Jeremy Davis's picture
Update: This thread is now somewhat irrelevant as TurnKey have just announced Domain management and Dynamic DNS which can take care of all your dynamic DNS needs! Yay!

Abridged version of the story: I'm interested in a dynamic DNS service (DDNS) to replace DynDNS (willing to pay a little if the features are right). ATM this is mostly just for my son and I to use, so a free/included domain is probably best. Ideally I'd sort of like something with cool names though (DynDNS has some cool ones). Any recommendations are welcome. Read on if you want the full rambling story...

I'm feeling a little gutted by DynDNS right now. I'm not sure whether I have legimate reason to or not but I do!

I have had a free acount with them for years, with 3 free (DynDNS supplied) domains connected to my (dynamic) home IP. I've had my router auto updating but some time ago it stopped working for no apparent reason and I never got around to solving it, or implementing another updater. As I wasn't using it that much I disabled (but kept) 2 of the names and have been manually updating it when i wanted to use it. Its a bit of a pain because you need to log in once every so often (every 2-3 months I though it was?) to keep the account alive. But they always sent me a warning email so it was ok. That and access to wildcards, extra domains and additoinal names to choose from (on a paid account) was  making me consider paying. It's only US$15/yr so it was really just a matter of getting around to it.

But today I went to log in to update the IP and it wouldn't let me log in. When I tried to recover my password (although I was sure it was right) it said my account didn't exist! I was a little put out but I signed up again but noticed to my dismay that they have now made it only two names for free accounts and limited the domain choices all to names that all contain 'dyndns'. I also notice that you need to log in every 30 days now. I do recall getting an email from them saying that things were changing for free accounts but not for those already registered so I probably didn't pay enough attention.

Now I understand they've got to make money somehow but I feel like I've been pushed into paying them to keep getting the service I had (which I was already considering anyway). And that leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. I double checked and unless I inadvertantly deleted it, they did not send me a reminder email re deleting my account (as they always used to) so I can't help but feel like I've been set up.

All in all I've found the DynDNS service very good and the others I looked at were about the same price (or a little cheaper) but often for less features. So perhaps I'm being petty and a tightwad and need to just stop whinging and pay up the $15 to get my thruhere.org isageek.net and doesnt-exist.net domain names back that I liked (and wildcards which would definately be a bonus too!) or I need to find another provider. I had a quick look but nothing really jumped out at me so for now I've taken a middle path and renewed my DynDNS free account with a name I really don't like. Really love to hear others experience, thoughts, recommendations and opinions.

Thanks

Forum: 

I didn't read the entire post :D ; But from the title of post, I'm writing this .

I 'm using free service offered by no-ip.com in my home. It is a good one.

Jomy Muttathil's picture

DynDNS changed their service. If your account is inactive for 1 month they will cancel it.

I recently looked for a cheaper alternative and couldn't find one.

Basil's suggestion has competitively priced services.

no-ip.com's  free service also doesn't appear to be as limited as DynDNS.

http://www.no-ip.com/services/managed_dns/managed_dns_compare.html

The only one limitation in no-ip 's free plan is that. the number of Domain's per account is limited to 5. In my case I need only 1 for home use :)

Jeremy Davis's picture

I think I'll give no-ip a go. I still sort of want to buy DynDNS because (up until now anyway) they've been pretty good, but this stinks of dodgey tactics to get me to pay (when I was already considering it anyway). I just can't bring myself to pay for it now. If I like no-ip enough, perhaps I'll pay for their service?

Adrian Moya's picture

Same history, deleted account, etc etc. I don't use them anymore since months. But I haven't check for an alternative. I will look into no-ip. My router (IIRC) only have DynDNS as provider. So I would have to install extra things to a linux box, i'm I right? I'll check it later

Yes , no-ip provides a client application, which need to be installed in PC (windows,linux versions available). It will report current IP to No-ip.com

Jeremy Davis's picture

Firstly I'd like to thank Chris ('resident ninja squad sensei') for his pro-active stance on this. If I had had some auto updating config set up then I probably would still be happily using their service. But as it turns out, due to the change of policy I found myself considering my options. I took Chris on his word re DynDNS but I had a look around.

I ended up going with ChangeIP. Their product suits my needs and the price is right (free). I haven't yet rigged up an autoupdater but that doesn't matter as it doesn't expire so I just update it when I need it. I have multiple names and it also allows sub domains and will forward to different ports (which is handy for if your ISP blocks ports or you want to access multiple machines without setting up a reverse proxy).

Jeremy Davis's picture

I'm sure I've come across some in my travels so I'm sure it's quite doable. Have a google and see what you find.

Jeremy Davis's picture

Or perhaps Alon is just being a good open source citizen!? We'll have to wait and see! :)

Alon Swartz's picture

David, you hit the nail on the head! I just announced TurnKey domain management and Dynamic DNS on the blog. Go take a look...

Jomy Muttathil's picture

I was away on vacation when they sent a renewal notice.  By the time I got back I was out of luck.  my subdomain is gone now.  I can't even pay to get it back.

Alon Swartz's picture

Out of curiosity, did you take a look at the free Dynamic DNS service we just released?

Alon Swartz's picture

We've decided to close comments on this thread as Chris from DynDNS has made a genuine effort to resolve Jeremy's issue, as well as others who have commented.

This thread has plenty of information for anyone looking for alternatives, and the recent comments aren't adding much other that "me too"ism.

If anyone would like to raise the issue again with new information, feel free to create a new forum post.