Are You Being Charged for OpenDNS Filtering? A Personal Experience

It’s not uncommon to face restrictions on the internet, particularly when it comes to certain content categories. Recently, I encountered an issue with my internet service provider (ISP) blocking access to specific sites via OpenDNS. When I reached out to them to request the removal of these restrictions, they informed me that I would need to acquire a “public IP address” for an additional charge of 100 ZAR per month. This raised some red flags for me. Is this a legitimate request, or are they just trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of me?

The sites being blocked included those featuring adult content, as well as some torrent sites like RARBG. While it’s possible to bypass these blocks by using a VPN, I was hesitant to go that route. Paying for a VPN just to access certain websites didn’t feel justified, especially since I’ve heard that using a VPN can slow down my internet speed — a trade-off I didn’t want to make. What’s more, no one had asked my ISP to impose these limitations in the first place—it just seemed unnecessary.

Fortunately, after reaching out for advice on online forums, I received some valuable insights from fellow users. Many suggested that I change my DNS settings to point to Google’s public DNS servers. Intrigued, I looked into how to implement this change, and to my relief, it worked! I was finally able to access the previously blocked sites without encountering the dreaded “website blocked due to content filtering” message.

It’s curious why my initial searches for solutions regarding OpenDNS didn’t yield this straightforward fix, but either way, I’m grateful for the support I received from the community.

In conclusion, if you’re dealing with similar internet issues, I encourage you to consider adjusting your DNS settings as a potential solution before accepting additional costs from your ISP. Sharing experiences and solutions can truly make a difference — just like it did for me!