Everytime you surf the web, you unknowingly use DNS!
What is DNS?
Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participants. Most importantly, it translates domain names meaningful to humans into the numerical (binary) identifiers associated with networking equipment for the purpose of locating and addressing these devices worldwide. An often-used analogy to explain the Domain Name System is that it serves as the “phone book” for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. What does this mean in English??? For example, www.laneburris.net translates to an IPV4 address of 67.20.75.235 (as of this post date!). So instead of trying to remember that this website is actually at 67.20.75.235, you use something you (hopefully) can remember easy!
The Domain Name System makes it possible to assign domain names to groups of Internet users in a meaningful way, independent of each user’s physical location. Because of this, World Wide Web (WWW) hyperlinks and Internet contact information can remain consistent and constant even if the current Internet routing arrangements change or the participant uses a mobile device. Internet domain names are easier to remember than IP addresses such as 208.77.188.166 (IPv4). People take advantage of this when they recite meaningful URLs and e-mail addresses without having to know how the machine will actually locate them.
The Domain Name System distributes the responsibility of assigning domain names and mapping those names to IP addresses by designating authoritative name servers for each domain. Authoritative name servers are assigned to be responsible for their particular domains, and in turn can assign other authoritative name servers for their sub-domains. This mechanism has made the DNS distributed and fault tolerant and has helped avoid the need for a single central register to be continually consulted and updated.
In general, the Domain Name System also stores other types of information, such as the list of mail servers that accept email for a given Internet domain. By providing a worldwide, distributed keyword-based redirection service, the Domain Name System is an essential component of the functionality of the Internet.
What OpenDNS offers in their free version (and paid ones too!)
Parental Controls
Keeping your family safe online has never been easier. OpenDNS gives you more than 50 filtering categories to choose from. Simply check the boxes of the categories you want to block and watch your filtering take effect within minutes.
Award-winning OpenDNS Parental Controls divides the Internet’s content into more than 50 categories. Simply choose your desired filtering level, from “High” to “Minimal,” and check a box. Your filtering preferences take effect in just minutes. Further customize your preferences by adding additional categories like “Social Networking,” “Hate” and “Gambling,” or individual Web sites like MySpace.com that are problematic or unsafe for your household.
Faster, More Reliable Internet
Rid your household of annoying, intermittent Internet outages. Switch to OpenDNS and immediately notice a faster, more reliable Internet experience. Join the millions who’ve already unbundled their DNS service from their ISP’s Internet connection.
The service works better than your ISP-provided DNS, no matter where you are in the world. We have a global network of servers with sophisticated software that make your DNS requests automatically go to the OpenDNS server that’s physically closest to you. The result for you is an immediately-noticeable faster, more reliable Internet for everyone in your household
Phishing Protection and Security
Take the guesswork out of identifying phishing Web sites with OpenDNS’s industry-leading anti-phishing service. We’ll tell you when the site you’re trying to visit is fraudulent.
Industry-leading Protection
OpenDNS operates PhishTank, the Web’s most trusted source of phishing data. The service works by having real people all over the world look at suspected phishing scams and verify their illegitimacy 24/7. Other services pale in comparison to OpenDNS’s phishing protection, powered by a community more than 50,000 strong.
Foolproof Blocking
When someone in your household tries to load a phishing Web site, OpenDNS blocks the site for them and notifies them of the site’s malicious intent. OpenDNS takes the guesswork out of identifying fraudulent sites.
OpenDNS Guide
Search results get you back on track when you mistype a URL or try to visit a site that’s down. Our smart “did you mean?” spelling suggestions help point you in the right direction, instead of showing you a hard-to-understand error page.
Typo Correction
OpenDNS automatically corrects common typos in Web addresses. For example, typing google.cmo would be automatically corrected to google.com. Use OpenDNS Guide’s typo correction to keep everyone in your household browsing the Internet without road blocks.
“Did you Mean” Spelling Suggestions
If you’ve made a typo that isn’t easily corrected, OpenDNS Guide will automatically suggest the Web site we think you may have been trying to visit. Our “Did you Mean” Spelling Suggestions will help point you in the right direction.
Shortcuts
Map short and easy-to-remember terms to your favorite Web sites with OpenDNS Shortcuts. Set up personal Shortcuts that work just for you, or Network Shortcuts that work for everyone in your household.
Shortcuts let everyone in your household map long Web addresses to something short and easy-to-remember. Set up as many as you like and manage them from inside your account.
For example, Shortcut “g” to your grocery store’s Web site to place your delivery order, or Shortcut “news” to your local newspaper. They’ll have everyone in your household zipping around the Internet.
Customization
Add your favorite image and a custom message to the OpenDNS Guide and blocked pages to personalize the feel of OpenDNS for your household. Use different messages for different pages.
Upload an image in various formats (GIF, PNG, JPG, and BMP accepted) and use the nifty online-cropping tool. Get your image ready to go in just seconds.
Get your free account to OpenDNS now! Just click here!