We launched Forums today for you to provide a venue to discuss the world of OpenDNS. This isn’t a weak attempt to get rid of support but is a new way for our users to communicate with us and each other. We are focused on delivering the best experience possible we know that in order to do that we have to hear from you.

OpenDNS will continue to respond to its users in all the current ways: email, IM, blogs and comments, phone, and (occasionally!) in person. But every time one of us answers a question for an individual customer, we’ve wanted to share that tip, lesson, or workaround with a broader audience. Forums let us do that…and Forums will be a great place for OpenDNS users to share with each other, too.

Our short-term goals are to learn more about specific situations we already know need more attention, like instructions for setting DNS on a Samsung Blackjack phone or learning whether or not WildBue satellite broadband customers can use OpenDNS or not (reports vary).

Of course, we’ll also answer questions there so that others can benefit from the answers. Longer term, we expect to find out where our users want us to go.

A free OpenDNS account is required to post, to limit noise. Your OpenDNS account is also useful for preferences, statistics, and dynamic DNS support.

Please join in at http://forums.opendns.com/ and let us know what you think.

We get lots of email, everyday, from our customers. Most of the emails are similar in topic - someone asking how to use OpenDNS with their setup. But every once in a while an email comes through that’s so touching we pass it around the office. The below note from Caio, a customer in Brazil, is that kind of email.

He wrote us not because he had a problem, but rather just to say thanks, for saving his job.

It’s this sort of reinforcement that makes me love what I do. We all need the Internet and I get to work with a team that makes it more reliable — saving people time, frustration and in this case, their job.

Caio gave me permission to share his email.

To: contact@opendns.com
From: caio@xxxxx.com
Subject: Thank you


Hello,

I’m just happy that I found a free service like this on the Internet.

I live in Brazil and sometimes my default DNS fails, then I can’t connect to the Internet. I’m a trainee and I work in a hardware store and my job is half in the office and half in my house. When I’m home I need to make tables about what we have sold on everyday using MS Office Excel. Today my DNS wasn’t working and a DNS fail means a layoff for me. I figured it was a DNS problem because Firefox was unable to open any page but, when I tried to open a page by its IP, nothing wrong happens.

I used OpenDNS and it saved me by allowing me to connect and send to my boss. This is how OpenDNS saved my job.

Thank You. I’m really loving it.

-Caio

Happy holidays everyone.

OpenDNS note: Mike was one of our first users. He turned us on way back in July!

Mike Lucas
Professional Geek

OpenDNS: How did you first learn what DNS stands for?

ML: Hard to remember exactly when. I’ve been very interested in working with computers for over ten years now. I will admit though that up until maybe just a year or two ago, I never put much thought into the performance of the DNS servers that I used. I always just used the ones provided to me by my ISP, without knowing I had choices in the DNS servers I used, or that there were better ones out there.

OpenDNS: What improvements has OpenDNS made to your Internet experience?

ML: Faster DNS lookup times, and the reliability of the DNS servers, would be the most immediate and noticeable improvement. My ISP that I get my cable modem service from has been growing greatly over the last several years, and over the last year especially has been adding new customers at an extraordinary rate. Maybe about 6 to 8 months ago I first started to experience problems with my ISP’s DNS servers. I started repeatedly receiving failed DNS lookups to websites that I knew to be working. I didn’t narrow the problem down to DNS for a few days really, and only did after I had eliminated the possibility of it being a new Firefox bug or a wrong setting in my network somewhere. I finally realized the problem was in fact my ISP’s DNS servers as it was only occurring at peak times, at nights and on weekends, times when the majority of my ISP’s customers were all online, and the DNS servers were being overloaded. I first started using a local network DNS program called TreewalkDNS to resolve the issue, which did eliminate my problems, and then several months later I read a news story on CNET about the launching of OpenDNS. The same day I uninstalled TreewalkDNS to give OpenDNS a try, and have never switched back.

OpenDNS: What advice would you offer to other geeks considering switching to OpenDNS?

ML: Just give it a try. It’s very easy to start using, OpenDNS.com provides very easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, with pictures even, on how to start using OpenDNS on all operating systems and in hardware routers. There’s no software to install, so operating system compatibility is not even an issue. The instructions are very easy to follow even for an average or even sub-average computer user. You will more then likely notice the difference immediately, and if not, you can just switch back to your ISP’s DNS servers at any time. But once you try OpenDNS, you won’t be switching back.

OpenDNS: Is OpenDNS really “Safer, Faster and Smarter” like we claim?

ML: Absolutely. Not only is OpenDNS more reliable then my ISP’s DNS servers, it is considerably faster. I achieve faster DNS lookups using OpenDNS then I did even while using TreewalkDNS. It has made every part of my internet use faster, from web browsing to instant messaging to anti-virus updates. And it is definitely safer as well. The latest versions of both Firefox and Internet Explorer now have built-in phishing protection, but these rely on an internet server to provide the list of known phishing websites. OpenDNS’s filtering of known phishing sites at the DNS level is smarter, because it can not go down without your entire DNS going down too, which has never happened. Not even once in all my time using OpenDNS. And it is also faster in this area, connecting to one server for both your DNS and your phishing protection and at the same time. Without a doubt, OpenDNS is safer, is faster, and is smarter.

