Does anyone know who to call/contact at Orange to arrange for an opt-out of the barefruit.co.uk failed DNS redirection service ?
for those that don't know what the service is, it redirects failed DNS entries made to one or more of Orange's DNS servers to a DNS type server at the company barefruit. This responds with an alternative result, which currently sends failed requests back to an Orange branded webpage full of advertising for dating and such like.
I know of 3 people using Orange broadband, and it was turned on (on one account) on or around the 10th march, not all 3. (the one who joined Orange as their first broadband isp most recently, but didn't have the barefruit.co.uk thing going on when they joined)
After 6 phone calls to customer support, and a total of over 2 hours on the phone, the customer service folks final word on the matter was 'we do not support barefruit.co.uk email accounts' sigh...- earlier responses that i should request an 'escalation' of the problem, have been rejected as something those i spoke to today cannot do! but they did give me a po box address to write to which i'll be doing once barefruit.co.uk have responded to my email to them asking for their contact at Orange.
barefruit.co.uk's website states '
Quote:
Can a single user switch the Barefruit service off?
We recommend that all ISPs offer an opt-out facility to users. This normally requires the user to contact their ISPs Customer Service Centre to activate the opt-out. In practice very few users opt-out.
and luckily, they also have a section in their FAQ's which give details of open alternative DNS servers, which don't use their service, which have fixed the problem for now, but i only see this as a temporary solution, with an opt-out from Orange being the only way of fixing it properly and permanently.
anyway, any info from other users who have managed to opt-out would be greatly appreciated.
If only it was that easy.. I didn't have a CD when setting it up, and unfortunatly it's not software on the PC that is redirecting the request, the redirect comes from Orange's DNS server (as far as i've been able to tell). It occurs from any application which looks up domain names. Internet Explorer, firefox, outlook etc. (it's just that it's easily noticable within a web browser, as it redirects them to a page of adverts with an Orange logo at the top left)
Once the DNS servers IP addresses were changed in the networking settings for the wireless card, the redirects stopped and everything worked properly again. Although thinking about what else it could be thats bringing barefruit into the equation, i'll have to take another look at the wireless router setup..
Well, at least Barefruit have the respond properly to my enquiries. They've responded acknowledging the existence of the Barefruit redirect 'Trial' with some Orange users.
Here's a copy of the email they have sent me today:
Quote:
From: Barefruit Enquiries <enquiries@barefruit.com>
Send: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:39:21 +0100
Subject: RE: Message posted on the Barefruit website
Dear Mike,
Thanks for your further enquiry. You are correct, the proposed Barefruit
opt-opt bypasses one of the Orange DNS services. Our service to Orange is
currently a trial, to a sample of users, and for this reason Orange have not
developed an opt-out.
However, should the trial be rolled out across the whole user base Orange
will make a decision on opt-out for customers who do not wish to be included
in the Barefruit service based on feedback received during the trial period.
The Barefruit opt-out service is used when an ISP does not have an opt-out
in place, as is the case with the test at Orange.
I hope that answers your query, let me know if you need anything else.
Kind regards
The Barefruit Team
I guess the only question left, is who at Orange is keeping track of the feedback !
Joined: 21 Apr 2006Posts: 94Location: Fallowfield, Manchester
mikea wrote:
Well, at least Barefruit have the respond properly to my enquiries. They've responded acknowledging the existence of the Barefruit redirect 'Trial' with some Orange users.
...
I guess the only question left, is who at Orange is keeping track of the feedback !
I notice that barefruit didn't say if the trial sample of users had been given the option of opting out.
If they are using the most recently joined users as their sample, then the feedback will be tainted as those users will be less likely to have the "proper" experience to compare barefruit with.
Joined: 21 Apr 2006Posts: 94Location: Fallowfield, Manchester
stevelondon wrote:
Can't you just put in OpenDNS servers and use them thats what i use.
That's certainly a solution, although many internet users are not savvy (brave?) enough to change such settings.
However, it doesn't explain/justify why an ISP is using a mechanism that explicitly breaks the DNS standard. If a site address cannot be decoded by the DNS then it must say so. It is not allowed to give back an incorrect answer that corresponds to somewhere else.
I wonder if Orange have considered the full implications of supplying a deliberately broken DNS. It could easily be argued by doing so they are not supplying an internet connection that is fit for purpose.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
