8 ms·

Which Internet Registries Offer the Best Protection for Domain Owners?

82 points by alexkon 9y ago

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
MichaelGG 9y ago
So in summary, .at and .is are the best in terms of not getting your domain taken by others.
- uiri 9y ago
  .de and .ru seem to be similar in that regard. Most of the others limit arbitration-related takedowns to trademarks. I would be wary of those which allow broader takedowns. .at hides personal info. .is seems to make name and email public. .de seems to make name and mailing address public. .ru has "normal" whois. As a Canadian, I'm not at risk for a Canadian trademark takedown and individuals have their Whois data hidden so I prefer .ca to .com/.net/.org
  - yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
    One would generally hope that one's own country is suitable. It doesn't always work out in the modern world, of course.
  - anonymouz 9y ago
    I was quite surprised by the statement of the EFF that .at allows hiding of personal info (unless a trustee is used). My impression, from personal experience, is that this is not the case. The NIC-AT WHOIS policy also seems to indicate that the WHOIS data will be public [1]. [1] https://www.nic.at/en/my-at-domain/domain-search/whois-policy https://www.nic.at/en/my-at-domain/domain-search/whois-polic...
80211 9y ago
This is a great list. We've been looking for a domain for an anti-Obesity website and we don't want to be doxxed by angry obese people.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- dang 9y ago
  Would you please stop injecting this agenda into HN? It's obese in its own right.
rustacean 9y ago
ARIN
brooklyntribe 9y ago
Ok, so if I wanted to register a name, that NO one could touch, who would I go with? Love to say to a lawyer, OK, how is you Azerbaijan? You'll have to deal with them.
amingilani 9y ago
I can't help but chuckle that the most secure and censorship resistant domain is the .onion domain.
- yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
  Well it is literally designed for that. Only downside is that you have to be on the network (TOR) to begin with.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    There's the automatic http://[whatever].onion.to http://[whatever].onion.to gateway Though I suppose that doesn't help with things like email.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
Vektorweg 9y ago
Didn't mention OpenNIC tho.
- gruez 9y ago
  why? the overwhelming majority of internet users don't use alternate dns roots, so unless you want your users to switch their dns settings on all their devices to use your site, no serious sites are going to use it. at least .onion has some use in that it's the only way of addressing hidden services.
Mrw00t 9y ago
If you want to protect your identity but still use a regular TLD you can register the domain thru Njalla, https://njal.la/ https://njal.la/
- newscracker 9y ago
  Well, there are ccTLD registries that do not allow protecting or hiding the owner's identity. The FAQ on Njalla doesn't clarify how this works legally and if certain authorities could shut down domains when they find that the owner in the WHOIS is just a proxy for the real one. The best option, IMO, would be to use TLDs that allow such protection to be used.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Njalla does clarify: they are the owners of the domain, therefore they only have to display their identity. When you purchase a domain name through Njalla, we own it for you. However, the agreement between us grants you full usage rights to the domain. Whenever you want to, you can transfer the ownership to yourself or some other party.
    - belorn 9y ago
      Quite many registries forbid this and explicitly forbids the registrar to hold domains for their customers. Those that disregard this can lose their registrar status. It is sadly also common to see ccTLD that require that the legal owner have local presence in the country of the TLD. The way to go around this is to have a legal entity, often a law firm, which then holds the domain. If Njalla uses this, then you the customer don't have ownership, and Njalla do not either, but rather its the law firm.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        Quite many registries forbid this and explicitly forbids the registrar to hold domains for their customers. Those that disregard this can lose their registrar status. Right, which is why they say "we're not actually a domain name registration service, we're a customer to these. We sit in between the domain name registration service and you".

82 points by alexkon 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

MichaelGG 9y ago

So in summary, .at and .is are the best in terms of not getting your domain taken by others.

uiri 9y ago
.de and .ru seem to be similar in that regard. Most of the others limit arbitration-related takedowns to trademarks. I would be wary of those which allow broader takedowns. .at hides personal info. .is seems to make name and email public. .de seems to make name and mailing address public. .ru has "normal" whois. As a Canadian, I'm not at risk for a Canadian trademark takedown and individuals have their Whois data hidden so I prefer .ca to .com/.net/.org
- yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
  One would generally hope that one's own country is suitable. It doesn't always work out in the modern world, of course.
- anonymouz 9y ago
  I was quite surprised by the statement of the EFF that .at allows hiding of personal info (unless a trustee is used). My impression, from personal experience, is that this is not the case. The NIC-AT WHOIS policy also seems to indicate that the WHOIS data will be public [1]. [1] https://www.nic.at/en/my-at-domain/domain-search/whois-policy https://www.nic.at/en/my-at-domain/domain-search/whois-polic...

80211 9y ago

This is a great list. We've been looking for a domain for an anti-Obesity website and we don't want to be doxxed by angry obese people.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
dang 9y ago
Would you please stop injecting this agenda into HN? It's obese in its own right.

rustacean 9y ago

ARIN

brooklyntribe 9y ago

Ok, so if I wanted to register a name, that NO one could touch, who would I go with? Love to say to a lawyer, OK, how is you Azerbaijan? You'll have to deal with them.

amingilani 9y ago

I can't help but chuckle that the most secure and censorship resistant domain is the .onion domain.

yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
Well it is literally designed for that. Only downside is that you have to be on the network (TOR) to begin with.
- tyingq 9y ago
  There's the automatic http://[whatever].onion.to http://[whatever].onion.to gateway Though I suppose that doesn't help with things like email.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

Vektorweg 9y ago

Didn't mention OpenNIC tho.

gruez 9y ago
why? the overwhelming majority of internet users don't use alternate dns roots, so unless you want your users to switch their dns settings on all their devices to use your site, no serious sites are going to use it. at least .onion has some use in that it's the only way of addressing hidden services.

Mrw00t 9y ago

If you want to protect your identity but still use a regular TLD you can register the domain thru Njalla, https://njal.la/ https://njal.la/

newscracker 9y ago
Well, there are ccTLD registries that do not allow protecting or hiding the owner's identity. The FAQ on Njalla doesn't clarify how this works legally and if certain authorities could shut down domains when they find that the owner in the WHOIS is just a proxy for the real one. The best option, IMO, would be to use TLDs that allow such protection to be used.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Njalla does clarify: they are the owners of the domain, therefore they only have to display their identity. When you purchase a domain name through Njalla, we own it for you. However, the agreement between us grants you full usage rights to the domain. Whenever you want to, you can transfer the ownership to yourself or some other party.
  - belorn 9y ago
    Quite many registries forbid this and explicitly forbids the registrar to hold domains for their customers. Those that disregard this can lose their registrar status. It is sadly also common to see ccTLD that require that the legal owner have local presence in the country of the TLD. The way to go around this is to have a legal entity, often a law firm, which then holds the domain. If Njalla uses this, then you the customer don't have ownership, and Njalla do not either, but rather its the law firm.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      Quite many registries forbid this and explicitly forbids the registrar to hold domains for their customers. Those that disregard this can lose their registrar status. Right, which is why they say "we're not actually a domain name registration service, we're a customer to these. We sit in between the domain name registration service and you".