OpenDNS: What’s the hardest part about being a geek?

ML: People automatically assuming I can fix any problem with their computer no matter what it is - and do it quickly. Anyone with experience fixing computers knows this is not always the case, but I try my best.

We have so many great users and have been considering, for a while now, different ways to show our love. Out of those discussions the idea of “Five questions with an OpenDNS user” was born. This will be a recurring post category in the OpenDNS blog. Read and learn.

Richard Hughes
Technical Director
MaxWiFi, London, England

OpenDNS: Please describe your organization, and your role there.

RH: I am the technical director of MaxWiFi. We plan, install and manage temporary WiFi networks for media centres and large events. Recent events have included the PGA European Tour in London, The World Rally Championship in Wales and last year we provided a service to the Royal Marriage of Prince Charles & Lady Camilla Parker Bowles. We shifted over 18Gb of traffic on one day without dropping a single packet with a user base of over 400 media from around the world - all packed into a pub in Windsor.

OpenDNS: How did you first hear about OpenDNS?

RH: I was following a blog trail and came across OpenDNS. We are always looking for find ways to streamline our configs and installs and don’t always like to rely on the ISP services we are given. OpenDNS seemed like such a simple opportunity to speed up searches and to improve the end user services, by providing security from phishing sites and intelligent DNS resolution to take care of spelling mistakes!

OpenDNS: What changes have you noticed on your network since switching to OpenDNS?

RH: It’s always hard to measure network performance, especially when your network is rebuilt and relocated every week. We truly became aware of the improvements at the PGA tour when we had snappers (Photographers) commenting on just how fast the network was. We tested it against another network we had running, that was using local DNS, and there was a perceptible difference. On top of that we saved time on writing the configs and when the ISP DNS servers crashed and took down other network’s on-site we just kept running.

OpenDNS: What advice would you give to others who are considering switching to OpenDNS?

RH: It’s so easy to change and test, we would strongly recommend it. In fact every network we install uses it. I use it in the office and at home. Best of all if you don’t like it swap back - nothing ventured nothing gained!

OpenDNS: What is the strangest thing you’ve ever seen while providing WiFi at an event?

RH: Hmm, my favourite was when an American journalist (never known for being quiet or thoughtful), shouted from the middle of a packed press room, “Your WiFi is C*** - I can’t log on or even see the SSID.” We quickly got over to him and after looking at his laptop for a few minutes explained to him he would need to have a Wireless Card or Centrino in his laptop for WiFi to work!

Second fav was a reporter who was at the Royal Wedding due to broadcast Coast to Coast in the USA. We were impressed by her calm before speaking to such a massive audience. When she came back in she was red faced and explained she had just referred to Lady Camilla as Her Royal Horseness!

Anyway, good luck to you all at OpenDNS and we are looking forward to the London site coming on stream.

I’m doing this blog post in two pieces; a short explanation up top and then a more technical explanation down below. Pick one or read both and learn a bit.

Just the facts

If you want to use OpenDNS nameservers and DNSBLs (DNS real-time Blacklists) on the same server, computer or network, go right ahead. We’ve rolled out a new feature today that allows you to use our much-loved typo-correction service without worrying about blocking email if you’re running a mail server, too. We went ahead and rolled this out as as a system upgrade so there’s no new preference for it. We’ve updated the FAQ entry on mail servers accordingly. Now DNSBL spam prevention and typo-correction go together like peanut butter and jelly (or chocolate… your choice).

If you were previously not using the typo-correction service because you also ran a mail server then head on over to the preferences page and re-enable it.

Talk nerdy to me

DNSBLs carry information about known IP addresses in their zone of DNS. This is often used to combat spam because a mail server can ask a DNSBL “Do you know anything about this IP?” They cleverly use the DNS to make this process quick and seamless. A mail server that gets a request to deliver mail from 192.168.1.2 asks a DNSBL: “Do you know anything about 2.1.168.192.in.yourdnsbl.tld?” and the DNSBL either says “yes I do” or “no I don’t.” The problem is created because when a mail server is using OpenDNS and asks us to correct typos, we interpret the “no I don’t” answer (called RCODE=3 or NXDOMAIN) as a typo that should be forwarded off to our typo-correction service. This causes a mail server to not see the “no I don’t” and instead believe that the answer was “yes I do” which can cause a mail server to block a message thinking it’s from a spam sender. Previously, the only way to fix this was to disable typo correction, one of the benefits of using OpenDNS.

Our solution has been to disable typo-correction for DNSBL-matching requests. What’s a DNSBL-matching request? Any request greater than six labels which has four numerical octets within the IPv4 addressing space for the last-most labels is considered a DNSBL-style request. This wasn’t offered as a preference as turning this off would only lead to confusion, especially with typo-correction enabled.

End of the story? You can get the typo-correction you want and run a mail-server that uses DNSBLs without worrying. Enjoy!