Will Google’s latest pet project be an OpenDNS killer? Google just announced that they are now providing free public DNS, leveraging their global network of server farms, and while the details are vague, providing security filtering as well. All that is needed to upgrade to lightning-fast DNS is to put two Google DNS servers into your TCP/IP configuration–8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Privacy concerns aside, the performance so far is stunning, cutting some latency times in half. This will likely change as more netizens adapt, but for now it is a DNS slice of heaven.
Interestingly, OpenDNS recently changed their website design to make it more difficult to find their two nameservers (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220) and making it look like you have to sign up for a paid or free account to use their services. As of yet, Google does not redirect malformed requests (such as domain typos) to any paid search-result landing page like OpenDNS and ISPs like Verizon and Comcast do.
