What is OpenDNS?

hemophobic · 19 June 2012 at 1:53AM

I lost my internet connection and I had the error message " Windows can't communicate with the device or resource (Primary DNS Server)."

After some googling I found the solution, setting my DNS to the OpenDNS addresses. I already had a static IP before this.

Just wondering what openDNS is exactly? Is it safe to be using :S
Before I had the talktalk DNS because they are my ISP.

steve1980 · 19 June 2012 at 5:03AM

http://wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDNS

Notmyrealname · 19 June 2012 at 12:41PM

Basically a website has an IP address...for example https://www.moneysavingexpert.com is 213.129.82.45. Type http://213.129.82.45 into the address bar of your browser and it takes you to the MSE site.

However this isn't very user friendly so domain names were created - moneysavingexpert.com is a domain name. Because the internet works on IP addresses though, what you need though is a name server so when you type in https://www.moneysavingexpert.com it knows to tell your browser to go to http://213.129.82.45. These servers are called Domain Name Servers or DNS servers. You put the website address in your browser, the computer queries the DNS server to get the IP address then the browser goes to that IP address - all done quietly in the background.

Now all ISPs have one but there are independent providers such as OpenDNS and Google. The service your ISP provides is very basic, input name, resolve to IP address. Services third parties provide can offer additional functionality such as blocking sites etc as advertised on OpenDNS, as well as a faster lookup. When a webpage can have hundreds of graphics in, all requiring a lookup, it can really speed up loading a webpage.

hemophobic · 19 June 2012 at 1:40PM

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Basically a website has an IP address...for example https://www.moneysavingexpert.com is 213.129.82.45. Type http://213.129.82.45 into the address bar of your browser and it takes you to the MSE site.

However this isn't very user friendly so domain names were created - moneysavingexpert.com is a domain name. Because the internet works on IP addresses though, what you need though is a name server so when you type in https://www.moneysavingexpert.com it knows to tell your browser to go to http://213.129.82.45. These servers are called Domain Name Servers or DNS servers. You put the website address in your browser, the computer queries the DNS server to get the IP address then the browser goes to that IP address - all done quietly in the background.

Now all ISPs have one but there are independent providers such as OpenDNS and Google. The service your ISP provides is very basic, input name, resolve to IP address. Services third parties provide can offer additional functionality such as blocking sites etc as advertised on OpenDNS, as well as a faster lookup. When a webpage can have hundreds of graphics in, all requiring a lookup, it can really speed up loading a webpage.

Ahh I see, thanks! Doesn't matter which DNS I use then. Thought it was something more complicated than that.

GunJack · 19 June 2012 at 2:59PM

It can matter which DNS you use, some are faster at resolving than others, and it's always handy to have an alternative couple written down in case the ones you are using break for a while (if they break, can be limiting to internet access unless you know the IP address of any site you want to visit).