My cousin was one of the many people to send me a link to David Pogue’s blog post at the New York Times titled “A Faster Web–for Free” about OpenDNS and how much he and his wife love it. That’s just awesome!

For those of you who don’t know, David Pogue is the consumer technology superhero for the non-geek population. In addition to his usual column he also does a bunch of really great video podcasts that you can watch.

Pogue writes in his column:

“In short, Open DNS works by caching Web-page requests from its thousands of users, so that the site you want is blasted to you in a fraction of a second.”

Just to clarify, we cache the DNS requests only. DNS is the part of a web request where your computer says “how do I get to site xyz.com?” DNS is a significant part of the latency in your web experience and that’s where a large part of the speedup comes from but we don’t actually cache web pages from other sites.

Sometimes, when it's late at night in the office, we notice odd things in the DNS that don't belong. Sometimes they're worthy of a blog mention. Tonight we highlight a myspace.com DNS misconfiguration.

---

$ host -vv myspace.com
Trying "myspace.com"
;; ->>HEADER< <- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 24145
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 5, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;myspace.com. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
myspace.com. 68350 IN A 216.178.32.51
myspace.com. 68350 IN A 216.178.32.50
myspace.com. 68350 IN A 216.178.32.49
myspace.com. 68350 IN A 216.178.32.48
myspace.com. 68350 IN A 127.0.0.1

Received 109 bytes from 208.67.222.222#53 in 9 ms

---

For those of you who don't know, 127.0.0.1 is another way of saying localhost which is another way of saying your computer. So while that may literally take me to My Space (as in, my personal computer), it is certainly not going to get me to the website myspace.com. Whoops.

Cameroon is at it again, wildcarding all of the .cm namespace so they can put advertisements up when you typo .com domains like http://www.google.cm. Since August 9, OpenDNS users have had the option to undo this change and decide how they want it handled. There is an option on our preferences page where you can decide how you want this dealt with for your computer or network.

As a reminder, if you do turn on .cm to .com wildcard filtering, all real .cm domains will still work!. That includes domains like airfrance.cm and others that we listed.

We don’t know why Cameroon (or its operator) is flip-flopping on this one, but I’d encourage you to turn this preference on and leave it on.

CNET just rehashed a report (pdf of report) that our friends over at Nominum commissioned to look at the speed and reliability of ISP DNS servers. The verdict won’t shock any of you: ISPs are pretty bad at providing DNS.

Some of the numbers they put in the report are surprising. The report says that Verizon drops 3.14% of all DSL subscribers’ DNS requests. That is some messed up DNS!

The report goes on to talk about other ISPs including SBC, RoadRunner, Comcast, who all do relatively poor jobs at providing such a critical service. I’m bummed they didn’t review Speakeasy, an ISP I’ve always really liked and whose DNS servers have always performed reasonably. The report states that Comcast only drops 0.51% of queries which is amusing because most people tend to attribute bad DNS service with Comcast. We know that the reliability of the DNS is important and we keep our system reliability statistics totally open and accessible. I challenge Verizon or Comcast to do the same.

What’s the point of all this? This report really shows that there is a lot of room for improvement in the DNS space and it clearly starts with reliability and performance, two things we cover well. Reporters still don’t understand the importance of DNS because it’s much more than just about speed. That’s one important part but the other is that DNS is a major part of the Internet and just like there are firewalls and anti-spam solutions, users needs tools to manage their DNS too.

Bringing this issue to light is a good thing. Even though we didn’t pay for or commission this report, I can’t help to think it was made to open ISPs’ eyes to our service. We’ve created an opportunity for ISPs where there was none before. OpenDNS provides these kinds of tools to users.

As much as I would love an ISP like Verizon to work with OpenDNS to make their users’ Internet better I would be upset if it was done arbitrarily and not on an opt-in basis. If I were a Verizon user currently using their three-percent-query-dropping DNS I’d switch to OpenDNS in a heartbeat. It’s easy to get started with OpenDNS right now.

