December 4, 2009 at 01:44A Few Thoughts About Google DNS
- Transfer
The author is the technical director of OpenDNS David Ulevitch , one of the founders of the company.
Today , almost four years after the founding of OpenDNS, Google launched the DNS service. This is not surprising, since it was only a matter of time before one of the Internet giants realized the strategic importance of DNS. I got a lot of questions from bloggers, journalists, friends and, most importantly, our users. And so I want to share my thoughts on what this means for a recursive DNS space and what it means for OpenDNS.
At firstThis is not the same as OpenDNS. When using the DNS service from Google, you get the experience that you are prescribed. When using OpenDNS, you get a control panel to manage your experience in the most convenient way for you, your family, or your organization. People use OpenDNS because we are pioneers and innovators offering the most secure DNS environment. We have the largest DNS cache, the fastest resolvers, and we offer the most flexibility in managing your DNS experience. For example, people who are IT savvy want to block malicious sites in the DNS, parents sometimes want to block certain content from children. All this and much more is possible using OpenDNS. This is not possible with DNS from Google. Of course, we do not impose it, we only offer these opportunities, which you control as you please. Giving people a choice is our core proposition.
Secondly , this means that Google is creating its own DNS service as an essential part of the Internet infrastructure. This is of strategic importance to help people reliably and safely surf the Internet. This is what we spoke with from the very first day and we will always keep it as our main task. That is why large entrepreneurs are switching to OpenDNS: not because it’s free, but because we are the best and we will increase the security of their networks.
Thirdly , Google claims that their service is the best because there are no ads or redirects on it. But you must remember that Google is also the largest advertising company on the Internet. To think that the Google DNS Service was created solely for the benefit of the Internet would be naive. They know howthis is useful for controlling your browsing history of Internet resources , and I would expect them to study it in full. And of course, we always protect the privacy of users and never sell our DNS data. Read our privacy policy .
Fourth , this means that Google is informing a wide audience that there is a choice, and that users are not required to be content with the fact that DNS is provided by their provider. And we think that having a choice is good. Just like Internet users have the ability to reorganize their email using Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, over the past 3 years, many people have switched to OpenDNS, because we are better than another DNS.
Fifthly, it’s not entirely obvious that Internet users really want to let Google retain control of more and more of their Internet activity than they already have: in the chain from Chrome OS and Google’s search, the DNS service is becoming the final touch on Google’s largest infrastructure advertising company in the world. I prefer a heterogeneous Internet with a large number of collaborating members who support its work, as opposed to the Internet run by one large company.
How will this affect us? It's too early to say, but basically I think this is a good thing for us. Google’s DNS currently offers neither choice nor flexibility, which cannot be said for our service. It is new and not yet tested. By doing this, Google encourages us to continue to make our service better. And ultimately, this is a business that has become more aggressive since we appeared on the market, but so far we have won fair competition. This raises awareness of the importance of DNS and it encourages us to continue to provide world-class services to a global audience and to support innovation.
We will continue to do our job without being distracted by calls from Google or any other players in the field of DNS and network security. But we welcome the proximity with Google in this area.
Today , almost four years after the founding of OpenDNS, Google launched the DNS service. This is not surprising, since it was only a matter of time before one of the Internet giants realized the strategic importance of DNS. I got a lot of questions from bloggers, journalists, friends and, most importantly, our users. And so I want to share my thoughts on what this means for a recursive DNS space and what it means for OpenDNS.
At firstThis is not the same as OpenDNS. When using the DNS service from Google, you get the experience that you are prescribed. When using OpenDNS, you get a control panel to manage your experience in the most convenient way for you, your family, or your organization. People use OpenDNS because we are pioneers and innovators offering the most secure DNS environment. We have the largest DNS cache, the fastest resolvers, and we offer the most flexibility in managing your DNS experience. For example, people who are IT savvy want to block malicious sites in the DNS, parents sometimes want to block certain content from children. All this and much more is possible using OpenDNS. This is not possible with DNS from Google. Of course, we do not impose it, we only offer these opportunities, which you control as you please. Giving people a choice is our core proposition.
Secondly , this means that Google is creating its own DNS service as an essential part of the Internet infrastructure. This is of strategic importance to help people reliably and safely surf the Internet. This is what we spoke with from the very first day and we will always keep it as our main task. That is why large entrepreneurs are switching to OpenDNS: not because it’s free, but because we are the best and we will increase the security of their networks.
Thirdly , Google claims that their service is the best because there are no ads or redirects on it. But you must remember that Google is also the largest advertising company on the Internet. To think that the Google DNS Service was created solely for the benefit of the Internet would be naive. They know howthis is useful for controlling your browsing history of Internet resources , and I would expect them to study it in full. And of course, we always protect the privacy of users and never sell our DNS data. Read our privacy policy .
Fourth , this means that Google is informing a wide audience that there is a choice, and that users are not required to be content with the fact that DNS is provided by their provider. And we think that having a choice is good. Just like Internet users have the ability to reorganize their email using Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, over the past 3 years, many people have switched to OpenDNS, because we are better than another DNS.
Fifthly, it’s not entirely obvious that Internet users really want to let Google retain control of more and more of their Internet activity than they already have: in the chain from Chrome OS and Google’s search, the DNS service is becoming the final touch on Google’s largest infrastructure advertising company in the world. I prefer a heterogeneous Internet with a large number of collaborating members who support its work, as opposed to the Internet run by one large company.
How will this affect us? It's too early to say, but basically I think this is a good thing for us. Google’s DNS currently offers neither choice nor flexibility, which cannot be said for our service. It is new and not yet tested. By doing this, Google encourages us to continue to make our service better. And ultimately, this is a business that has become more aggressive since we appeared on the market, but so far we have won fair competition. This raises awareness of the importance of DNS and it encourages us to continue to provide world-class services to a global audience and to support innovation.
We will continue to do our job without being distracted by calls from Google or any other players in the field of DNS and network security. But we welcome the proximity with Google in this area.