Change DNS usage to make surfing faster

It is impossible to estimate how much bandwidth people use to surf the web everyday when using a computer with a network connection. Everyone, whether using a slow dial-up connection or the fastest FiOS connection, always wants to surf the web faster, faster and faster.

There are a few simple ways you can speed up web pages without paying a single cost. You can change the way your computer uses Domain Name System (DNS), the basic technology for all web browsers today. It's faster and simpler than what you can imagine, just read this article and follow the basic instructions.

Learn about DNS

Before we start, it is good to know the basics of how DNS works. When entering the URL of a web address like www.quantrimang.com , this URL needs to be compiled into a numeric IP address so that web servers and Internet routers can understand. For example, you enter the address www.quantrimang.com and it will be compiled by the DNS server to the address 65,182,110,189.

DNS servers exist on the Internet and your computer relates to them with requests for compilation and domain name resolution. When using a service provider (ISP), your computer will automatically use the ISP's default DNS servers; You may not need DNS settings. If your computer is on a corporate network, the company's system administrator can set up your computer to use specific DNS servers.

If there is a delay in contacting the DNS server, or if the DNS server takes too long to resolve the address, you will have to wait to get to the web. Even if you have the fastest connection in the world, your web surfing process may be slowed down.

If you can increase the time to resolve domain names, your surfing process may increase. And that's exactly what I want you to watch and follow the situations below.

To know if the DNS connection to the site has problems, you must first use the ping command to check for a website that is not connected:

ping www.tinthethao.com

If the website exists, you will be returned the following result (Note: The data may differ for each website):

If the website does not encounter errors, you will receive the following message:

Xin yêu cầu không tìm thấy máy phục vụ.
Hãy kiểm tra tên và thử lại.

If you use the ping command and you see that the website is still active but unable to connect, the error may be due to a DNS problem. If you suspect DNS has failed, follow these steps:

Speed ​​up the browser with OpenDNS

This is the simplest way to change the DNS to speed up the browser: Free use, DNS servers run extremely fast with OpenDNS service instead of using the ISP's DNS server. OpenDNS has a huge DNS hosting site, with many DNS servers scattered around the world. So, it is possible to find an IP address that helps you get online faster than the ISP's DNS servers.

OpenDNS server addresses are 208.67.222.222 (primary DNS server) and 208.67.220.220 (secondary DNS server).

To use OpenDNS servers, you will have to change a bit in computer settings. If you're using Windows XP, first select Control Panel -> Network and Internet Connections -> Network Connections , right-click the network connection in the Network Connections window, select Properties . The dialog box shown below appears

Select Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) and click Properties

In the scrolling list, select Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) and click Properties . In the lower part of the new window that appears, select " Use the following DNS server addresses ". At the Preferred DNS server enter the address 208.67.222.222. At the Alternative DNS server section enter the address 208.67.220.220 (below picture). Click OK , click Close and Close again to close all windows. Restart the computer for the settings to take effect.

Enter the address to tell the computer that you use the OpenDNS server

If using Windows Vista, select Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center . Click on the View Status link on the right part of the screen. The Local Connection Status screen appears as shown below, click Properties

Click Properties to set up using OpenDNS

You will see a dialog similar to the one in Windows XP to set up using OpenDNS server.

When configuring a machine using OpenDNS, only that machine can use OpenDNS server. If you want all computers on your network to work, you must configure the router to use the OpenDNS server. Following how to configure this router, you will not have to configure each individual PC.

There are several ways you can change the router and it will depend on the router you configured to be used at home, in small office or in a large company. For small and home office routers, you will have to access the router, find the DNS settings section and then use the OpenDNS 208.67.222.222 setup for the main DNS server and 208.67.220.220 for the DNS server. session

Whether running a small network or a large network, you can benefit from being faster than DNS. In addition, the service gives you a number of DNS management tools such as domain block, statistics and network graph usage.

On the Linksys SRX 400 router and many other Linksys routers, access to the router must be through 192.168.1.1, use the administrator as a password and leave the username blank. In the logged in page, scroll down to the Static DNS 1, Static DNS 2 section and change it (as shown below), click Save Settings. Restart the router and the network computer, your entire computer will then use OpenDNS DNS server.

