Editing Domain name

{{Short description|Identification string in the Internet}}
{{About|domain names in the Internet||Domain (disambiguation)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}

[[File:An annotated example of a domain name.png|thumb|An annotated example of a domain name]]

In the [[Internet]], a '''domain name''' is a [[String (computer science)|string]] that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as [[website]]s, [[email]] services and more. Domain names are used in various networking contexts and for application-specific naming and addressing purposes. In general, a domain name identifies a [[network domain]] or an [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) resource, such as a personal computer used to access the Internet, or a server computer.

Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the [[Domain Name System]] (DNS). Any name registered in the DNS is a domain name. Domain names are organized in subordinate levels (''[[subdomain]]s'') of the [[DNS root]] domain, which is nameless. The first-level set of domain names are the ''[[top-level domain]]s'' (TLDs), including the ''[[generic top-level domain]]s'' (gTLDs), such as the prominent domains [[.com|com]], [[.info|info]], [[.net|net]], [[.edu|edu]], and [[.org|org]], and the ''[[country code top-level domain]]s'' (ccTLDs). Below these top-level domains in the DNS hierarchy are the second-level and third-level domain names that are typically open for reservation by end-users who wish to connect local area networks to the Internet, create other publicly accessible Internet resources or run websites, such as "wikipedia.org". 
The registration of a second- or third-level domain name is usually administered by a [[domain name registrar]] who sell its services to the public.

A ''[[fully qualified domain name]]'' (FQDN) is a domain name that is completely specified with all labels in the hierarchy of the DNS, having no parts omitted. Traditionally a FQDN ends in a dot ('''.''') to denote the top of the DNS tree.<ref>{{cite book |title=TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols |publisher=[[Addison-Wesley]] |author-link=W. Richard Stevens |first=W. Richard |last=Stevens |volume=1 |edition=1 |isbn=9780201633467 |date=1994 }}</ref> Labels in the Domain Name System are [[case-insensitive]], and may therefore be written in any desired capitalization method, but most commonly domain names are written in lowercase in technical contexts.<ref>{{cite tech report |url=https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4034#section-6 |title=RFC 4034 – Resource Records for the DNS Security Extensions |year=2005 |publisher=IEFT |doi=10.17487/RFC4034 |last1=Arends |first1=R. |last2=Austein |first2=R. |last3=Larson |first3=M. |last4=Massey |first4=D. |last5=Rose |first5=S. |access-date=2015-07-05 |archive-date=2018-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920003106/https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4034#section-6 |url-status=live }}</ref>
A ''[[hostname]]'' is a domain name that has at least one associated [[IP address]].

==Purpose==
Domain names serve to identify Internet resources, such as computers, networks, and services, with a text-based label that is easier to memorize than the numerical addresses used in the Internet protocols. A domain name may represent entire collections of such resources or individual instances. Individual Internet host computers use domain names as host identifiers, also called [[hostname]]s. The term ''hostname'' is also used for the leaf labels in the domain name system, usually without further subordinate domain name space. Hostnames appear as a component in [[Uniform Resource Locator]]s (URLs) for Internet resources such as [[website]]s (e.g., en.wikipedia.org).

Domain names are also used as simple identification labels to indicate ownership or control of a resource. Such examples are the realm identifiers used in the [[Session Initiation Protocol]] (SIP), the [[Domain Keys]] used to verify DNS domains in [[e-mail]] systems, and in many other [[Uniform Resource Identifier]]s (URIs).

An important function of domain names is to provide easily recognizable and memorizable names to numerically [[IP address|addressed]] Internet resources. This abstraction allows any resource to be moved to a different physical location in the address topology of the network, globally or locally in an [[intranet]]. Such a move usually requires changing the IP address of a resource and the corresponding translation of this IP address to and from its domain name.

Domain names are used to establish a unique identity. Organizations can choose a domain name that corresponds to their name, helping Internet users to reach them easily.

A generic domain is a name that defines a general category, rather than a specific or personal instance, for example, the name of an industry, rather than a company name. Some examples of generic names are ''books.com'', ''music.com'', and ''travel.info''. Companies have created brands based on generic names, and such generic domain names may be valuable.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Low |first1=Jerry |title=Why are generic domains so expensive? |url=https://www.therealjerrylow.com/why-are-generic-domains-so-expensive/ |website=TheRealJerryLow.com |access-date=27 September 2018 |archive-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320084058/https://www.therealjerrylow.com/why-are-generic-domains-so-expensive/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Domain names are often simply referred to as ''domains'' and domain name registrants are frequently referred to as ''domain owners'', although domain name registration with a registrar does not confer any legal ownership of the domain name, only an exclusive right of use for a particular duration of time. The use of domain names in commerce may subject them to [[trademark law]].

==History==
{{main|List of the oldest currently registered Internet domain names}}
The practice of using a simple memorable abstraction of a host's numerical address on a computer network dates back to the [[ARPANET]] era, before the advent of today's commercial Internet. In the early network, each computer on the network retrieved the hosts file (''host.txt'') from a computer at SRI (now [[SRI International]]),<ref name="rfc2467">RFC 3467, ''Role of the Domain Name System (DNS)'', J.C. Klensin, J. Klensin (February 2003)</ref><ref>{{cite book
|title=DNS and BIND
|edition=5th
|page=3
|year=2006
|author=Cricket Liu, Paul Albitz
|publisher=[[O'Reilly Media|O'Reilly]]
|url=http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596100575
|access-date=2011-10-22
|archive-date=2011-09-05
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905193355/http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596100575/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> which mapped computer hostnames to numerical addresses. The rapid growth of the network made it impossible to maintain a centrally organized hostname registry and in 1983 the Domain Name System was introduced on the ARPANET and published by the [[Internet Engineering Task Force]] as RFC 882 and RFC 883.

