A little internet safety net – openDNS

I will try hard to explain this so that everyone who may read this will understand. If you implement openDNS, you will enjoy a little more piece of mind and safety on the internet. All for free. Honest.

What is DNS you may ask? It is like a phonebook for the internet. For example. When you type in http://www.google.com into your browser, your computer needs to know how to get there. So it queries DNS to find an IP address like 208.67.219.231. The internet would be very difficult if we had to remember all the IP addresses.

All internet providers give you DNS as part of your service. However they (your internet provider) typically do not provide any safeguards for undesirable websites. Enter OpenDNS. It is an online service which acts as your phonebook, but keeps out all of the junk. They offer 6 levels of protection, from High to Custom.

Your next question may be, what happens when I try to visit a blocked site? You get a page like this:

(foxyproxy is a plugin for my firefox browser which allows for easy proxy switching)

I like it. I have piece of mind knowing that my family cannot be exposed to things that they don’t need to be.

Want to set this up? It is easy. You need to register at OpenDNS.com.

Next go to their Use OpenDNS page and set things up. They also have a getting started video available here. Still confused? I could probably help. Drop me an note and I will do what I can for you.