What fast IP do you use when you suspect you're connected to the internet but can't resolve DNS? I'm looking for a good non-Google IP (because China)

Level3's DNS is easy to remember at 4.2.2.1. Or is that Verizon's?

You should only use 4.2.2.1 or 4.2.2.2 if you're an actual Level3 customer. While they do respond to public requests, they're not intended for public use, unlike Google's 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 servers.

Interesting. I seen to remember that at one point the reverse lookup for one of the 4.2.2.x addresses was "dont-steal-service-etc.somebody". I just send an ICMP ping when I need an IP to check a connection. I also seem to recall reading that the 4.2.2.x resolvers were multi-homed, but in both cases my memory could be faulty.

Or google's at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 ?

I still ping the IP address of my college's DNS server, all these years later. Muscle memory dies hard.

I'd love to see their stats. They have basically 0 content and I hit them 10 times a day.