Debugging OpenDNS

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todd.clattenburg

December 05, 2020 14:05

Good morning

I'm using a Bell "Home Hub 3000" router.

I seemed to have Open DNS working on my router a few weeks ago. At that time it seemed straightforward. I tested it by putting in a site that I was trying to block for my kids and it worked fine.
I signed in recently to see some of the visualizations and realized that it has since stopped working.
I'm not sure why.

Here is the output of the commands I've seen on other posts. I'm not sure how to interpret whether this indicates DNS redirection.

C:\>nslookup -type=txt debug.opendns.com
Server: mynetwork
Address: 192.168.2.1

Non-authoritative answer:
debug.opendns.com text =

"server m41.nyc"
debug.opendns.com text =

"flags 40020 0 70 180000000000000000007950800000000000000"
debug.opendns.com text =

"originid 0"
debug.opendns.com text =

"actype 0"
debug.opendns.com text =

"source 142.112.242.107:59271"

C:\>nslookup whoami.akamai.net
Server: mynetwork
Address: 192.168.2.1

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: whoami.akamai.net
Addresses: 2620:0:cc9::65
208.67.217.67

I am curious what role the "host name" value plays in my router's DNS information? Does this value need to line up with something on the open dns dashboard in order to work? Is this value just arbitrary? 

My router has a DDNS configuration section which is currently disabled. Will setting this up allow OpenDNS to stay updated with the IP Address assigned to my router by my ISP? (like the OpenDNS updater app?) Is the DDNS host name setting relevant?

I have more questions, but I'll stop there for now.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

-T

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  rotblitz December 05, 2020 15:07 (Edited December 05, 2020 15:10)

  The reason why your settings are not taking effect is that your IP address 142.112.242.107 is not registered at your dashboard at https://dashboard.opendns.com/settings/

  If your router’s DDNS function supports one of OpenDNS, DNS-O-Matic or custom, then you can use it to keep your IP address information updated at OpenDNS.

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  todd.clattenburg December 05, 2020 15:47

  Thank you rotblitz.
  I went to the dashboard, and you are definitely right. However I've had the OpenDNS updater running, and thought it would automatically register any new IP's I was issued by my ISP?

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  rotblitz December 05, 2020 15:59

  No idea what the problem with your Updater is. You may check its log to find it out.

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  todd.clattenburg December 05, 2020 16:04

  So my router's DDNS function does not support one of the necessary types. 
  
  Is it possible to run the Open DNS updater software from the command line so that I can run it as a scheduled task to execute at a specific time each day only?
  
  I have VPN software installed on the system that the updater is installed on and I'm afraid that it will misinterpret my IP when connected to VPN and then mess up the OpenDNS settings? If I run the updater every night as a scheduled task then it would be less of a problem since I would be unlikely to be connected to the VPN at that time.

   

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  rotblitz December 05, 2020 16:10

  You cannot run the Updater from the command line. A VPN may kill the function of the Updater. You would have to configure persistent routes to make it work.

  Or try this Updater instead:
  https://updater.marc-hoersken.de/

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  todd.clattenburg December 05, 2020 16:38

  Thanks again rotblitz
  
  Is it possible to see somewhere in the dashboard, that the updater is connecting successfully? 
  Is there a history in the dashboard of updates from the updater over time? I don't see that category in the 'Stats & Logs' section anywhere?
  
  

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  todd.clattenburg December 05, 2020 16:57

  Good news!
  
  I've been able to configure split tunneling on my VPN client to allow the OpenDNS Updater client to operate outside of the VPN even when the VPN is connected. Hopefully this will stabilize the behavior I'm seeing.
  
  I'd still like the reassurance of verifying the Updater connections via the dashboard though, if possible - please provide some guidance in that regard.
  
  Thanks again rotblitz, your help has been invaluable.
   

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  rotblitz December 05, 2020 17:53

  You cannot verify the function of the Updater at the dashboard. But, as I said, you can check the Updater‘s log at “%APPDATA%\OpenDNS Updater\log.txt”. Don’t open it with Notepad, but with Wordpad.

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