Know How... 81: Viewer Feedback and Speeding Up DNS

We discuss getting rid of space junk with a tractor beam, viewer feedback straight from Google Plus, and speed up your DNS.

Speeding Up you DNS

The "Domain Name System" is how computers find resources on the Internet. Anytime a computer tries to navigate to a web server or connect to a service (i.e. Google), the computer first needs to request a "DNS Resolution" from a DNS server. The DNS server turns an address like "Google.com" into its IP address equivilant. If your DNS server is slow to respond, it will slow your entire Internet communication session.

Benchmarking your DNS

Try using Steve Gibson's "DNS Benchmark" - It will allow you to test the reliability and responsiveness of DNS servers in your area. You can find it. here.

Choosing a 3rd Party DNS

My personal favorite 3rd Party DNS servers are Google DNS: (8.8.4.4) and OpenDNS: (208.67.222.222) To configure Windows 7:

"Start"
"Control Panel"
"Network and Sharing Center"
Click "Local Area Connection" (You'll get a popup window for "Local Area Connection Status".)
Click "Properties"
Select "Internet Protocol Version 4"
Click "Properties"
Enable - "Use the following DNS server addresses:"
Enter your two favorite DNS servers
"ok"
"close"
"close"

To configure Mac OSX:

"System Preferences"
"Network"
Select the connection that you want to configure
"Advanced"
Choose the "DNS" tab
Click the "+" sign at the bottom of the "DNS Servers:" box
Enter your 3rd Part DNS server settings
"OK"
"Apply"

To Configure your Router:

Log into your Router
Find the "DHCP Settings" section
Find the DNS subfield
Enter your 3rd Party DNS settings
Save Settings

Editing your Hosts File

For Windows 7:

Open Notepad in Admin mode (Hover over the icon, right click, "Run as Administrator")
"Open a file"
Navigate to "My Computer" - "C:" - "Windows" - "System 32" - "drivers" - "etc" (**You need to make sure that Notepad is seeing "All Files" by clicking the selection box next to the "File Name" field and selecting "All Files" – You will now be able to see the "hosts" file**)
Open the "hosts" file
Enter the IP addresses and URLs of your most commonly visited sites in the format: "IP address (tab) URL"
Save

For OSX:

"Command" + "Shift" + "g"
Type "/private/etc" and hit ENTER
Use your favorite editor to add your most commonly visited sites in the format: "IP address (tab) URL"
Save

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