Cameroon, a country on the western coast of Africa recently decided to put a wildcard entry in .cm, their IANA assigned Country-Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD). CNET has a pretty good article covering what they did.

Around the blogosphere people have asked us what we could do to fix it for them. I'm annoyed we have to deal with this, but happy that users are starting to realize that they need the ability to manage their DNS as a part of managing their network. The Cameroonian ccTLD operators (or the business they've outsourced this service to) makes the argument that they are "helping you" find what you're looking for. If they wanted to help you they'd just correct .cm to .com for all domains that didn't exist in the .cm namespace, or do nothing at all.

Some users have asked us how many .cm domains there are and what they might be. We have published a complete list (as of yesterday) of all .cm domains. We've gone through and shown that for such a small ccTLD they've already had quite a few parked domains in their zone. This list is at the bottom of this post. (This data is all public information, don't worry.)

How to act

Decide for yourself how you want .cm to work. With OpenDNS, you have a choice.

• Already using OpenDNS? Head to the Account page.
• Not yet using OpenDNS? Take two minutes and Get Started today.

Mini FAQ

Are you going to show me ads just like the .cm operator does?

No! We're doing this because you shouldn't be punished or distracted because you forgot to type an 'o' when surfing the net. We will seamlessly correct the full URL for you with no ads, popups, or page in the middle. By enabling the feature you know exactly what's going to happen: google.cm is going to take you to google.com.

Will I still get to real .cm domains if I turn on .cm wildcard filtering?

Yes! We will not filter real .cm domains such as www.airfrance.cm and others. It should also be noted we've never filtered any real domains, even with typo correction. The only exception is phishing sites that you've asked us to block.

Will you do this for other wildcarded ccTLDs like .ws, .ph and .cd?

You tell us. We are offering the fix for .cm because our users appreciate that we transparently correct mistyped domains like google.cm to google.com. For other wildcarded ccTLDs, we'll be listening to our users and offering useful choices based on those requests.

What if there are new valid .cm domains? Will those work?

Of course!

What happens if I turn off typo-correction and turn on .cm wildcard filtering?

If you turn off typo correction and turn on .cm wildcard filtering you will get an RCODE=3 DNS response (commonly called NXDOMAIN) as if the wildcard didn't exist. In your browser you'd get the default behavior which is probably either an MSN search page on IE, or a "host not found" page with Firefox.

Again, if you are already using OpenDNS just head to the Account page or take two minutes and Get Started today.

A listing of all .cm domains

Legend

Regular .cm Domain

Wildcard Of Entire Zone

Parked Page w/ Ads

Broken Or Misconfigured Zone

All domains in the Cameroon ccTLD “.cm”

(List accurate as of Tuesday, August 8, 2006)

