Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Set up OpenDNS with Verizon's Westell 7500 DSL modem/router

I could not find clear directions on how to set up my Westell 7500 DSL modem/router to work with OpnDNS and therefore I figured the following instructions could be useful to many out there. Don't hesitate to send me a comment if any of the following steps do not work for you!

1. Determine your IP address by visiting http://www.whatismyip.com/. Select and copy the IP address which is listed in big fonts at the top of the page.

2. Paste your IP address in the URL box of your web browser to open the modem/router dashboard.

3. Click on 'My Network' on the top menu bar:


4. Enter you user name and password if prompted. If you do not recall your user name and/or password, you may want to try the defaults (user name: admin; password: password)

5. Click on 'Network Connections' on the side menu located to the left of the page:


6. Click on 'Broadband Connection (DSL)':


7. There should be a PPPoE connection listed under VCs. Click on the edit icon of this connection:


8. Set the following options and click the 'Apply' button to save. For some reasons the DNS addresses below are incorrect and cannot easily be changed. The correct values are:
Primary: 208.67.222.222
Secondary: 208.67.220.220


VC Status:Enabled
VPI:
VCI:
PCR:
QoS:
Protocol:
Secondary Wan:
Disabled

PPPoE Settings
DNS Primary:
DNS Secondary:
MTU:
MRU Negotiation:Disabled
LCP Echo:Disabled
LCP Echo Failures:(1-30)
LCP Echo Duration:(5-300)
LCP Echo Retry Duration:(5-300)
Tunneling:
Enabled
Proxy Arp:
Disabled

9. Test the settings by visiting https://store.opendns.com/familyshield/welcome/. You should see a large check mark along with the message "Your family is protected!"