We have a some great new features we’re excited to share with you over the next couple months that will apply to all users of our service, free and paid.

Last, but certainly not least, we’re hiring. And we have even more positions to post on our careers page in the coming weeks, particularly as we look to grow our engineering team.

We’ll give an overview of the OpenDNS architecture that allows us to answer more than 21 billion DNS queries each day with zero downtime.  We’ll show where each of our features fit into this architecture and why the DNS is the best medium for providing content filtering, typo correction, stats, SmartCache, and more.

David Ulevitch, our founder and a seasoned network engineer will be covering much of the network and DNS infrastructure.  I am an engineer at OpenDNS and designed the stats system.  I’ll be talking about many of our features and how they use the DNS to their advantage.

This webinar will be more technical than usual.  It starts February 4^th at 10:00 AM Pacific time and lasts just 30 minutes.  Register now and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Many of you use OpenDNS primarily for faster, more reliable DNS resolution. DNS is the foundation, the core of our service and we take great pride in the fact that OpenDNS is the safest, fastest, smartest and most reliable recursive DNS service in the world — and also the choice of more than 15 million users. But today I encourage you to take a look at the other features in your OpenDNS account that you might not be using yet.

• First off, check out our Web Content Filtering. We provide award-winning filtering with more than 50 content categories, manageable entirely through your Dashboard. It can be as simple as choosing the level of filtering you want (high, moderate, low or minimal) or as powerful as selecting individual sites you want blocked.
• Next, enable Stats and Logs. OpenDNS is the only way to see at a domain level what’s actually happening on your network. We show you things like the most popular sites visited from your network, and also alert you when we see Internet-scale malware. OpenDNS Stats let you spot trends before they become problems, and you can manually purge your data at any time.
• Also, Customize with an image and messages on the Guide and block pages. We let you swap out the OpenDNS logo on the Guide with your own logo or photo, and let you customize the text there and on the page your users see when they try to get to a site that’s been blocked.
• Last, peruse our Advanced Settings. Here you’ll find features like SmartCache, which makes Web sites that are down for the rest of the Internet load for you, and Basic Malware/Botnet protection, which will keep your network safe from certain types of malware and viruses, like Conficker.

These are all features provided in our Basic, free version, and OpenDNS Deluxe and Enterprise offer lots more. From more robust Web content filtering and enterprise-class Malware protection, to reporting and more comprehensive Stats, to an Audit Log and Delegated Administration, and the ability to turn off advertisements on the Guide, OpenDNS subscription services are worth a look. Particularly if you manage the network for a school, small business or enterprise and are currently using a filtering appliance, I also encourage you to talk to our sales team about how much money we can save you, and how much more ease and functionality, we can provide you.

Happy New Year everyone!

One of the easiest ways to help others? We’ve reminded you before, but while you’re home for the holidays this year, do your loved ones a favor and set up OpenDNS on their computer or router. (We recommend the router if possible. But don’t forget to download the updater client on their machine to make sure their IP stays updated if dynamic.)

The simple, two-minute change will not only make their Internet better performing - faster and more reliable - but it will also keep them safe online. OpenDNS’s on-by-default phishing protection will keep them safe from fraudulent sites and take the guesswork out of identifying them. If they have little kids around, ask if they want Parental Controls on, too. And add a custom image - a family photo, perhaps? - and custom message for the Guide and block pages for extra personalization.

Happy holidays to everyone. Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy holiday season.

And now we are looking for more amazing people to join our team.

Below are our current openings. If you are at the top of your game and have what we’re looking for, we look forward to talking with you.

Available positions

• Operations Engineer
  Apply now
• Marketing Manager
  Apply now
• Inside Account Executive
  Apply now
• Product Manager
  Apply now

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Why is this important? Because our rapid and steady growth is an indication of the demand for a rock-solid reliable and intelligent DNS service that not only makes your Internet faster and more reliable, but safer and smarter too. We now have more than 15 million users around the world. More than 25,000 schools in the U.S. choose OpenDNS to keep their kids safe online, and included in that number are some of the country’s largest school districts. Companies ranging from small mom-and-pop shops to Fortune 100 enterprises are switching in droves to OpenDNS for Web content filtering, DNS security and DNS resolution.

2009 was an exceptional year for OpenDNS, but the next year is poised to be even better. In 2010 we’ll be adding more server locations and more server capacity to make our international coverage even better. We’ll give you new features that allow more customization of how OpenDNS works for you. And, we’ll work hard to keep DNS innovation synonymous with OpenDNS.

Thanks for helping us get to 20 billion. I’m confident 50 billion is closer than it may seem.

