"DNS" tells your browser where to find particular sites. When DNS goes wrong, it can prevent you from logging in to your iBex account.
All computers on the Internet are found using a numerical "IP Address", it's not very user friendly and is typically four blocks of up to 3 numbers, like 202.174.119.107.
When you type a domain name into your browser, or click a link in google, your Internet Service Provider ( ISP) translates that friendly name (eg www.seekom.com) into the numerical address using a protocol called the Domain Name Service (DNS).
Occasionally, your ISP's DNS can lose records for specific domains, or simply not work at all. If this happens it's completely out of our control but unfortunately you might not be able to connect to your iBex account, however there are some things you can do to minimise your risk.
Back up plan!
We have a number of recommendations that can ensure you don't lose access to your account in the event of a DNS outage at your ISP, and these are listed below in order of simplicity. Some of the suggestions require you to have more than just basic computer knowledge and administrative privileges on your PC.
1. Set up a Phone Wi-Fi hotspot!
If you have an Android phone or iPhone, you could use this for a backup Wi-Fi connection. Wi-Fi hotspots are easy to setup, if your broadband connection fails.
Alternatively, why not get a pay as you go 3G dongle, which you can pay a small amount to top up each month.
2. Change your DNS servers in windows.
For those more technically minded, you can switch to a different DNS server from your ISP's default. It would be advisable to do this as a temporary measure, when experiencing difficulties, as your own ISP's servers are likely to be faster when working correctly. Google have public DNS servers, and instructions are available here but it might be worth your while testing this in advance of an emergency, just in case....:
http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using.html
The thing to highlight here is:
"Important: Before you start
Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS, be sure to write down the current server addresses or settings on a piece of paper. It is very important that you keep these numbers for backup purposes, in case you need to revert to them at any time."
Also, if your primary DNS server is showing as blank, you should be able to find the IP address on your ISP's support website by searching "DNS server IP address".
Google DNS servers have the IP addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
For Windows XP users.
- Click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.
- Right-click the network connection that you want to configure (if using a wired connection, select 'connected' for a wireless connection, select 'wireless') and then click Properties.
- On the General tab (for a local area connection), or the Networking tab (for all other connections), click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
- If you want to manually configure DNS server addresses, click Use the following DNS server addresses, and then type the preferred DNS server and alternate DNS server IP addresses in the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server boxes (ie 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4)
For Windows Vista Users
- Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, clicking Network and Sharing Center, and then clicking Manage network connections.
- Right-click the connection that you want to change, and then click Properties. Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
- Click the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) , and then click Properties.
- To specify DNS server address settings, click Use the following DNS server addresses, and then, in the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server boxes, type the addresses of the primary and secondary DNS servers (ie 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4)
For Windows 7 Users
- Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type adapter, and then, under Network and Sharing Center, click View network connections.
- Right-click the connection that you want to change, and then click Properties. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
- Click the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then click Properties.
The Network Connection Properties dialog box - To specify DNS server address settings, click Use the following DNS server addresses, and then, in the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server boxes, type the addresses of the primary and secondary DNS servers (ie 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4)
Having changed your windows DNS Servers:
You might need to restart your computer, but once you do, your PC will retrieve DNS information from Google's public servers, rather than your currently 'not working' ISP's DNS servers.
Note, if you already have values in here, rather than "Obtain DNS ... automatically" it might be an idea to set only the alternate server as 8.8.8.8 and leave this as a permanent setting. This means that if your ISP's main server can't resolve the friendly "www.seekom.com" name to an IP address, then your computer will ask google's server where to find it.