[Linux-disciples] Resolv.conf, straw, etc.

[Stephen R Laniel]

When I go to particular WiFi hotspots -- namely the
NewburyOpen.net -- someone adds lines to my /etc/resolv.conf
file listing newburyopen.net as a nameserver. Thereafter,
even if I leave newburyopen.net, my networking is all messed
up. I delete /etc/resolv.conf, restart
/etc/init.d/networking, and so forth. Some programs are
still messed up -- particularly straw. I gather that the
resolv.conf info is cached somewhere, but I'm not sure
where.

I'm surprised that using a hotspot messes things up this
much. What I'd expect is that my machine would send out a
DHCP broadcast, and would get a response from
newburyopen.net that includes the IP addresses of domain
name servers. As soon as it leaves newburyopen.net, it again
tries to get a DHCP lease; this time the lease comes from
another host, which sends a different set of DNS servers
back.

What am I misunderstanding? And how can I avoid future
problems with resolv.conf?

-- 
Stephen R. Laniel
steve at laniels.org
+(617) 308-5571
http://laniels.org/