Everyone wants increase your internet connection speed the maximum possible. Of course, the first option is to put a few more coins and pay for a better connection. However, before doing so, there are some little things we can do to optimize our current connection. Among them is the use of OpenDNS.
What is a DNS?
Domain Name System / Service (or DNS, in Spanish: domain name system) is a hierarchical nomenclature system for computers, services or any resource connected to the internet or to a private network.
DNS is a distributed and hierarchical database that stores information associated with domain names on networks such as the Internet. Although as a database the DNS is capable of associating different types of information to each name, the most common uses are the assignment of domain names to IP addresses and the location of the email servers of each domain.
Naming to IP addresses is certainly the best known feature of the DNS protocols. For example, if the IP address of the prox.mx FTP site is 200.64.128.4, most people reach this computer by specifying ftp.prox.mx and not the IP address. In addition to being easier to remember, the name is more reliable. The numeric address could change for many reasons, without you having to change the name.
In short, you can think of DNS as a huge database that translates URLs into IP addresses . Copies of this database exist on servers located in different parts of the world. When someone requests access to a website, behind the scenes, the first thing the web browser does is consult this database to translate the URL into the IP address of that website, thus enabling access to the page the user requested.
What is OpenDNS?
OpenDNS is a free and open DNS server.
OpenDNS offers DNS resolution to individuals and businesses as an alternative to their ISP's (Internet Service Provider) DNS server. Its strategically located servers maintain a large cache of domain names, allowing for generally faster DNS queries , which in turn accelerates response times. The query results are sometimes stored on local systems, further increasing speed for most requests, as they are saved in a local cache.
Other features include a phishing filter and spelling correction (for example, writing wikipedia.or instead of wikipedia.org). When visiting sites classified as malicious, OpenDNS blocks access to that site, although this can be configured in the control panel. It also includes shortcuts (typing "mail" takes you to https://mail.google.com/ , etc.), parental controls , and more.
How to use OpenDNS?
1. First, you need to register . The process is completely free and very simple.
2. During the registration process, you will be asked where you want to use OpenDNS (on your computer, your router, etc.). In each case, installation instructions are provided (in English, but they include many images that greatly simplify the process).
Use OpenDNS on your Linux computer
1. Right-click on the network icon that appears in the GNOME panel.
2. Choose the connection you want OpenDNS to use (for example, the wired connection eth0).
3. Click the Edit button and select the IPv4 tab. Once there, under Method , select the Automatic addresses only (DHCP) option . Then, enter 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 where it says DNS Servers.
5. Finally, accept the changes and restart your computer.
To check that everything is working correctly, you can access the OpenDNS test page.
If you want to configure your OpenDNS options a little more, you can access the Control Panel and click on the connection you want to edit (all available connections will appear in a table titled Your Networks).