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Which DNS servers to use?.. Google? OpenDNS? My ISP's? (UK User - TD-8970)

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Anubis_386

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Location
England - Where VAT hurts my pocket :(
Hey guys.. So I've been fiddling with the settings of my router (a TP-Link TD-8970 with latest firmware) and basically I'm just wondering which DNS servers to use for my home broadband connection (crappy slow ADSL2+ from Virgin Media - I'm from the UK btw)?.. I've always previously used 194.168.4.100 & 194.168.8.100, which is assume is my ISP's but recently tried OpenDNS and currently I'm using Google's and well I can't say I can see any difference between any of them tbh..

So my question is... What's my best option? With performance & my privacy being the deciding factors..

If anyone else with a TD-8970 can help me out with a few other settings and features too that would be great!

Many thanks for any input!
 
There aren't a whole lot of reasons to use a different DNS server on a home network. If your ISP's DNS servers are often down, then you might see some benefit, but realistically any speed improvement you would gain would be negligible. There might be some other benefits (filtering, for example), but by and large it's a moot point. Although, in the UK it could be a different story.
 
Your ISP's is likely going to be the fastest.

DNS servers don't really matter for privacy (unless the ISP's server is malicious and is actually directing you to wrong IPs).

I don't think they really track DNS requests.

Even if you use Google's DNS server, your ISP can just as easily track it if they wanted to, since DNS is never encrypted.
 
Well my ISP (Virgin Media) does have to block access to a number of mostly torrent/downloading/streaming sites thanks to a Court Order from almost a year now.. From just testing 1 website (the .com domain of a site instead of the .eu link I would normally have to use in order to connect) using the Google DNS perhaps does offer some advantage.. But at what cost (I'm a bit paranoid with Google on how much info they're collecting on all of us.. lol) .. So would using OpenDNS perhaps be a better choice on the privacy side of things.. What sort of filtering are you referring to also?

Thanks man!
 
Well my ISP (Virgin Media) does have to block access to a number of mostly torrent/downloading/streaming sites thanks to a Court Order from almost a year now.. From just testing 1 website (the .com domain of a site instead of the .eu link I would normally have to use in order to connect) using the Google DNS perhaps does offer some advantage.. But at what cost (I'm a bit paranoid with Google on how much info they're collecting on all of us.. lol) .. So would using OpenDNS perhaps be a better choice on the privacy side of things.. What sort of filtering are you referring to also?

Thanks man!

I wouldn't worry about privacy with DNS servers too much. Very little data actually goes through DNS servers. Google will be able to know (if they want, and I highly doubt it, when they already have much better tracking methods - like when you actually search stuff on Google) what kind of sites you visit, and that's about it. They won't be able to know who you are because you don't have to login to use DNS. They MAY be able to correlate it with IPs you use other Google services from, but again I highly doubt they will. It's a lot of work for information that's much easier to get in other ways.

Also, OpenDNS appears to be run by a small company. I would probably trust Google over them to be honest if you are worried about privacy.

Depending on how the blocking is done (does it just say lookup failed, or does it redirect you to another page?), you may be able to use your ISP's server as the first server, and Google's as second, so that only sites not found on the ISP's DNS server will go to Google's.

There shouldn't be any filtering. If there is I would use another DNS server.
 
I used and currently are using Google's DNS servers.

For me, my isp's DNS servers were slow as fug.
 
I wouldn't worry. make sure you've opted out of parental blocking. google your blocked sites with the term proxy on the end.
step up your virus and malware to cut down the hijacking action these proxy provide (for free!) :D lol

if you are accessing potential sites that may lead to a chunk being bitten out your posterior then set the router up with a vulnerability so anyone can log on. then if it did go to court it would be thrown straight out ;)

data that they log is filtered and prioritised by machines... so chances of being flagged for being any worse than the rest of the uk are minimal.

Ive used virgin in the past and they were a right bunch of banjo ticklers for scare tactics when I told them where to get off.

will they report you for using 500gb a month? nah, because if word got out it would be a serious blow to there customer base.

all the ISP`s do the minimum to back up big bubbas regime. (like they want to be known for selling a crippled product :rofl: )

no need to live in fear... the authorities have bigger fish to fry. no way on this earth will they send digital forensics to come and take all your toys... (Ive tested that with the twenty or so police that have storm trooped my house in the last 12 months. lol )

and thanks for reminding me I want a che berret to accompany my hair and middle finger philosophy :D lol
 
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