Hacker News with Generative AI: Domain Names

Ask HN: Why buy domains and 301 redirect them to me? (ycombinator.com)
Say I'm running a SaaS product, example.com.<p>Somebody has bought several domains like getexample.com, buyexample.io, joinexample.net, and is 301 redirecting them to example.com.<p>What's their play here? Is this setup for a phishing attack in the future? Are they just going to try and sell the domains to me in the future? Not encountered behaviour like this before (or at least, I don't know if this is the beginning phase of a common scam)
Domain Names, Security, SEO, SaaS
374 points by HughParry 4 days ago | 128 comments
Possible deprecation of WHOIS services after January 28, 2025 for ICANN TLDs (domaintools.com)
Registration Data Access Protocol - RDAP - is a replacement for WHOIS. WHOIS has been in use for over 40 years, and was never designed for the scale it is being used at today. While WHOIS is a text file, RDAP is machine readable JSON format. Internet management organizations like ICANN and IANA are driving adoption of RDAP as the successor to WHOIS.
Domain Names, Internet Standards, Technology, Data Privacy
7 points by taubek 7 days ago | 3 comments
Six day and IP address certificate options in 2025 (letsencrypt.org)
This year we will continue to pursue our commitment to improving the security of the Web PKI by introducing the option to get certificates with six-day lifetimes (“short-lived certificates”). We will also add support for IP addresses in addition to domain names. Our longer-lived certificates, which currently have a lifetime of 90 days, will continue to be available alongside our six-day offering.
Security, Web PKI, Certificates, Domain Names, IP Addresses
197 points by SGran 12 days ago | 158 comments
Show HN: Genious.name – AI Domain Generator That Checks Availability (genious.name)
Artificial Intelligence, Domain Names, Tools
8 points by Extender777 12 days ago | 7 comments
Tell HN: Potential example.com outage on January 15, 2025 (ycombinator.com)
example.com, example.net, and example.org are currently served by EdgeCast CDN (now Edgio).<p>Edgio went bankrupt and the CDN will be shutdown on January 15 [0].<p>As of January 14, the example domains still resolve to 93.184.215.14 which is an EdgeCast IPv4 address [1][2].<p>I'm not sure who in IANA or IETF manages these domains [3].<p>If you have scripts, tests, or infrastructure that reference these domains, you might get errors or outages if these domains are not updated by January 15.<p>Disclosure: I previously worked
Internet, Domain Names, CDN, Outages, Technical Issues
10 points by ptio 14 days ago | 2 comments
Backdooring Your Backdoors – Another $20 Domain, More Governments (watchtowr.com)
After the excitement of our .MOBI research, we were left twiddling our thumbs. As you may recall, in 2024, we demonstrated the impact of an unregistered domain when we subverted the TLS/SSL CA process for verifying domain ownership to give ourselves the ability to issue valid and trusted TLS/SSL certificates for any .MOBI domain.
Security, Technology, Research, Domain Names
433 points by mooreds 16 days ago | 73 comments
Backdooring Your Backdoors – Another $20 Domain, More Governments (watchtowr.com)
After the excitement of our .MOBI research, we were left twiddling our thumbs. As you may recall, in 2024, we demonstrated the impact of an unregistered domain when we subverted the TLS/SSL CA process for verifying domain ownership to give ourselves the ability to issue valid and trusted TLS/SSL certificates for any .MOBI domain.
Security, Domain Names, Research, Government
5 points by chillax 20 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: Is it a bad idea to make an email domain with an uncommon TLD? (ycombinator.com)
I want to make a lifelong email domain, but don't want to pay an enormous amount for a .com.
Email, Domain Names, TLDs
29 points by hackerbabz 23 days ago | 91 comments
Show HN: Find Domains Fast (Prices, SEO, AI and Alerts) (indomain.co)
Find the best prices on new domains and renewals with inDomain, so you can keep your costs low and maximize your savings.
Domain Names, Pricing, SEO, Artificial Intelligence
10 points by ivarsmas 39 days ago | 4 comments
Tell HN: Tonic (.to registrar) took away my domain without notice (ycombinator.com)
Earlier this year I acquired a small software project named pxl.to
Domain Names, Online Services, Legal Issues, Software
8 points by bkfh 55 days ago | 5 comments
Phishers Love New TLDs Like .shop, .top and .xyz (krebsonsecurity.com)
Phishing attacks increased nearly 40 percent in the year ending August 2024, with much of that growth concentrated at a small number of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) — such as .shop, .top, .xyz — that attract scammers with rock-bottom prices and no meaningful registration requirements, new research finds. Meanwhile, the nonprofit entity that oversees the domain name industry is moving forward with plans to introduce a slew of new gTLDs.
Cybersecurity, Phishing, Domain Names, Internet Security
170 points by todsacerdoti 56 days ago | 209 comments
Ask HN: How to Resurrect a Site from Archive.org? (ycombinator.com)
I recently bought the expired domain of a niche interest site because the previous owner was determined to let it die and did not want to put any effort in it anymore.
