SUBJECT: I asked DeepSeek about my WiFi DNS problem and he turned it into a rant about the death of the old internet

So I was having WiFi issues and started digging through Event Viewer. Found a bunch of DNS Client Event 1014 warnings for some domain called sf-helper.com. Figured I'd ask DeepSeek about it. What started as a routine troubleshooting session turned into a long conversation about DNS centralization, DDoS economics, and why the old internet is basically dead. Here's how it went.

I kicked things off by saying I was having trouble with my WiFi. DeepSeek asked for details and suggested the usual—restart the router, move closer, check other devices.

I told him I'd paste the Event Viewer error instead. He asked for the exact text, Event ID, source, log name, timestamp, and whether anything else appeared nearby.

So I gave him this:

Name resolution for the name userproxy-ext-raw.sf-helper.com timed out after none of the configured DNS servers responded.
Event ID: 1014
Source: DNS Client Events
Log Name: System
Timestamp: 9/20/2026 8:59:50PM

And mentioned there was a Kernel-EventTracing error close by.

DeepSeek explained that Event 1014 is a DNS timeout warning, usually not fatal. The Kernel-EventTracing error was almost certainly unrelated—anti-cheat or monitoring software, harmless. He suggested changing DNS servers, flushing the DNS cache, and asked if I recognized the domain sf-helper.com.

I told him I was already using 8.8.8.8 as primary and 4.4.2.2 as secondary.

That's when he caught something: 4.4.2.2 is not Google's secondary—it's Level3. Then he noted that sf-helper.com is tied to SaveFrom.net Helper and similar video-downloader extensions, which are known for phoning home to sketchy domains. Told me to check my browser extensions.

I confirmed I had several of those installed and deleted them. Said I'd monitor Event Viewer for a while.

DeepSeek said that was a good move, suggested watching for new 1014 events, and mentioned flushing DNS and fixing the secondary DNS as follow-ups.

I asked if I should flush DNS now, just to be safe.

He said yes—harmless and a good idea right after removing extensions. He gave me the ipconfig /flushdns command, and while I was at it, he mentioned clearing the browser's own DNS cache by fully restarting it—close all windows, not just tabs. He specifically called out Chrome and Edge as having an internal cache that persists until the browser is completely closed.

That's when I told him I use Firefox, not Chrome, and that I don't want anything Google-related. I said I'd keep Google DNS for now but would later fall back to my ISP's DNS.

DeepSeek warned me about Firefox's DNS over HTTPS (DoH) feature—by default it can bypass Windows DNS entirely and route through Cloudflare. Told me how to check and disable or customize it. Also gave a table of privacy-focused DNS providers (Quad9, Mullvad, DNS0.eu, dns.sb) and noted that ISP DNS logs everything.

I clarified that my privacy concern is Google specifically, not my ISP.

He gave a cleaner list of non-Google, non-big-tech DNS providers with DoH URLs. Suggested changing Windows DNS, setting Firefox DoH to the same provider, flushing DNS, and monitoring.

Then I asked how to check which DNS I'm using if I let Windows use the ISP's automatically configured DNS.

DeepSeek gave three methods: ipconfig /all, Get-DnsClientServerAddress in PowerShell, and the Settings app. Noted that if the ISP forwards to Google behind the scenes, you can't see it from Windows —only Wireshark could reveal it.

I pointed out that if I leave DNS on automatic, ipconfig /all just shows my router's LAN IP.

He confirmed that's normal—the router acts as a forwarder. Explained that the real upstream DNS is hidden one hop away and only visible in the router's admin page.

I logged into the router/modem web interface app and perused for the DNS setup. I gave him the DNS from the gateway interface: 181.30.140.134.

He said that IP belongs to Telecom Argentina (ASN 7303), so the ISP is using its own DNS, not Google. Laid out the chain: PC → gateway → Telecom DNS.

I wouldn't believe Telecom Argentina would have its own DNS server on-premise, but DeepSeek backed his case with a handful of sources. Said the IP is in a Telecom-registered block, not Google's. Cited Telecom's own nameservers (DNS1.CVTCI.COM.AR), user reports of Telecom DNS IPs, and a 2008 incident where Fibertel's DNS failed specifically for Google domains—which wouldn't make sense if they were just proxying to Google.

