Can i change my DNS server to some other providers DNS lookup servers?

i have a net connection... i pay around 27$/mo to get about 256Kbps unlimited ';broadband'; connection. The thing is that..



1. when it started the service it was really fast...now they seem to have frequent DNS crashes... that is i can surf to websites with their ip address not the domain names... can i change the DNS to that of other providers or is there some method?



2. now they have offered a cheaper service of upto 2 Mbps at night... and daytime limited (2.5 gig/mo) usage plan for just about 15$/mo.... my friends say that they average about 3-5 Gig/night of free download with that... where as my plan allows me to download about 2 gig/whole day...



should i change my plan? or should i wait and pray for speed improvement?

i usually watch youtube vidoes by day... and at night download some torrents.

any suggestions?

on how to make effective use, of changing the plan or not to?Can i change my DNS server to some other providers DNS lookup servers?
1.) You can change your DNS server just by going into your network properties and assigning different DNS servers. If you are using WinXP, just go into your network connection, select TCP/IP, select Properties, then add them in there. If you are using Linux, add the new entries to /etc/resolv.conf. Lookups may take longer because they'll have to leave the network, that's better than no lookup at all. (It will say, however, that you may want to try with another computer, borrow a laptop or something; the problem may be in your system as likely as it's in theirs, and you want to rule that out.)



2.) If it's cheaper, and fits your usage better, than switch. do you have detailed usage logs that could tell you how what you are already doing would fit in with that? If so, look at them and compare.



Hope this helps....Can i change my DNS server to some other providers DNS lookup servers?
You can probably find free caching DNS servers out on the internet. All you have to do is find them and point to them. Im sure Yahoo and Google have Internet caching servers out there you can use but you have to find them.



GL