How to set your DNS search list in OSX

Here's how to set your DNS search path in OSX, which is something you'll want to do if you're getting redirected to eBay when you try to go to Google, or are experiencing other odd behaviour from your browser.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Open Network settings.
3. Your active network connection should be selected on the left. Select it if it is not. Click the "Advanced" button towards the bottom right hand corner.
4. Select the DNS tab.
5. On the right hand side is a column "Search Domains." It will probably already have your domain name listed, but it will be "greyed" out so that you can't remove it. That's OK. Click the "+" sign at the bottom of the column, and type the domain name again.
6. You should now have the domain name listed twice. One will be grey, the other black. This is good, believe it or not. :-)
7. Click OK.
8. Click Apply.

Here's a screen capture that steps through it.

The "search path fix" for ASZ.COm.Au is only a partial fix

Feel I need to clarify my fix to the "eBay/ASZ redirection problem" discussed in my last post.

Adding your domain name to your DNS search path will stop your DNS resolver from asking the "au.com.au" and "com.com.au" name servers for "google.com.au.com.au". So you shouldn't get "Welcome to ASZ.COm.Au" or be redirected to eBay or other unexpected behaviour.

What you'll get instead is "site not found". That's what I mean by a partial fix. If your ISPs name server is losing DNS responses (or is too slow to return them) then you'll still have problems: namely you'll get an error message when you try and visit some sites. However clicking "Refresh" or "Reload" will generally solve that problem. Once your at the site the address will be in your resolver's cache so things will be stable for a while.

Meanwhile I've written to the auDA guys asking for their opinion on defining DNS entries for other peoples domain names as sub-domains of yours.