Then I went off a bit. Ranted about how big companies ate up the old tech and now we depend on them for URL-to-IP translation, when the whole point of the internet was to not depend on companies. A big company translates your provided URL into an IP, so you can connect to whatever you're after. You can actually use the internet, because there's a big company translating URLs into IPs.

DeepSeek agreed with the core of it, and came up with an ordered list of "How to concentration happened...":
1. Default settings. Most people never change their DNS. ISPs and router manufacturers set defaults, and those defaults point to a small set of upstream resolvers.

2. "Free" public DNS. Google (2009), Cloudflare (2018), Quad9, etc. offered fast, reliable, free resolvers. Convenient—but it moved resolution from distributed ISP-level servers to a few centralized ones.

3. HTTPS + CDNs. Once most traffic became HTTPS, the DNS query itself became one of the few remaining plaintext leaks. DoH/DoT solved that—but routed everyone through a handful of DoH providers.

4. Scale economics. Running a globally anycast, low-latency, DDoS-resistant resolver is expensive. Only big players can afford it well.


I pointed out that point 4—the DDoS thing—means a truly free open-source DNS could just get bashed into the ground by the big sharks with a DDoS attack. A piece of cake for big players with a lot of cash and a huge rig at their disposal.

DeepSeek agreed completely. Explained that DNS is UDP by default, spoofable, and used for amplification attacks. A single 100+ Gbps DDoS will saturate most connections. Anycast is the only real defense, and it requires BGP peering, multiple data centers, and serious money. Concluded that "public DNS for everyone, run by a hobbyist" is basically dead —not because the software is bad, but because the threat environment killed it. The big players didn't just out-compete the small ones; they occupy the only position from which DDoS defense is affordable.

He suggested the only honest paths left would be to run a resolver for yourself only (localhost or LAN) or run it for a small trusted group over a VPN.

The internet's architecture is decentralized but its operation has consolidated, and how DDoS economics quietly enforce that consolidation. You can still run your own resolver, but you can't run a public one without becoming a target. The old internet worked because it was small and mostly trusted. Scaling trust turned out to be the hard part.

Anyway, if anyone here runs Unbound or Pi-hole locally, I'd be curious to hear your setup. There might be a handful of pointers that could be useful for anyone thinking of going that route.

Pol Malvinas.

Islas Malvinas, siempre Argentinas!

... Islas Malvinas, siempre Argentinas.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Vault BBS (21:4/167)

Malvinas wrote to All <=-

He suggested the only honest paths left would be to run a resolver for yourself only (localhost or LAN) or run it for a small trusted group
over a VPN.

TQWnet runs an encrypted mesh network for its nodes. I could see a
grass roots setup among friends/co-workers with your own DNS, your own
resolvers and encrypted links back in the 2000s, but most people would
rather centralize in the cloud nowadays. Maybe if something changes in
people's perceptions you might see something.

I would love to build an environment like that - a mesh VPN, local
cloud services, local DNS, encrypt the hell out of anything that
escapes the LAN...

Anyway, if anyone here runs Unbound or Pi-hole locally, I'd be curious
to hear your setup. There might be a handful of pointers that could be useful for anyone thinking of going that route.

I'm inspired to run my own DNS again, now. I ran BIND for years,
suppose it'll be overkill for my local network... :)

(aside: My deep dive into *nix was about 20 years ago. I worked at a
company that had just gotten on the internet, and the university that
provided our service loaned us a Sun 3 workstation to host DNS. They
wanted it back, and I needed to set up a replacement.

Armed with some basic UNIX skills, a copy of Cricket Liu's DNS and BIND
a spare desktop box, a CD of BSD/OS and a pot of very strong coffee, I
started one Saturday morning on chapter 1 and read it through, chapter
by chapter. By late morning, I had a working DNS resolver.

Agree that running publicly accessible DNS belongs to a kindler,
gentler time. Back when I was setting up my DNS resolver, you could
test your video conferencing system by dialing up techs who had VC
setups at their desks and would give rate your connection. There were
public SMTP relays set up as a professional courtesy when you were
setting up your own SMTP...