All domains in .cm			Nameservers
*.cm.	→	A	72.51.27.58
ac3l.cm.	→	NS	ns1.premierspas.biz. ns2.premierspas.biz.
adsnet.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
afrique-france2001.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. nina.afrique-france2001.cm.
airfrance.cm.	→	NS	webaf1.airfrance.fr. lasvegas.airfrance.fr.
alizes.cm.	→	NS	pcsakon.alizes.cm.
amadeus.cm.	→	NS	ns1.amadeus.cm. ns2.amadeus.cm.
amitybank.cm.	→	NS	ns.amitybank.cm. ns2.iccnet.cm.
annuairecamtel.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
anuel.cm.	→	NS	ns1.infomaniak.ch. ns2.infomaniak.ch.
armp.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
art.cm.	→	NS	dns1.creolink.com. dns2.creolink.com.
artac.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
assemblee-nationale.cm.	→	NS	ns1.cm.refer.org. aupelf.refer.org.
avis.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
bdanet.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
bicec.cm.	→	NS	benoue.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
bosch.cm.	→	NS	gwa.fe.bosch.de. gwa2.fe.bosch.de.
britishcouncil.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns3.iccnet.cm.
bureaulumiere.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
cam-educ.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
cameroon-tribune.cm.	→	NS	web.cameroon-tribune.cm. ns1.iccnet2000.com.
cameroonfertilizers.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.cmanet.cm.
cameroonhealthresearch.cm.	→	NS	ns1.lnhi.net. ns2.lnhi.net.
cameroonscience.cm.	→	NS	ns.cybernum.org. ns1.cybernum.org.
cami.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
camnet.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm. benoue.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
camnet2.cm.	→	NS	ns1.camnet2.cm.
camnet3.cm.	→	NS	ns1.camnet3.cm.
campusvert.cm.	→	NS	ns1.infomaniak.ch. ns2.infomaniak.ch.
camrail.cm.	→	NS	appolo.c-si.fr. ariane.c-si.fr.
camtel.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
camteldla.cm.	→	NS	server.camteldla.cm.
cbm.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. netfinityyde.cbm.cm.
cenadi.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. netstar.cenadi.cm. cenadim1.cenadi.cm.
cenet.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. admin.cenet.cm.
cerac.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. svrcerac.cerac.cm.
cfaogroup.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
cheaptickets.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
cigate.cm.	→	NS	cenadi.cigate.cm.
leslions.cm.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
cnosc.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
cnps.cm.	→	NS	fusih.cnps.cm.
fusih.cnps.cm.	→	NS	195.24.201.7.cm.
co.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. tchad.co.cm.
congresrdpc.cm.	→	NS	linsvr.congresrdpc.cm.
connect.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
corenofi.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
cpdmcongress.cm.	→	NS	linsvr.cpdmcongress.cm.
credit-suisse-trust.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
credit-swiss.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
creditlyonnais.cm.	→	NS	dns1.creolink.com. dns2.creolink.com.
creditsuisse-trust.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
creditsuissetrust.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
creditswiss.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
creolink.cm.	→	NS	dns1.creolink.cm. dns2.creolink.com.
crtv.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns3.iccnet.cm.
cs-group.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
cs-life.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
cs-trust.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
csam.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.csfb.com. ns-2.csfb.com.
csfb.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.csfb.com. ns-2.csfb.com.
csg.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
csgroup.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
cslife.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
cspb.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
cstrust.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
ctpl.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
cyberix.cm.	→	NS	ns13.zoneedit.com. ns18.zoneedit.com.
dgre.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. dgresvr.dgre.cm.
dictionary.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
diplocam.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns3.iccnet.cm.
download.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
dpcminat.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
dsx.cm.	→	NS	ns1.douala1.com.
esstic-uy2.cm.	→	NS	dns1.esstic-uy2.cm.
europcar.cm.	→	NS	indom10.indomco.com. indom20.indomco.net.
fayadort.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
fcb.cm.	→	NS	ns.univerdi.com. ns1.univerdi.com.
finances.cm.	→	NS	minefi.finances.cm.
flowers.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
fne.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
fonds-routier.cm.	→	NS	dns1.creolink.com. dns2.creolink.com.
france-cam.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. aupelf.refer.org. serveur.cm.refer.org.
freshdelmonte.cm.	→	NS	ns1.zodns.com. ns1.lanechange.net.
games.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
gcnet.cm.	→	NS	dja.gcnet.cm. kim.camnet.cm.
/*geocities.cm.	→	NS	ns.levonline.com.
/*geocities.cm.	→	NS	ns2.levonline.com.
/*geocities.cm.	→	NS	ns3.levonline.com.*/.cm.
globalnet.cm.	→	NS	dns1.globalnet.cm. dns2.globalnet.cm.