The following table shows the first five [[.com]] domains with the dates of their registration:<ref>{{Cite web|title=The first ever 20 domain names registered|url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/1280090622/The-first-ever-20-domain-names-registered|access-date=2020-07-30|website=ComputerWeekly.com|language=en|archive-date=2020-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808034601/https://www.computerweekly.com/news/1280090622/The-first-ever-20-domain-names-registered|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
 |+
 ! Domain name
 ! Registration date
 |-
 |symbolics.com
 |15 March 1985
 |-
 |bbn.com
 |24 April 1985
 |-
 |think.com
 |24 May 1985
 |-
 |mcc.com
 |11 July 1985
 |-
 |dec.com 
 |30 September 1985
 |}
and the first five [[.edu]] domains:<ref name=Rooksby>{{cite journal |title=Defining Domain: Higher Education's Battles for Cyberspace |journal=[[Brooklyn Law Review]] |author=Rooksby, Jacob H. |year=2015 |volume=80 |issue=3 |pages=857–942 |url=http://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/blr/vol80/iss3/5 |access-date=2015-10-27 |archive-date=2018-11-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107005738/https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/blr/vol80/iss3/5/ |url-status=live }} at p. 869</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
 |+
 ! Domain name
 ! Registration date
 |-
 |berkeley.edu	
 |24 April 1985	
 |-
 |cmu.edu	
 |24 April 1985	
 |-
 |purdue.edu
 |24 April 1985	
 |-
 |rice.edu
 |24 April 1985	
 |-
 |ucla.edu
 |24 April 1985	
 |}

==Domain name space==
[[Image:Domain name space.svg|thumb|The hierarchical domain name system, organized into zones, each served by domain name servers]]

Today, the [[Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]] (ICANN) manages the top-level development and architecture of the Internet domain name space. It authorizes [[domain name registrar]]s, through which domain names may be registered and reassigned.

[[File:DNS schema.svg|The hierarchy of labels in a fully qualified domain name|thumb|350px]]

The domain name space consists of a [[tree data structure|tree]] of domain names. Each node in the tree holds information associated with the domain name. The tree sub-divides into ''zones'' beginning at the [[DNS root zone]].

===Domain name syntax===
A domain name consists of one or more parts, technically called ''labels'', that are conventionally concatenated, and delimited by dots, such as ''[[example.com]]''.
* The right-most label conveys the [[top-level domain]]; for example, the domain name ''www.example.com'' belongs to the top-level domain ''com''.
* The hierarchy of domains descends from the right to the left label in the name; each label to the left specifies a subdivision, or [[subdomain]] of the domain to the right. For example: the label ''example'' specifies a node ''example.com'' as a subdomain of the ''com'' domain, and ''www'' is a label to create ''www.example.com'', a subdomain of ''example.com''. Each label may contain from 1 to 63 [[octet (computing)|octets]]. The empty label is reserved for the root node and when fully qualified is expressed as the empty label terminated by a [[full stop|dot]]. The full domain name may not exceed a total length of 253 ASCII characters in its textual representation.<ref name="rfc1035">{{cite journal |title=Domain names - Implementation and specification (RFC 1035) |last=Mockapetris |first=P. |date=November 1987 |url=https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc1035/ |website=IETF Datatracker |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref>
* A [[hostname]] is a domain name that has at least one associated IP address. For example, the domain names ''www.example.com'' and ''example.com'' are also hostnames, whereas the ''com'' domain is not. However, other top-level domains, particularly [[country code top-level domain]]s, may indeed have an IP address, and if so, they are also hostnames.
* Hostnames impose restrictions on the characters allowed in the corresponding domain name. A valid hostname is also a valid domain name, but a valid domain name may not necessarily be valid as a hostname.

===Top-level domains===
When the Domain Name System was devised in the 1980s, the domain name space was divided into two main groups of domains.<ref>{{cite web
  | url   = http://www.icann.org/en/tlds/
  | title   = Introduction to Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)
  | publisher   = Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
  | access-date   = 2009-06-26
  | archive-date   = 2009-06-15
  | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20090615180958/http://www.icann.org/en/tlds/
  | url-status   = live
  }}</ref> The [[country code top-level domain]]s (ccTLD) were primarily based on the two-character territory codes of [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2|ISO-3166]] country abbreviations. In addition, a group of seven [[generic top-level domain]]s (gTLD) was implemented which represented a set of categories of names and multi-organizations.<ref>RFC 920, ''Domain Requirements'', J. Postel, J. Reynolds, The Internet Society (October 1984)</ref> These were the domains [[.gov|gov]], [[.edu|edu]], [[.com|com]], [[.mil|mil]], [[.org|org]], [[.net|net]], and [[.int|int]]. These two types of [[top-level domain]]s (TLDs) are the highest level of domain names of the Internet. Top-level domains form the [[DNS root zone]] of the hierarchical [[Domain Name System]]. Every domain name ends with a top-level domain label.

During the growth of the Internet, it became desirable to create additional generic top-level domains. As of October 2009, 21 generic top-level domains and 250 two-letter country-code top-level domains existed.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/factsheet-new-gtld-program-oct09-en.pdf "New gTLD Program"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125093301/http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/factsheet-new-gtld-program-oct09-en.pdf |date=2011-11-25 }}, ICANN, October 2009</ref> In addition, the [[.arpa|ARPA]] domain serves technical purposes in the infrastructure of the Domain Name System.