... THE HEXAGONS OF AIM
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

He suggested the only honest paths left would be to run a resolver for yourself
only (localhost or LAN) or run it for a small trusted group over a VPN.

If you use bind you can set a control list for IP ranges that it will resolve for; so no need for a vpn.

I was running a public ROOT with custom domains (.2s, .an, .fn). The hobby space
is very much alive, things just need to be configured carefully.
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Linux
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Re: I asked DeepSeek about my WiFi DNS problem and he turned it into a r...
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Malvinas on Mon Sep 21 2026 08:05 am

Howdy,

I would love to build an environment like that - a mesh VPN, local
cloud services, local DNS, encrypt the hell out of anything that
escapes the LAN...

I would love to see more of our BBS stuff move to a mesh VPN, if anything to just remove all the port probes that goes on when you run something on the public internet.

I setup https://intus.top for this idea, using yggdrasil. I access my BBS daily from my laptop through it - particularly useful for when I'm on the road (which is often) without any special connection - the mesh is always on through my laptop.

I also access other home services though it, as if I was home - the only thing missing for me is an IOS endpoint, and when I can find one (or build it), I'll access everything on it through it.


...ëîåï
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)

On 21 Sep 2026, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

I'm inspired to run my own DNS again, now. I ran BIND for years,
suppose it'll be overkill for my local network... :)

(aside: My deep dive into *nix was about 20 years ago. I worked at a
company that had just gotten on the internet, and the university that
provided our service loaned us a Sun 3 workstation to host DNS. They
wanted it back, and I needed to set up a replacement.

Armed with some basic UNIX skills, a copy of Cricket Liu's DNS and BIND
a spare desktop box, a CD of BSD/OS and a pot of very strong coffee, I
started one Saturday morning on chapter 1 and read it through, chapter
by chapter. By late morning, I had a working DNS resolver.

I read this part of your reply with a voiceover (in my head) like the movie Sin City. Now I want a stark black/white animation of you downing that hot pot of coffee and setting up that DNS server!!! Aaaarggh!!

Cheers!

Pol Malvinas.

Islas Malvinas, siempre Argentinas!

... Islas Malvinas, siempre Argentinas.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Vault BBS (21:4/167)

Malvinas wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Islas Malvinas, siempre Argentinas!

That's not accurate or true.



... Gone crazy, be back later, please leave message.
=== MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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He gave a cleaner list of
non-Google, non-big-tech DNS
providers with DoH URLs. Suggested
changing Windows DNS, setting
Firefox DoH to the same provider,
flushing DNS, and monitoring.

Did it provide sources for those it gave you as to who ran them and why they were better? I'm a bit of a worry wart and wouldn't blindly swap over to what it told me to.


--- NE BBS v2.06 (linux; x64)
* Origin: NE BBS - nebbs.servehttp.com:9223 (21:3/193)

Malvinas wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

I read this part of your reply with a voiceover (in my head) like the movie Sin City.

Now, I'm hearing Mickey Rourke's voice, reading off everything he was
bringing along with him.


... Curious ideas wait for stranger times
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

consolidation. You can still run
your own resolver, but you can't
run a public one without becoming

Why would you automatically become a target? Just don't piss people off and give them reason to attack you.

Pretty sure all ISPs run their own DNS, people just have a lot of things that default to Google's DNS.

I run my own DNS.


--- NE BBS v2.07 (linux; x64)
* Origin: NE BBS - nebbs.servehttp.com:9223 (21:3/193)

I'm inspired to run my own DNS
again, now. I ran BIND for years,
suppose it'll be overkill for my
local network... :)

Look at djbdns. It's nice.


--- NE BBS v2.07 (linux; x64)
* Origin: NE BBS - nebbs.servehttp.com:9223 (21:3/193)

Re: Re: old inet = your own DNS?
By: phigan to Malvinas on Sat Oct 24 2026 05:02 pm

Pretty sure all ISPs run their own DNS, people just have a lot of things that default to Google's DNS.

