http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/introducing-google-public-dns.html
I just saw this article from Google and tried updating my DNS Servers from the ones provided by my Thai ISP to the Google Public DNS Servers: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. They said they want users from all over the world.
I was amazed. My internet seems two or three faster! (I did not do any measurements – I am not that patient – but my perception is reality.)
I have noticed in the past how much time my computer spends looking up IP addresses “Resolving host …” and grumbled at how many servers it needs to do something like access e-mail. Also it used DNS for what seemed like every request. Does the Flickr server move so often that the Time to Live (TTL) for DNS records cached on my computer needs to be measured in minutes?
Of course, I am suspicious. I wonder if Google can connect my identity to my DNS requests and thus gather a guaranteed complete record of everything I touch on the Internet to increase their knowledge about me for marketing purposes.
Despite that worry Google Public DNS seems like a great service. I may be one of the first million users so perhaps it will get slower as more people find out about it. I expect my ISP’s DNS servers are used by most of the Internet users in Thailand.
Kudos to Microsoft that they allow me to specify my preferred DNS servers separately from the IP address and gateway which I get using DHCP.
Tags: DNS, Google, performance
December 4, 2009 at 12:13 pm |
I am not the only one to be suspicious. See the following from http://www.ivonson.com/internet-marketing-news/internet-marketing-idea/the-next-phase-of-google%E2%80%99s-internet-google-public-dns
“While “speed” might indeed be the end result for users, data is immensely valuable to Google as a company that is increasingly all about gathering more and more information from multiple channels in order to serve better advertising.”
December 4, 2009 at 1:44 pm |
It is faster for me too. Thank you.
December 6, 2009 at 10:08 pm |
Google Public DNS isn’t the only alternative to your ISP’s service. See http://techpp.com/2009/12/04/which-is-the-fastest-dns-google-dns-or-opendns/ for some comparisons and test utilities.
December 17, 2009 at 1:00 pm |
I made a mistake with the IP address of one of the Google DNS sites. I have updated the post.
December 19, 2009 at 8:18 am |
[...] could be challenging in Bangkok. Even though my internet access is faster than it was because of Google Public DNS and the Asia-America Gateway (AAG) it is still creaky, especially at [...]
January 7, 2010 at 7:46 pm |
[...] of all Internet services – especially “free” ones. See for example the posts on Google Public DNS and Google Wave. In the latter I list (most of) the Google services I [...]