During the 32nd International Public ICANN Meeting in Paris in 2008,<ref>{{cite web
  | url   = http://par.icann.org/
  | title   = 32nd International Public ICANN Meeting
  | date   = 2008-06-22
  | publisher   = ICANN
  | access-date   = 2009-06-26
  | archive-date   = 2009-03-08
  | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20090308082309/http://par.icann.org/
  | url-status   = live
  }}</ref> ICANN started a new process of TLD naming policy to take a "significant step forward on the introduction of new generic top-level domains." This program envisions the availability of many new or already proposed domains, as well as a new application and implementation process.<ref>{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm
  | title        = New gTLS Program
  | access-date        = 2009-06-15
  | publisher        = ICANN
  | archive-date        = 2011-09-10
  | archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20110910144540/http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm
  | url-status        = live
  }}</ref> Observers believed that the new rules could result in hundreds of new top-level domains to be registered.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/86269_icann_approves_overhaul_top_level_domains/ ICANN Board Approves Sweeping Overhaul of Top-level Domains] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626031642/http://www.circleid.com/posts/86269_icann_approves_overhaul_top_level_domains/ |date=2009-06-26 }}, CircleID, 26 June 2008.</ref> In 2012, the program commenced, and received 1930 applications.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/program|title=About the Program - ICANN New gTLDs|publisher=ICANN|access-date=2016-11-09|archive-date=2016-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103092444/https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/program|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2016, the milestone of 1000 live gTLD was reached.

The [[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]] (IANA) maintains an annotated list of top-level domains in the [[DNS root zone]] database.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/|title=Root Zone Database|publisher=IANA|access-date=2020-11-01|archive-date=2019-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504123100/https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db|url-status=live}}</ref>

For special purposes, such as network testing, documentation, and other applications, IANA also reserves a set of special-use domain names.<ref name=RFC6761>{{cite journal|last1=Cheshire|first1=S. |last2=Krochmal |first2=M.|title=RFC6761 - Special-Use Domain Names|date=February 2013|url=http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6761|website=Internet Engineering Task Force |doi=10.17487/RFC6761|access-date=3 May 2015|archive-date=13 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113073142/https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6761|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> This list contains domain names such as [[.example|example]], [[.local|local]], [[localhost]], and [[.test|test]]. Other top-level domain names containing trade marks are registered for corporate use. Cases include brands such as [[BMW]], [[Google]], and [[Canon Inc.|Canon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://observatory.domains/observatory/executive-summary/|title=Executive Summary - dot brand observatory|publisher=observatory.domains|access-date=2016-11-09|archive-date=2016-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110043740/https://observatory.domains/observatory/executive-summary/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Second-level and lower level domains===
Below the top-level domains in the domain name hierarchy are the [[second-level domain]] (SLD) names. These are the names directly to the left of .com, .net, and the other top-level domains. As an example, in the domain ''example.co.uk'', ''co'' is the second-level domain.

Next are third-level domains, which are written immediately to the left of a second-level domain. There can be fourth- and fifth-level domains, and so on, with virtually no limitation. Each label is separated by a [[full stop]] (dot). An example of an operational domain name with four levels of domain labels is ''sos.state.oh.us''. 'sos' is said to be a sub-domain of 'state.oh.us', and 'state' a sub-domain of 'oh.us', etc. In general, [[subdomain]]s are domains subordinate to their parent domain. An example of very deep levels of subdomain ordering are the [[IPv6]] reverse resolution [[DNS zone]]s, e.g., 1.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.ip6.arpa, which is the reverse DNS resolution domain name for the IP address of a [[loopback]] interface, or the [[localhost]] name.

Second-level (or lower-level, depending on the established parent hierarchy) domain names are often created based on the name of a company (e.g., ''bbc''.co.uk), product or service (e.g. ''hotmail''.com). Below these levels, the next domain name component has been used to designate a particular host server. Therefore, ''ftp.example.com'' might be an FTP server, ''www.example.com'' would be a [[World Wide Web]] server, and ''mail.example.com'' could be an email server, each intended to perform only the implied function. Modern technology allows multiple physical servers with either different (cf. [[Load balancing (computing)|load balancing]]) or even identical addresses (cf. [[anycast]]) to serve a single hostname or domain name, or multiple domain names to be served by a single computer. The latter is very popular in [[Web hosting service]] centers, where service providers host the websites of many organizations on just a few servers.

The hierarchical [[DNS label]]s or components of domain names are separated in a fully qualified name by the [[full stop]] (dot, ''.'').

===Internationalized domain names===
{{Main|Internationalized domain name}}
The character set allowed in the Domain Name System is based on [[ASCII]] and does not allow the representation of names and words of many languages in their native scripts or alphabets. [[ICANN]] approved the [[Internationalized domain name]] (IDNA) system, which maps [[Unicode]] strings used in application user interfaces into the valid DNS character set by an encoding called [[Punycode]]. For example, københavn.eu is mapped to xn--kbenhavn-54a.eu. Many [[domain name registry|registries]] have adopted IDNA.

==Domain name registration==

===DNS history===
The first commercial Internet domain name, in the TLD ''com'', was registered on 15 March 1985 in the name [[symbolics.com]] by Symbolics Inc., a computer systems firm in Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schupak |first=Amanda |date=2015-03-13 |title=It's been 30 years since the first ".com" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/com-domain-30-year-anniversary/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Abell |first=John C. |date=2010-03-15 |title=March 15, 1985: Dot-Com Revolution Starts With a Whimper |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/03/0315-symbolics-first-dotcom/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

By 1992, fewer than 15,000 ''com'' domains had been registered.

