Geographic top-level domains (geoTLDs) and city-specific TLDs (city-TLDs) represent a significant evolution in namespace management, enabling a more localized approach to the organization and branding of internet resources. Unlike generic top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .com or .org, which serve global audiences without geographic specificity, geoTLDs and city-TLDs cater to particular regions, cities, or communities.…

In the realm of namespace management, registries and registrars play vital roles in maintaining the integrity, functionality, and security of the Domain Name System (DNS). Registries manage the databases for top-level domains (TLDs), such as .com, .org, or .xyz, while registrars act as the interface between registrants (end users) and these registries, facilitating the registration…

The introduction of the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) marked a transformative shift in the structure and diversity of the global namespace. Historically, the domain name system (DNS) was dominated by a limited set of gTLDs, such as .com, .org, and .net, alongside country-code…

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a foundational technology of the internet, responsible for translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses. Despite its critical role, traditional DNS operations often expose sensitive information about user queries to various intermediaries, raising significant privacy concerns. QNAME minimization, a refinement of DNS query handling, has emerged as an essential…

The Domain Name System (DNS) is an essential component of internet infrastructure, enabling the seamless resolution of human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses. Given its central role in connecting users to websites, applications, and online services, the performance of DNS infrastructure is critical to ensuring a reliable and efficient internet experience. Monitoring DNS performance…

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a cornerstone of internet functionality, providing the critical mapping of human-readable domain names to IP addresses that allows users to access websites, applications, and services. Given its centrality to digital operations, the reliability of DNS infrastructure is essential for business continuity and disaster recovery. Any disruption in DNS services,…

DNS Filtering and Blocking: Policy and Technical Aspects DNS filtering and blocking have become essential tools in managing and regulating internet access, serving both as a means to enhance security and enforce policy decisions. At its core, DNS filtering involves controlling the resolution of domain names to IP addresses, thereby allowing or denying access to…

Homographic attacks, also known as homograph phishing or IDN spoofing, exploit visual similarities between characters in different writing systems to deceive users into interacting with malicious domain names. These attacks take advantage of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), a system designed to enhance linguistic inclusivity by allowing domain names to be written in native scripts such…

The root server system is the foundational infrastructure of the Domain Name System (DNS), acting as the starting point for resolving domain names into IP addresses. This system is critical to the functioning of the internet, enabling users to access websites, send emails, and engage with digital services by translating human-readable domain names into machine-readable…

Reverse DNS, or rDNS, is a fundamental component of the Domain Name System (DNS) that enables the resolution of IP addresses to their corresponding hostnames. While traditional DNS translates human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses to facilitate network communication, reverse DNS performs the opposite function, mapping IP addresses back to their associated domain names.…