The “Top Level Domains” also called TLD or extensions, are defined by the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) which depends on ICANN since 1998.
ICANN and IANA are in charge of allocating Internet protocol (IP) addresses space, assigning protocol identifiers and managing the top level domain names system, i.e. the “Top Level Domains”.
Find out in this “5 minutes to understand” document, available for download on the Nameshield’s website, the different types of top level domains.
The Algerian registry has changed its registration conditions quite restrictively. These changes also affect already registered domain names:
Another important element relating to .DZ already registered:
Since the end of 2018, Nameshield has been encouraging you to register your .TM.DZ domain names, we of course maintain this advice and strongly encourage you to quickly register the equivalent of your .DZ in .TM.DZ. This will maintain a high level of reactivity, especially in case of emergency modifications.
The .TW registry (TWNIC) offers grandfathering registrations for holders of existing ASCII.TW domains that wish to register the same ASCII domain under .台灣 (.xn--kpry57d).
Before the official opening, TWNIC provides priority registration for registrants who meet the eligibility requirements.
For example, twnic.tw can be registered for twnic.台灣 in the grandfathering period.
The following eligibility criteria apply and are checked by the registry:
Grandfathering Period : from January 7th, 2020 to February 10th, 2020.
The ASCII.tw Domain Name “.台灣(.xn--kpry57d)” will be starting on February 18, 2020.
For more information on the conditions for registration of your .台灣, don’t hesitate to contact us.
*An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet domain name that contains at least one language-specific script or alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Hebrew. It allows the use of domain names in the native language of Internet users using special characters such as Asian, Arab or African users.
The .CY registry announces the registration of first level .cy domain names, i.e.domainname.cy
The owners of second level registered domain names, can also apply for the same domain names with a first level extension .CY.
Please note that the 2019 Decree does not provide for commitment on any domain names and thus, all requests will be examined on First Come First Served basis.
To submit a request, don’t hesitate to contact our customer support.
As of October 19, 2019, internationally-based EU citizens can now register .EU or .ею domain names.
The .EU is the country code top level domain for the European Union. More than 3.6 million registrations spread out across Europe make this TLD a popular extension. Initially, this extension is only reserved to companies and individuals residing within EU and EEA member states. However in order to meet the needs of an ever-changing digital environment, EURid, the .EU registry, changes this eligibility criteria to extend it to all EU citizens living around the world.
“We are excited to be able to extend the registration criteria to EU citizens around the world. The .eu domain is now closer to your ambitions, achievements and dreams. It is the bridge connecting you to your friends and family – even if you live outside the EU. It will always show your roots, your outlook, and your cultural values.” – Marc van Wesemael, EURid`s CEO.
For more information on the conditions for registration of your .EU, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Argentina now offers the possibility to register .AR domain names. Until now, it was only possible to register third level domain names particularly in .COM.AR.
Here are the launching periods planned:
During this period, all the community can request the registration of domain names available in .AR.
The reserved and restricted domain names are excluded and some domain names will likely be subjects to approval.
For any information, don’t hesitate to contact your Nameshield’s expert.
Starting 15/09/2020, domain names available can be registered in .AR by any user, depending on the conditions set by the rules of the Argentinian registry.
For reminder, the registration conditions of the .AR include the providing of supporting documents.
If your current domain names portfolio doesn’t have COM.AR, NET.AR, etc. and you wish to register a .AR at the time of the general availability, we advise you to anticipate and to contact your consultant to know the detail of the documents to provide.
In the context of the fight against insecurity on the web, DNS Belgium, the .BE registry, decided to intensify its action by cooperating with the FPS Economy [The FPS Economy, SMEs, Middle Classes and Energy is a Federal Public Service of Belgium which is responsible for contributing to the development, competitiveness and sustainability of the goods and services market in Belgium] in order to shut down fraudulent websites within 24 hours.
Philip Du Bois, general manager of DNS Belgium indicates: “This protocol will enable us to take even more targeted action, together with the FPS Economy, against possible abuses where .be domain names are involved. It underscores our ambition for a high quality and safe .be zone which serves as suitable environment for the further development of the Internet.”
The aim: to ensure consumers a completely safe Internet browsing on .BE websites.
This procedure will ensure a much higher reactivity. Indeed, until now, FPS Economy couldn’t request a blocking from the registry regarding the content, moreover fraudulent websites with correct identification data (at least of which the forgery couldn’t be proven), were untouchable. The blocking required a request from the Prosecution, i.e. a two weeks long procedure, which left plenty of time for the fraudulent website to create important damages to the consumers. Several hundreds of such websites per year were concerned!
From December, the 1st 2018, the protocol will then allow at the request of FPS Economy, the DNS Belgium registry to block .BE domain names which:
Of course, this procedure will be applied in the case of serious crimes.
The blocked domain name’s owner will have two weeks to react against the blocking. Without action of their part within 6 months, the blocked name will expire.
This still too rare initiative is to be welcomed in a context of the fierce fight against cybercriminality!
We have learned from the press that Swaziland will change its name at the will of its Monarch.
Indeed, this little South African territory has not changed its name after the decolonization, fifty years ago. It will soon be the case, with the term eSwatini, the country of Swazi. If this information is more of a geopolitical notion, it will have an impact on the country’s abbreviation within the ISO standard 3166-1 alpha 2, and its extension will then change; a similar situation to the one of Kazakhstan, already discussed on this blog.
A new example which highlights the importance of the country’s stability in the choice of an extension used for an active communication.
