Third party DNS...any issues?

Vlad_Dracul · 29-10-2008, 11:03

Hi all,

I recently had to replaced my faulty router and bought a Belkin G mimo at a special offer price. I plugged it in and got served up with a VM web page saying they had cut off my service becuase their network didnt like Belkin routers of some types ,i had to upgrade and wait two hours blah blah blah...

Anyway i went over to the Belkin website,flashed the very latest firmware,found myself still blocked by V.

Spotted the DNS address i was being served with in the router setup,just input some third party DNS server settings and i was away,,works great,great speeds and great range.

Does anyone know what VMs issue is with certain Belkins and their network?

I dont think there are any issues but does anyone know of any possible security issues using free third party DNS?

ta

dev · 29-10-2008, 11:48

regarding the routers, i *think* it was something to do with how they requested an IP and were causing issues with the UBRs

as for the security issues with 3rd party DNS, it completely depends on the who is running the DNS servers. I wouldn't use some random IPs i found on the net unless i knew who was running them (eg a proper company / another ISP / etc)

adam.ford · 29-10-2008, 20:49

There is a known issue with Belkin routers running old broken firmware which sends out DHCPRELEASE / DHCPDISCOVER messages every 22 seconds. This would cause Virgin to notice because your router is only supposed to renew its lease every 3.5 days!! :o)

The other side effect of course is essentially your Belkin access point would lose internet access every 22 seconds, for as many milliseconds as it takes Virgin's DHCP server to respond to you... so may cause other strange oddities, such as hanging youtube videos every 22 seconds, or slower than expected throughput when downloading things. :o)

Definitely worth making sure your firmware is upgraded correctly, and the problem is fixed! Personally i'd unset the DNS servers, and make sure you have the upgraded firmware as Virgin is suggesting... they're suggesting a positive change to your service ;o)

Adam.