Google Launches Its Own Public DNS Servers

I’m sure a lot of my less technical customers will read that title and not truly understand what that means. Let me try to explain what a DNS Server is and does in the simplest terms. A DNS server is like a GPS system for the internet. You type in a website address in your web browser, and the DNS server is responsible for finding the computer that is hosting the website you are trying to get to. This happens very quickly, and in most cases, you load the website in a few seconds. Because of the way the internet works these days, you internet service provider (ISP) provides a DNS server for you and you never have to think about it. So why would you want to use anyone else’s DNS servers?

Well, according to Google, the claim that theirs is faster and more secure than what your ISP provides.

While there are a lot of open DNS servers, including OpenDNS (which allows you to create an account and customize your DNS settings), for most people the task of setting up an alternative DNS server is confusing and not worth the hassle. So why do it? Well, besides the added security and performance, Google has promised accuracy. This means that if you type an address improperly, Google will not redirect you much like my ISP (currently Comcast) does. From their introduction to the new service, “Google Public DNS does its best to return the right answer to every query every time, in accordance with the DNS standards. Sometimes, in the case of a query for a mistyped or non-existent domain name, the right answer means no answer, or an error message stating the domain name could not be resolved. Google Public DNS never blocks, filters, or redirects users, unlike some open resolvers and ISPs”.

Google, has put together a pretty good “how-to” on how to change your DNS settings to their new servers. As always, feel free to contact me if you need help setting this up.