The DNS system is the yellow pages of the Internet. A network of connected servers that translates domain names into IP addresses. DNS are one of the building blocks of the Internet and one of its weakness. If someone manage to put down the DNS network, the Internet won’t be able work anymore; more insidious, someone could “steal” your identify using phishing techniques.

Here Comes OpenDNS

OpenDNS is a free alternative DNS network build in 2005 by a group of people to fight phising and malware from spreading through the network. OpenDNS can replace the DNS from your ISP simply by changing a configuration of your computer network preferences, there is no need to install software.

Browse Faster and Safer

The great thing is that OpenDNS will block phishing sites — whatever browser or system you use — and will fix any common spelling mistakes on-the-fly for you to reach the proper web site.

OpenDNS is also said to be faster that your ISP DNS service because it use a lot of smart caching and doesn’t delegate to external DNS servers. But because I’m located in Europe, I couldn’t experiment with the speed but they soon expect to extend their network through Europe and Asia.

How did I know about OpenDNS? I came through the OpenDNS blog talking about the annoying domain squatter “goggle.com” (with two ‘g’) that use a common spelling mistake to display tons of ads and malware instead of the Google page.

They just say OpenDNS can fix it by displaying the user a warning but they’re also asking themselves about the right to censorship.

In any case, OpenDNS is a great initiative to reduce malware from spreading the Internet… When the OpenDNS network will be accessible in your neighborhood (and not only in US), what will be a valuable protection tool.