DNSSEC Baby Steps Reported at ICANN 41

Ram Mohan — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:04:29 +0000

The Internet is slowly beginning to adopt the new DNSSEC domain names standard, but significant challenges remain. That was the main takeaway from a four-hour workshop on the technology held during the recent ICANN 41 public meeting in Singapore, which heard from many domain registries, registrars and other infrastructure providers.

Beyond the Top Level: DNSSEC Deployment at ICANN 40

Ram Mohan — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:36:38 +0000

I recently wrote about the encouraging level of DNSSEC adoption among top-level domain name registries, and noted that adoption at the second level and in applications is an important next step for adding more security to the DNS. The root and approximately 20 percent of the top level domains are now signed; it is time for registrars and recursive DNS servers operated by the ISPs to occupy center stage.

ICANN Sets June Target for New gTLD Program Launch

Roland LaPlante — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:44:29 +0000

At its recent meeting in San Francisco, ICANN approved a new draft timeline for the launch of its new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) program that will let its Board of Directors approve the final Applicant Guidebook in June 2011, enabling companies to apply for gTLDs before the end of the year.

DNSSEC Deployment Reaching Critical Mass

Ram Mohan — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:06:46 +0000

Less than nine months after the DNS root was signed, the rollout of DNSSEC across the Internet's top-level domains is approaching the tipping point.

.nxt Conference Inspires and Informs New gTLD Debate

Roland LaPlante — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:39:39 +0000

The first-ever .nxt conference recently concluded in San Francisco. The conference featured two days of productive, educational, and passionate discussion about the business of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

IDN Evolution Discussed at ICANN Cartagena

John Kane — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:53:22 +0000

Internationalized domain names (IDNs) have been available to Internet users for many years, but this year the first fully non-Latin IDN domains have become enabled by ICANN and country-code top-level domain registries. The recent success of the launch of Russia's .рф (.rf) ccTLD shows that there is an enormous demand for domain names in Internet users' native languages.

Industry Makes Rapid Progress on DNSSEC

Ram Mohan — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:32:31 +0000

DNSSEC is being rolled out quickly in top-level domain registries around the world, but there's still some way to go to encourage other Internet stakeholders to adopt the new security technology. That was one of the key takeaways from a day-long, comprehensive session on Domain Name System Security Extensions implementation worldwide, held during ICANN's public meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, last week.

ICANN Moves Forward On New gTLDs

Roland LaPlante — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:20:41 +0000

The introduction of new top-level domains (new TLDs) to the Internet moved a step closer Friday, when the ICANN Board laid out its plan for the final stages of approving the new gTLD program. In a lengthy resolution, passed unanimously at the conclusion of a week of consultations in Cartagena, Colombia, the Board sought to draw a line under some policies where it believes the community has reached agreement, while highlighting others where further discussions are needed before the doors are opened to applications next year.

Remembering the first new TLD round and .INFO

Roland LaPlante — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Ten years ago today, November 16^th2000, the ICANN Board voted to approve the first new top-level domains (new TLDs) to be added to the Internet root, ever. Of the 47 applicants, only 44 were considered valid and paid the application fee. Ultimately seven were chosen that day, including .INFO.

If you search for the ICANN archives of the Board minutes of that day, interestingly the meeting minutes say:

Reduce the risk of URL shorteners to your brand with your own TLD

Roland LaPlante — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:38:43 +0000

A very real and potentially dangerous issue for brands is the continual reliance on obscure country code domains for URL shortening services. Recent reports have emerged that the country code domain .ly will no longer allow domains with 4 or less characters to be registered by users outside of Libya. What exactly does that mean for marketers that are using popular URL shorteners like bit.ly and ow.ly today? It means more risk.