What is recursive DNS? Every website on the Internet needs to have at least one authoritative DNS server. Authoritative servers are where that websites records are kept. The more authoritative DNS servers your website has, the more redundant it is. To understand exactly what recursive DNS is, let’s explain what exactly DNS is.

In order for a website to be accessed via its URL, i.e. www.noip.com, the website needs DNS. The Domain Name System performs like a phone book. If not for DNS you would need to know the phone number or IP address of every single website. DNS acts like a phone book by pointing a URL to the websites IP address for you. This means you don’t have to know the IP address of every website. How frustrating would that be? I can barely even remember my own phone number, let alone the phone number of every single website that I want to visit.

Anyway, the place where the phone numbers of the websites are kept are the authoritative DNS servers. Each website has at least one and if you want the website to be fully redundant, (meaning if one server has issues or downtime, your website will not be affected) they often have more – that are all located in geographically redundant locations. When you type www.noip.com into your browser, your computer queries the recursive DNS provider. If the recursive DNS server has the answer cached, then it gives that answer if it doesn’t have the answer cached, the recursive DNS server then queries the authoritative DNS server. The authoritative DNS server returns the correct answer and the website is loaded.

Although it sounds quite confusing and time-consuming, all of this happens in milliseconds. Questions or comments? Leave them in the comments! Also, click Like to share this with your friends!

Yup, that really invasive online privacy bill CISPA was reintroduced in the House of Representatives yesterday…. We talked about this bill a few months ago, but for those that aren’t aware, we will touch on the reason why you should really write or call your State Representative and tell them that you are opposed to CISPA.

Gregory T. Nojeim, Director of the Project on Freedom, Security & Technology at the Center for Democracy & Technology said:

“CISPA is deeply flawed. Under a broad cybersecurity umbrella, it permits companies to share user communications directly with the super secret National Security Agency and permits the NSA to use that information for non-cybersecurity reasons. This risks turning the cybersecurity program into a back door intelligence surveillance program run by a military entity with little transparency or public accountability. Members should seriously consider whether CISPA — which inflamed grassroots activists last year and was under a veto threat for these and other flaws — is the right place to start.”

This bill could mean that everything you type into your web browser could be monitored and quietly sent off to the government, without a warrant. We are not against going after cyber threats, but the scope of this bill is so broad that it oversteps the freedom of the innocent.

What will the consequences of this bill? Companies acting as “big brother” may over monitor our online activity, making criminals out of all of us. What effect would this bill have on the Internet experience? Leave your comments below and don’t forget to send a message to your Representatives asking them to oppose this bill.

A massive snowstorm has begun to hit the east coast and some cities are expected to get upwards of 2 feet of snow. Just like anything, you don’t really realize how much you rely on certain things until they no longer work – like electricity, cell service, or even your heat! (What do you mean I can’t heat up my frozen burrito in the microwave?! Oh and we all know how annoying it is when the power is out and we still try to flip the light switch when we walk into a room. doh.)

When such a massive storm is predicted to hit, everyone usually runs out and buys lots of water and non-perishable foods to keep them fed and comfortable during what could be a long time without power.  So, while you are busy doing things like that, why would you ever want to worry about the redundancy of your website and if it will “weather the storm”? (pun intended) Like electricity and heat, a website managed DNS is something that people typically don’t think twice about until there is a problem with it.

Managed DNS should be the last of your worries. The experts at No-IP are constantly monitoring and updating our network to ensure that our users never have to suffer any downtime, whether it is caused by mother nature, errors caused by changes to network configurations, hardware faults, or even wiring issues – if your domains managed DNS is configured right, your website will be up, 100% guaranteed.

Now get out there and build a snowman or something

Check out these helpful Managed DNS articles too:

Is Your DNS Diversified?
Why you Shouldn’t Wait For an Outage to Think about Managed DNS
What Is DNS? 

We are proud to announce that just this morning we hit 15 million users of our free dynamic DNS and managed DNS! We are the industry leaders in free dynamic DNS and one of the very few left. We pride ourselves in our company culture and our amazing and awesome support, when you call us, we answer!

Since 1999, our users have been spreading the word about No-IP and our awesome services that we offer. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for all of you, so thank you! Thank you for choosing No-IP as your dynamic DNS and managed DNS provider!

We know… CES is SO last week, but we are excited to share some of the sweet stuff that our Business Development team saw there!

CES was a great experience.  Not only did we get to meet face to face with many of our partners and users it was a great opportunity to see what companies are really trying to get out there and meet the people.  This is a quick list of some of the more notable exhibitors that we visited:

Most Innovative
iPhone Multimeter (iDVM)
Redfish Instruments 

A digital Multimeter that communicates with your iPhone, allowing you to measure, record and share your test results.  Currently no Android version available, but I’m sure that is right around the corner.

Most Useful
Computer Eyewear (Gunnars)
Gunnar Technology Eyewear

Aside from improving your ‘cool’ factor with your co-workers these innovative glasses make an immediate and dramatic difference.  Who would have guessed that staring at a computer screen for 10 hours a day isn’t great for your eyes?  It is one thing to read that in a report from the Vision Council, but it is something entirely different to experience it for yourself.  From the moment I put the demo pair on, I felt this tension on my forehead disappear.  I flipped them up and it was back, put them back on and it was gone.  There is a very interesting description of the principals at work at thevisioncouncil.org, but you really something you need to experience yourself.  The first thing I did upon my return from CES was to order a pair – essential gear for everyone who stares at a screen all day.  Every computer should come with a pair included.

Most Unchanged
Ethernet Over Power

Taking the idea of the connected home to the next level, Ethernet Over Power essentially turns any wires in your house (power, phone, cable, etc.) into an ethernet cord, instantly giving you wired internet access to your entire home.  I was blown away when I first learned about this technology 12 years ago, but what surprises me today is that 1) the technology hasn’t caught on and 2) the technology doesn’t seem to be any further along than was over a decade ago.  Perhaps one is the symptom of the other, or maybe we just don’t need MORE wired connections in our homes.  Whatever the case may be this is an interesting technology that seems to be looking for its niche.

Most Real Estate
iPhone Cases

There were literally ACRES of iPhone cases: blinged out, leather bound, protective, waterproof, shock proof, bullet proof.  If you can put your IPhone in it, it was there at CES.  Two notables… Head Case offers a bottle opener case along with an app that counts how many bottles you have opened (and calls you a cab when you have hit your limit).  PureGear was also a standout with the way they have struck a great balance between design and phone protection – attractive, slim cases that are tough where they need to be.

Most Timely
Brand Agnostic (nearly) Home Device Controller

The MiCasaVerde smart home gateway is Dynamite!  It makes it possible to integrate and control over 700 Z-Wave protocol devices from different manufacturers.  They are also going to be adding Zigbee & X10 protocols soon.  The gateway handles the intra-device communication, and their innovative software allows you to thread and weave the inputs and outputs from your different devices into complete ‘Scenes’ (i.e. when my front door opens turn on my entry lights, open my blinds and change my thermostat).

 Routers

Of course, I’ve always got my eye out innovative, small routers and the show did not disappoint.  The power that can be packed into ever smaller devices is amazing.  The WR702N from TP-Link was quite impressive and their newest micro-router, the TP-Link is the Halo TL-WR706N packed a big punch.  Also, the Premiertek AP2403 was a show stopper with a footprint that is smaller than a business card and a profile just big enough to plug in an RJ45.

All in all, No-IP had a blast at CES. Did you attend CES? What were your favorite new product releases?