OpenDNS: DNS server to surf the Internet faster and safer

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.

Summarizing, you can think of DNS as a huge database that converts URLs into IP addresses. Copies of this database exist on servers hosted in different parts of the world. When someone requests to access a web page, behind the scenes, the first thing the internet browser does is consult this database to convert the URL into the IP number of that page, in order to access the page that the user requested.

What is OpenDNS?

OpenDNS it is a free and open DNS server.

OpenDNS offers DNS resolution to individuals and businesses as an alternative to your ISP's DNS server (Internet Service Provider, in Spanish: Internet Provider). Its servers located in strategic places maintain a large cache of domain names, allow DNS queries to be generally faster, which in turn speeds up the response speed. The results of the queries are sometimes stored by the local systems, achieving an increase in the speed in most of the requests, since they are stored in a local cache.

Other features include a phishing filter y spelling error correction (for example write wikipedia.or instead of wikipedia.org). When entering sites classified as malicious, OpenDNS blocks access to that site, although this can be configured in the control panel. It also includes Shortcuts (to write mail Accede to https://mail.google.com/, Etc.), parental control, etc.

How to use OpenDNS?

1.- First, it is necessary 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, on your router, etc.). In each case, the installation guidelines are provided (in English, but they include many images that greatly facilitate 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 eth0 wired connection).

3.- Click the Edit button and select the IPv4 tab. Once there, in Method, select the option Automatic addresses only (DHCP). Then enter 208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220 where says DNS servers.

5.- Finally, accept the changes and restart the computer.

To check that everything works well, you can access the OpenDNS test page.

In case you want to configure your OpenDNS options a bit 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).