Google DNS Is Now Online
Joe M posted in Home Support, free stuff on December 4th, 2009
Google has now moved into another venture.
Google Public DNS is now available for use.
DNS is the abbreviation for Domain Name System.
In the simplest terms possible…
It is a system of servers on a network that provide resolution to domain names.
Since the internet and many networks are based on TCP/IP protocol, everything uses an IP address.
It’s a system that uses four octets, separated by periods or dots.
192.168.10.111 is an example. You can think of it, much like a home address.
That means that when you type www.acmesupplycompany.com into your browser…
Something has to tell the servers, routers, firewalls and the other infrastructure on the internet or your network the IP address of www.acmesupplycompany.com.
That’s it, in a nutshell.
There are thousands of posts, pages and minutia describing DNS and it’s function available for anyone to peruse.
Google is hoping to speed up browsing with caching, and add some security to the name resolution process.
Their hopes are to help users avoid malicious links and websites.
A good example?
You are on your favorite social website. Another user has a virus, which makes a post to the site.
“Check out this link… It has some information about you, you need to read. http://www.xxxyyyzzz.com.”
Without thinking, you click the link.
If you use Google DNS, if www.xxxyyyzzz.com has malicious code or is viral in any way, it will redirect you to another page with a warning first. You will then have an option to continue on to the site, or back out.
What’s in all this for Google?
Outside of hearing the brand name, once again…
Google will definitely have access to the statistics and traffic going across their DNS.
I am sure they can find a use for all that information.
The only word of caution: Make sure you read and understand the terms of use and privacy statement.
Do that, prior to making the changes and agreeing to the terms of service.
With that said, you can find the instructions for setting up your computers and routers at home to use the new service here.