i just put open dns on my computer. you should try it.

[chad]

holy smokes, my internet connection is almost twice as fast! apparently i can filter out web sites out that i don't want access to as well (good for the kids), track ip visits, theres all sorts of cool stuff in the dns manager. it's like i am the ISP now. very cool, all at $10 a year for the pro version with no ads.

i don't try to shill stuff on here very often, but i thought i had to post this. been reading about it for year, glad i finally tried it.

www.opendns.com

[Ponce]

Chad? my lap top is 78% empty because I don't like to load anything........how easy is to intall this and how safe?..........thanks.........me ;D

[chad]

you don't really install anything. you just sign up for it (there's a free version as well) and change some settings in your network preferences. i don't know anything about my mac and i figured it out. once you sign up there's a picture wizard that walks you through it. it bypasses your ISP's DNS tables and uses the opendns ones instead, which at least for me, is way, way, way faster. supposedly they're updated more often as well, and they automatically filter out phising and other malicious sites.

[Ares]

I've been using openDNS for a couple years now. Love it.

[osoab]

I had never heard of it before.

For those wondering. OpenDNS – What is OpenDNS and Why You Absolutely Need It ? (http://www.labnol.org/internet/tools/opendsn-what-is-opendns-why-required-2/2587/)


When you type an address like www.yahoo.com in your browser address bar, the computer doesn't know where yahoo.com points to and it will therefore ask the DNS server.

The job of a DNS server is to translate this human-readable web address (like www.yahoo.com) into a computer-readable number also known as an IP address (209.131.36.158). Once your computer knows the IP location of a web domain name, it opens the website in your browser.

DNS is such an integral part of our Internet life working behind the scenes every time we connect to a website. In most situations, our Internet Service Provider specifies the DNS Server address that we key into the browser network settings or the router.

Unfortunately, this can prove to be the weakest link in the entire workflow. For example, if the DNS server of your ISP is slow, the time it takes to resolve the web address adds up to the overall loading time of the website.

To solve this problem, we look at a simple and reliable service called OpenDNS that speeds up your Internet connection and also handles some other very important issues. There are no software to install, it’s very easy to set up and the price is just right - $0.


And a disclaimer.


And do keep handy the old DNS settings given by your ISP as you may need them in the extreme scenario when OpenDNS system goes down or you want to disable / remove OpenDNS completely from your computer.

From what I read is that opendns is kept on a cloud system.

Is there anyway to get a standalone program on your computer that would do the same function?
It's not like 4 people will visit 1 million sites.

Well, maybe Ponce. :D

[ximmy]

Thanks chad & osoab... I'd like to hear more about this...

[Ponce]

Osoab?.......make that one million and one ;D

I think that I'll try that dujiky for $10.00.......

[Ponce]

Chad? I don't see any changes beside the site telling me that I am there......it didn't tell me to push any buttons or anything else.........what's your opinion?

[chad]

Chad? I don't see any changes beside the site telling me that I am there......it didn't tell me to push any buttons or anything else.........what's your opinion?


ponce-

opendns.com ---> click use opendns tab at the top ---> choose basic (free, but with ads) or opendns deluxe ($10)

then go through the wizard. if you chose the deluxe version, make sure you always choose the home/family option, otherwise it will keep asking you for business contacts.

the wizard (after you signup) will tell you how to change your settings.