[X4U] Re: Leopard Issues - Some Responses

[Robert Ameeti]

At 12:26 AM -0500, 12/5/07, Jon wrote:

>I went to the Westell modem site (192.168.1.1). The connection 
>summary shows a primary DNS of 71.250.0.12, and a secondary DNS of 
>71.242.0.12. I couldn't change them. In any case, since both 
>computers use the Westell, these DNS can't be reason for the 
>different results.

Look at the DNS settings of each computer in the System Preferences, 
not on the router. The DNS of the computer overrides the routers.

>In any event, when I type "chevrolet", in the MacBook I get the 
>Verizon-Yahoo search program

Does that really pass the smell test?

>I respectfully request help, but - please - explain why 10.4 still 
>works and 10.5 hasn't from the first day I installed it. (And I'd 
>love to see a tech bulletin that could explain it further.)

DNS works like this:

When you enter something into the browser's address bar (URL), the 
browser takes what you enter and looks it up in the computer's 
'hosts' file. If there is not entry for that URL in the hosts file, 
then the URL is then potentially checked against the network's hosts 
file, if it exists. If that file does not exist, the URL is checked 
against one of the randomly selected DNS servers that are referenced 
in the Network panel. Depending on whether that DNS server has a 
listing for the entry, it may get passed up all the way to the root 
servers for each top level domain.

ie.
If I type jr in my browser, 'jr' is checked in my hosts file. If my 
network administrator wants my computer to connect to the server 
named 'jr' on our network, he will have put an entry into my hosts 
file directing all calls for 'jr' to its IP address (ie. 
192.168.1.105). If my administrator has no entry in my hosts file for 
that URL, then it is passed on to the networks hosts file and the 
same lookup happens. When it is not found in that DNS server, it is 
then passed on to the ISP's DNS server. This should happen all the 
way up until the DNS server is configured to not validate against 
URLs that do not have a top level domain as part of the URL (.com, 
.net, .org, .gov, etc) When the URL is not found in the DNS server's 
zone file, it is then said to be in error and that error is passed 
all the way back down the chain to your computer. Your browser can if 
configured to do so, change the request, appending on additional 
information and then re-request a reevaluation of the new URL. (Doing 
all of the re-requesting does in fact take time and may in fact be 
slower than a user's typing in the .com in the first place.) Many 
browsers will first add a .com and then send for a response, and if 
it fails, then they might add on the www. and have it check again.

The passing up the chain of DNS servers allows for the valid response 
of a domain that may not have been recently used when it might pass 
all the way up to the .com root server.

In this case, the Verizon DNS server has been configured to not 
accept any URL that does not have a top level domain as part of the 
URL and to send back their search page instead of an error. Because 
you one computer did not get the error result, it was not able to 
'guess' and resend the request with additional information.

Network Solutions used to be the monopoly in the Registrar business 
of the Internet. When the dropped the ball and gave shitty customer 
service, every knowledgeable IT administrator started running ftom 
them and Network Solutions started losing their hold on the market. 
They then too started redirecting errors in users DNS lookups to 
their servers. See 
<http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/ietf/verisign-abuse.html> for what 
the did and the holy wars that started at that time. Verizon is now 
risking the same thing by doing this same stupid mistake in hopes of 
making an extra dollar.

Kinda like the HP computer that I just opened up and found that they 
don't include system disks for the user. They expect that the average 
user is going to read the slip of paper that says to make your own 
recovery disks. Ya right. I just spent 1 hr and 7 mins on the phone 
with them till they gave up and are now mailing them to me (instead 
of charging me $14.95 for the set.) When companies try to save them 
self a $1, I'll make them pay many times more to learn not to be 
cheap and screw the customer. I'd like to figure out a way to muck 
with Verizon cuz I hate their policies as well, but I'm not coming up 
with anything quickly fortunately for them.


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Robert Ameeti

"Stop trying to perfect your child, but keep trying to perfect your relationship with him."
~   Dr. Henker
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