I recently tried pinging www.google.com while using openDNS and came to know that openDNS redirects all the google searches through it’s servers that is  google.navigation.opendns.com. That is, if you do any search from your Mozilla or IE toolbar while using openDNS it will be redirected through openDNS. I don’t know the reasons behind it and have no valid reasons except for the privacy for accusing it!

Anyways, for those who want to prevent the redirection:
For Firefox:
A: Type about:config in the address bar and press enter.
B: If you are on Firefox 3, click “I’ll be careful, I promise!”.
C:

Now type keyword.url in the Filter field and set the value as:
http://www.google.com/search?q=

If you want Firefox to do a “I am Feeling Lucky” style Google search, use this value for keyword.URL:
http://www.google.com/search?btnI=I%27m+Feeling+Lucky&q=

D:  Also make sure that the value of keyword.enabled is set to TRUE. That’s it – now any query you type in the Firefox Address bar will go to Google, not OpenDNS guide.

For Internet Explorer :
A: Open the registry editor (Start -> Run -> regedit) and navigate to the following key in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes
B:
If Windows Live Search is your default search engine in Internet Explorer 7,
open {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} and set the value of URL as:
http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q={searchTerms}

In case of Google, open the corresponding key and set the value of URL as :
http://www.google.com/search?q={searchTerms}

Firstly: What is DNS ?

Domain Name System (DNS) is a database system that translates a computer’s fully qualified domain name into an IP address.

Networked computers use IP addresses to locate and connect to each other, but IP addresses can be difficult for people to remember.  For example, on the web, it’s much easier to remember the domain name www.amazon.com than it is to remember its corresponding IP address (207.171.166.48). DNS allows you to connect to another networked computer or remote service by using its user-friendly domain name rather than its numerical IP address. Conversely, Reverse DNS (rDNS) translates an IP address into a domain name.

openDNS

OpenDNS is a free DNS (Domain Name Server) service which makes internet browsing safer and allegedly faster. By simply using their DNS servers instead of your ISP’s you are automatically protected from their list of Phishing websites. Millions of Internet users suffer from unreliable Web access (and consider it normal) because their ISPs have a spotty Domain Name Service (DNS), an invisible process that you notice only when it fails. Fortunately, it doesn’t fail very often for most of us, but when it does, that invisible process becomes a visible pain. DNS translates the URL that you type into your browser into the exact IP address of the Web page that you’re seeking: no DNS means no Web surfing. OpenDNS is a free, ad-based service that aims to improve the reliability, performance, and functionality of the plain-vanilla DNS service your ISP already provides.

How does it makes the surfing faster?

First of all, OpenDNS has servers positioned all over the globe. When you make a DNS request you’re sent directly to the DNS server which is nearest to your physical location. Your ISP probably has one location which it uses for DNS resolution and if that one location isn’t near you you’ll have to hop across the internet a few times to reach that server.

To make matters even worse, most ISPs don’t maintain a complete list of all internet addresses themselves. If you ask for a website name that’s not in your ISP’s “phonebook” you’ll be sent to yet another DNS server to resolve that server’s name. OpenDNS, on the other hand, maintains the complete DNS directory on its servers. Not only does OpenDNS have the complete “internet phonebook”, its servers actually cache all of the DNS entries in memory instead of on disk for additional speed.

How do I configure openDNS ?

For UBUNTU:
1. Open a terminal window and type the following.
$ gksudo network-admin
Note: Root access is required for this step.

2. Change to the DNS tab and enter the following two addresses in the top of the first field labeled DNS Servers.
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220
To avoid having your settings get revoked after reboots, or after periods of inactivity, do this:
$ sudo cp /etc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf.auto
$ gksudo gedit /etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf
# append the following line to the document
prepend domain-name-servers 208.67.222.222,208.67.220.220;
# save and exit
$ sudo ifdown eth0 && sudo ifup eth0
You may be required to change eth0 to your own network device’s name if it uses a non-standard name.

For Windows-XP:
1. Select Control Panel from the Start menu.
2. Click Network Connections from the Control Panel choices.
3. Choose your connection from the Network Connections window.
4. Click Properties button.
5. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.
6. Click the radio button Use the following DNS server addresses and type in OpenDNS addresses in the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server fields.
7.Please write down your current DNS settings before switching to OpenDNS, in case you want to return to your old settings for any reason.
Preferred DNS server address for Open DNS is:
* 208.67.222.222
Alternate DNS server address for Open DNS is:
* 208.67.220.220

For Windows Vista:
1. Click the Start button, then select Control Panel.
2. Click on View network status and tasks.
3. Click on View status.
4. Click the Properties button.
5. Vista may ask for your permission to make changes. If so, click the Continue button.
6. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), then click the Properties button.
7. Click the radio button Use the following DNS server addresses: and type in OpenDNS addresses in the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server fields.

Preferred DNS server address for Open DNS is:
* 208.67.222.222
Alternate DNS server address for Open DNS is:
* 208.67.220.220
8. Click the OK button, then the Close button, and the Close button again. Close the Network and Sharing Center window.

For Nokia S60:
1. Make sure the phone isn’t connected via GPRS already.
2. Go to Tools > Connection > Access point
3. Select your Access point and press Options > Edit.
4. Press Options again and select Advanced Settings.
5. Go to DNS address and select Options > Change
6. Enter OpenDNS addresses in Primary DNS and Secondary DNS fields.

For configuring other system/devices click here.

To know more about openDNS visit its website:  https://www.opendns.com