If you are a BSNL broadband user, chances are that you are facing DNS issues for the last few weeks or so. Their DNS servers are just unresponsive. The lookup takes a long duration and many times just time out. The solution? Use third party DNS servers or run your own one like djbdns. The easiest options is to use OpenDNS. Just reconfigure your network to use the following DNS servers:
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220
Detailed instructions specific to your router are available in the OpenDNS website itself. After I reconfigured my Linksys router to use the above 2 IP addresses, my DNS problems just vanished! Other ‘freebies’ that come with OpenDNS are phishing filters and automatic URL correction. Even if your service provider’s DNS servers are working fine, you can still use OpenDNS just for these two special features.