[Infowarrior] - Comcast DNS apparently down

[Richard Forno]

Comcast Internet (or any other service) out? Try a new DNS.

By Rob Pegoraro

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/11/comcast_internet_or_any_other.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Sometime earlier tonight, Comcast's Internet service seems to have suffered a major malfunction -- but, fortunately, one you can actually fix on your own.

The issue, as reported in numerous complaints on Twitter and at such troubleshooting sites as DSLReports.com -- but still unmentioned on Comcast's own "network health" page, even as users have begun to report a restoration of service -- involves a failure of Comcast's domain name servers.

You don't need a working Domain Name System to get on the Internet, but you do need it to get anywhere online. DNS translates the numerical Internet Protocol addresses used by computers on the Internet to human-readable names like comcast.net or washingtonpost.com.

Fortunately, you don't have to stick with your Internet provider's DNS. By plugging a handful of IP addresses into your computer's networking settings, you can have another service route your requests properly.

One of the most popular alternatives in this category is a free service called OpenDNS. I've tried it and liked it; for a detailed writeup, see this review by New York Times technology columnist David Pogue.

(Note to self: Probably should have written about OpenDSN sooner.)

Another option comes from Google, which launched a competing, also free DNS option called Google Public DNS last December. Google's major advantage is a set of easily-memorized server addresses: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, which roll off the tongue a little easier than OpenDNS's 208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222.

Using either of these alternatives requires plugging in a new set of numbers in your computer's network-settings software. Google and OpenDNS each has detailed setup instructions available.

(In the case of Windows, they're obscenely detailed, thanks to the byzantine interface Microsoft has put between users and this fundamental network setting.)

This glitch could affect a large chunk of America's online population. Philadelphia-based Comcast touts itself as the largest broadband Internet provider in the United States, reporting 16.7 million subscribers in its latest quarterly filing (PDF).

It might also lead to some unsettling questions for executives at Verizon Wireless. As my colleague Cecilia Kang wrote last week, OpenDNS is accusing that wireless carrier of blocking its service. The Verizon affiliate denies that; outside reports suggest that although it might have done so in the past, it no longer stops users from switching to Open DNS.

If you're on Comcast and can read this post, please share a report on your connectivity in the comments. When did you get knocked off the Internet? When did things seem to return to normal?