FreeDNS

(freedns.afraid.org)

135 points | by esher 2 hours ago

15 comments

  • hattmall 1 hour ago
    This is one of the most solid and longest lasting services online. Have been using it for almost two decades I think and nothing's changed.
    • itsamario 27 minutes ago
      Why dns is a topic eludes me because they all forward to root hint servers.

      Why doesn't everyone just use their IANA resolvers?

  • tylerius 47 minutes ago
    Their backup DNS service is great, so you can run your own DNS with just one server.

    https://nic.eu.org/ is also very cool for getting a domain name if paying for one is a challenge.

  • IgorPartola 1 hour ago
    This looks so much like https://dns.he.net/ that it seems to me it can’t be a coincidence. Is this a case of copying a well known design or is there more to it?
    • garaetjjte 16 minutes ago
      It's possible they are both descendants from XName: https://web.archive.org/web/20120625081138/http://source.xna...
    • jstanley 1 hour ago
      Doesn't look that similar to me, they both just look a bit old.
    • cbg0 33 minutes ago
      The "portal" layout style was very popular on Web 1.0, reminds me of PHP-Nuke.
      • makmanalp 23 minutes ago
        omg, invoking php-nuke brings me back. fun era (recent php2shell wild ride notwithstanding). Honestly it's more like web 1.5 - not straight up hand written html but no wild client side stuff either.

        And yes, there absolutely was a "look" that's a product of the technology of the time - tables for design, limited styling / js support, php "components" that you could load and replace as part of your portal, and "themes".

      • brnt 21 minutes ago
        > PHP-Nuke

        There's a name I haven't heard in a while!

    • srik 1 hour ago
      I wouldn't think much of it. It was a popular design trend for a while there; some just never updated. I don't blame them, it's fairly decent on readability and minimalism.
  • amelius 1 hour ago
    I am interested, but I have some questions that don't seem to be addressed in the about us page:

    How well is continuation guaranteed?

    What if someone buys them? Or the maintainer stops for whatever reason?

    • gertop 48 minutes ago
      afraid.org has been there offering free DNS hosting since the year 2000, 26 years

      Whilst it would be nice to know their contingency and continuity plans, I feel like their history is a better indicator of the future than just a bunch of feel-good words that you'd likely find a way to interpret pesssimisticly anyway.

      • jrmg 0 minutes ago
        An answer to "what happens if the administrator of this dies?" doesn't require feel-good words to answer clearly.
  • pavinjoseph 13 minutes ago
    Every once in a while, HN surfaces absolute gems like this. Bookmarked and thanks to esher!
  • kemotep 54 minutes ago
    So to get this straight this is just hosted DNS? Like Route53? They aren’t a registrar or anything?

    So you could pay for hosted DNS and then use them as the name server and other DNS records for multiple domains that you have?

    • xianwen 28 minutes ago
      It is like Route53. However, you cannot buy domain names from FreeDNS.

      You can use FreeDNS as a name server and manage domain name records, like A records, cname, and MX records. You can have a dynamic domain name too.

      You can also obtain free sub domain names from those who use FreeDNS as the name server and offer free sub domain names.

  • baq 1 hour ago
    Happy freeloader for something like 15 years, can recommend
    • tracker1 48 minutes ago
      I have a couple domains (notably BBS.io) with them for people to use as ddns sub domains. Pretty happy overall.
  • rlonstein 48 minutes ago
    One of the 5,000+ premium members. I've been using them as a secondary and for dynamic dns since... I have no idea for how long but much further back than 2015 when I started using a password manager that keeps history, probably circa 2005.
  • Velocifyer 33 minutes ago
    If you're having trouble connecting, turn off your proxy/VPN.
  • assimpleaspossi 1 hour ago
    Can someone explain how and why and when this would be used?
    • electrotype 1 hour ago
      I use one of their "dynamic domain" as a stable address to point to my home computer : example.mooo.com instead of using the IP. They provide an endpoint for a cron to update this IP each X time.
    • mistrial9 1 hour ago
      similarly, someone please explain why a free citizen would voluntarily use a Google DNS service that builds profiles and extensive activity records on its users
      • TheSkyHasEyes 58 minutes ago
        Is this meant to be snarky? I don't get it. To them, it is a sincere question.
  • zulux 1 hour ago
    This is awesome. I'll use them as a backup DNS service; the paid version is significantly cheaper than spinning up a new domain server with the cheapest provider I know.

    Not to downplay my own skills, but their OpenBSD infrastructure is a good idea. They'll be up when my DNS servers are down.

  • esher 2 hours ago
    I am a free tier sucker. I use it for testing DNS setups with our hosting platform. But I love it. Maybe some exposure helps to bring some paying customers.
  • rvz 1 hour ago
    Site has been hugged to death.

    Free services are never free. It is only free because someone else is paying.

    I don’t use this but “hoping” that someone else will donate is not sustainable for them and unrealistic in the long term.

    Maybe they should start charging.

    • assimpleaspossi 1 hour ago
      Well, they've been around for 14 years. And they do charge for some services.
      • ibejoeb 49 minutes ago
        Looks like they've been around for 25 years.
  • jck86 1 hour ago
    mooo!