What if your Internet broadband connection could be faster and more secure? That’s the promise of OpenDNS, and according to the New York Times and it’s Technology Guru David Pogue, OpenDNS delivers.

What brought my attention to OpenDNS was an article on security in the online edition of today’s NY Times. It seems there’s a flaw in the Internet Domain Name System that could cause you to be unknowingly routed to a phishing site. This could occur if the phishers hijack the domain of your bank or a trusted website to gain access to your personal information.

There are no reports of phishing crews exploiting this problem as yet and Internet service providers are rushing to plug the potential leaks. But it could take some of them months to correct the problem.

You can read the whole article here.

Later in the article, the author mentions that using OpenDNS as your domain name server can eliminate the problem. OpenDNS is free and there are easy instructions on how to install it on your computer or home/small office (SOHO) network.

I installed it on our network this morning and it took less than ten minutes. Not much of a time investment for peace of mind.

That OpenDNS logo at the top of the page is active. If you install OpenDNS and come back to this page, it will tell you that you are using OpenDNS. Same if your provider or workplace has OpenDNS installed. If the button says “Use OpenDNS - Get Started,” click the button and get started! (or just click here)

While researching OpenDNS, I discovered that it is also useful for speeding up your broadband connection. On my network, I have noticed no change in speed the first time I loaded a website after installing OpenDNS. But subsequent loadings seemed to complete 25% to 50% faster. Cool!

Read David Pogue’s New York Times article on speeding up your broadband connection with OpenDNS here.

Because OpenDNS requires a change in your local settings on your network, I cannot install it for you remotely. But it isn’t difficult. Increased security and a faster connection – now there’s a combo that’s hard to beat!