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FAQ: OpenDNS Developer Resources

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Matt Prytuluk
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I am a Programmer, what OpenDNS Developer Resources Exist?

 

OpenDNS appreciates the software development community and offers a number of resources to programmers, including specifications of some of our proprietary technology and full access to our Application Programmer's Interfaces (APIs).

Dynamic DNS Result Code Information for Developers

 

If you are a developer interested in writing your own Dynamic DNS updater client, this topic contains information pertinent to a successful implementation.

OpenDNS uses the DNS Update API from DynDNS to receive Dynamic DNS updates of IP addresses. All clients that support this API completely and communicate over SSL will properly update OpenDNS network IP address information.

Note: The URL to use to send an IP address update to OpenDNS is:
https://updates.opendns.com/nic/update?hostname=

OpenDNS uses the standard Dynamic DNS result codes, but OpenDNS has modified the use of a few of the responses to add key functionality. These modifications do not change or disrupt the API and the modified responses are detailed in the following table.

Dynamic DNS Result CodeOpenDNS InterpretationUse According to Specification
badauth Username and password credentials are invalid or do not match an existing OpenDNS account. The username and password pair do not match a real user.
nohost OpenDNS account specified does not have a network enabled for dynamic IP updates. Follow this link for more information. The hostname specified does not exist in this user account (or is not in the service specified in the system parameter).
good The update was successful or not needed (the IP address has not changed since last update). OpenDNS filtering and security settings are applied as configured on this network. The update was successful, and the hostname is now updated.
!yours The IP address provided is part of a larger block of addresses managed by another OpenDNS administrator or the IP address is being used by someone else. Please see Error Messages for more information. The hostname specified exists, but not under the username specified.
abuse OpenDNS received more than one update per minute for a set period of time. The hostname specified is blocked for update abuse.

Links to Other OpenDNS Resources for Developers

 

OpenDNS supports open development by community members for PhishTank and DNS-O-Matic.

For specific information, follow the links associated with the OpenDNS service below.

PhishTank 
DNS-O-Matic

 

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  • Avatar
    zyrandia

    There is no API to add or remove addresses from the Blacklist?

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    rotblitz

    No, there isn't.

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    suddy

    I noticed that my router can update DynDNS and dug a bit deeper to find that it can be configured to send updates elsewhere too. In the settings it asks for a host and a domain, which it then combines. So I need to send an update for https://updates.opendns.com/nic/update?hostname=home, but I have to give the router host=home and domain=example.com (it checks for a valid URL), meaning OpenDNS will get https://updates.opendns.com/nic/update?hostname=home.example.com. This returns "good", but https://updates.opendns.com/nic/update?hostname=sdfdsfsdfsdf.example.com does too! 

    It's not mightily important, as I can use the Windows updater, but I'd love to get it configured if anyone can help. For example, can the default home network be renamed with a fake domain name? 

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    rotblitz

    You should tell us what exact router model you have, or you may search the forum for instructions about this router.  It may all be documented elsewhere.

    In principle you have two options:

    1. Either rename the OpenDNS network label to a valid domain name, as you said.  This may draw an error message by the router when checking against this domain if the update was successful.  So, this is rather a less preferred idea unless you use a DDNS hostname registered with a DDNS provider as OpenDNS network label and update this DDNS hostname as well with your IP address. 
    2. Or don't let your router send the updates directly to OpenDNS, but through DNS-O-Matic. 
      - Visit www.dnsomatic.com to register any supported DDNS service with the related provider and at DNS-O-Matic. 
      - Configure your router with the OpenDNS/DNS-O-Matic credentials and the update URL 
         http://updates.dnsomatic.com/nic/update?hostname=all.dnsomatic.com 
         and with the DDNS hostname from the other provider as domain. 
      This will update OpenDNS and the other DDNS hostname at the same time with this one router update client. 
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    suddy

    Thanks for the instructions. I've set up DNS-O-Matic and waiting for it to update. 

    I couldn't find my router elsewhere, so I'd be happy to contribute some configuration instructions should it actually work.

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    clayne

    I'm reading this post two years later. Are there any plans to add an API to add/remove domains from the Blacklist?

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    rotblitz

    But - this thread was not about an API to add/remove domains from the list.  It was about the existing update API.  The other thing came up by another user zyrandia, rather off-topic.  But now, as you still jump on it after more than two years...

    I would say no, but I'm just a user.  There are far more important things pending like support of the enhanced features for people with IPv6 connectivity. 
    Creating an API for managing just 25 or 50 blacklist/whitelist entries isn't really worth the efforts, and for the five people who would actually use this feature for whatever reason (which one?).

    Or are you using a different OpenDNS service like Umbrella?

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