.gq

Last updated
.gq
DotGQ top-level domain logo.png
Introduced10 July 1997
TLD type Country code top-level domain
StatusActive
Registry GETESA
SponsorGETESA
Intended useEntities connected with Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea
Actual useSees rare use, mostly not in Equatorial Guinea.
Registration restrictionsFree domains available with some restrictions; paid registrations for legal ownership have no activity requirement
Documents Registration Agreement (free domains)
Registration Agreement (paid domains)
Dispute policies UDRP (paid domains only)
Registry website www.dominio.gq

.gq is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Equatorial Guinea. Freenom relaunched the TLD on October 1, 2014, and domains became available for free on January 1, 2015. [1] [2] Following Freenom's lawsuit with Meta and its settlement in 2024, [3] it is unclear who will take up registration of the domain, as the company announced it would be exiting the domain business.

Contents

The .gq registry allows the creation of emoji domain names.

History

The .gq domain was launched in July 1997 by GETESA, the nation's prominent internet service provider. [4]

In October 2014, domain company Freenom partnered with GETESA to try a business model which involved giving away .gq domain names for free. Before the public launch, there was a sunrise period to allow trademark holders to register their names. Public domain registration commenced on January 1, 2015. [5]

Abuse

Due to the lack of cost required to obtain a .gq domain, the TLD has been prone to usage for spam, phishing and other malicious purposes. A study conducted by internet security company Symantec found that 92% of the top 50 .gq websites were being used for "shady" purposes. Out of all of the websites on a .gq domain that were surveyed by Symantec, a whole 98.94% were being used for malicious purposes. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domain name</span> Identification string in the Internet

In the Internet, a domain name is a 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 websites, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.eu</span> Internet country-code top level domain for the European Union

.eu is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the European Union (EU). Launched on 7 December 2005, the domain is available for any person, company or organization based in the European Union. This was extended to the European Economic Area in 2014, after the regulation was incorporated into the EEA Agreement, and hence is also available for any person, company or organization based in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The TLD is administered by EURid, a consortium originally consisting of the national ccTLD registry operators of Belgium, Sweden, and Italy, joined later by the national registry operator of the Czech Republic. Trademark owners were able to submit registrations through a sunrise period, in an effort to prevent cybersquatting. Full registration started on 7 April 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.tk</span> Country code top-level domain for Tokelau

.tk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.uk</span> Internet country code top-level domain for the United Kingdom

.uk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United Kingdom. It was first registered in July 1985, seven months after the original generic top-level domains such as .com and the first country code after .us.

A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all two-letter top-level domains are ccTLDs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.cc</span> Internet country-code top level domain for the Cocos Islands

On the Internet, .cc is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory. It is administered by a United States company, VeriSign, through a subsidiary company, eNIC, which promotes it for international registration as "the next .com". The .cc domain was originally assigned to eNIC in October 1997 by the IANA; eNIC manages the TLD alongside SamsDirect Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.cf</span> Internet country-code top level domain for the Central African Republic

.cf is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Central African Republic. It is administered by the Central African Society of Telecommunications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.su</span> Internet country-code top level domain for the Soviet Union

.su is an Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) that was designated for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on 19 September 1990. Even though the Soviet Union itself was dissolved 15 months later, the .su top-level domain remains in use to the present day. It is administered by the Russian Institute for Public Networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.tp</span> Former Internet country code top-level domain for East Timor

.tp was the listed Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for East Timor. The letters refer to Timor Português or Portuguese Timor, the name of the present independent nation when it was an overseas territory of Portugal. The domain .tp was officially launched in December 1997 by connect.ie, an internet service provider based in Dublin, Ireland, in cooperation with the East Timorese authorities in absentia, while East Timor was under Indonesian authority.

Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. A top-level domain is the last level of every fully qualified domain name. They are called generic for historical reasons; initially, they were contrasted with country-specific TLDs in RFC 920.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages the .ca country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Canada. Its offices are located at 979 Bank Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. CIRA sets the policies and agendas that support Canada's internet community and Canada's involvement in international internet governance. It is a member-driven organization with membership open to all that hold a .ca domain. As of March 2023, there were more than 3.3 million active .ca domains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.vg</span> Internet country code top-level domain for the British Virgin Islands

.vg is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the British Virgin Islands. Because it allows registration at the second level, and does not require the registrant to be associated with the British Virgin Islands, it has also been used by piracy related websites such as The Pirate Bay, and video gaming related blogs and websites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.io</span> Internet country-code top level domain for the British Indian Ocean Territory

The Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .io is nominally assigned to the British Indian Ocean Territory. The domain is managed by Internet Computer Bureau Ltd, a domain name registry, with registrar services provided by Name.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.gw</span> Internet country code top-level domain for Guinea-Bissau

.gw is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Guinea-Bissau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.so</span> Internet country code top-level domain for Somalia

.so is the internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Somalia. After a long absence, the .so domain was officially relaunched on November 1, 2010, by .SO Registry, which is regulated by the nation's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. It was launched through various accredited registrars around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.ma</span> Internet country code top-level domain for Morocco

.ma is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Morocco. A local registrar with a local Moroccan company as administrative contact is needed to register a .ma or .co.ma domain name. Further restrictions are imposed on the registering of other second-level domains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.pw</span> Internet country code top-level domain for Palau

.pw is the country code top-level domain for the Republic of Palau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.rs</span> Internet country code top-level domain for Serbia

.rs is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Serbia. The domain name registry that operates it is the Serbian National Internet Domain Registry (RNIDS). The letters rs stand for Republika Srbija/Република Србија.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.bank</span> Sponsored top-level domain

.bank is a sponsored top-level domain used in the Domain Name System of the internet. The TLD was officially delegated to fTLD Registry Services on behalf of the Financial Services Roundtable and American Bankers Association on January 5, 2015.

References

  1. "FREENOM RELAUNCHES THE NATIONAL TOP LEVEL DOMAIN OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA" (PDF). October 1, 2014.
  2. "REGISTRATION OF A DOMAIN". December 11, 2014.
  3. https://www.freenom.com/en/freenom_pressstatement_02122024_v0100.pdf
  4. "IANA — .gq Domain Delegation Data". www.iana.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  5. Freenom. "Freenom Relaunches The National Top Level Domain Of Equatorial Guinea". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  6. "Shady TLDs: .GQ Not Looking So Dapper". Symantec Security Response. Retrieved 2018-11-15.