Change your DNS.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:07 am

Heard that Google was opening up some DNS Servers & it made me think. I never considered using a DNS other than what was automatically assigned by my ISP. So, anyhow, I did a bit of research & found this site which finds the optimal DNS servers for your area. Did a quick test & holy crap. My ping is finally down to what it should be.

As an added bonus, that 12Mb/s down speed was totally unexpected. I'm only paying for the 3Mb/s service (downgraded about 6 months ago because of hard times). I never got that speed even when I had the 10Mb/s subscription.

Anyhow, it definitely seems that my surfing is a bit snappier & I'm hoping to test out the gaming this weekend.

DoPeY5007 · Post by **DoPeY5007** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:34 am

my net seamed to slow down after putting in the IPs they suggested

I need to change them back to default and run another test

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:12 am

Did you try Google's DNS? I didn't end up trying theirs, but it's supposed to be peppy.

The Google Public DNS IP addresses are as follows:
8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:07 am

I use OpenDNS:
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

Be aware your performance varies depending on the number of hops between you and the DNS server. You can run benchmarks on different DNS servers using this utility: https://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm

For me, OpenDNS is faster than Google.

Most ISPs have horrible (and sometimes insecure) DNS servers. If you're on Comcast in particular you'll see a big improvement by getting off their DNS server. While the Comcast DNS servers come up as the fastest response time for me (although not much faster than OpenDNS), I won't use it because I've had a LOT of stalled DNS issues with Comcast in the past.

Another good reason to change your DNS is because services like OpenDNS (and Google I assume as well) will also prevent you from going to a known Phishing site (you'll get an intercept page warning you and asking you to confirm if you REALLY want to go there).

There is not need to sign up for an OpenDNS account, just change your DNS setting, but if you sign up for an account (it's free) you also get the ability to do custom site filtering although it requires you have a static IP or setup a Dynamic DNS service.

Also it's always better to configure your individual computers to a manual DNS than to use your home routers as a DNS proxy (which is the way most home routers work by default if you're using DHCP). Steve Gibson did a lot of testing on that and found that Home routers are often lousy DNS proxies and induce a lot of lag.

That's what I do - all my PCs except the laptops using Wifi are configured manually for OpenDNS, and that's what I do for most of my business clients.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:09 am

Good advice FP. I'm just amazed that I haven't seen much discussion anywhere about it.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:21 am

Interesting article here comparing OpenDNS to Google DNS. They specifically mention that Google does not block known phishing sites like OpenDNS does:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356703,00.asp

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:42 am

OpenDNS is much faster from my location, so i use that. i also prefer the added security and personal control (if i feel like using the dashboard).

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 2:28 pm

Interesting. I do agree that the speed increase isn't phenomenal, it just feels snappier. I'll give OpenDNS a try to see if that's any different.

ZYFER · Post by **ZYFER** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:11 am

In case of mine, regardless of what I try the ping remains unchanged and there isn't any noticeable difference in speed.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:32 am

Well, I must say that mine (charter) was pretty bad to begin with. One way or the other, it's barely noticeable. It really is mostly for the features mentioned over the speed. But if your ISP has a crappy DNS, it's worth it.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:10 am

Well you wouldn't see a difference in a regular ping. Ping just measures the delay time between you and a router or server. After the IP is looked up the first time the IP from a DNS server is cached unless you're flushing the cache every time you ping, and subsequent pings are unaffected by the DNS.

The only real way to test different DNS speeds is with a DNS Benchmark like the one I posted from GRC.com which tests response times between you and individual DNS servers. There's a bunch of popular DNS servers already loaded into the benchmark (like OpenDNS) and you can add others like Google. Here's my results - Google's so slow for me it's off the bottom of the page. LEVEL 3 (which is a major ISP backbone) is the fastest after Comcast but I stick with OpenDNS because it's not all that much slower and I like the security I get through them:

The difference is in lookup times. When you download a web page there may be ads and scripts from dozens of servers, each requiring a DNS lookup. If you can shave 5ms off each lookup it adds up in a hurry and leads to quicker page loads.

DNS servers on ISPs tend to be neglected bastard children running on an old beige box in a forgotten corner and a penny pinching ISP may also not have enough capacity on their DNS since it's the last thing they usually think about upgrading.

Ideally you want to use a DNS server located in your LOCAL ISP's office so the delay is as short as possible. Comcast however (and many other ISPs) use a few centralized DNS servers scattered around the country and sometimes the lag can be pretty high just due to the distance.