gov.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbapit.gov.cm.
minpostel.gov.cm.	→	NS	nyos.minpostel.gov.cm.
hgy.cm.	→	NS	web.hgy.cm. mail.cameroun-online.com.
holcim.cm.	→	NS	ns01ch.holcim.com. ns01us.holcim.com.
hotelsawa.cm.	→	NS	partenariat.sni.cm.
hotjobs.cm.	→	NS	ns1.ny.genx.net. ns2.ny.genx.net.
iccnet.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns3.iccnet.cm.
icrafon.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
impots.cm.	→	NS	di.impots.cm.
infotel.cm.	→	NS	dns1.globalnet.cm.
intelcam.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. paatchi.intelcam.cm.
its.cm.	→	NS	its-smsserveur.its.cm.
joker.cm.	→	NS	bow.scm.cm. rva.fcr.francetelecom.fr.
kpmg-cmr.cm.	→	NS	sfacc.kpmg-cmr.cm.
lasvegas.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
lifttel.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
maetur.cm.	→	NS	ns1.dnsjunction.com. ns2.dnsjunction.com.
messinaline.cm.	→	NS	dns1.fastweb.it.
microlog.cm.	→	NS	mississipi.microlog.cm.
minader.cm.	→	NS	serveur.minader.cm.
minef.cm.	→	NS	forest.minef.cm.
minepat.cm.	→	NS	soo.minepat.cm. sanaga.minepat.cm.
minsante.cm.	→	NS	ns1.dnsjunction.com. ns2.dnsjunction.com.
mobilis.cm.	→	NS	bow.scm.cm. rva.fcr.francetelecom.fr.
monster.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
mtn.cm.	→	NS	Ns1.jev.co.za. Ns2.jev.co.za.
mtnns.cm.	→	NS	dns1.globalnet.cm. dns2.globalnet.cm.
navitrans.cm.	→	NS	dns1.fastweb.it.
netshop.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. ops.netshop.cm.
oapi.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. linux.oapi.cm.
oit.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
oms.cm.	→	NS	dns1.creolink.com. mailer.oms.cm.
onr.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
onu.cm.	→	NS	inet01.cm.undp.org.
orange.cm.	→	NS	ns0.orange.cm.
orangemail.cm.	→	NS	ns0.orange.cm.
orangeworld.cm.	→	NS	ns0.orange.cm.
paradis.cm.	→	NS	benoue.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
pasteur.cm.	→	NS	ns1.satwise.com. ns2.satwise.com.
pmuc.cm.	→	NS	bonanjo01.pmuc.cm. bonanjo02.pmuc.cm.
pr-gervaismendoze.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
prc.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm. lionsvr1.prc.cm. lionsvr2.prc.cm.
prcs.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. sgpr-serv.prcs.cm.
presbyterian-church.cm.	→	NS	alpha2.officeco.ch. alpha3.officeco.ch.
radius.cm.	→	NS	dja.radius.cm.
razel.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. ns1.razel.cm.
rdpcpdm.cm.	→	NS	rdpcserv.rdpcpdm.cm.
rdpcserv.rdpcpdm.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm.
realtor.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
refinance.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
rent.cm.	→	NS	ns.rackspace.com. ns2.rackspace.com.
restaurants.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbam.camnet.cm.
ric.cm.	→	NS	dns1.creolink.com.
rolex.cm.	→	NS	ns1.gva.ch.colt.net. ns1.zrh1.ch.colt.net.
sabc.cm.	→	NS	ns1.sabc.cm. ns2.sabc.cm.
scb-creditlyonnais.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. scbclc.scb-creditlyonnais.cm.
scm.cm.	→	NS	bow.scm.cm. rva.fcr.francetelecom.fr.
sdnp.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. tangmbo.sdnp.cm.
seanet.cm.	→	NS	ns3.schlund.de. ns4.schlund.de. seanets.de.
sgbc.cm.	→	NS	ns2.domicile.fr. ns3.domicile.fr.
sho-cameroun.cm.	→	NS	ns1.douala1.com. ns2.douala1.com. ns3.douala1.com.
side.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns3.iccnet.cm.
sigmakalon.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns30787.ovh.net.
simpay.cm.	→	NS	ns2.lovellsnames.org. ns3.lovellsnames.org.
sinpay.cm.	→	NS	ns2.lovellsnames.org. ns3.lovellsnames.org.
snac.cm.	→	NS	ns3.slconseil.com. romeo.hebergement-discount.com. juliette.hebergement-discount.com.
snh.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. snhnet.snh.cm.
sni.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. partenariat.sni.cm.
snv.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns3.iccnet.cm.
socada.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
socapalm.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm.
sodecoton.cm.	→	NS	ns1.sodecoton.cm. ns2.sodecoton.cm.
sogecam.cm.	→	NS	ns.fr.socgen.com. ns.socgen.com. dns.cadinet.ma.
sonara.cm.	→	NS	ns1.sonara.cm. ns1.lanechange.net.
stanchart.cm.	→	NS	ns.domainnetwork.se. ns2.domainnetwork.se.
standard-chartered.cm.	→	NS	ns.domainnetwork.se. ns2.domainnetwork.se.
standardchartered.cm.	→	NS	ns.domainnetwork.se. ns2.domainnetwork.se.
standardcharteredbank.cm.	→	NS	ns.domainnetwork.se. ns2.domainnetwork.se.
statistics-cameroon.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. mbamcamnet.cm.
sumoca.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
superdoll.cm.	→	NS	ns1.delta-informatique.com. douala.adsnet.cm.
synopsys.cm.	→	NS	auth50.ns.uu.net. asbestos.lmc.com. dnsmaster.synopsys.com. dnsmaster2.synopsys.com.
ticad-it.cm.	→	NS	ns.ticad-it.cm.
tmc.cm.	→	NS	dns2.creolink.com.
total.cm.	→	NS	kim.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
tourisme.cm.	→	NS	ns1.dnsjunction.com. ns2.dnsjunction.com.
creditsuisse.trust.cm.	→	NS	ns-1.credit-suisse.com. ns-2.credit-suisse.com.
u-douala.cm.	→	NS	dns2.creolink.com.
ub.cm.	→	NS	ns1.lanechange.net. ns2.lanechange.net. dns1.creolink.com. yaounde2.un.cm.
unilex.cm.	→	NS	benoue.camnet.cm. sanaga.camnet.cm.
uninet.cm.	→	NS	diamond.uninet.cm.
uy2-soa.cm.	→	NS	emergency.uy2-soa.cm. cum-uy2-soa.cm.
viasim.cm.	→	NS	ns2.lovellsnames.org. ns3.lovellsnames.org.
worldbank.cm.	→	NS	dns1.worldbank.cm.
wwf.cm.	→	NS	ns2.iccnet.cm. ns3.iccnet.cm.
yahoo.cm.	→	NS	ns1.yahoo.com. ns5.yahoo.com.

