Google Public DNS

[anon]

Google Public DNS is a free, global Domain Name System (DNS) resolution service, that you can use as an alternative to your current DNS provider.

To try it out:

• Configure your network settings to use the IP addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as your DNS servers or
• Read our configuration instructions.

If you decide to try Google Public DNS, your client programs will perform all DNS lookups using Google Public DNS.

http://code.google.com/intl/en/speed/public-dns/

Seems Google wants to compete with OpenDNS.

[Cabalo]

nice to see another one showing up.
But what's in for them by creating this service? I mean, google lives from advertising.

[anon]

I haven't tried it yet, but OpenDNS redirects you to a search/guide page with some ads on it when you type an address incorrectly. Perhaps Google's doing the same. Not to mention they can see practically every site you visit when using this service.

Edit: not:

If you issue a query for a domain name that does not exist, Google Public DNS always returns an NXDOMAIN record, as per the DNS protocol standards. The browser should show this response as a DNS error.

[tesco]

I haven't tried it yet, but OpenDNS redirects you to a search/guide page with some ads on it when you type an address incorrectly.

You can turn that off btw.

[anon]

I know, but I don't want to make an OpenDNS account

[xuxoxux]

I know, but I don't want to make an OpenDNS account

Prefer Google over OpenDNS?

[anon]

No, as a matter of fact I have yet to try Google's DNS. I just don't want to make an OpenDNS account.

[Cabalo]

No, as a matter of fact I have yet to try Google's DNS. I just don't want to make an OpenDNS account.

I've never dedicated any attention to this, but in your opinion which advantages do you think a regular user has when using OpenDNS instead his own ISP's DNS servers?

[anon]

ISPs' DNS servers tend to be slow and sometimes go down, at least this was my case. OpenDNS is faster and has a 100% uptime so far.

Some people may say "but I get 10ms ping for my ISP's and 200 for OpenDNS". Well, the ping time shouldn't be a determinant factor when it comes to speed - your ISP may take 10ms to be reached, but 500ms to fetch the DNS record and send it to you.

[tesco]

ISPs' DNS servers tend to be slow and sometimes go down, at least this was my case. OpenDNS is faster and has a 100% uptime so far.

That was also the case for me. The ISP DNS servers would randomly have really slow responses, like up to a minute or even more, along with not being able to access sites (server not found) even when they were working fine (tested with "downforeveryoneorjustme.com", and sometimes it was google that was "down").

As for the OpenDNS account, what's worng with signing up? It beats having to put up with that OpenDNS Search page...