known servers. This is a more elegant solution that proprietary security software that usually slows down a Windows or Mac computer.
Late last year, OpenDNS asked users to recommend the service to schools and universities. A recent article in THE Journal reports that over 10,000 educational organizations have adopted OpenDNS services.
Crackers have started to attack domain name servers, inserting false domain name entries that redirect users from well-known sites to forgeries. Schools and educational institutions are an attractive target for these attacks, as their IT security is sometimes less than adequate. In the past, school email servers have been a primary target for botnets. Hackers break into these servers, which can then be used to send spam. The legitimate users of these servers may not realize their email system has been compromised until their ISP cuts off their email access.
Installing OpenDNS on a personal computer is easy to do. I would not recommend that employees do this on their company computer without the support of their IT department, as some companies maintain specific entries in their own domain name servers.