[X-Newbies] Open DNS - how to get rid of it!

[Thierry de Coulon]

On Saturday 23 January 2010, Thierry de Coulon wrote:
> On Saturday 23 January 2010, GL wrote:
> > All of a sudden, instead of the generic error page showing up when a
> > URL is bad, I am getting this awful Open DNS page that I do NOT want.
> >
> > I did NOT install anything.
> >
> > How to get rid of this putrid spyware?

Some more information (from Wikipedia):

OpenDNS is a free DNS (Domain Name System) resolution service.

OpenDNS offers DNS resolution for consumers and businesses as an alternative 
to using their Internet service provider's DNS servers. By placing company 
servers in strategic locations and employing a large cache of the domain 
names, OpenDNS usually processes queries much more quickly,[1] thereby 
increasing page retrieval speed.
(...)
OpenDNS earns a portion of its revenue by resolving a domain name to an 
OpenDNS server when the name is not otherwise defined in DNS. This has the 
effect that if a user types a nonexistent name in a URL in a web browser, the 
user sees an OpenDNS search page. Advertisers pay OpenDNS to have 
advertisements for their sites on this page. While this behavior is similar 
to VeriSign's previous Site Finder or the redirects many ISP's are placing on 
their own DNS servers, OpenDNS states that it is not the same, as OpenDNS is 
purely an opt-in service (compared to Site Finder's effect on the entire 
Internet, as VeriSign is an authoritative registry operator)[2] and that the 
advertising revenue pays for the customized DNS service.[3]

So, definitely no "putrid spyware", but a DNS service that you should be able 
to opt-out from.

Thierry