First, it’s not the same as OpenDNS. When you use Google DNS, you are getting the experience they prescribe. When you use OpenDNS, you get the Dashboard controls to manage your experience the way you want for you, your family or your organization. People use OpenDNS because we are pioneers and innovators in the DNS space, offering the most secure recursive DNS service around. We run the largest DNS caches, the fastest resolvers, and we offer the most flexibility in controlling your DNS experience. For example, IT folks want to block malware in the DNS, parents sometimes want to block certain content from kids. All of that and more is possible with our DNS. It is not with Google DNS. Of course, we don’t force those things, we offer them as controls that you manage the way you see fit. Providing people with choice is core to our offerings.

Second, it means that Google realizes that DNS is a critical piece of our Internet’s infrastructure and that it’s of strategic importance to help people safely and reliably navigate the Internet. This is something we’ve championed since day one and will always keep as our primary mission. This is why big enterprise customers are switching to OpenDNS too, not because it’s free but because it’s the best and we add value to DNS and improve the security of their networks.

Third, Google claims that this service is better because it has no ads or redirection. But you have to remember they are also the largest advertising and redirection company on the Internet. To think that Google’s DNS service is for the benefit of the Internet would be naive. They know there is value in controlling more of your Internet experience and I would expect them to explore that fully. And of course, we always have protected user privacy and have never sold our DNS data. Here’s a link to our privacy policy.

Fourth, it means that Google is bringing awareness to a wide audience that there is a choice when it comes to DNS and that users don’t have to settle for what their ISP provides. And we believe that having choice is a good thing — just as Internet users have unbundled their email to services like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail people have been unbundling their DNS and switching to OpenDNS in huge numbers for the last 3+ years because we’re better.

Fifth, it’s not clear that Internet users really want Google to keep control over so much more of their Internet experience than they do already — from Chrome OS at the bottom of the stack to Google Search at the top, it is becoming an end-to-end infrastructure all run by Google, the largest advertising company in the world. I prefer a heterogeneous Internet with lots of parties collaborating to make this thing work as opposed to an Internet run by one big company.

So how will this impact us? It’s too early to tell, but largely I think this is a good thing for us. Google DNS currently offers none of the choice and flexibility that our service does. It’s new and untested. Having said that, it encourages us to keep making our service better. And ultimately, we’re a business that has been growing aggressively since we launched and has been competing in fair markets and winning. It raises awareness about the importance of DNS and it motivates us to continue providing world-class services to a global audience and to keep innovating.

We will continue to do that without distraction from Google or any of the other players in the DNS or security space. But we welcome Google to the neighborhood.

In order to take advantage of SmartCache, you still need to take action and enable it on your network. Here’s how to do it:

1. Log in to your OpenDNS account.
2. Go to the Settings tab.
3. Select the network you want to enable SmartCache for.
4. Choose Advanced Settings.
5. Select “Enable SmartCache on this Network” at the top.

That’s it. Just five steps. We encourage you to take a few minutes and enable it since it’s such a fantastic feature.

By giving the Gift of Safe (aka the OpenDNS Deluxe Family Pack) all of your Internet-connected loved ones benefit greatly. Here are 10 reasons you should give the Gift of Safe to everyone on your list. Have a better reason? Tell us in the comments.

10. It will keep them safe from phishing attacks, taking the guesswork out of identifying Internet scams when you’re not around to help.

9. It will give them more than 50 categories of content in the easiest-to-use Parental Controls solution available.

8. It will automatically protect them from Internet-scale botnets and certain types of malware, like Conficker.

7. It will let them customize the block pages with a household-specific image and message so parents can communicate to their kids why a site is blocked.

6. It will automatically correct common typos, avoiding unintentional exposure to unsafe and/or inappropriate Web sites.

5. It’s trusted by more than 25,000 schools, including some of the U.S.’s largest districts, today to keep kids safe online. (What better endorsement than that?)

4. It has many non-safety related benefits, namely making their Internet overall faster and more reliable.

3. The price affordable enough to gift to multiple people.

2. It’s a gift that gives for an entire year.

1. Most importantly, it’s a gift you can feel great about giving.

We’ve made it easy to give OpenDNS Deluxe. Here’s how Gift of Safe works: You purchase a one-year subscription (valid from purchase date until Dec. 31, 2010) to the OpenDNS Deluxe Family Pack on www.GiftofSafe.com for as many people as you wish. Each recipient gets an email notifying them that they’ve been gifted by you — included in the email is a special code. The recipient is prompted to go to OpenDNS.com, redeem the code and create an account.

Many of you have already given OpenDNS to loved ones. We asked you on Facebook for your stories and heard so many great ones. Check out some of the best here.

Now that the WiFi is in effect, we want to make it easy for the 47 airports to make it safe for the millions of travelers who’ll pass through the airports this holiday season. OpenDNS is the single easiest way to keep travelers safe from phishing attempts, taking the guesswork out of identifying the fraudulent sites for them. We have several versions of OpenDNS so we’ll work with the airports to get them the one that’s best for their network and needs.

Network admins at the participating airports: all you have to do is drop us a line at airportwifi @ opendns.com. We look forward to hearing from you!