Browse websites faster

Here are no-cost ways to fine-tune DNS for faster browsing.

There's a simple way you can get to Web sites faster, and it won't cost you a penny. You can change the way your PC uses the Domain Name System (DNS), the technology underlying all Web browsing.

Before you start, it's a good idea to get a basic understanding of how DNS works. When you type in a URL such as www.example.com, that URL needs to be translated into a numeric IP address that Web servers and Internet routers can understand. When you type in a URL, a DNS server does the translation, from www.example.com to 208.77.188.166, for example.

An often used analogy to explain the Domain Name System is that it serves as the "phone book" for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example, www.example.com translates to 208.77.188.166.

DNS servers live on the Internet, and your computer contacts them with the request to do that translation, which is commonly called name resolution. When you use an ISP, your computer will automatically use the default DNS servers specified by your ISP; you typically don't need to set up DNS in any way. If you're on a corporate network, your systems administrator may have set you up to use specific DNS servers.

If there's a delay in contacting the DNS server, or if the DNS server takes too much time resolving the address, you'll face a delay in getting to a Web site. So even if you've got the world's fattest pipe, your Web surfing will be slowed down.

If you could speed up the name resolution in some way, you'd be able to speed up your Web surfing. And that's exactly what I'll show you how to do.

• Speed up Web browsing with OpenDNS
• Speed up Web access with a HOSTS file
• Adjusting Windows' DNS cache