Saturday, October 23, 2010

OpenDNS increases speed with security

Too much protection
can slow down your connection speed.

This is one product that I found that
not only speeds up your connection
but adds another layer of protection.

OpenDNS gaining popularity, OpenDNS.com a free
service (paid as well to include more features)
that provides a set of rock solid, super-fast
DNS servers to anyone who wants to use them.

Don't get stuck with whatever DNS Server your ISP provides...

"OpenDNS operates datacenters at the most strategically connected
intersections of the Internet around the world."

Along with the increased datacenters you can blacklist
unwanted junk sites that generate pop-ups and pop-unders.
This adds a layer of security because your browser is
not fighting off unwanted malware, again increasing speed.

There are videos to walk through the setup process,
I would suggest a few extra steps as your setting up your
router and use the added layer of hardware protection.

Many routers come with a default password for
example my Linksys router uses "admin".
While changing this password to something else
would keep you computer from becoming a Zombie.

Another change can be helpful such as
"Number of Address:" which the default is
50. That means 50 computers can use your router.
Change that to the number of computer being used
such as 4 which I'm using. This is under the
"Basic Setup" section.

OpenDNS will add another layer of protection
but it can really be used as a security audit.

I don't think most home users ever think of
this phase of protection. Once a software
firewall with some anti-virus protection
is installed they're safe.

An audit will let you know how well
those products are working using OpenDNS.

Use OpenDNS

One place I like to check for overall global network connection or
a global network weather report is the Internet Traffic Index.


The Internet Traffic Report monitors the flow of data around the world. It then displays a value between zero and 100. Higher values indicate faster and more reliable connections.


This could be akin to local and national weather.

note: I do not work for or have an affiliation with OpenDNS

The Good, the Bad, the Weird on DVD

Got a chance to watch this DVD and it was great!
If you like action adventured this is for you.

A South Korean western film with subtitle?

That description turned me off from giving
this movie a 2nd look. But was told by
some friends that it was exactly my
taste - wasn't sure how to take that
statement. As the formula seemed
like a mess - Not! It was a great ride.

In bullet fashion (pun intended)
questioned the plot:
* A Western by a South Korean
movie company in Manchuria?
* Subtitles for an action flick,
for the dyslexic?

Never ending action shoot outs, funny fight scenes and
clever setups for each. If your turned off by blood-n-guts
not to worry, just enough to let you know it's an action movie.

In a nutshell - The Weird is a guy with a sense of
humor, he is dressed like a WWI fighter pilot and
packs 2 pistols that appear to be German Lugers.

The Bandit a Japanese version of "Prince the Rock Start"
with the same attitude but his instrument is a blade.

Then (The Good), a Clint Eastwood type - slick and cool under pressure,
handles a rifle as if was invented just for him.