DNS Service Promises Safer & Faster Browsing

OpenDNS says its free address lookup service makes Web sites load faster and blocks malicious, data-thieving phishing schemes and other threats. The service also corrects obvious typos in URLs, sending people to the site they intended to visit.

Domain Name System (DNS) service functions as the “phonebook” of the Internet, mapping text-based domain names such as www.google.com to the numerical IP addresses used by computers. Internet users typically use the DNS service run by their service provider. OpenDNS offers an alternative phonebook, with extras.

“We are adding an element of choice, which does not exist for DNS today,” said David Ulevitch, chief executive of OpenDNS. “People don’t know that there are different DNS servers available. The benefit is a faster, safer, and smarter DNS.”

OpenDNS says its service outpaces rivals because of its speedy Web connections and intelligent caching. It claims to be safer because it blocks access to known phishing sites and known channels that hackers use to control compromised computers. The smarts come from correcting typos, turning craigslist.og into craigslist.org, for example.