In the first quarter of 2015, 294 million domain names had been registered.<ref name="investor.verisign.com">[https://investor.verisign.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=920138 Internet Grows to 294 Million Domain Names in the First Quarter of 2015] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220175258/https://investor.verisign.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=920138 |date=2017-12-20 }}, Jun 30, 2015.</ref> A large fraction of them are in the ''com'' TLD, which as of December 21, 2014, had 115.6 million domain names,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=17231 |title=Thirty years of .COM domains - and the numbers are up |date=Mar 13, 2015 |publisher=Geekzone |access-date=Mar 25, 2016 |archive-date=April 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407025259/http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=17231 |url-status=live }}</ref> including 11.9 million online business and e-commerce sites, 4.3 million entertainment sites, 3.1 million finance related sites, and 1.8 million sports sites.<ref>Evangelista, Benny. 2010. "25 years of .com names." San Francisco Chronicle. March 15, p. 1</ref> As of July 15, 2012, the ''com'' TLD had more registrations than all of the ccTLDs combined.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/07/20/domain-domination-the-com-tld-larger-than-all-cctlds-combined/ |title=Domain domination: The ''com'' TLD larger than all ccTLDs combined |publisher=Royal.pingdom.com |access-date=2012-07-25 |archive-date=2012-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723235657/http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/07/20/domain-domination-the-com-tld-larger-than-all-cctlds-combined/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{as of|2023|12|31|post=,|df=US}} 359.8 million domain names had been registered.<ref>{{cite web |title=DNIB Quarterly Report Q4 2023 |url=https://dnib.com/articles/the-domain-name-industry-brief-q4-2023 |website=Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB) |access-date=16 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

===Administration===
The right to use a domain name is delegated by [[domain name registrar]]s, which are accredited by the [[Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]] (ICANN), the organization charged with overseeing the name and number systems of the Internet. In addition to ICANN, each top-level domain (TLD) is maintained and serviced technically by an administrative organization operating a registry. A registry is responsible for maintaining the database of names registered within the TLD it administers. The registry receives registration information from each domain name registrar authorized to assign names in the corresponding TLD and publishes the information using a special service, the [[WHOIS]] protocol and its successor [[Registration Data Access Protocol]] (RDAP).

Registries and registrars usually charge an annual fee for the service of delegating a domain name to a user and providing a default set of name servers. Often, this transaction is termed a sale or lease of the domain name, and the registrant may sometimes be called an "owner", but no such legal relationship is actually associated with the transaction, only the exclusive right to use the domain name. More correctly, authorized users are known as "registrants" or as "domain holders".

ICANN publishes the complete list of TLD registries and domain name registrars. Registrant information associated with domain names is maintained in an online database accessible with the WHOIS protocol. For most of the 250 [[country code top-level domain]]s (ccTLDs), the domain registries maintain the WHOIS or RDAP (Registrant, name servers, expiration dates, etc.) information.

Some domain name registries, often called ''network information centers'' (NIC), also function as registrars to end-users. The major generic top-level domain registries, such as for the ''com'', ''net'', ''org'', ''info'' domains and others, use a registry-registrar model consisting of hundreds of domain name registrars (see lists at ICANN<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icann.org/registrar-reports/accredited-list.html|title=ICANN-Accredited Registrars|publisher=ICANN|access-date=2012-09-13|archive-date=2019-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519065459/https://www.icann.org/registrar-reports/accredited-list.html|url-status=live}}</ref> or VeriSign).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.verisign.com/en_US/domain-names/domain-registrar/index.xhtml|title=Choose A Top Domain Registrar Of Your Choice Using Our Search Tool|publisher=Verisign|access-date=2015-08-10|archive-date=2015-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904040636/http://www.verisign.com/en_US/domain-names/domain-registrar/index.xhtml|url-status=live}}</ref> In this method of management, the registry only manages the domain name database and the relationship with the registrars. The ''registrants'' (users of a domain name) are customers of the registrar, in some cases through additional layers of resellers.

There are also a few other [[alternative DNS root]] providers that try to compete or complement ICANN's role of domain name administration, however, most of them failed to receive wide recognition, and thus domain names offered by those alternative roots cannot be used universally on most other internet-connecting machines without additional dedicated configurations.

===Technical requirements and process===
In the process of registering a domain name and maintaining authority over the new name space created, registrars use several key pieces of information connected with a domain:
* ''Administrative contact''. A registrant usually designates an administrative contact to manage the domain name. The administrative contact usually has the highest level of control over a domain. Management functions delegated to the administrative contacts may include management of all business information, such as name of record, postal address, and contact information of the official registrant of the domain and the obligation to conform to the requirements of the domain registry in order to retain the right to use a domain name. Furthermore, the administrative contact installs additional contact information for technical and billing functions.
* ''Technical contact''. The technical contact manages the name servers of a domain name. The functions of a technical contact include assuring conformance of the configurations of the domain name with the requirements of the domain registry, maintaining the domain zone records, and providing continuous functionality of the name servers (that leads to the accessibility of the domain name).
* ''Billing contact''. The party responsible for receiving billing invoices from the [[domain name registrar]] and paying applicable fees.
* ''Name servers''. Most registrars provide two or more name servers as part of the registration service. However, a registrant may specify its own [[authoritative name server]]s to host a domain's resource records. The registrar's policies govern the number of servers and the type of server information required. Some providers require a hostname and the corresponding IP address or just the hostname, which must be resolvable either in the new domain, or exist elsewhere. Based on traditional requirements (RFC 1034), typically a minimum of two servers is required.

A domain name consists of one or more labels, each of which is formed from the set of ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens (a–z, A–Z, 0–9, -), but not starting or ending with a hyphen. The labels are case-insensitive; for example, 'label' is equivalent to 'Label' or 'LABEL'. In the textual representation of a domain name, the labels are separated by a [[full stop]] (period).

