I use the free version of the dynamic DNS names provided by DynDNS.  It gives me an easy way to connect to my home VPN.  They provide a domain name, usually for a home network.  Since most ISP’s will change the IP addresses handed out to home users, you need to periodically update the IP address associated with your domain name.

Many home routers have the ability to automatically update your DynDNS account when it detects an IP change.  I have a custom firmware called DD-WRT on my Linksys router, DD-WRT has the ability to update DynDNS (and other providers).  if your router doesn’t have that capability, you can always find a small app or script to run on a PC and update the DynDNS account automatically for you.

It looks like DynDNS made some changes to their Dynamic DNS accounts.  Previously, you could have up to five free accounts, from a long list of 88 domain names.  From now on for new accounts, you get to have two free names, from a list of 18 domains.  If you had more than two names on the free account, you get to keep them for as long as you keep them active.  if you fail to keep them updated (every 30 days), they will be dropped until you reach the free number. If you have the paid version, DynDNS Pro, then you are not affected by the change. 

It’s a small price to pay for the free service.  I’ve been using it for over 5 years and have never had a problem with it. Over the years, I had managed to collect 6 domain names.  Most of them were used for testing, I had completely forgotten that I had them.  I just pruned the list down to two, but I’m really only using one.  With the VPN, I can securely log into my home network while I’m on the road and have full access to my network.