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Cisco To Acquire OpenDNS
New submitter Tokolosh writes: Both Cisco and OpenDNS announced today that the former is to acquire the latter. From the Cisco announcement: "To build on Cisco's advanced threat protection capabilities, we plan to continue to innovate a cloud delivered Security platform integrating OpenDNS' key capabilities to accelerate that work. Over time, we will look to unite our cloud-delivered solutions, enhancing Cisco's advanced threat protection capabilities across the full attack continuum—before, during and after an attack." With Cisco well-embedded with the US security apparatus (NSA, CIA, FBI, etc.) is it time to seek out alternatives to OpenDNS?
Malware domain filtering as well, don't forget that.
The best defense against virus and malware is blocking them before your computer can even connect to download.
Or be a better netizen by running your own and forwarding to your ISP's.
The whole reason OpenDNS even exists is because ISP's proved they cannot be trusted to run an honest DNS. And let's not pretend that DNSSEC is universally deployed.
Most people here can setup up a 99 cent VPS with an openvpn endpoint running a recursive resolver, limited to the openvpn net. That fits in the smallest slice of RAM available in 2015 and will work fine.
Most other people cannot, though. Google's DNS is honest, if you don't care about tracking - but most people care more about free stuff than privacy.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
The same Cisco that has default SSH keys on their security devices that allow hackers to run wild?
Google, of course. Any DNS sizable enough to trust is likely to be a tool of the state, but at least Google is competent.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I've always used Level3, personally. Its anycast based, like Google's service.
Just pick 2 or more of the following:
4.2.2.1
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
4.2.2.4
4.2.2.5
4.2.2.6
It is even somehow faster than my ISP in terms of response time.
please elaborate on the tracking. where did you get that from? that's an honest question; i use google's servers as last resort backup dns.
Someone may correct me if there's more to it, but I think it's just that some people are uncomfortable with Google having so much access to information about us. Any DNS server you access will have the potential to keep records of which IP addresses made which queries, which potentially gives Google even more tracking data. As far as I know, there's no real sign that they're using that data, but to some extent, they're a company that makes money from collecting data about their users, so...
Most people here...
Most other people...
most people care...
A self-appointed spokesperson for "most people"?
Or broken DNS is so pervasive that it is interfering with their ability to offer other services. If you're interested in the privacy policy around Google DNS it's available here. The quick TLDR is:
What information does Google log when I use the Google Public DNS service?
Google Public DNS complies with Google's main privacy policy, which you can view at our Privacy Center. 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 and to analyze abuse phenomena. After 24 hours, we erase any IP information. For more information, read the Google Public DNS privacy page.
Is any of the information collected stored with my Google account?
No.
Does Google share the information it collects from the Google Public DNS service with anyone outside Google?
No, except in the limited circumstances described in Google's privacy policy, such as legal processes and enforceable governmental requests. (See also Google's Transparency Report on user data requests.)
Does Google correlate or combine information from temporary or permanent logs with any personal information that I have provided Google for other services?
No.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
So any DNS you use could do this.
So isn't it logical to use one that is being run by a massive competent company that is already making huge profits and has the whole world watching them vs some small org that is just trying to make ends meet that no one is paying attention to.
Frankly if I was the CIA I would be intercepting traffic to the small oddball servers more than Google.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
L3 has introduced random delays in their resolvers for anyone off-network so if you want decent performance you'll use just about anything but those. Google had some performance issues when they first introduced their anycast clusters but today they're as fast as anything I've tried.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
You tool of the megacorps how dare you bring up facts that distort that crusader for freedom's self identified truth.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Who here trust Cisco?
Your bank.
There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
I think the phrase "tin foil hat" is used far too often, and most commonly by people who know next to nothing about network security. For example, OpenDNS created the DNSCrypt project, which encrypts the DNS lookups. Sounds like diamond-coated tin foil hat stuff, no? Well, incidentally, it also protects from MITM attacks that have been used on DNS lookups, which have nothing to do with nation-state protection and everything to do with protection from criminals.
Please stop using that phrase.
Frankly, at this point, if the CIA cannot access and intercept data from Google they are utterly incompetent in doing their job. For the cost of (at most) giving an employee a suitcase full of money, you get an incredible bonanza of data. Which secret service wouldn't do it?
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
A former colleague of mine left to a startup which some years later was absorbed by Google. The work she does at Google involves access to multiple Google databases (to detect fraudulent access patterns), which is apparently unusual. I asked her about the DNS database; she said that is the one database to which she (and most other projects at Google) doesn't have access. I took from this that Google does track DNS access.
L3 has introduced random delays in their resolvers for anyone off-network
source on this?