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DynDNS Cuts Back Free DNS Options
First time accepted submitter LazyBoyWrangler writes "Just noticed the 'free' non-commercial service from DynDNS has been deprecated. Not my place to argue with their business model changes, but the home router infrastructure out there has been built around the promise of free dynamic DNS service. Most manufacturers offer DynDNS as their only option. Removing the free service for non-commercial folks seems disingenuous when they are the only option for many users." According to the linked page, the free service is being drastically cut back for new users (one free hostname, rather than five, and from a shorter list of branded domains), but not ended entirely. Existing users, it says, will see no changes "as long as you keep your hostnames active and up-to-date. If you allow your account or hostnames to expire, you will have to select from the new domains instead and will be limited to the one free hostname."
Already lost a domain name I had for I have no idea how many years because google marked the notification as junk so I never saw it.
I'm partly to blame for not logging in every other day to make sure my account didn't expire.
While there are services, like DynDNS with proprietary interfaces the reality is that dynamic DNS has a standard interface. RFC 2136 style updates should work with any provider, allowing equipment makers to support everyone. While DynDNS has supported people well, I hope this move makes end users demand RFC standard support in devices so that ANY dynamic DNS provider can be used. There are choices other than DynDNS, they have maintained their lead only via a proprietary interface and a market lead.
Was dealing with a DynDNS owned service awhile back. Took a very famous client from a competitor, and the competitor insisted they owned the web site, even though I had the contract with the previous company that clearly stated that they didn't. Previous company sends DynDNS a DMCA notice, I sent proof the notice was crap (with pertinent sections of the contracted highlighted for easy reading), they took down the web site... and then I moved my DNS to GoDaddy. It's disheartening that DynDNS are such complete shit heads. I will never do business with them, or any company owned by them again, and you shouldn't either.
This signature has Super Cow Powers
It seems like the router manufacturers, who have essentially been free-riding on dyndns' service as a selling point for their routers.
Um, guys? You do realize that dyndns offers a secure update mechanism over SSL. RFC2136 punts when it comes to security, and basically says it's implementation-dependent.
It's not like updating via a router is the only choice. If you are hosting something on that IP you are going to have at least one box that can run a software client to update.
Also the vast majority of non-commercial users don't need multiple sites on one account - and they don't need a huge selection of dozens of host domains. DynDns is simplifying their free service without affecting the needs of 99.9% of new users. And if you need more sites it is not that hard to setup a free email account to link it to.
So the bottom line is, this is a non-story.
If you have a rented server somewhere running a DNS server, then the usual suggestion I make is to roll your own dynamic DNS. Before somone says "but my router only supports DyDNS", there are solutions that can allow you to update your own dynamic DNS anyway -- the main trick is getting your public IP address. If you also run your own web server, it's quite simple to create a web page like "whatismyip" in PHP:
(start PHP here)
echo $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
(stop PHP here)
And from there you can make a custom shell script that checks your public IP, compares it with what your DNS server has for the entry, and then update your DNS server if needed. This doesn't need to be done at the router -- it can be done through it if necessary. If you run Bind9, look at the 'nsupdate' utility -- and of particular note, it's possible to do this dynamic DNS update via TCP rather than UDP. That way you can guarantee that the update will get there. AFAIK all of the popular DNS servers have a way of doing dynamic DNS updates such that they don't have to be done right at the router.
It's more convenient to do this at the router, though, because the router is on all the time and desktops/laptops aren't. So if you really want to also run a custom router to do the job for you, you might like the Alix hardware such as this:
http://pcengines.ch/alix2d3.htm
Debian runs nicely on the Alix hardware directly, using a kernel for a 486.
That was what pissed me off. But yeah, this is old news.
Hell I think dynamic DNS should be a basic function of the net. That's how it was supposed to go. What is this Facebook shit. We're supposed to have our own servers. Indeed, back in the day it was actually originally set up where you directly applied for a class C IP range. That was a perfectly reasonable premise. It's interesting how far we've gotten away from that rather simple concept.
huh. I've been paying for DNS registration and a dynamic account through them for so long that I hadn't noticed the change. The only annoyance that had any affect on me was when I changed from a static to dynamic DNS with one of my three ISPs. Right now, my wife (plus two kids) and I live in two different locales. I recently switched her ISP to a faster service, but have to overlap the service while she updates e-mail addresses with her various e-mail accounts. I had trouble when I wanted the former static address to update dynamically, but once I understood that this (with the paid service) happened on the client side, I was a happy camper. I would have been happy sooner if they gave explicit instruction for this, but it all worked out for me in the end.
Not always. Think about a remote security DVR, or a remote (mostly) brainless NAS hard disk for backups, and you'll be on the right track: The fact that there is a network connection and some gear that needs a dynamic hostname does not also mean that there is also a PC capable of running arbitrary software.
Throwing a cheap router into the mix (which PPPOE users needed to have anyway) just plain fixed that, for a lot of folks, for a long time. This (actually rather old) announcement changes things somewhat.
This is important because some people might not have seen an email from DynDNS for a decade or more, and will be very surprised when their things stop working after all this time.
Kid-proof tablet..