Study Highlights Critical Threat of Vulnerable, Unpatched DNS Servers -- Easily Solved for Free by OpenDNS

Recent study concludes 1 in 4 DNS servers remains vulnerable as customers remain confused and understaffed to patch systems.

San Francisco (PRWEB) November 14, 2008 -- A recent study commissioned on DNS security reportedly found that one in four recursive Domain Name System (DNS) servers connecting to the Internet is still unpatched, several months after security researcher Dan Kaminsky unveiled a critical flaw he discovered in the DNS. The study was based on a sample that included 5 percent of the IPv4 address space, or nearly 80 million addresses, and concluded one in four DNS servers don't perform source port randomization, which is considered the patch for the flaw.

Additional research indicates customers' networks remain unpatched because they feel they lack the necessary expertise or in-house resources to complete the seemingly daunting task. Both reasons are addressed by OpenDNS, a free Internet service which takes just minutes to set up.

"Patching core infrastructure is a difficult task by any measure, and I'm happy to see that three out of four name servers have been upgraded. Users of that last quarter of remaining name servers do have other options, such as switching to the freely available and fast OpenDNS for their name resolution needs," said Kaminsky. "OpenDNS was involved with the global response to the DNS flaw from very early on, and has been quite popular with millions of users for having never been vulnerable to this particular flaw."

OpenDNS is a free DNS service that has never been vulnerable to the Kaminsky attack, and remains the world's most reliable DNS infrastructure service with over 9 billion daily DNS requests answered with zero downtime. Customers using OpenDNS have been protected from this vulnerability from day one, without having to install or deploy expensive appliances or patch their internal DNS servers. OpenDNS can be used as a replacement for a customers' internal DNS server, which is expensive and complicated to operate and maintain.

"OpenDNS is implemented as a security service on the internet, so it requires no pricey appliances or complicated software for a customer to manage, patch, and keep running. Setting up OpenDNS takes minutes and will protect your network from Kaminsky's vulnerability, and provides free integrated anti-phishing and content filtering through DNS," said David Ulevitch, Founder of OpenDNS. "OpenDNS is hands-down the single most secure, reliable DNS solution available."

About OpenDNS
OpenDNS is the world's largest and fastest-growing DNS provider, making the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable for millions of people around the world. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company operates a new kind of recursive Domain Name System (DNS) service that enables the delivery of services like Web content filtering and industry-leading phishing protection through the DNS, free and without requiring users to download or install software. OpenDNS is thoroughly committed to operating the best DNS platform in the world and to improving the Internet. For more information about OpenDNS, please visit: http://www.opendns.com

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