OpenDNS policy: Block first, never ask questions later
Update 10/8: The site is no longer blocked.
I received a note from a reader indicating users of OpenDNS are receiving phishing warnings about a site I created a few days ago, in light of the Hotmail news. Upon using OpenDNS’ CacheCheck feature, it appears the site has indeed been blocked. According to OpenDNS’ little blurb at the bottom, they “block known phishing sites”. That’s funny, because they really don’t know a damn thing about the site. They didn’t bother to ask me about how it worked nor bothered to click the only link at the bottom of the page to find my (previously) top-most post here, indicating the site isn’t a scam. How can I run a phishing operation without asking for credentials or posing to be Bank of America?
*shakes head in disgust*
I’m using OpenDNS and am not getting a warning page, presumably because I just wanted a working DNS server* so I disabled all the extra stuff.
* unlike Verizon who uses a non-standard server that redirects you to their ads… I mean, search engine. Ironically OpenVPN occasionally gives me the EXACT SAME THING and there’s no option to turn it off. Infuriating.
I have the same reults . . BLOCKED! However I did email them that the site was legit.
UPdate . . . I’m able to UNblock any domain of my choosing . . . I forgot about that.
OpenDNS blantantly violoates RFC specifications that break things like the connector software in Windows Home Server (which relies in part on proper DNS function), so what makes you think that they actually give a damn?
I’ve gone ahead and unblocked it. hostmaster at opendns dot com or abuse at opendns dot com works when all else fails. I read both personally. :-)
Kudos David Ulevitch.
Good to know OpenDNS is watching :o
Is there an easier way to report accidental-filtering on the website for review?
If not, that’d be a wonderful addition.
@Drashna (WGS): Exactly why I won’t use OpenDNS except as an absolute last resort. The landing pages drove me crazy and they break things (not just the theoretical RFC but applications/services which depend on it).
The phishing category is not driven by OpenDNS exclusively, but by http://www.phishtank.com. There really should be no realistic expectation that a site hosting potential phishing would be contacted by anyone, given the large numbers of these sites and the fact that phishing site owners would heavily obfuscate their identities.
Using OpenDNS here, and I don’t get a warning at all. Then again I’ve got all that Big Brother stuff turned off ;)
Singh: Looks like they removed the block (see David Ulevitch’s post).
T Man, I guess it just goes to show that if you go by the wisdom of “the crowd” you’re going to end up with some stupid results. :)
If there is ever anything like this that happens in the future, feel free to contact me via email at vinny@opendns.com and I’d be more than happy to look into it for you :)
-Vinny
Just like xxxx.com.au which is a beer lol.