===Business models===
Domain names are often seen in analogy to [[real estate]] in that domain names are foundations on which a website can be built, and the highest ''quality'' domain names, like sought-after real estate, tend to carry significant value, usually due to their online brand-building potential, use in advertising, [[search engine optimization]], and many other criteria.

A few companies have offered low-cost, below-cost, or even free domain registration with a variety of models adopted to recoup the costs to the provider. These usually require that domains be hosted on their website within a framework or portal that includes advertising wrapped around the domain holder's content, revenue from which allows the provider to recoup the costs. Domain registrations were free of charge when the DNS was new. A domain holder may provide an infinite number of [[Subdomain|subdomains]] in their domain. For example, the owner of example.org could provide subdomains such as foo.example.org and foo.bar.example.org to interested parties.

{{anchor|Domain name suggestion}}
Many desirable domain names are already assigned and users must search for other acceptable names, using Web-based search features, or [[WHOIS]], [[Registration Data Access Protocol|RDAP]], and [[Domain Information Groper|dig]] operating system tools. Many registrars have implemented '''domain name suggestion''' tools which search domain name databases and suggest available alternative domain names related to keywords provided by the user.

==Resale of domain names==
{{Main|List of most expensive domain names}}
The business of resale of registered domain names is known as the [[domain aftermarket]]. Various factors influence the perceived value or market value of a domain name. Most of the high-prize domain sales are carried out privately.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arif |first=Sengoren |date=1 October 2024 |title=Confidentially domain acquiring |url=https://blog.secretbrokerage.com/domain-name-acquisition/what-is-confidential-domain-broker-service/ }}</ref> Also, it is called confidential domain acquiring or anonymous domain acquiring.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 October 2024 |title=Anonymous Domain Ownership |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372333896 |journal=Conference: 2023 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC)}}</ref>

==Domain name confusion==
[[Camel case|Intercapping]] is often used to emphasize the meaning of a domain name, because DNS names are not case-sensitive. Some names may be misinterpreted in certain uses of capitalization. For example: ''Who Represents'', a database of artists and agents, chose ''whorepresents.com'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Courtney |first1=Curzi |title=WhoRepresents helps brands connect with celebrity influencers |url=https://www.dmnews.com/customer-experience/article/13036419/whorepresents-helps-brands-connect-with-celebrity-influencers |access-date=8 July 2019 |publisher=DM News |date=14 October 2014 |archive-date=8 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708052558/https://www.dmnews.com/customer-experience/article/13036419/whorepresents-helps-brands-connect-with-celebrity-influencers |url-status=live }}</ref> which can be misread. In such situations, the proper meaning may be clarified by placement of hyphens when registering a domain name. For instance, [[Experts-exchange|Experts Exchange]], a programmers' discussion site, used ''expertsexchange.com'', but changed its domain name to ''experts-exchange.com''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ki |first1=Mae Heussner |title='Slurls': Most Outrageous Website URLs |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Media/slurls-outrageous-website-urls/story?id=10807326 |access-date=8 July 2019 |work=ABC News |date=2 June 2010 |archive-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531020950/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Media/slurls-outrageous-website-urls/story?id=10807326 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Uses in website hosting==
The domain name is a component of a [[uniform resource locator]] (URL) used to access [[website]]s, for example:
*URL: <nowiki>http://www.example.net/index.html</nowiki>
*Top-level domain: <nowiki>net</nowiki>
*Second-level domain: <nowiki>example</nowiki>
*Hostname: <nowiki>www</nowiki>

A domain name may point to multiple [[IP addresses]] to provide server redundancy for the services offered, a feature that is used to manage the traffic of large, popular websites.

[[Web hosting services]], on the other hand, run servers that are typically assigned only one or a few addresses while serving websites for many domains, a technique referred to as [[virtual web hosting]]. Such IP address overloading requires that each request identifies the domain name being referenced, for instance by using the [[HTTP request header field]] ''Host:'', or [[Server Name Indication]].

==Abuse and regulation==
Critics often claim abuse of administrative power over domain names. Particularly noteworthy was the VeriSign [[Site Finder]] system which redirected all unregistered .com and .net domains to a VeriSign webpage. For example, at a public meeting with [[Verisign|VeriSign]] to air technical concerns about [[Site Finder]],<ref>{{cite web
 |last        = McCullagh
 |first       = Declan
 |author-link = Declan McCullagh
 |title       = VeriSign fends off critics at ICANN confab
 |publisher   = CNET News
 |date        = 2003-10-03
 |url         = http://www.news.com/2100-1038-5088128.html
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130104041455/http://www.news.com/2100-1038-5088128.html
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-date = January 4, 2013
 |access-date = 2007-09-22
}}</ref> numerous people, active in the [[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]] and other technical bodies, explained how they were surprised by VeriSign's changing the fundamental behavior of a major component of Internet infrastructure, not having obtained the customary consensus. Site Finder, at first, assumed every Internet query was for a website, and it monetized queries for incorrect domain names, taking the user to VeriSign's search site. Other applications, such as many implementations of email, treat a lack of response to a domain name query as an indication that the domain does not exist, and that the message can be treated as undeliverable. The original VeriSign implementation broke this assumption for mail, because it would always resolve an erroneous domain name to that of Site Finder. While VeriSign later changed Site Finder's behaviour with regard to email, there was still widespread protest about VeriSign's action being more in its financial interest than in the interest of the Internet infrastructure component for which VeriSign was the steward.