For the audio-inclined, I wanted to share with you two recent clips about OpenDNS.

The first is an interview of David Ulevitch by Mark Howson of The Mac Nurse, conducted via Skype on July 20. The interview runs a bit over 14 minutes. Go listen for yourself (link is to web page, not file). Mark put together an interesting slideshow on top of the audio interview.

The second item for your listening pleasure comes courtesy of David Redekop, one of the founders of Nerds on Site. David and his colleagues join host Ryan Spence every Tuesday to talk about technology on Ask the Experts, on Newstalk 1290 CJBK, in London, Ontario, Canada. This past Tuesday, July 25, Redekop told Spence (and his audience) about OpenDNS.

Listen to the MP3 (6 minutes, 53 seconds; 1.6MB). Redekop explains DNS, explains phishing (and how DNS can help…more on this soon), and explains OpenDNS. I’m pleased to hear that he’s been using OpenDNS since he heard about it, and considers it for his clients.

I would clear up one point from the Ask the Experts segment. The search results page you see if

1. OpenDNS cannot resolve the entered domain
2. OpenDNS cannot fix a typo

has both organic (unpaid) search results and clearly labelled advertisements. Redekop says he think that OpenDNS is a service worth using even if all the results are ads on that page (thanks!), but I wanted to clear that up all the same.

