Google Public DNS
03/12/09 13:30 Filed in: Computing
Well, Google announced Google Public DNS today. It took me about 3 minutes to change all of the DNS servers I use to point to this new DNS Service.
OK... why?
1 It follows the Internet RFC’s. It works the way DNS is supposed to work, especially when a site can’t be found. In other words, it un-breaks parts of the internet.
2 Because of #1, there’s no “Site Finder” - meaning when you go to a web address that doesn’t exist, you get the expected “server not found” error. I can’t tell you how much “Site Finder” (and look-alikes) bother me. So you mistyped the URL; great — now you get a page full of ads that purports to help you on your way. So instead of getting an error, you get a working page. The problem is, that a number of things on the internet depend on receiving an error when there is one - not a substitute page of ads which gives the appearance of a working site.
3 Speed: Google has a great distribution network, so it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll get fast DNS queries.
4 Security: Google has some of the best security experts in the world to keep their DNS secure. It will (hopefully) make DNS spoofing harder.
There are others (like OpenDNS), but why Google?
• Google doesn’t store identifiable information (for more than 48 hours, at least)
• Google doesn’t try to fund itself with sitefinder like commercials (as OpenDNS does)
• No login or account is required for Google’s Public DNS. Open DNS does, if you want to turn off sitefinder (and they probably sell your DNS queries to make money when you login)
If you ask me, it’s a big win-win for the consumer, and the internet.
OK... why?
1 It follows the Internet RFC’s. It works the way DNS is supposed to work, especially when a site can’t be found. In other words, it un-breaks parts of the internet.
2 Because of #1, there’s no “Site Finder” - meaning when you go to a web address that doesn’t exist, you get the expected “server not found” error. I can’t tell you how much “Site Finder” (and look-alikes) bother me. So you mistyped the URL; great — now you get a page full of ads that purports to help you on your way. So instead of getting an error, you get a working page. The problem is, that a number of things on the internet depend on receiving an error when there is one - not a substitute page of ads which gives the appearance of a working site.
3 Speed: Google has a great distribution network, so it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll get fast DNS queries.
4 Security: Google has some of the best security experts in the world to keep their DNS secure. It will (hopefully) make DNS spoofing harder.
There are others (like OpenDNS), but why Google?
• Google doesn’t store identifiable information (for more than 48 hours, at least)
• Google doesn’t try to fund itself with sitefinder like commercials (as OpenDNS does)
• No login or account is required for Google’s Public DNS. Open DNS does, if you want to turn off sitefinder (and they probably sell your DNS queries to make money when you login)
If you ask me, it’s a big win-win for the consumer, and the internet.