Yesterday I posted a blog “Multiple Provinces’ Recursive DNS Servers Hit by DDoS Attack, National Network Affected” (December 10). Today I bring some good news: recently Baidu quietly launched a public DNS service. Many large-scale network failures in China have been DNS-related. Currently, to reduce the harm of DNS failures, Baidu has launched a public DNS service; the DNS server address is 180.76.76.76. 
What is a public DNS?
A public DNS server is the system’s default DNS resolution server. DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS helps users find paths on the internet. Every computer on the internet has a unique address called an “IP address” (Internet Protocol address). Because IP addresses (a string of numbers) are hard to remember, DNS lets users use a string of common letters (a “domain name”) instead. A public DNS server has advantages such as being ad-free, somewhat preventing DNS hijacking, and not needing to change with your internet environment — but using a public DNS also carries risks such as slow system response, hijacking, and privacy issues.
Baidu quietly launched a public DNS service
Baidu announced the launch of public DNS: 180.76.76.76. It claims to have recursive egress nodes across the country, enabling faster and more stable service, pure with no hijacking. Of course, another major purpose of Baidu launching public DNS should be to reduce the harm DNS hijacking does to itself — after all, as China’s largest traffic company, Baidu suffers greatly from it. According to the introduction, Baidu Public DNS has recursive egress nodes across the country, enabling faster and more stable service, pure with no hijacking. Specifically:
1. Cloud protection — surf without worry from now on
Viruses, trojans, and phishing sites are all intercepted; Baidu Cloud Protection guards users’ access security in real time.
2. No hijacking — surf without obstruction from now on
No malicious redirects, no forced ads; Baidu Public DNS makes users’ access smoother.
3. More accurate — surf without concern from now on
A CDN network across the country, smart resolution, edns-client-subnet… all the effort is just to make positioning more accurate and every user visit more efficient.
Baidu Public DNS official site: http://dudns.baidu.com/