Change DNS settings in this window to use
OpenDNS server for the entire network

If you run the corporate network and need help setting up, it is best to visit the OpenDNS FAQ page

Note that OpenDNS may not work when using a virtual private network (For example, I cannot be the one when using Cisco VPN). And if you're on a corporate network, you should check with your system administrator before using OpenDNS.

OpenDNS also allows you to create shortcuts to access your favorite pages just by typing a word or group of words instead of having to enter the URL. To do this, you must first register (of course free), then go to the OpenDNS website, access the registered account, click on link Shortcuts. On the page that appears, enter the short name of the website in the box above and the URL in the box below; then click Create Shortcut. From now on, you can quickly access the website where the shortcut is located by entering the short name of the website in the browser window address and then press Enter, the entire website URL will be filled out.

Create shortcut in OpenDNS

Speed ​​up access with HOSTS file

This is another way to speed up DNS - by creating and editing HOSTS files on your own computer. This file contains URL addresses (also known as hostnames) and exchange IP addresses. Windows will first search for the address you need in this file to see if it is the entry point of the hostname, if it finds it in the list, it will decide to use that address. Therefore, you will not be able to exit the DNS server and must wait for a response before you can visit the website.

HOSTS file is just a plain text file that can be created or edited through a simple editor like Notepad. You will find the current HOSTS file in C: WindowsSystem32DriversEtcHOSTS for both Windows XP and Windows Vista (in some versions, you can find it at C: WinntSystem32DriversHOSTS ). This file has no extension; Its name is just HOSTS. If you can't find any such file, you can create it directly with Notepad.

Open the HOSTS file in Notepad, enter the IP address and hostname of the websites you normally visit, for example: 65.182.110.189 quantrimangcom .

Each entry point in the file must be on one line. The IP address must be on the first column and the corresponding hostname on the next column. Minimize each other by a space between two columns. When you have finished editing the file, save it before exiting.

Make sure to check the HOSTS file regularly and keep it up to date, otherwise you may be denied access to some websites. For example, if the website www.quantrimang.com changes its IP address but your HOSTS file still retains the old IP address, the address is incorrect and your browser will not be able to find the website.

Adjust DNS storage (DNS cache) of Windows

To speed up DNS, Windows will place DNS information in the DNS cache of your computer when you visit the site. So when you want to go to a website, Windows will first search the DNS cache, call the cache, see where the DNS information contains them. Therefore, if it finds information on the local machine, it will not find in the HOSTS file or query to the remote DNS server to find IP information. Cache is created by recently queried names and entries are taken from HOSTS file.

The cache contains both the rejected entry and the authenticated entry point. The entry point for authentication is that DNS search points are successful and you can connect to the website. When Windows searches in the cache, if it finds an entry point, it will immediately use that DNS information and send it to the requested website.

Denied entries are found in inappropriate points and you get the error message ' Cannot find server or DNS ' in the browser. Similarly, when Windows searches in the cache and finds the entry point rejected, it returns an error message that does not continue searching the site.

Denied entry points may be the cause of the problem. When you try to create a connection to the website that has been notified of the entry denied in the cache, you will only receive an error message, even if the website's problems have been fixed and it is currently available. can enter.

You can solve this problem by modifying the Registry. By default, Windows stores entries that have been rejected within 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, they will be automatically deleted in your cache.

But if you don't want that, you can force Windows to not save these points and you'll never encounter this problem. Open the Registry Editor by entering Regedit in a command prompt or in Vista, enter the search box and press Enter . Then go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesDnscacheParameters section. Create a new DWORD value with the name NegativeCacheTime and set it to 0 (this value may be available from the beginning, otherwise change it to 0)

This new DWORD defines the time (in seconds) to retain the rejected entry point in DNS cache. If you wish, you can retain the activity of entry points within a second by setting the value to 1.

After you've finished editing, exit the Registry. To make the change take effect, you must restart your computer or delete all existing cache on your computer by using the command ipconfig / flushdns in the command window. The command will erase your entire DNS cache (both the authenticated entry and the entry point are rejected) and it will start saving your website later. However, rejected entries will not be stored in the cache if you set the DWORD value to 0.

You can also use the Registry to control the total time the authenticated entry is kept in the cache. By default, they are retained for 24 hours. To change this default, go to Registry Editor, go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesDnscacheParameters section, create a DWORD value named MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit (If it already exists, you just need to edit the value, no need to create a new one). Enter the Value of that DWORD equal to the time (in seconds) you want to save the entry point (make sure you use the basic decimal number).