Speed up your mobile web browsing with OpenDNS

If you suffer from slow web browsing on your Windows Mobile handheld, it may not necessarily be anything to do with the speed of your device or its internet connection. Whenever you open a web page or click on a link, your web browser has to make a DNS (Domain Name Server) request so that it can translate a domain name into the IP address of the server where the website is actually hosted.

The problem is that few mobile operators prioritise such DNS lookups, which can leave your web browser twiddling its thumbs while it waits for an IP address. The solution is to ditch your crummy mobile operator’s DNS service and use a snappier one – which is where OpenDNS comes in.

You may type www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk into your web browser to open up the Mobile Computer web site, but your web browser is actually opening up the web page stored on the server at the IP address 80.82.117.159. You can just type this address into your web browser to bypass the DNS lookup, but IP addresses aren’t easy to remember – domain names are much more convenient.

All ISPs use their own DNS servers for lookup requests from their customers, and mobile operators are no different. Unfortunately, you can’t just pick and choose your DNS server – you’re saddled with those offered by your online provider – but you can use OpenDNS.

OpenDNS has servers positioned strategically around the world and lookup requests are always routed to the nearest server – something that may not happen with your mobile provider’s servers. As a bonus, OpenDNS also includes protection against phishing sites and will automatically correct common domain name typos – replacing .cmo with .com, for example.

You can set up any computer to use OpenDNS, but unless you have a really crappy ISP, it’s usually only worthwhile with mobile devices. Any mobile operating system is supported, as long as it has the option to change the DNS settings. Here’s how to do it with Windows Mobile.

Step 1

Go to Start > Settings, then open the Connections tab and select Connections.

Step 2

Select the Manage existing connections option.

Step 3

Select the connection you want to modify (there should only be one), then tab Edit…

Step 4

Tap Next to skip the name screen, and again to skip the Access point name.

Step 5

When prompted for your username and password, tap the Advanced button.

Step 6

On the next screen, tap the Servers tab and select the Use specific server addresses option. Enter the OpenDNS servers 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220, and leave the two WINS fields empty. Tap OK, the Finish.

You should now be able to browse a web page as normal, but it should be a little snappier. If you want to revert back to your default DNS servers, just select the Use server-assigned addresses option in step 6.

That’s all there is to it if you just want to switch to the OpenDNS servers, but you’ll need to register for a free account at the site if you want to take advantage of its other features.