I'm not entirely sure when using Google's DNS servers became a thing. It always used to be that ISPs had their own DNS servers (as you said) and the ISP's customers' connections would use the ISP DNS servers. And back in the 90s when dialup was common, I seem to recall it being common for ISPs to give instructions for setting up your internet connection with them, which included specifying their DNS server addresses somewhere in your internet connection settings.

Nightfox
--- SBBSecho 3.38-Linux
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

phigan wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

I'm inspired to run my own DNS
again, now. I ran BIND for years,
suppose it'll be overkill for my
local network... :)

Look at djbdns. It's nice.

Will do. The only thing I really want out of internal DNS is split
view, so my internal hosts aren't served outside my network. Sure, I
could put them all in my external DNS, and the exposure wouldn't be
huge (Oh, look, he's using a 192.168.0.0/16 private space!) but I like
solving technical puzzles. Right now, I'm using an internal hosts file,
and it works. But it's not elegant.





... Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Nightfox wrote to phigan <=-

I'm not entirely sure when using Google's DNS servers became a thing.
It always used to be that ISPs had their own DNS servers (as you said)
and the ISP's customers' connections would use the ISP DNS servers.

They still do. I think it was a combination of poor perceived
performance by ISP DNS and not wanting to give them any more
information that drove people to third-party DNS.

Remember, this started at a time when Xfinity was trying to figure out
a way to charge by the client computer. They wanted to move you to a
business account or figure out a way to charge more if you had lots of
clients behind their firewall. You'd call in for support, one of the
first questions was how many client PCs you had.

That was when I got my first firewall - a WRT54G, and started playing
with third-party OSes. Set my modem into bridge mode and told them I
had one client - my firewall.


... Where is the center of the maze?
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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Re: Re: old inet = your own DNS?
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Sun Oct 25 2026 09:56 am

Remember, this started at a time when Xfinity was trying to figure out a way to charge by the client computer. They wanted to move you to a business account or figure out a way to charge more if you had lots of clients behind their firewall. You'd call in for support, one of the first questions was how many client PCs you had.

That was when I got my first firewall - a WRT54G, and started playing with third-party OSes. Set my modem into bridge mode and told them I had one client - my firewall.

I remember ISPs wanting to do that. When we first got broadband internet in 2002, I bought a router to share internet, and I heard ISPs technically didn't like customers doing that because they wanted to charge per computer. The service tech who set up service at our house didn't mention anything about it though.

A friend of mine also had broadband internet, and he used a switch (rather than a router/firewall) to connect his computers, and he said the ISP started charging him per computer connected to their service.

Nightfox
--- SBBSecho 3.38-Linux
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

A friend of mine also had broadband internet, and he used a switch
(rather than a router/firewall) to connect his computers, and he said
the ISP started charging him per computer connected to their service.

Yep, I want them to have NOTHING to do with my LAN. As much as they try
to sell their mesh APs, administration through a phone app and safety
controls, I'll run my own modem and firewall, thank you. All I want is
an IP address from you.



... The machine keeps using time to make time to make time.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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view, so my internal hosts aren't
served outside my network. Sure, I

Ah, djbdns could do that but it's more for external stuff. Try dnsmasq for internal name service, as it's even more simple than djbdns. Actually, they might both be equally simple.


--- NE BBS v2.07 (linux; x64)
* Origin: NE BBS - nebbs.servehttp.com:9223 (21:3/193)

computers, and he said the ISP
started charging him per computer

If you don't put the computers behind a router, they would get public IP addresses, which the ISP has a limited number of. It would make sense for them to charge by IP being used ;).


--- NE BBS v2.07 (linux; x64)
* Origin: NE BBS - nebbs.servehttp.com:9223 (21:3/193)

Re: Re: old inet = your own DNS?
By: phigan to Nightfox on Mon Oct 26 2026 06:09 pm

computers, and he said the ISP
started charging him per computer

If you don't put the computers behind a router, they would get public IP addresses, which the ISP has a limited number of. It would make sense for them to charge by IP being used ;).

That makes sense to me. Back then, I figured that's what ISPs wanted customers to do, in order to make more money.

Nightfox
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