Web Development, Domain Names, Web Archives, Internet History
90 points by rrr_oh_man 59 days ago | 50 comments
.an, the TLD that ceased to exist (wikipedia.org)
.an was the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the former Netherlands Antilles.
Internet, Country Codes, History, Domain Names, Netherlands Antilles
33 points by popcalc 62 days ago | 40 comments
Senators Call for Crackdown on VeriSign Monopoly and Predatory Pricing of .com (wired.com)
US senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and congressman Jerry Nadler of New York have called on government bodies to investigate what they allege is the “predatory pricing” of .com web addresses, the internet’s prime real estate.
Monopolies, Pricing, Internet, Government Regulation, Domain Names
12 points by impish9208 67 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: What is your expierence selling a domain name? (ycombinator.com)
Ask HN: What is your expierence selling a domain name?
Domain Names, Business, Sales, User Experience
8 points by r2b2 69 days ago | 2 comments
"So what happens if you buy http://us-east-1.com?" (twitter.com)
Domain Names, Internet, Web Hosting
27 points by notamy 70 days ago | 0 comments
How to Redirect a Cloudflare Domain to Another URL (johnys.io)
Every time I find myself trying to re-learn something I'm taking the time to document. Here's one simple example:
Web Development, Cloudflare, Domain Names, URL Redirection
7 points by johnys 75 days ago | 4 comments
OpenAI spent $10M on chat.com URL (theverge.com)
On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a simple URL on X: chat.com. It automatically routes to ChatGPT.
OpenAI, ChatGPT, Domain Names, URL Shortening, Technology
46 points by segasaturn 82 days ago | 30 comments
Ask HN: How to Buy Squatted Domains? (ycombinator.com)
How does one go about buying a squatted domain? I realize domain names in this day and age aren’t super important, I am curious if knowledge persons have strategies or ideas as to how acquire a domain name that a.) you know has been squatted on for years and b.) cannot find any contact information associated with said domain.
Domain Names, Legal Issues, Business Strategy
13 points by dgfitz 88 days ago | 3 comments
The trailing dot in domain names matter (lacot.org)
While inspecting traffic logs for my website in redirection.io recently, I noticed several requests logged on the lacot.org. domain name. Did you see the final trailing dot in the hostname? I first thought it was a bug in the logging platform, but I was surprised to learn that it is perfectly possible to add a dot at the end of a domain name.
Domain Names, DNS, Web Development
68 points by Damin0u 91 days ago | 18 comments
For Sale: Used Domain (**Clean Title**) (jim-nielsen.com)
Bryan Braun has an interesting post about his experience with what he calls a “haunted domain”:
Domain Names, Web Development, Business
8 points by todsacerdoti 92 days ago | 2 comments
Bullenweg.com is no longer available following threats of legal action (bullenweg.com)
Bullenweg.com is no longer available following threats of legal action from Matthew Mullenweg.
Legal Issues, Domain Names, Censorship
119 points by odo1242 94 days ago | 35 comments
Before you buy a domain name, first check to see if it's haunted (bryanbraun.com)
In mid-2022 I bought a new domain name.
Domain Names, Internet, Websites
936 points by bryanbraun 95 days ago | 188 comments
Ask HN: Namecheap charged my card, didn't deliver, then upped the price (ycombinator.com)
Buyer beware if you're looking to purchase a domain on Namecheap.
Domain Names, Customer Service, Online Services
91 points by paige_d 95 days ago | 35 comments
Chromium uses web search for .internal TLD instead of opening URL (chromium.org)
Chromium, Web Search, Domain Names, Security
116 points by nh2 97 days ago | 85 comments
ICANN approves use of .internal domain for your network (theregister.com)
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has agreed to reserve the .internal top-level domain so it can become the equivalent to using the 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16 IPv4 address blocks for internal networks.
Internet, Domain Names, Networking, Security
6 points by teddyh 98 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: Why is the .IO gTLD uncertainty not getting press here? (ycombinator.com)
There have been a small smattering of posts not making the front page. But the news is a BFD for the community here. As I write this there is yet another startup launching with an IO domain on the front page.
Domain Names, .IO, Hacker News, Community, Startups
10 points by binarymax 111 days ago | 24 comments
Future of .io domains uncertain as UK hands over Chagos islands (domainincite.com)
The future of the .io ccTLD is up in the air today with the announcement that the UK is to hand over the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to Mauritius.
Domain Names, Geopolitics, International Relations
33 points by apitman 111 days ago | 21 comments
Is the .io top level domain headed for extinction? (computerworld.com)
Message to all organizations that use .io domain names, of which there are currently an estimated 1.6 million: A move announced last week by the new Labour government in the UK could mean you may have to eventually replace that ccTLD (Country Code Top Level Domain).
Domain Names, Internet, UK Politics, Technology
6 points by CydeWeys 111 days ago | 2 comments
Five times ICANN deleted a ccTLD, and what it means for .io (domainincite.com)
With the future of .io coming into question this week, with the news that the UK will return sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, I thought it would be a good time to see how ICANN has treated disappearing countries and territories in the past.
Domain Names, ICANN, ccTLD, Mauritius
37 points by fanf2 112 days ago | 7 comments