Which DNS service you prefer and why?

[gautam7]

Hi friends i am thinking about changing from my ISP's dns to some free public dns like opendns or google dns or norton dns or any other mainly due to their claim that they make browsing faster. Is that claim true? i would like to know from people who have actually used those service. I don't need website filtering facility i just need speed in browsing as well as downloading and if they have some malware site blocking facility then i think they will be an added bonus. I am from india more specifically from state assam ( if that really matter) using BSNL broadband with 2Mbps speed.

P.S: Is malware filtering is an important feature? I mean all antiviruses have some form of malware domain blocking facility, atleast avast do this with network shield which i use

Thanks for your replies

With regards
Gautam

 

[MaxPayne]

I prefer Norton DNS because its fast, and secure. I have CIS with MBAM PRO (which also has web-site filtering) so whatever Norton DNS doesnt block MBAM PRO does

If you want to see norton dns in action against other dns services look at this:OpenDNS vs. NortonDNS vs. Comodo Secure DNS - YouTube

 

[mickey megabyte]

if you're interested in simply finding the fastest dns server for your particular connection, have a look at namebench.

Are you a power-user with 5 minutes to spare? Do you want a faster internet experience?

Try out namebench. It hunts down the fastest DNS servers available for your computer to use. namebench runs a fair and thorough benchmark using your web browser history, tcpdump output, or standardized datasets in order to provide an individualized recommendation. namebench is completely free and does not modify your system in any way. This project began as a 20% project at Google.

...

 

[gautam7]

Ok used this namebench. Which showed google dns is fastest and second fastest is my ISP. So can i use 8.8.4.4 from google as preffered dns and 218.248.255.161 as secondary dns server?

 

[mickey megabyte]

it has to be worth a try for a couple of days.

it's easy enough to change back if you experience any problems.

 

[Dwarf]

You need to remember that things can change, and it is worth doing the test at different times of the day and over several days to get a truer picture. For those who have fast internet connections (20Mb/s +), you might notice the difference, but for those on slower connections (like me), it is unlikely that you will notice much difference. Having said that, there is no harm in trying alternative DNS, but note that a faster DNS is not necessarily better than a slow one, particularly if it is poor at resolving requests.

 

[DBone]

Norton DNS is the best of both worlds. Fast and secure. To me, I really don't pay attention to the benchmark tests, because like was already mentioned, the time of day can influence those tests, and I can't feel or see any difference in the "fastest" to the "slowest" anyway. So to me, the security of Norton DNS outweighs any speed differences.

 

[A Guy]

GRC also has a DNS Benchmark.

GRC's | DNS Nameserver Performance Benchmark  

A Guy

 

[gautam7]

OK right now i am using google dns also thinking to use norton dns after that for some time to see how both performs. One last question is there any negative effect which i should be aware of by not using my ISP dns?

 

[DBone]

Only thing I can think of is I can't see or adjust my router's firewall. I need to have my ISP's DNS to do this, but since it's already set up to my needs, that's not a big deal. If I need to get to my firewall, I just swap back in a few seconds.

 

[gautam7]

Norton DNS is the best of both worlds. Fast and secure. To me, I really don't pay attention to the benchmark tests, because like was already mentioned, the time of day can influence those tests, and I can't feel or see any difference in the "fastest" to the "slowest" anyway. So to me, the security of Norton DNS outweighs any speed differences.

@ DBone have you seen norton DNS in action? I am currently using this and tried to test it. I sandboxed firefox and started to go to some (around 15) random website listed in malware domain list. To my surprise around 80% of them are either blocked by avast network shield or firefox itself. Other times neither blocked the website. Norton DNS never warned about anything. I could be possible norton DNS have not blacklisted those domain at that time, but still those website are reported malicious by around half the scanner of VT.

 

[MaxPayne]

Norton DNS is the best of both worlds. Fast and secure. To me, I really don't pay attention to the benchmark tests, because like was already mentioned, the time of day can influence those tests, and I can't feel or see any difference in the "fastest" to the "slowest" anyway. So to me, the security of Norton DNS outweighs any speed differences.

