After being booed following Monday's 0-0 draw with Livingston, The Pars were vastly improved and climbed two places to seventh thanks to their second win this season over Dundee.
The Dark Blues themselves are now at the bottom of the table and that simply sums up a wretched festive period after Monday's defeat at Kilmarnock by the same 3-1 scoreline.
Scotland defender Lee Wilkie made his long awaited return from a major knee problem, but failed to inspire a Dundee side which badly missed injured top scorer Steve Lovell and desperately needs an injection of fresh talent in this month's transfer window.
Dunfermline looked in the mood from the very start with Gary Mason and Darren Young both going close inside the opening two minutes.
The Fifers were sharper and hungrier than they had been on Monday and although they tended to over elaborate and struggled to deliver a telling final ball, they fully deserved to take the lead when Barry Nicholson's deep cross was knocked down by Mason and then hammered home from four yards by Tod.
Home goalkeeper Derek Stillie flapped nervously at a series of Dundee corners but Dunfermline remained firmly in control with Nicholson firing over and Young testing Derek Soutar with an awkward low shot.
Wilkie's looping header from an inch-perfect Mark Fotheringham free-kick offered a glimmer of hope for the visitors who then fell further behind as Greg Ross picked out Tod for a simple headed finish at the back post.
Scott Thomson was denied a third goal by a matter of inches and within three minutes Dundee had dragged themselves back into contention thanks to a towering header by Neil Barrett from Stephen McNally's cross.
On another day, this might have affected Dunfermline but they stayed positive at the start of the second half and substitute Noel Hunt had already threatened by the time Tod completed his hat-trick with yet another close-range header.
Tod and Mason got in each others way when a fourth goal looked certain and, although Fotheringham rattled the post for Dundee, Dunfermline were clearly the better side and only two late saves from Soutar to deny Ross and substitute Thomas Butler kept the scoreline respectable.