OpenDNS claims (and in my opinion, correctly so) that Google and Dell are colluding to leverage spyware as a revenue tool, and they have some pretty concrete evidence to that effect.

In essence, Dell installs something they call the “Browser Address Error Redirector” in new PC’s. What it does, simply, is redirect incorrect browser clicks to bounce you over to a paid search result on Google, which in turn generates revenue for the folks at Google and Dell.

Don’t be evil, huh?

OpenDNS is rightly annoyed by this because it represents a company people trust acting in a shady and non-transparent way. Here’s how OpenDNS handles it versus how the “Browser Address Error Redirector” handles it.

Scary stuff. Now, I read on Slashdot yesterday that OpenDNS has a vested interest in the results of mistyped URLs. I don’t really see how. First of all, they provide everything 100% free. Second of all, if you type something wrong, and it’s close enough, OpenDNS shunts you right to the site anyway. If OpenDNS’s only behavior was making you hit their search page, he might have a point, but it’s not, so he doesn’t.

And two other points.

1. OpenDNS is not required for any computer user.

2. OpenDNS is not installed by default by your computer manufacturer.

And a third ancillary point: OpenDNS requires absolutely zero hoop-jumping to stop using if you don’t like it. Google and Dell’s deal here is really shady and makes me really uncomfortable because I have a great deal of respect for both companies.

OpenDNS, however, is doing something about this shadiness:

Fortunately, we have a fix which does not require more client software. OpenDNS applies intelligence to the network, and we’ve stretched a bit beyond DNS itself to work around Google’s mis-directed efforts. Before I get into that, let me digress for a second:

Many of you have toolbars installed on your computer. Some of you have the Google toolbar, some have the Yahoo toolbar, and some of you have Zwinky (Don’t ask… I think little kids use it). These toolbars are able to see every single website you visit when you surf the web. Most report your surfing habits back to the company that operates the toolbar. Toolbars are something worthy to be concerned about, if only because so little attention is paid to them.

Okay, back to our solution. We did not want to enter the toolbar market. We don’t have any interest in it, and we don’t believe more software installations are the answer.

The solution to this problem was to route Google requests through a machine we run to check if the request is a typo or one of your shortcuts. If it is a typo or shortcut then we do what we always do, just fix the typo or launch your shortcut and send you off on your way. If it’s not one of those two things, we pass it on to Google for them to give you search results. This solution provides the best of both worlds: OpenDNS users get back the features that they love and Google continues to operate without problems.

Or in other words, OpenDNS, if you choose to use it will help you have the Google experience that everyone not victimized by this little piece of annoyance-ware experiences.

I use OpenDNS for all my computers, and have even set up the domain redirector on my corporate network. I find them to be excellent to use, and I would recommend everyone check them out sooner rather than later.

(As an aside, my favorite feature is that you can manually refresh their DNS servers when you move domains so that your domain is always up to date immediately rather than waiting for it to propagate automatically!)

This entry was posted on Friday, May 25th, 2007 at 11:24 am and is filed under Interesting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.