Question: I have noticed that load times when viewing a web site at work are much faster than what I experience on my home broadband connection. How can I improve the performance of my personal connection to more closely match what I get at my office?

Answer: At IOStream, we deploy our own DNS and WINS caching servers for all clients on the network, thus speeding access to computers, peripherals, or resources located on the Internet as well as the LAN. Furthermore, we utilize Microsoft’s Internet Security and Acceleration Server to filter and secure our network environment from internally- and externally-originating Internet-based threats. Obviously, this configuration is overkill for the typical home or SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) setup. So what is the answer for the target audience of this blog post? OpenDNS. To quote:

“OpenDNS is a safer, faster, smarter and more reliable way to navigate the Internet. Our service is free and requires nothing to download.

OpenDNS is safer

OpenDNS protects you from phishing – bad websites trying to steal your personal information. When you try to go to a phishing site, we let you know. We also let you optionally block adult sites as a category, or individual websites of any type. These services help you better protect those on your network from websites they shouldn’t be visiting.

OpenDNS is faster

You use DNS every time you use the Internet. The speed of your DNS service determines how quickly websites load for you. That’s why you want your DNS service to be blazing. OpenDNS is so fast because we run some of the largest DNS caches around and do it on our own high-performance network.

OpenDNS is smarter

The address bar is how you navigate the Internet. We make your address bar more intelligent. With OpenDNS, you can create shortcuts that let you type something easy-to-remember into your address bar and leap straight where you want to go. And we’ll correct your common spelling mistakes, on the fly. That means when you are typing fast and type yahoo.cmo instead of yahoo.com, you still get there.

OpenDNS is more reliable

Little is more frustrating than intermittent Internet outages. When your DNS service isn’t working, you can’t access the Internet. When you start using OpenDNS, your days of dealing with DNS-related downtime will be over. We know reliability is important, and we stand behind ours.”

The OpenDNS site maintains this page with links to configuration instructions for all devices and operating systems. Also, this PC Magazine review of the OpenDNS service provides even more in-depth information regarding this service.