odd DNS problem, maybe OT

[rikona]

Hello Tom,

Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 3:37:23 AM, Tom wrote:

TB> On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 00:54, rikona <rikona at sonic.net> wrote:
>> Hello Tom,
>> TB> On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 18:43, rikona <rikona at sonic.net> wrote:
>>>> I have an odd problem. I have lost the ability to connect to anything
>>>> from sat.wrh.noaa.gov or star.nesdis.noaa.gov - these give sat and
>>>> radar weather info. I can connect to
TB> ...
>> TB> like my ISP's DNS servers had been hijacked.  I changed all my DNS
>> TB> addresses to those of opendns.com and the problem went away.
TB> ...
>> Your suggestion was excellent. I have another account with Sonic, so I
>> switched to their DNS servers [which I used to use]. This DID let me

TB> I have had great success with the DNS servers from opendns.com..
TB> One advantage of using them is for traveling with a laptop--you
TB> don't have to worry about the local ISP's DNS.

It sounds like a nice service.

TB> They also have some filtering capability that might eliminate the
TB> need for privoxy depending on your use of it.

Not quite, but I can see how it might be VERY attractive to some
families. I'll probably stick with privoxy and my 'other isp' DNS
servers. They are an excellent ISP - MUUUUCH better than Comcast, but
no high BW where I am. If you call them, they almost always answer
after a couple of rings, and will answer your quite technical
questions re Linux-related problems very competently.

>> Part of the problem on one box still remains. It is related to Privoxy
>> - when Privoxy is on I still can't see them, but turning it off in the
>> browser lets me see them. I have not yet found a way to get privoxy to
>> 'forget' the DNS it 'learned' before, but I'll work on that.

TB> A quick look at the privoxy site mentions possible DNS problems in
TB> the FAQ. Later versions are supposed to work better.

I saw that but don't see how it would cause the observed effect. I'm
using the Lucid version, which is fairly recent.

TB> And there is mention of one of the sub-processes doing something
TB> different with DNS settings.

Missed that one. 

Appreciate your help...

 rikona