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Domain Name System (DNS) troubles: Setup Sprint EVDO to use OpenDNS?

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  1.  
  1.  permalink
    Hi there, I have been using the OpenDNS servers both hard set in all of my local boxes and set in my Linksys WRT54G3G-ST routers for years. I just set up an account to use some of the other OpenDNS features and now I see that I don't pass the Welcome test and always get the Oops.

    I *know* I am using the OpenDNS ip addresses, so I am guessing that there is something else going on between me and Sprint.

    Happens on multiple machines, multiple OS's, after reboots, after flushing the local DNS cache.

    I have set up my current network on OpenDNS Networks tab and am setting up a script to update the IP dynamically (although it would be very cool if the OpenDNS dynamic IP setup could point to my DynDNS address that my router supports).

    Any guidance would be awesome.

    --Larry
  2.  permalink
    I think if you do an NSLOOKUP while running your EVDO card, you will see that you are using Sprint's DNS server, not the one you have behind OpenDNS. I have seen other forum discussions that boil down to "you cannot control DNS while using EVDO." Sorry dude. :cry:
    Thankful People: brassringfarm
  3.  permalink
    Would not surprise me, but this is what I see:
    ~ : nslookup www.google.com
    Server: 208.67.222.222
    Address: 208.67.222.222#53

    Non-authoritative answer:
    www.google.com canonical name = www.l.google.com.
    Name: www.l.google.com
    Address: 64.233.169.99
    Name: www.l.google.com
    Address: 64.233.169.104
    Name: www.l.google.com
    Address: 64.233.169.103
    Name: www.l.google.com
    Address: 64.233.169.147

    I'll gladly try some other things to help run this down.
    • CommentAuthormamazitta
    • CommentTimeApr 24th 2008
     permalink
    Here's what I get with >nslookup google.com<

    WITH OPEN DNS SERVERS:
    Server: resolver1.opendns.com
    Address: 208.67.222.222
    Non-authoritative answer:
    Name: google.com
    Addresses: 64.233.187.99, 64.233.167.99, 72.14.207.99

    WITHOUT OPENDNS SERVERS (using 4.2.2.1, 4.2.2.2.)
    Server: vnsc-pri.sys.gte1.net
    Address: 4.2.2.1
    Non-authoritative answer:
    Name: google.com
    Addresses: 64.233.167.99, 72.14.207.99, 64.233.187.99

    You could try Command: netsh interface ip show config
    to check your config.

    If you have openDNS Category "Adware" blocked, you can go to:
    http://gator.com
    Results I get:
    using openDNS = openDNS block page indicating Adware
    not using openDNS = Index of gator.com page

    Also try Command: ping gator.com
    using openDNS = reply is from 208.67.219.130
    not using openDNS = reply is from 67.18.54.31

    Hope this helps you a bit in solving your problem.
    Good luck.
    • CommentAuthortomdlgns
    • CommentTimeMay 14th 2008
     permalink
    i am not sure how you guys are getting past sprints DNS servers. i have tried everything and it seems that sprint is still blocking/intercepting other DNS servers.
    • CommentAuthordiacon
    • CommentTimeMay 14th 2008 edited
     permalink
    Sprint does not allow you to use any DNS other than their own. Sprint redirects all port 53 traffic to their DNS servers. There is only one way around it and it probably isn't applicable to you. You have to use a VPN connection into another network that can handle DNS requests.

    FYI, Verizon Wireless's Broadband does not redirect DNS requests and is just as fast if not faster.
    • CommentAuthortomdlgns
    • CommentTimeMay 14th 2008
     permalink
    to diacon

    correct, and i am not able to use a VPN at this time.

    oh well.
    • CommentAuthordrdjones
    • CommentTimeMay 14th 2008
     permalink
    I don't think that Sprint is blocking or rerouting OpenDNS. I believe the problem likely lies in the setup of the router that you are using. I have an MBR-1000 and a Compass 597 usb modem and Sprint is my provider. Like you, OpenDNS did not seem to work. After several days of experimentation and extensive reading in the router help file, I gleaned that I could not use OpenDNS servers until I disabled the "DNS forwarding" feature, and swiched from obtaining DNS addresses automatically from the DHCP server to manually settings in the router setup menu. Then I used the suggested "nslookup myip.opendns.com", which returned the name server address which was 208.67.222.222.
    • CommentAuthordiacon
    • CommentTimeMay 16th 2008
     permalink
    Using that command isn't going to determine if you can use OpenDNS or not. It's just going to send back OpenDNS's IP address, which it did. The real test is if you get blocked from a blocked site.

    If you do know of a way to get around Sprint's redirection, I'm sure there are a few people here that would be extremely interested as many of them have tried and failed.
    • CommentAuthortomdlgns
    • CommentTimeJul 9th 2008
     permalink
    i just got off of the phone with Sprint. I was able to get to this highest level of tech support, that will actually speak to customers, and he didnt have any answers for me...other than setting up the servers manually in the card settings which we have all done and know it doesnt work.

    i have a ticket open with them to see if their network guys can shed some more light on WHY they actually do this.

    they did tell me that they are switching to STATIC ips for everyone in the 3rd quarter of this year. i hope with that change we will be able to use our own DNS servers, but i doubt that will happen.

    i already know the answer i will get from sprint, but at least i can say i tried to contact them and get an answer.
    • CommentAuthordiacon
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008
     permalink
    I *think* they do this to integrate other products they sell. For example, if a company has a T-1 land line through Sprint, Sprint can setup all EVDO cards to automatically VPN into the company network. This is handled entirely on Sprint's network so the end user cannot get around it by changing settings on the computer/card.
  12.  permalink
    sprint transparently forwards all dns traffic to their own servers. this is a known issue, with no workaround currently. any solution we came up with would require users to run a local nameserver and forward requests to our hosts on a port besides 53.

    looking up 'myip.opendns.com' and 'which.opendns.com' will demonstrate this.

    from a MacOS/FreeBSD/Linux host, while connected to sprint:
    $ dig -t txt which.opendns.com
    $ dig which.opendns.com
    $ dig myip.opendns.com

    $ dig -t txt @208.67.222.222 which.opendns.com
    $ dig @208.67.222.222 which.opendns.com
    $ dig @208.67.222.222 myip.opendns.com

    compare to the output of the same commands when connected to a network other than sprint. sprint is intercepting the DNS traffic.

    ... and the output of myip.opendns.com is different if you contact OpenDNS directly (dig @208.67.222.222 myip.opendns.com) as opposed to through another recursive server (dig @4.2.2.1 myip.opendns.com)

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