Note: In describing OpenDNS, Redekop throws out what he calls “the old phrase”: “There’s majesty in simplicity and simplicity in majesty.” I didn’t recognize the phrase, but a bit of poking around leads us to Alexander Pope, the English poet.

There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit.

Learn something new every day.

I’m inspired by Simon Phipp’s post “Freedom to Leave” [via Tim Bray]. Simon’s talking about the openness of technology formats and standards, and reminds us all:

The fastest way to send early adopters packing is to make your cool new toy a roach motel.

Though we’re not about data formats, OpenDNS is against lock-in, too. We are asking you to choose OpenDNS, for various benefits. We’re confident that you’ll be happy with our DNS service. If you don’t agree, you’ll make another choice…and there’s nothing we could or would do to stop you.

DNS is easy to change (see for yourself), it’s under your control, and you have a choice.

P.S. I’ve felt this way before, though Simon (and others, like John Hagel) are more convincing.

DNS is an acronym for Domain Name System. Now you know. But you can forget the long form…just remember DNS.

DNS is the quiet hero of the Internet. For nearly 20 years, since 1987, DNS has translated human-readable addresses into the numerical locations that computers demand. Easy-to-remember names (e.g., craigslist.org) become the numbers (e.g., 66.150.243.20) that load the popular classifieds website.

The end result? The Internet works. Websites load, emails are delivered, and the world continues on its merry way.

Right now, no one cares that DNS is at the heart of all that activity. That’s OK for now. But DNS is a prospect to be the next acronym that matters.

Previous crossover acronyms

Tech is lousy with crossover acronyms: RAM, MB, GB, CPU, GHz, HTTP, and so on. But I’ll focus on two critical acronyms — HTML and RSS — which have crossed over, to a greater and lesser degree.

HTML — If you asked anyone who’s ever touched a computer what HTML is, I expect you’d hear that HTML has “something to do with how web pages are created.” Still, few outside the tech world would correct expand the acronym to HyperText Markup Language. And there’s nothing wrong with that gap in knowledge…a measure of HTML’s success is that the full label is irrelevant.

RSS — RSS is moving along that same adoption/understanding curve: a significant minority of the Internet population now understands the benefit RSS brings, whether they know that Really Simple Syndication is the leading meaning of the acronym. As a label, RSS has come to encompass even other formats (like Atom or RDF) which compete with RSS in delivering the same benefit. Rather than rename RSS, the supporters of syndication technologies should simply enjoy the acronym becoming the brand. RSS is not quite Kleenex™, but in this case, becoming a genericized trademark is a positive development.

Transition: from invisible to shorthand

Two decades after its introduction, DNS may be the next acronym which crosses over from the tech world to the entire world.

At OpenDNS, we’re convinced that the next big thing in the Internet is really a re-working of one of the oldest things in the Internet. Our success lies, in part, in explaining how OpenDNS improves DNS, which in so many ways has not advanced from its roots in the late 1980s. To be direct, using OpenDNS for your DNS service will speed up your Internet experience and help stop phishing attacks.

Back to the point about acronyms. It’s more difficult to explain the benefits you’ll get from our free DNS service if you don’t understand what DNS does for you today.

My mission is to speed DNS along the acronym trail, so DNS moves from invisible to shorthand for “what makes the Internet work.”

Some work to do… but remember, you heard it here first: DNS is the next acronym that matters.

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P.S. If you do want more details on DNS, read what OpenDNS does, which has links to more details on DNS generically.
P.P.S. By the way, RSS stands for either Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary or…well, never mind. My favorite definition of RSS is:

Smart bookmarks that tell you when your favorite sites change. [diveintomark.org]

If you want to keep up with OpenDNS news and notes (like this one), I suggest you subscribe to the OpenDNS RSS feed.