Have kids? A safer, faster internet

kpounds · 10-07-07, 07:10

I saw this posted on the Clark Howard (radio show) message boards and I think it is absolute GENIUS and a very useful service. Each Internet Service Provider uses DNS servers to provide the internet to our computers, like this: PC/Router---> ISP DNS Server--> Internet, then back to your PC. A site called opendns.com has you point to their DNS servers and it provides these benefits for FREE. Anti-phishing filter, adult sites filter, possibly faster & more reliable DNS servers than your own ISP. The process takes about 5-10 minutes and is easy to setup with full directions on their site. If you have multiple computers using a router, no problem, they have directions for setting up routers.

This seems SO smart for schools, libraries, companies, families. When I was growing up, I was looking at Playboy/Penthouse mags when I was 9-10 yrs old. Now, you know what's on the internet and although kids will probably eventually find the porn online, I think its best to delay it as long as possible so they can mature their minds as much as possible before running into it. The Anti-phishing filter and faster DNS is automatic as soon as you sign up. The Adult sites filter you need to create a free account to activate that feature. In my opinion this is a GREAT FREE solution for schools, libraries, companies, families and protecting our young kids & youth.

If you think this is something worthwhile, please let others know about it. Below is the original post from CH's message board. I've been using it for almost a week and its working great.

K

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All,

I wanted to let you know about a free service from a website called OpenDNS | Providing A Safer And Faster Internet.

When you go to a website on the internet, like clarkhoward.com: Save more, spend less and avoid ripoffs, that website name resolves to a numerical address (i.e.-IP address). This is done via DNS (Domain Name System or Service or Server).

Your ISP usually has you point your computer(s) or router to their own DNS servers. You do not have to always use these.

There is a website called OpenDNS | Providing A Safer And Faster Internet. I initially went there to find out about how it could speed up my access to the web, which it did do. After using their DNS servers for the past month or so, I found out that they also provide content blocking to adult sites and the like as well as phishing sites. And they do this all for FREE!

Not only do they do this for free but you as the end user, can monitor your internet traffic going to and from your IP address on the cable or DSL modem that you ISP provides. This will provide you reports on what websites were accessed and what website were automatically blocked that any of your computers in your home were trying to go to. It will also allow you to "whitelist" a website if you deem it ok to visit.

The benefits of this service can also be had by businesses as well.

So, just thought I would share that with all of you. It has been working great for me!

a.k.a. Patrick · 10-07-07, 09:33

Wow, very interesting!

WilliamHBonney · 10-07-07, 01:35

I dont care about adult feature but everything else seems like a cool idear. I will try this later.

BlackElantraGT · 10-07-07, 02:19

Many people set up wireless networks, but they never bother to properly configure and use the functions it provides. One of the things you can do with your wireless router is set up access restrictions. This takes the blocking and filtering to a different level.

You're able to set different permissions for different PC's. Not only can you block and filter the sites AND services (AIM, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, etc.) they visit, but you can even go as far as state what time and day they can/cannot use the internet. The internet can be addicting and you can easily lose track of time so if it's hard for adults to control how much time they spend on the computer, imagine little kids and teenagers.

kpounds · 10-11-07, 02:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by WilliamHBonney

I dont care about adult feature but everything else seems like a cool idear. I will try this later.

That's fine too. By default, Opendns does NOT block adult sites, but will still filter out phishing sites and maybe increase internet speed by using their DNS servers. Opening a free account allows you to filter the adult sites (many levels of filtering, like allowing some softer sites) and other options like one-word browser shortcuts for email & favorite sites and a "dashboard" that lets you see various statistics related to your PC or home/business network of PC's. There's user forums also, although not organized too neatly.

Kinda funny, but in our state quite a few city employees just got suspended/reprimanded for porn surfing at work. If they'd have been using Opendns, I doubt it would have been a problem.

K

rjstaaf · 12-04-07, 06:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpounds

snip...

Kinda funny, but in our state quite a few city employees just got suspended/reprimanded for porn surfing at work. If they'd have been using Opendns, I doubt it would have been a problem.

K

The traffic would still have to go through the city network. Using a different DNS does not bypass the network, just the DNS servers that serve the city network. It would not have any effect on their IT department being able to monitor any and every bit of traffic that goes through their network.

rjstaaf · 12-04-07, 07:02

I have used OpenDNS on and off for some time. Whether you see any speed benefit really depends on your ISP. I am on BellSouth (now AT&T) DSL and I see absolutely no difference in speed with the OpenDNS servers.

I run a dedicated firewall on my home network and it does Web filtering but, it is nice to have a second layer of filtering through OpenDNS even if 99 out of 100 times my firewall catches the pages before OpenDNS does.

The real benefit to OpenDNS for me is as a backup to my ISP DNS in the event of an outage. Last night we appeared to lose all connectivity and after a lot of poking around the firewall and my network I discovered that the DNS servers were down. I switched over to OpenDNS and everything was right with the world again.

I checked this morning and it appears that my ISP's (BellSouth/AT&T) DNS is still down or at dimished capacity so I will remain on OpenDNS servers for a while.