@ DBone have you seen norton DNS in action? I am currently using this and tried to test it. I sandboxed firefox and started to go to some (around 15) random website listed in malware domain list. To my surprise around 80% of them are either blocked by avast network shield or firefox itself. Other times neither blocked the website. Norton DNS never warned about anything. I could be possible norton DNS have not blacklisted those domain at that time, but still those website are reported malicious by around half the scanner of VT.

So which dns in your tests bloacked the most malicious sites?

Sent from my Gingerbread on Dream using Tapatalk

 

[DBone]

Norton DNS is the best of both worlds. Fast and secure. To me, I really don't pay attention to the benchmark tests, because like was already mentioned, the time of day can influence those tests, and I can't feel or see any difference in the "fastest" to the "slowest" anyway. So to me, the security of Norton DNS outweighs any speed differences.

@ DBone have you seen norton DNS in action? I am currently using this and tried to test it. I sandboxed firefox and started to go to some (around 15) random website listed in malware domain list. To my surprise around 80% of them are either blocked by avast network shield or firefox itself. Other times neither blocked the website. Norton DNS never warned about anything. I could be possible norton DNS have not blacklisted those domain at that time, but still those website are reported malicious by around half the scanner of VT.

I have not tested it myself, so I can only go by the tests that I have seen around the web. It has never popped up for me, but that being said, avast! has never popped up for me either, as I don't practice unsafe browsing habits and I have been lucky enough not to stumble upon a hijacked site distributing drive-by infections.............. Still, it's nice to know it's there and blocking what it can, with no downside.

 

[gautam7]

Thanks DBone for confirming Norton DNS have not poped up for you either. I also believe in safe browsing. If norton have worked today atleast for one time i would be very happy and satisfied because it would have compliment avast nicely and increased the security level. Ok i started a topic in norton forum lets see what they have to say about this

 

[MaxPayne]

i am also currently using norton dns, and it has not pooped up for me either.. but i dont go to malicious sites so i dont know

 

[gautam7]

i am also currently using norton dns, and it has not pooped up for me either.. but i dont go to malicious sites so i dont know

I also dont go to malicious website on a regular basis. Its just today i had nothing important to do so thought about testing Norton DNS. I dont expect it to block everything but a ocassional warning would have suggested it is working perfectly. Right now I am waiting for some reply from norton forum.

 

[MaxPayne]

Please, let us know what they say at the Norton Forums, I am curious to know what they will say

 

[MaxPayne]

I heard Clearcloud is really good at blocking malicious sites even better than norton, maybe you should test that one and let us know the results.

 

[DBone]

I heard Clearcloud is really good at blocking malicious sites even better than norton, maybe you should test that one and let us know the results.

ClearCloud has been discontinued:


Effective September 1, 2011, GFI's ClearCloud DNS service will be discontinued and no longer available for consumer use. While we have many loyal ClearCloud DNS users, we have found that most customers prefer the more robust web filtering solution available as a feature in our VIPRE Premium product.

We would like to thank all of the beta testers for their valuable feedback throughout this last 12 month evaluation period.

To discontinue using the ClearCloud DNS service, you will need to reconfigure your network connection. If this is not done prior to September 1, 2011, your Internet connectivity will be interrupted. Learn how to remove ClearCloud DNS from your computer by clicking here.

 

[MaxPayne]

I heard Clearcloud is really good at blocking malicious sites even better than norton, maybe you should test that one and let us know the results.

ClearCloud has been discontinued:


Effective September 1, 2011, GFI's ClearCloud DNS service will be discontinued and no longer available for consumer use. While we have many loyal ClearCloud DNS users, we have found that most customers prefer the more robust web filtering solution available as a feature in our VIPRE Premium product.

We would like to thank all of the beta testers for their valuable feedback throughout this last 12 month evaluation period.

To discontinue using the ClearCloud DNS service, you will need to reconfigure your network connection. If this is not done prior to September 1, 2011, your Internet connectivity will be interrupted. Learn how to remove ClearCloud DNS from your computer by clicking here.

Oh that sucks, oh well looks like Norton DNS for me so far in all the videos I've seen on youtube, it does a fairly good job