I could not believe it when I read it a few days ago: Google providing free DNS services. DNS, the Internet directory and usually a weak spot in Internet infrastructure.

Providing this service will provide a wealth of information to Google: who is visiting what sites, etc. For this information they do not even need to use Google’s search engine. Smart!

What’s in it for us? According to Google:

• Speed up your browsing experience. According to Google there is a lot of latency. I guess with their huge amounts of servers everywhere, they need to be able to improve this.
• Improve your security. Well they have taken a number of measurements to improve security.

For me personally a huge benefit would be to be no longer dependent on my ISP DNS. In the past this has been malfunctioning quite often. Although the last year or so there have been no real problems.

One of the disadvantages of using Google Public DNS is putting all eggs in one basket. I use a lot of Google services: mail, news, documents, contacts, search, etc. What happens when Google decides that they don’t like me anymore or that they are the victim of some sort of service disruption…

So what’s in it for Google:

• Get a lot of data about who is requesting what web sites. Together with all the other information they must be able to sell more advertising, etc.

Is it a win-win situation? Time will tell.