Fix your ISP DNS Problems

It has been a constant problem not only for me but for a lot of people as well. There are times when I get reports that people cannot see any of my blogs or some other people’s sites I host. Yet, the server is up, there is no problem on the data center and the affected sites load fine from other locations or other ISPs.

Almost all local ISPs have this problem — poor DNS architecture, network congestion, or inadequate peering arrangements — PLDT (esp. Smart Wifi), Eastern Telecoms, Globe Quest (Innove), and GreenDot.

What I usually suggest to people is to reset their modem and reboot. If you’re on a corporate account, it’s also effective to call the ISP’s tech support and ask them to hook you to a different/better DNS server. I do get a lot of arguments with their tech guys thru email exchanges and even if they fixed the problem, they wouldn’t admit the issue originated from their end.

I end up using other tools to show the clients that their site is running fine — free proxy servers, remote ping/traceroute tools, anonymous web proxies.

Then, here comes OpenDNS:

Two things make OpenDNS faster than similar services. First, Open DNS runs a really big, smart cache, so every OpenDNS user benefits from the activities of the broader OpenDNS user base. Second, OpenDNS runs a high-performance network which is geographically distributed (see network map) and serviced by several redundant connections. OpenDNS responds to your query from the nearest location. That means we’re very fast (and extremely reliable, to boot).

Instead of using your default DNS settings, you can use OpenDNS instead. Been using it for a couple of days now and seemed to work fine and somewhat faster.

Here are instructions on how to use it with your PC (if you connect directly to the net) or configuring your routers (e.g. Linksys). Try it and see if you’re still having problems with not being able to view certain sites. Hopefully, it does solve the problem.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

19 Comments

registryfix says:

13 years ago

Download Eusing Free Registry Cleaner – Will scan your Windows registry for invalid or obsolete information and provide a list of the errors …
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DNS Lookup says:

13 years ago

What I usually suggest to people is to reset their modem and reboot. If youâ€™re on a corporate account, itâ€™s also effective to call the ISPâ€™s tech support and ask them to hook you to a different/better DNS server.
___________________
Steven
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abe says:

13 years ago

hi whats the dns server that your using because my internet become slow…..
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rafael says:

14 years ago

i want to share to you a software named dnsjumper, same with namebench but much faster than this for those who use usb modem like globe tattoo. It has a dns servers embedded (google dns,opendns,etc.) that will compare the fastest dns server. In just one click it will automatically apply the fastest dns among them to your dns server addresses.I also used namebench, but it takes long time or even an hour for me to find the fastest dns. And another thing, i also found a software named dns speeder but i dont know how to use it.

The software that i’ve mention is a freeware and can be found in http://www.fiberdownload.com.

For those who know how to speed up their dial up connection using a freeware software pls. post here.
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kendall marquez says:

14 years ago

how to change my IP of PLDT DSL???
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reyhann s. bhutto says:

15 years ago

yah.. thats true fren, actually ive been using openDNS since ive discover this reliable and stable connection. but still thanks to your info bro, i know there are still lot of our frenz outthere who doesn’t know this nice info. salam…
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penoi says:

16 years ago

try to also install local dns caching.. so that you will not always resolve dns queries thru Opendns. it will help you to minimize resolution latency.
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Bisaya says:

16 years ago

Why OpenDNS has gone bad – see the sections on “Privacy issues and covert redirection” and “Conflicts” in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDNS. It has hijacked DNS-query-based Google searches. They have gone bad!
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Jun Tan says:

17 years ago

Hello again, the smartbro dns servers are now okay. I think it would be much better (as of now) to use its default dns servers since they are now fixed,low latency(around 10ms ave) and no more request timed out…
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Nancy says:

17 years ago

thanks a bunch 4 telling me to do that, but the problem with my dsn is that i cant get into any mail so i tried to do the opendsn thing, and it said internet explorer cannot display page, and it’s getting really depressing. :'( thanks 4 trying :D (email doesn’t work!!! grrrr)
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JC John SESE Cuneta says:

17 years ago

You can also use ORSN’s public DNS servers:

217.146.139.5
62.157.101.211

ORSN is an indepent group similar to ICANN. Problem is, ICANN is US controlled, one day (hope not), it is possible that the US government will take 100% control over ICANN and ask it to delete these domain names, TLDs, ccTLDs, etc. example a world war.

ORSN being independent and protected by EU Laws, will still direct you to the correct servers.

I switch between ORSN and OpenDNS on regular intervals. OpenDNS do fail sometimes, but I haven’t seen ORSN fail me.

And East Asia has a faster connection to EU than the US :p
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Jun Tan says:

18 years ago

Hello guys, I am also a smart bro subscriber here in Kiwalan, Iligan City, Mindanao.I have also this problem of intermittent and slow connection before, I called up the tech support many times, but still no improvement. wala sila alam sa networking. pati yung technician nila di nga alam kun ano ibig sabihin ng ” FRESNEL ZONE” hmmmm. anyway, I research on the internet and I found a website that offers free “DNS address” just check this website http://www.opendns.com for further instruction. I’ve tried it and it really works. this might help you too…sa wakas di na intermittent connection ko and i don’t have to talk again to technical support na walang alam. Enjoy!:-)
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Dave Starr says:

18 years ago

Great find there, Abe. My own ISP here in the US has occasional problems with their DNS. I had been keeping one of my default DNS addresses pointed at a former employer’s DNS server. This is a better solution. I know a lot of my friends in the Philippines have this problem worse … I often get requests to check on sites that can’t be reached from the RP but are working perfectly fine otherwise.

I blogged about the top-level part of the problem just the other day here:
http://talarsystems.com/?p=39
It’s an issue that causes a lot of network problems that needs more attention.
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vance says:

18 years ago

thank you!
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Noemi Dado says:

18 years ago

This happens to me a lot. One time, an irate customer called me up and was mad at me for even suggesting it was his ISP. He refused to listen to me until I told him to move to another webhosting provider if he thinks I am bluffing. He hasn’t called me since .

Thanks for this entry. I will point this the next time I get a similar complaint.
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jhay says:

18 years ago

Wow, this is great. I’ll definitely give it a try.
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