We’re thrilled to announce today that the Atlanta Braves has chosen OpenDNS to secure its network across all of its facilities. From Turner Field in Atlanta, all the way to its field in the Dominican Republic (as well as the Orlando, FL spring training facility and its minor league teams across the southern US), Atlanta Braves team- and crewmembers now enjoy a faster, safer, and more reliable Internet connection.

The Atlanta Braves’ deployment serves as an excellent example of how OpenDNS can help protect businesses with networks that span multiple locations easily without the need for a costly appliance and IT team at each site.  (If you think your workplace could also benefit from using OpenDNS, don’t forget to let your IT team know!)

As a San Francisco, California-based company located just a couple of blocks from AT&T Park, I have to admit that our loyalty lies with the San Francisco Giants. Nonetheless, we wish the Atlanta Braves the best of luck this baseball season!

Waffle Wednesday is a tradition at OpenDNS. It’s as much a part of our company culture as our drive to make the Internet a better place. An we’d like nothing more than for you to partake in the fun.

We’re opening the doors at OpenDNS’s new San Francisco offices to all of our local community members this Wednesday morning, April 21 from 8 AM – 9:30 AM. If you live or work locally, arrive by 9 to get a delicious Belgian waffle personally prepared by CEO David Ulevitch.

You have to sign up to attend, so please do that here. And invite your friends!

Every year in the United States, right around the beginning of March and on through tax day, we see a dramatic spike in the number of fraudulent sites spoofing the IRS popping up. These sites are increasingly hard to recognize – their language, production quality and overall messages are getting better – and they aim to trick you into handing over personal information. With the pressures the April 15 IRS deadline brings, many are confused into opening emails, clicking links and handing over personal information unknowingly.

Indications point to the fact that IRS phishing is on the rise. OpenDNS operates PhishTank.com, the Internet’s largest open clearinghouse of phishing data.

• In March of this year, PhishTank.com saw 376 unique IRS email scams reported (these were submitted many times, but there were 376 uniques.) That made the IRS the No. 4 most spoofed organization in all phishing emails reported.
• In March of last year, the IRS barely made it into the top 10 with just 96 unique scams reported.

OpenDNS comes with the absolute best anti-phishing available on by default. This means that even if you, a loved one or a colleague sharing your network is tricked into clicking a link, we’ll protect everyone from the site and let you know it’s phony. This sort of protection is invaluable.

Even with OpenDNS enabled, knowledge is the best defense. See PhishTank.com’s tips on how to recognize a phishing email and a phishing Web site.

Know someone who could benefit from OpenDNS? Spread the word.

We’re only about halfway through Take OpenDNS to Work month, and already several thousand of you have spread the word about how OpenDNS can make your Internet connection at work faster, safer and more reliable. Thank you!

If you haven’t talked with your company’s systems administrator about OpenDNS yet (or you’re the IT manager for your company but you haven’t deployed OpenDNS yet), consider that:

• OpenDNS will make your work Internet faster, just as it does with your connection at home.
• OpenDNS will save your company money over appliance-based solutions, like those from Blue Coat and Websense.
• Remote locations are easier to manage with OpenDNS because there’s no appliance to buy and install, and all settings are managed via a Web interface.
• OpenDNS has never experienced any downtime in all four years we’ve been around.
• 1% of the world’s Internet users use OpenDNS.

If you’re ready to tell others in your company about OpenDNS, use this handy form. And if you’ve already successfully implemented OpenDNS at your workplace, drop us a line at success@opendns.com to let us know how it went.

We know malware tops the list of security concerns facing network administrators like you at companies, schools and other organizations around the world. We know because so many of you have told us how important securing your network from malware is.

OpenDNS takes an innovative and new approach to securing your network from malware, not just to prevent infection, but also to mitigate the effects of a compromised machine at the DNS layer. We also have a solution that complements any existing security solution you may already have in place.

Come join our webinar on Tuesday, April 13 at 11 AM PST where we are hosting a short 30 minute presentation to show you how beneficial OpenDNS malware protection can be for your organization, as well as provide more detail about how our approach is different from other solutions in the marketplace today. As usual, we’ll leave time for some Q&A.

Sign up here, and don’t forget to invite your colleagues!

One of the leading ways network admins at schools and businesses of all sizes hear about OpenDNS is from a friend. Whether it’s through our tell-a-friend emails, a Tweet or a just a casual, “hey – you should check out this service called OpenDNS,” our growth has been largely viral. And that growth is substantial – more than 1% of all Internet users in the world are now using OpenDNS.

We love that our amazing users feel so passionate about OpenDNS that they want to spread the word, so we’re making it as easy as possible to tell your IT staff or network administration team at work about the wonders of OpenDNS during April.

During “Take OpenDNS to Work Month” in April, just visit this site and use the built-in email form. The email has all of the important information about why to enable OpenDNS for your corporate network. If your company ends up using OpenDNS we want to hear about it, mainly so we can thank you – Email success at opendns.com with your story.

Already taken OpenDNS to work? Let us know in the comments.

By now, you’ve probably read about our new partnership with the post office. If you haven’t, you can read about it here.

We’re thrilled to partner with the postal service, an organization that works tirelessly to keep the American public connected, and a model of efficiency within the US Government. This partnership draws on both groups’ strengths: OpenDNS’ ability to quickly connect you to what you’re looking for, and the postal service’s ability to deliver goods rapidly to even the most remote corners of the country.

If you’re an OpenDNS Basic user in the United States, you can try out the new service for free today, simply by searching for something you’d like delivered, followed by the ZIP code you’re in at the moment.

If you’re feeling hungry in Manhattan, for example, try typing “falafel.10021” into your Internet browser’s address bar. Minutes later, your mailman (or mailwoman), will deliver a delicious Middle Eastern meal right to your doorstep. Not interested in falafel? You can get some pizza in San Francisco: “pizza.94107.”

Give the new service a try, and let us know what you think in the comments below. All deliveries are free on April 1, so there’s no risk. And with enough support from OpenDNS users, the postal service may continue Saturday service.