Despite widespread criticism, VeriSign only reluctantly removed it after the [[Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]] (ICANN) threatened to revoke its contract to administer the root name servers. ICANN published the extensive set of letters exchanged, committee reports, and ICANN decisions.<ref>{{cite web
  | publisher  = ICANN
  | title  = Verisign's Wildcard Service Deployment
  | url  = http://www.icann.org/topics/wildcard-history.html
  | access-date  = 2007-09-22
  | archive-date  = 2008-12-02
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081202125045/http://www.icann.org./topics/wildcard-history.html
  | url-status  = live
  }}</ref>

There is also significant disquiet regarding the United States Government's political influence over ICANN. This was a significant issue in the attempt to create a [[.xxx]] [[top-level domain]] and sparked greater interest in [[alternative DNS root]]s that would be beyond the control of any single country.<ref>{{cite book
  | last      = Mueller
  | first     = M
  | title     = Ruling the Root
  | publisher = [[MIT Press]]
  | date      = March 2004
  | isbn      = 0-262-63298-5
}}</ref>

Additionally, there are numerous accusations of [[domain name front running]], whereby registrars, when given WHOIS or RDAP queries, automatically register the domain name for themselves. Network Solutions has been accused of this.<ref>[http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/08/1920215 Slashdot.org<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217102228/http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/08/1920215 |date=2010-02-17 }}, NSI Registers Every Domain Checked</ref>

===Truth in Domain Names Act===
In the United States, the [[Truth in Domain Names Act]] of 2003, in combination with the [[PROTECT Act of 2003]], forbids the use of a misleading domain name with the intention of attracting Internet users into visiting [[Internet pornography]] sites.

The Truth in Domain Names Act follows the more general [[Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act]] passed in 1999 aimed at preventing [[typosquatting]] and deceptive use of names and trademarks in domain names.

===Seizures===
<gallery caption="Seizure notices" style="float:right;">
File:Absolutepoker.png|[[Cereus Poker Network|absolutepoker.com]]
File:Website seizure notice.jpg|channelsurfing.net
File:Liberty Reserve seizure notice.png|[[Liberty Reserve|libertyreserve.com]]
</gallery>
In the early 21st century, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) pursued the [[Search and seizure|seizure]] of domain names, based on the legal theory that domain names constitute property used to engage in criminal activity, and thus are subject to [[Forfeiture (law)|forfeiture]]. For example, in the seizure of the domain name of a gambling website, the DOJ referenced {{uscsub|18|981}} and {{uscsub|18|1955|d}}.<ref name=abspoker1/>[https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/criminal-afmls/legacy/2015/04/24/statutes2015.pdf] In 2013 the US government seized [[Liberty Reserve]], citing {{uscsub|18|982|a|1}}.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dia|first1=Miaz|title=website laten maken|url=https://kmowebdiensten.be/diensten/website-laten-maken/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220224636/https://kmowebdiensten.be/diensten/website-laten-maken/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 20, 2016|access-date=8 December 2016|work=Kmowebdiensten|date=4 February 2010}}</ref>

The U.S. Congress passed the [[Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act]] in 2010. Consumer Electronics Association vice president Michael Petricone was worried that seizure was a ''blunt instrument'' that could harm legitimate businesses.<ref name=cnet1/><ref name=hill1/> After a joint operation on February 15, 2011, the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security claimed to have seized ten domains of websites involved in advertising and distributing child pornography, but also mistakenly seized the domain name of a large DNS provider, temporarily replacing 84,000 websites with seizure notices.<ref name="Wrongfully Seized 84000 Domains">{{cite web
  | url   = http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-shuts-down-84000-websites-by-mistake-110216/
  | title   = U.S. Government Shuts Down 84,000 Websites, 'By Mistake'
  | access-date   = 2012-12-16
  | archive-date   = 2018-12-25
  | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20181225071958/https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-shuts-down-84000-websites-by-mistake-110216/
  | url-status   = live
  }}</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit]] (PIPCU) has been attempting to seize domain names from registrars without court orders.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jeftovic|first1=Mark|title=Whatever Happened to "Due Process" ?|date=8 October 2013|url=http://blog.easydns.org/2013/10/08/whatever-happened-to-due-process/|access-date=27 November 2014|archive-date=5 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205034320/http://blog.easydns.org/2013/10/08/whatever-happened-to-due-process/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Suspensions===
PIPCU and other UK law enforcement organisations make domain suspension requests to [[Nominet]] which they process on the basis of breach of terms and conditions. Around 16,000 domains are suspended annually, and about 80% of the requests originate from PIPCU.<ref>[https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/nominet-prod/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/14161604/Tackling-online-criminal-activity-November-2017.pdf  Tackling online criminal activity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216034855/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/nominet-prod/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/14161604/Tackling-online-criminal-activity-November-2017.pdf |date=2017-12-16 }}, 1 November 2016 – 31 October 2017, Nominet</ref>

===Property rights===
Because of the economic value it represents, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] has ruled that the exclusive right to a domain name is protected as property under article 1 of Protocol 1 to the [[European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref>ECHR 18 September 2007, no. 25379/04, 21688/05, 21722/05, 21770/05, ''Paeffgen v Germany''.</ref>

==IDN variants==
[[ICANN]] Business Constituency (BC) has spent decades trying to make IDN variants work at the second level, and in the last several years at the top level. Domain name variants are domain names recognized in different character encodings, like a single domain presented in [[Traditional Chinese characters|traditional Chinese]] and [[Simplified Chinese characters|simplified Chinese]]. It is an [[Internationalization and localization]] problem. Under Domain Name Variants, the different encodings of the domain name (in simplified and traditional Chinese) would resolve to the same host.<ref name="levine">{{cite web |title=Domain Name Variants Still Won't Work |url=https://jl.ly/ICANN/variantno.html |first=John R. |last=Levine |author-link=John R. Levine |date=April 21, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2020 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729234842/https://jl.ly/ICANN/variantno.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Comment on ICANN Recommendations for Managing IDN Variant Top-Level Domains |url=https://www.bizconst.org/assets/docs/positions-statements/2018/2018_09September_17%20BC%20Comment%20on%20Managing%20IDN%20Variant%20TLDs.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.bizconst.org/assets/docs/positions-statements/2018/2018_09September_17%20BC%20Comment%20on%20Managing%20IDN%20Variant%20TLDs.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=[[ICANN]] |date=April 21, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref>

