A few weeks ago, Google announced that they are making available public DNS servers. They claim that it “provides many benefits, including improved security, fast performance, and more valid results.” And for some people, that might be true. They also claim that they are adhering to DNS standards, unlike many ISP and OpenDNS implementations, by not redirecting you to some crappy ad-filled search page when you fat-finger a URL. And as for privacy concerns:
With Google Public DNS, we collect IP address (only temporarily) and ISP and location information (in permanent logs) for the purpose of making our service faster, better and more secure. Specifically, we use this data to conduct debugging, to analyze abuse phenomena and to improve our prefetching feature. After 24 hours, we erase any IP information.
Google goes on to say that they are not tying any information to your Google account, or sharing it with anyone else. They don’t say they aren’t going to use it, though, but any data they retain won’t be personally identifiable. That eases most of my concerns. And it’s far better than most other DNS providers offer. I would not trust my ISP not to sell my information, and OpenDNS openly admits they are selling that information, but claim that it cannot be traced back to individuals.
So far, Google is coming out on top in privacy concerns and adherence to standards. But what about performance? Enter NAMEBENCH.
Namebench is a recently released tool that benchmarks the response time of hundreds of public DNS servers and shows you the best on for your situation. Just open the file and click “Start Benchmark” and after a short wait, it spits out a handy webpage with the results and recommendations. Very easy.
Results may vary.
As for the results…..I ran the test 5 times, and got 4 different results. After another 10 attempts, a clear winner had emerged.
Most people probably aren’t going to notice a difference in speed or stability, but then again, this blog isn’t for “most people.”