Technology

Speed up your Internet surfing for free with OpenDNS

OpenDNS LogoDoes your Internet connection seem slow?  Do web pages load slowly even though you have a broadband connection?  Speeding up your domain name service (DNS) with OpenDNS may help!   When I first implemented OpenDNS, I definitely noticed that my surfing was “snappier”.

Each time your web browser requests a web page, it first has to look up the “Internet address” of the computer it is trying to reach.  Often, this lookup is slow because your ISP’s DNS servers are overloaded.   OpenDNS uses fast servers located all over the world & caches DNS look-ups people have made so that your DNS requests are much faster.

How OpenDNS DNS Caching Works

Also, your ISP may not be too good at keeping their DNS servers alive.  With no DNS, your surfing stops. Comcast in particular has been notorious for DNS server outages.   A study conducted by Nominum shows that Verizon drops 3.41% of DNS requests!  If you have FIOS, you are not getting the high speed surfing you expect if you have lousy DNS performance.  OpenDNS publishes their system status and overall has a very reliable system that is distributed all across the globe.

So don’t wait, setup your computer/router to start using OpenDNS today to start experiencing faster surfing!   There are many other benefits to OpenDNS which I will be covering in some subsequent posts.

Links:
Use OpenDNS

Leave a Comment