According to [[John R. Levine|John Levine]], an expert on Internet related topics, "Unfortunately, variants don't work. The problem isn't putting them in the DNS, it's that once they're in the DNS, they don't work anywhere else."<ref name="levine" />

==Fictitious domain name==
A ''fictitious domain name'' is a domain name used in a work of fiction or popular culture to refer to a domain that does not actually exist, often with invalid or unofficial [[top-level domain]]s such as "[[.web]]", a usage exactly analogous to the dummy [[555 (telephone number)|555 telephone number prefix]] used in film and other media. The canonical fictitious domain name is "[[example.com]]", specifically set aside by IANA in RFC 2606 for such use, along with the ''.example'' TLD.

Domain names used in works of fiction have often been registered in the DNS, either by their creators or by [[Cybersquatting|cybersquatters]] attempting to profit from it. This phenomenon prompted [[NBC]] to purchase the domain name [[Hornymanatee.com]] after talk-show host [[Conan O'Brien]] spoke the name while ad-libbing on [[Late Night with Conan O'Brien|his show]]. O'Brien subsequently created a website based on the concept and used it as a [[running gag]] on the show.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/arts/television/12mana.html So This Manatee Walks Into the Internet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123083348/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/arts/television/12mana.html |date=2017-01-23 }}", ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 12, 2006.  Retrieved April 12, 2008.</ref> Companies whose works have used fictitious domain names have also employed firms such as [[MarkMonitor]] to park fictional domain names in order to prevent misuse by third parties.<ref name="Allemann">{{Cite web |last=Allemann |first=Andrew |date=2019-11-05 |title=Part of MarkMonitor sold to OpSec Security |url=https://domainnamewire.com/2019/11/05/part-of-markmonitor-sold-to-opsec-security/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Domain Name Wire {{!}} Domain Name News |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Misspelled domain names==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}
Misspelled domain names, also known as [[typosquatting]] or [[URL hijacking]], are domain names that are intentionally or unintentionally misspelled versions of popular or well-known domain names. The goal of misspelled domain names is to capitalize on internet users who accidentally type in a misspelled domain name, and are then redirected to a different website.

Misspelled domain names are often used for malicious purposes, such as [[phishing]] scams or distributing [[malware]]. In some cases, the owners of misspelled domain names may also attempt to sell the domain names to the owners of the legitimate domain names, or to individuals or organizations who are interested in capitalizing on the traffic generated by internet users who accidentally type in the misspelled domain names.

To avoid being caught by a misspelled domain name, internet users should be careful to type in domain names correctly, and should avoid clicking on links that appear suspicious or unfamiliar. Additionally, individuals and organizations who own popular or well-known domain names should consider registering common misspellings of their domain names in order to prevent others from using them for malicious purposes.

==Domain name spoofing==
The term '''Domain name spoofing''' (or simply though less accurately, '''Domain spoofing''') is used generically to describe one or more of a class of [[phishing]] attacks that depend on falsifying or misrepresenting an internet domain name.<ref>{{cite news |title= Canadian banks hit by two-year domain name spoofing scam |work= Finextra |url= https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/35030/canadian-banks-hit-by-two-year-domain-name-spoofing-scam |date= 9 January 2020 |access-date= 27 August 2021 |archive-date= 6 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211106230249/https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/35030/canadian-banks-hit-by-two-year-domain-name-spoofing-scam |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title =Domain spoofing | publisher =[[Barracuda Networks]] | url =https://www.barracuda.com/glossary/domain-spoofing | access-date =2021-08-27 | archive-date =2021-11-04 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20211104200153/https://www.barracuda.com/glossary/domain-spoofing | url-status =live }}</ref> These are designed to persuade unsuspecting users into visiting a web site other than that intended, or opening an email that is not in reality from the address shown (or apparently shown).<ref>{{cite news |title=Mass Spoofing Campaign Abuses Walmart Brand |work=threatpost |author=Tara Seals |date=August 6, 2019 |url=https://threatpost.com/mass-spoofing-campaign-walmart/146994/ |access-date=August 27, 2021 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106193434/https://threatpost.com/mass-spoofing-campaign-walmart/146994/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although website and email spoofing attacks are more widely known, any service that relies on [[Name resolution (computer systems)|domain name resolution]] may be compromised.

===Types===
There are a number of better-known types of domain spoofing:
* [[Typosquatting]], also called "URL hijacking", a "sting site", or a "fake URL", is a form of [[cybersquatting]], and possibly [[brandjacking]] which relies on mistakes such as [[typographical error|typos]] made by Internet users when inputting a [[URL|website address]] into a [[web browser]] or composing an [[email address]]. Should a user accidentally enter an incorrect domain name, they may be led to any URL (including an alternative website owned by a cybersquatter).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Example Screenshots of Strider URL Tracer With Typo-Patrol|url=http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/strider/urltracer/Parked_Domains.htm|work=Microsoft Research|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221214435/http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/strider/urltracer/Parked_Domains.htm|archive-date=21 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

:The typosquatter's [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]] will usually be one of five kinds, all ''similar to'' the victim site address:
<!-- Do NOT give any examples of misspelled  domain names. "examlpe.com"  currently leads to a site that tries to load malware on your computer. -->
:*A common misspelling, or foreign language spelling, of the intended site
:*A misspelling based on a typographical error
:*A plural of a singular domain name
:*A different [[top-level domain]]: (i.e. .com instead of .org)
:*An abuse of the [[country code top-level domain|Country Code Top-Level Domain]] (ccTLD) (.cm, .co, or .om instead of .com)

