Google Public DNS – handy… just remember 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 – my ISP’s DNS is always slow, this one and OpenDNS are better. There is a lively debate in the comments about how freaky it may or may not be to give google this type of access/control, etc of your internets, join in!
24 thoughts on “Google Public DNS”
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Can’t check it out from here (will do later.) … but does it do that thing where non-existant domains are redirected to “helpful” search pages?
That drives me crazy.
http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/faq.html#nxdomains
Nope, it returns the proper error. Finally, openDNS was annoying, the search results were terrible and there’s no way to turn off the error page without paying for the service.
My ISPs error page could be turned off, but it used a cookie, so it was user side, which still sucks. This is server side, so it’s awesome.
I’m gonna switch to Google DNS for a while, see how it is. If I’m worried about my security, or their tracking of me, then I can just switch to another DNS service.
Seriously I am not a paranoid person, nor am I too cynical, but I do question that which I do not understand, and I do tend to think worst-case.
So, if I utilize this new Google DNS, will my results be ‘controlled’ by this privately held company, Google? Just as I worry that my current DNS, which is through my ISP is ‘controlled’.
Doesn’t China and other restrictive countries use DNS to block citizens from seeing certain things? Can’t corporations utilize DNS to ‘redirect’ you to one site or another, or block things altogether?
I am not saying Google DNS is evil, or even has the potential to be evil, I just don’t understand why there are several different choices to DNS, why isn’t there one main standard, that is open source, and maintained publically?
This is a good point. Google in many ways is becoming the giant corporate monolith that the Internet was originally supposed to avoid.
I’ll bet that if nothing else, they’re eager to start tracking which domains see the most traffic.
worth a read…
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We understand that our users need to know what we do with information we collect when you use our services. If you’d like to read the main policy which Google adheres to, see the Privacy Center.
However, if you’re reading this page, you probably want some specific, rapid answers about what happens to your data when you use Google Public DNS. We designed the product to be fast, so let’s get to the point quickly on privacy as well.
We built Google Public DNS to make the web faster and to retain as little information about usage as we could, while still being able to detect and fix problems. Google Public DNS does not permanently store personally identifiable information.
What we log
Google Public DNS stores two sets of logs: temporary and permanent. The temporary logs store the full IP address of the machine you’re using. We have to do this so that we can spot potentially bad things like DDoS attacks and so we can fix problems, such as particular domains not showing up for specific users.
We delete these temporary logs within 24 to 48 hours.
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it seems some people are very worried about how much google is in their lives, i’m certain google knows this and who these people are and i’m also sure will be talking with each one of those people very soon.
Thanks Phillip!
I did a couple of quick searches on Google for things like “Google DNS privacy Issue” but came up with nothing!
This explains a lot.
http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy.html
link to the privacy policy.
Think about how much more power this surrenders to google. Using them for DNS means that instead of them knowing only about those things that you search for on their site (being practically the last surviving search engine, that is bad enough in itself), they’ll know about EVERYTHING you do. And I am not just talking about http/web access alone, where they’d know which porn sites you visit directly, which bank you use and how often etc. With them your primary / secondary DNS, they’ll be able to track any kind of software that needs to do name resolution : your ssh client, your file sharing client, your chat client, your software update processes, your email client, even the home-calling spyware software on your computer … stuff they haven’t had access to through their usual domain of dominance.
Some information is just too dangerous to even exist. Worse, to be left to the whims of a single entity, a single point of failure and misuse. Even if that entity was an elected government, it takes only a slight change in the wind of politics to transform a hitherto innocuous data repository into a tool for oppression. Google is a thing which by its very definition is driven by that historically negative attribute known as “greed.” Dare we put even as much trust into it as we would our governments? When stakes are high, paranoia is better than the alternative.
And this is different from using the DNS of your ISP, which if I’m not mistaking, is also a private company?
Unless and until all ISPs conglomerate into a single monopoly, the difference should be quite obvious. You may have overlooked the title of the post : “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.”
But, you do have a point. Any ISP can equally track its users, and violate their privacy at will. And if the ISP in question is one of the mega ISPs like Comcast, then the difference between them and Google may be merely in name. Still, I don’t know of any ISP that has the a global user constituency like that of Google, giving this information baron potential powers of omniscience of sauronic proportions. How tall can their proverbial tower get before it is unsafe?
In matters of telecommunication it is often quite difficult to err on the side of caution. For example we don’t get privacy preserving configuration alternatives on our phone lines. Its the nature of the technology. But when we do get an alternative, as in this case, why give it away willy-nilly? Without, at least, first fully comprehending the implications?
For myself I try to practice what I preach. I opt for small local ISPs every chance I get (in the process I have gotten considerably superior service as a bonus). I try to avoid being so lazy as to type url’s into Google’s search box, rather than directly into my browser’s address bar. And I use Tor. But I am aware that this is a losing battle. Our collective nonchalance is so high these days, that I am probably only engaging in symbolic, mechanically futile gestures. Nothing much can be done about this, other than exercising free speech, and waiting for the brave new world to reach its logical conclusion. It seems to be humanity’s lot that we must dive fairly deeply into the abyss before rising the newer heights.
Between the two fighters maybe I can steal a few lines to talk about us at FoolDNS.com
FoolDNS is a free service aiming to provide the maximum protection from web content profiling.
Every time you open a web page, every time a banner shows up, every time you run a particular code, a great deal of your information is handed out: you’re not giving them to the web site you’re visiting, but to other networks who use them. And very often that happens without you even knowing their destination. FoolDNS blocks the majority of these attempts of invading your privacy.
While playing around with GDNS and OPENDNS maybe you could try even 87.118.111.215 and 81.174.67.134 and take a look at our website at http://www.fooldns.com .
It takes just a couple seconds, but maybe you’ll find it worth.
Nice idea, but can configure their routers to direct DNS requests to their own servers. Some of my clients’ IT depts do this as a means to restrict access to untrusted/undesirable outside services regardless of the application protocol – not just HTTP.