OpenDNS and FastCache: Speed Up Internet Connection
DNS - Domain Name Server/Service, is a service that translates domain names into IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic, they’re easier to remember. The Internet however, is really based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, therefore, a DNS service must translate the name into the corresponding IP address. The DNS system is its own network. If one DNS server doesn’t know how to translate a particular domain name, it asks another one, and so on, until the correct IP address is returned.
In fact, your ISP isn’t always that reliable, especially for Malaysian internet users which I personally get used to the lousy connection speed back in Malaysia. Perhaps you should really try on OpenDNS and FastCache; or test your internet speed with TCP/IQ
Screenshots show the results before and after I went through the test
OpenDNS helps you navigate the Internet in a safer, faster, smarter and more reliable way. No need to download and doesn’t replace your existing Internet connection, it just makes it better. It’s pretty simple by just changing your currently ISP’s DNS to the preferred DNS and gives you more reliable internet connection. Please feel free to drop by.
At it’s core, FastCache really is a simple caching DNS proxy server - it speeds up your browsing by caching Web site domain addresses which sits between programs on your computer accessing the Internet and the DNS servers that map domain names to IP addresses. This means the first time you go to a certain domain/website, it takes the normal amount of time to look up the domain name, but each subsequent time you return should be instant (as long as it remains in the cache). But what good is saving a FRACTION of a second!?!? In and of itself, not of much value at all, but the beauty of DNS is that you don’t normally just make a couple of requests a day - with normal browsing you can literally make hundreds of requests, and that starts to add up.
:::Configuring your computer:::
Configuring your computer to send requests through FastCache involves changing your networks settings.
1. Open the “Control Panel”
2. Doubleclick on “Network Connections”
3. Rightclick on the connection and choose “Properties”
4. Select “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” and click “Properties” on the General tab
5. Turn ON “Use the following DNS server addresses”
6. Set the preferred address to 127.0.0.1
IMPORTANT STEP:
7. Configure FastCache by entering the OpenDNS IP: 208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220
Analogx shows my stats saying - Caching has just saved 2s in my life! in 30 minutes online time.
There is a great resource for modifying the DNS settings under all versions of windows at: http://www.webattack.com/dns.html
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