Image via CrunchBase

In this edition of Living in the Cloud series, instead of talking about a cloud based tool, I am going to talk about a solution that ensures your life in the Clouds safe. OpenDNS is a free DNS provider that also ensures the internet experience with some security tools like content filtering, anti-phishing, etc.

For those who are not familiar with the term DNS, here is a short intro. When you enter a domain name, like www.cloudave.com, in your browser’s address bar, it should be converted into an IP address before the browser can fetch the web page. This process of converting DNS to IP is done using DNS server. Usually, this service is offered by your ISPs through their own DNS servers.

Sometimes even the big ISPs like Comcast have trouble with their DNS servers, disrupting the internet access of users. Also, most of the ISPs have their DNS servers in locations far away from most of their customers and this leads to considerable internet slowdown at times, due to network bottlenecks. For occasional users of the internet, it is not a big problem but for people, who live in the clouds, this could be a big hindrance. Having a reliable DNS server is as important as having a reliable network connection. This is where OpenDNS steps in with their ultra-reliable, but free without any fine prints, service. Unlike other security systems, OpenDNS works in the cloud and, therefore, it doesn’t slow down the internet connection like other locally installed security software.

As it is customary in this series, I am adding a video that will help you get started with this service.

As I usually do in this series, I will list out the Pros and Cons of this service.

Pros:

• They offer a great way to filter the contents. For home users, this will come handy as a parental control to ensure safe browsing by the kids. For businesses, this is a good way to enforce browsing policy for the employees
• They also offer a time based blocking option. Certain websites can be blocked during certain periods of time. For home users, this will come handy to stop browsing during homework or sleep times for kids. We have seen stats about the total time spent by employees on online shopping. This tool could come handy for businesses to block certain sites during work hours. They also offer detailed logging for businesses to keep a tab on their employees (Note: I am personally opposed to businesses doing this but for those who have invested money, it is a different belief system and I understand it)
• They tap into the community (Crowdsourcing) to build a phish-tank. This offers them an efficient way to protect internet users from phishing scam
• They route users’ requests to the nearest DNS server and this, in turn, helps users have a faster internet experience

Cons:

• One of the biggest concern for me is privacy. But, hey, if I can trust my ISP with my privacy during the Bush years, I can as well trust OpenDNS. You can check out their privacy policies here
• Another annoying aspect of OpenDNS is the fact that it hijacks the search shortcut I set up with Google. I have to manually configure my browser again. I wish they asked me to select it during my first browsing session using OpenDNS

Here is a recent news to highlight the importance of OpenDNS in protecting us from malware. According to The Register, they are announcing a new option to track and block Conficker, a worm that has affected 10 Million PCs, in your home network or business network. They are offering this using the list of blocked domains provided by Anti-Virus vendor Kaspersky.

The service will also help network admins to quickly pinpoint any infected machines by checking their OpenDNS Dashboard. Starting Monday, any networks with PCs that try to connect to the Conficker addresses will be flagged on an admin's private statistics page. The service is available for free to both businesses and home users.

Note: Personally, I am using OpenDNS from the time they started offering this service. I have never faced a single failure due to any problems on their side. I am pretty happy and we use it in the homes of all our family members and our respective businesses. Even though I strongly recommend this service for everyone who steps out in the internet, I want to put a disclaimer here. YMMV.