DNS Servers fom China

[Randy W]

My VPN provider, Witopia, sent out this bulletin about DNS servers. Of course, a DNS server doesn't need to be used with a VPN to be effective. I've entered these as manual DNS servers even when NOT connected to the VPN - it seems to have sped up my response considerably:

DNS (Domain Name Service)

WiTopia provides secure DNSservice for its customers at no extra cost and we strongly recommend you take advantage of it. Most VPN service providers do not offer their own DNS service but we have found that DNS is EXTREMELY important not only for performance, but for overall privacy, and security.

Some ISPs may use DNS as a means to throttle, block, or filter your Internet connection, as well as cache your Internet activity, if you use their DNS servers. This is especially common in countries with censorship and that may be deliberately blocking Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Skype, or other VoIP and Internet services. Even popular services such a openDNS may offer substandard performance or be a vector to compromise your privacy.

Normally, if you have your computer set to automatically detect network settings using DHCP (Windows) or your "Location" is set to "Automatic" in Network Settings (Macintosh), you should use our DNS servers seamlessly and automatically when your VPN is connected. Sometimes though, it is necessary to manually input WiTopia's DNS servers to conquer local blocking techniques.


WINDOWS INSTRUCTIONS:

(General Instructions for all Windows Systems...may be slight variations between OS types)

CLICK Start -> Control Panel -> Network and Internet Connections

CLICK Manage network connections (on left side of window).

RIGHT-CLICK the Local Area Connection that you wish to change and then click Properties.

You will want to change the settings on your MAIN Local Area connection and Wireless connection.


The DNS servers currently available for customer use are:

216.93.191.228 (California, USA)

38.119.98.220 (Northern Virginia, USA)

Of course, DNS servers are freely accessible, so these should work just fine for anyone. Or your own DNS servers from another provider should work as well.

 

[dnoblett]

Good point for those in China wishing to surf the web.

 

Though using a VPN once you get to the other side of the tunnel you need to hit a DNS server to find sites on the other side of the great chinese firewall.

[Randy W]

Good point for those in China wishing to surf the web.

 

Though using a VPN once you get to the other side of the tunnel you need to hit a DNS server to find sites on the other side of the great chinese firewall.

 

 

For the most part, the address translation will still be the same - that is, even though you can get the address of a blocked site, if the site itself is blocked, it won't respond, but I'm getting different IP addresses for both YouTube and FaceBook, depending on which DNS servers I'm using (they're - YouTube and FaceBook - both blocked)

[dnoblett]

Good point for those in China wishing to surf the web.

 

Though using a VPN once you get to the other side of the tunnel you need to hit a DNS server to find sites on the other side of the great chinese firewall.

 

 

For the most part, the address translation will still be the same - that is, even though you can get the address of a blocked site, if the site itself is blocked, it won't respond, but I'm getting different IP addresses for both YouTube and FaceBook, depending on which DNS servers I'm using (they're - YouTube and FaceBook - both blocked)

One effective way to block access to something is to have DNS server return a false address like 127.0.0.1 or an address of a non-existent server.

[Randy W]

Good point for those in China wishing to surf the web.

 

Though using a VPN once you get to the other side of the tunnel you need to hit a DNS server to find sites on the other side of the great chinese firewall.

 

 

For the most part, the address translation will still be the same - that is, even though you can get the address of a blocked site, if the site itself is blocked, it won't respond, but I'm getting different IP addresses for both YouTube and FaceBook, depending on which DNS servers I'm using (they're - YouTube and FaceBook - both blocked)

One effective way to block access to something is to have DNS server return a false address like 127.0.0.1 or an address of a non-existent server.

 

 

But I don't think they've done that - some sites (such as Google and YouTube) redirect automatically depending on your country in order to provide the local language. In any event, like I'm saying in my original post, it's very easy to access an outside DNS, but this won't get you past the Great Firewall.

 

It appears to be a blockage of the path to the actual website.

 

Some sites are actually accessible BEHIND the Great Firewall that aren't accessible from outside (including VPN's), in particular the movie sites.