* [[IDN homograph attack]]. This type of attack depends on registering a domain name that is similar to the 'target' domain, differing from it only because its spelling includes one or more characters that come from a different alphabet but look the same to the naked eye. For example, the [[Cyrillic]], [[Latin]], and [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] alphabets each have their own letter {{char|A}}, each of which has its own binary [[code point]]. [[Turkish language|Turkish]] has a [[Dotless I|dotless letter i]] ({{char|ı}}) that may not be perceived as different from the ASCII letter {{char|i}}. Most web browsers warn of 'mixed alphabet' domain names,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) in Google Chrome |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src.git/+/master/docs/idn.md |access-date=2020-08-26 |website=chromium.googlesource.com |archive-date=2020-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101105735/https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src.git/+/master/docs/idn.md |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-21 |title=Upcoming update with IDN homograph phishing fix - Blog |url=https://blogs.opera.com/security/2017/04/upcoming-update-idn-homograph-phishing-fix/ |access-date=2020-08-26 |website=Opera Security |archive-date=2020-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808094909/https://blogs.opera.com/security/2017/04/upcoming-update-idn-homograph-phishing-fix/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://support.apple.com/kb/TA22996|access-date=2017-04-29|title=About Safari International Domain Name support|archive-date=2014-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617175411/http://support.apple.com/kb/TA22996|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=IDN Display Algorithm |publisher=Mozilla |url=https://wiki.mozilla.org/IDN_Display_Algorithm |access-date=2016-01-31 |archive-date=2016-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131105117/https://wiki.mozilla.org/IDN_Display_Algorithm |url-status=live }}</ref> Other services, such as email applications, may not provide the same protection. Reputable [[top level domain]] and [[ccTLD|country code domain]] registrars will not accept applications to register a deceptive name but this policy cannot be presumed to be infallible.
* {{Annotated link |DNS spoofing}}
* {{Annotated link | Website spoofing}}
* {{Annotated link |Email spoofing}}

===Risk mitigation ===
* {{Annotated link |Domain Name System Security Extensions}}
* {{Annotated link |Sender Policy Framework}}
* {{Annotated link |DMARC}} ("Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance")
* {{Annotated link |DomainKeys Identified Mail}}
* {{Annotated link |Public key certificate}} (SSL certificate)

===Legitimate technologies that may be subverted===
* {{Annotated link |URL redirection}}
* {{Annotated link |Domain fronting}}

==See also==
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Domain hack]]
* [[Domain hijacking]]
* [[Domain name registrar]]
* [[Domain name speculation]]
* [[Domain name warehousing]]
* [[Domain registration]]
* [[Domain tasting]]
* [[Geodomain]]
* [[List of Internet top-level domains]]
* [[Reverse domain hijacking]]
* [[Reverse domain name notation]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2|refs =
<ref name=hill1>{{cite web
  | url       = https://thehill.com/policy/technology/87855-tech-industry-wary-of-domain-name-seizures/
  | title       = Tech industry wary of domain name seizures
  | work       = The Hill
  | first       = Sarah
  | last       = Jerome
  | date       = 6 April 2011
  | access-date       = 2011-04-15
  | archive-date       = 2011-04-10
  | archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20110410044133/http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/154353-tech-industry-wary-of-domain-name-seizures
  | url-status       = live
  }}</ref>
<ref name=cnet1>{{cite web
 |url          = https://blog.saw.com/buzz/past-congressional-attempts-to-combat-online-copyright-infringement/
 |title        = Past Congressional Attempts to Combat Online Copyright Infringement
 |date         = 18 June 2020
 |access-date  = 2020-06-19
 |first        = Jeffrey
 |last         = Gabriel
 |publisher    = Saw
 |archive-date = 2020-06-20
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20200620215122/https://blog.saw.com/buzz/past-congressional-attempts-to-combat-online-copyright-infringement/
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
<ref name=abspoker1>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.absolutepoker.com/
 |title       = Warning
 |author      = FBI / DOJ
 |date        = 15 April 2011
 |access-date  = 2011-04-15
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110414095641/http://www.absolutepoker.com/
 |archive-date = 2011-04-14
}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|homograph}}
{{Commons category|Domain name space}}
*[https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/domain-bias-in-web-search/ (domain bias in web search) a research by Microsoft ]
*[https://www.hartzer.com/blog/tld-bias-search-engine-indexing-rankings/ Top Level Domain Bias in Search Engine Indexing and Rankings ]
<!-- Spam links will be deleted; don't bother -->
* [http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/factsheet-new-gtld-program-oct09-en.pdf Icann New gTLD Program Factsheet - October 2009] (PDF)
* [http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db IANA Two letter Country Code TLD]
* [http://www.icann.org/ ICANN] - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
* [http://www.internic.net/ Internic.net], public information regarding Internet domain name registration services
* [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/97-868.pdf Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues] [[Congressional Research Service]]
* {{IETF RFC|1034|link=no}}, Domain Names — Concepts and Facilities, an Internet Protocol Standard
* {{IETF RFC|1035|link=no}}, Domain Names — Implementation and Specification, an Internet Protocol Standard
* [http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm UDRP], Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy
* [https://www.iana.org/assignments/special-use-domain-names/special-use-domain-names.xml Special use domain names]

{{WebManTools}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Domain Name System|*]]
[[Category:Domain names| ]]
[[Category:Identifiers]]
[[Category:Domain name seizures by United States]]