DynDyns - Free No More

[UncleJohnsBand]

Anyone have any suggestions for a new free dynamic IP domain provider? I got the notice below today.....

To our Dyn free
hostname users:

For the last 15 years,
all of us at Dyn have taken pride in offering you and millions of others a free
version of our Dynamic DNS Pro product. What was originally a product built for
a small group of users has blossomed into an exciting technology used around the
world.

That is why with mixed
emotions we are notifying you that in 30 days, we will be ending our free
hostname program. This change in the business will allow us to invest in our
customer support teams, Internet infrastructure, and platform security so that
we can continue to strive to deliver an exceptional customer experience for our
paying customers.

[psycik]

I've been using No-ip for a number of years, it still has a free option.

http://www.noip.com/managed-dns

[HarryH3]

A few people over on dslreports.com have recommended http://freedns.afraid.org/

[odin]

A few people over on dslreports.com have recommended http://freedns.afraid.org/

yes I am using that service too.

[imilne]

Me three.

Iain

[bgowland]

Just curious why people use (or have used) DynDns or similar DNS providers.

Is it just for access to your NextPVR systems or are there other things you use it for?

Before I changed my ISP I had a static IP address for £1/month extra but my current provider doesn't provide that option. My IP address does always seem to be the same when I check my router but the contract doesn't guarantee it.

I used DynDNS for a while and noticed last year the free service changed to requiring re-registering on a monthly basis - I suspect that was the beginning of the end of the free service - they presumably wanted to weed out the unused domain names.

Cheers,
Brian

[stustunz]

Because that one time they do change it I'm away for a week

[martint123]

My PVRs email their device status to a gmail account when waking from standby. Tucked in the headers is the external IP address of the router so I can find it easily enough.
Hopefully the odds are slim that it changes right when I need it!

[HarryH3]

I use DDNS to connect to my OpenVPN server. This lets me connect to any PC in my house, no matter where I am. It also lets me make secure connections from public hotspots. While it's slow (once I VPN to my home router, then my laptop download speed is limited by my home ISP's UPload speed), my traffic is protected from prying eyes.

My public IP changes pretty much every time my cable modem reboots. The ISP reboots it in the night sometimes when they are performing maintenance, doing system upgrades, updating modem firmware, etc. Having a DDNS service running on my router means that I can still connect via the URL and it will resolve properly.

[odin]

I use DDNS to connect to my OpenVPN server. This lets me connect to any PC in my house, no matter where I am. It also lets me make secure connections from public hotspots. While it's slow (once I VPN to my home router, then my laptop download speed is limited by my home ISP's UPload speed), my traffic is protected from prying eyes.

My public IP changes pretty much every time my cable modem reboots. The ISP reboots it in the night sometimes when they are performing maintenance, doing system upgrades, updating modem firmware, etc. Having a DDNS service running on my router means that I can still connect via the URL and it will resolve properly.

yep that's pretty much my need to use a ddns too - I have openvpn on my router and my ISP refreshes the IP once/week normally. Factor in power cuts/kids turning things off..