.zip (top-level domain)

Last updated
.zip
Introduced
  • 2014
  • 2023 (public registration)
TLD type Generic top-level domain
StatusActive
Registry Alphabet Inc.
Registered domains14,000 (2024) [1]

.zip is a top-level domain name operated by Google. [2] .zip is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) introduced under the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers's new gTLD program. Approved as a part of the program, .zip became available to the general public on May 3, 2023.

Contents

The qualifier .zip is also associated with the widely recognized .zip file format, commonly used for file compression and archiving, and its approval as a gTLD received criticism for the security concerns that may arise as a consequence.

Security concerns

Google opened registration for the .zip and .mov top-level domains to the general public on May 3, 2023. Its release was immediately met with condemnation from cyber security experts as a result of its similarity with the file format of the same name. [3] [4] Malwarebytes warned against the use of already recognizable filenames and their confusion with top-level domains, as "plenty of users already have a clear idea that .zip means something completely different." [5] Experts cautioned against their use, and noted that the use of .zip filetypes in cybercrime had had "an explosion" in recent years. [5] Cisco warned against the potential for leaks for personal identifying information. [6] Researchers also registered similar concern about Google's .mov domain. [3] [4]

Surveys by security researchers immediately following public release of domain registration found numerous examples of links and domains registered under .zip being used in phishing attempts, and the ICSS recommended disabling access to .zip domains until "the dust settles and risks can be accessed." [7]

Usage

Following its release to the general public, .zip domain registrations were one of the most popular new domains registered in summer of 2023, during the domain's landrush and early access period. [8] Security researchers noted high levels of phishing domains and high levels of redirection campaigns. Shortly after its release, some security vendors blocked access to .zip domains, and new domains under these TLDs began to be scrutinized more carefully. [8]

One month after its public release in June 2023, there were 13,796 .zip domains registered; [9] which has risen to over 14,000 as of November 2024. [1] Security researchers found that malicious use of the domain was approximately 0.20%, slightly below the global average of 0.22%. This was still higher than the abuse rate of 0.06% seen in European ccTLDs. [9]

See also

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">.org</span> Generic top-level domain

The domain name .org is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of the Domain Name System (DNS) used on the Internet. The name is truncated from 'organization'. It was one of the original domains established in 1985, and has been operated by the Public Interest Registry since 2003. The domain was originally "intended as the miscellaneous TLD for organizations that didn't fit anywhere else". It is commonly used by non-profit organizations, open-source projects, and communities, but is an open domain that can be used by anyone. The number of registered domains in .org has increased from fewer than one million in the 1990s, to ten million in 2012, and held steady between ten and eleven million since then.

A domain name registrar is a company, person, or office that manages the reservation of Internet domain names.

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

.us is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States. It was established in February 1985. Registrants of .us domains must be U.S. citizens, residents, or organizations – or foreign entities with a presence in the United States or any territory of the United States. Most registrants in the U.S. have registered for .com, .net, .org and other gTLDs, instead of .us, which has primarily been used by state and local governments, even though private entities may also register .us domains. The domain is managed by Registry Services, LLC, a domain name registry, on behalf of the United States Department of Commerce.

<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">.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.

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.

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

.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. Following Freenom's lawsuit with Meta and its settlement in 2024, it is unclear who will take up registration of the domain, as the company announced it would be exiting the domain business.

<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.

The internationalized domain name (IDN) homoglyph attack is a method used by malicious parties to deceive computer users about what remote system they are communicating with, by exploiting the fact that many different characters look alike. For example, the Cyrillic, Greek and Latin alphabets each have a letter ⟨o⟩ that has the same shape but represents different sounds or phonemes in their respective writing systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VirusTotal</span> Cybersecurity website owned by Chronicle

VirusTotal is a website created by the Spanish security company Hispasec Sistemas. Launched in June 2004, it was acquired by Google in September 2012. The company's ownership switched in January 2018 to Chronicle, a subsidiary of Google.

Typosquatting, also called URL hijacking, a sting site, a cousin domain, or a fake URL, is a form of cybersquatting, and possibly brandjacking which relies on mistakes such as typos made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser. A user accidentally entering an incorrect website address may be led to any URL, including an alternative website owned by a cybersquatter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.biz</span> Generic top-level Internet domain

.biz is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is intended for registration of domains to be used by businesses. The name is a phonetic spelling of the first syllable of business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.app (top-level domain)</span> Generic top-level domain

.app is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) in ICANN's New gTLD Program. Google purchased the gTLD in an ICANN Auction of Last Resort in February 2015.

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

.top is a generic top-level domain, officially delegated in ICANN's new gTLD program on August 4, 2014.

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

.Tech is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of the Domain Name System (DNS) used in the Internet. The name is truncated from technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.site</span> A generic top-level domain used in on the internet.

.site is a generic top-level domain used in the Domain Name System of the internet. The domain was officially delegated to DotSite Inc on 12 March 2015. In 2000, years prior to its current ownership, the company Afilias LLC attempted to apply for ownership of the domain, along with .info and .web.

Charleston Road Registry Inc. (CRR), doing business as Google Registry, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Google LLC. It is the domain name registry that Google uses to handle its top-level domains (TLDs).

<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. 1 2 ".zip | Top-Level Domain Breakdown". nTLDStats. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  2. ↑ ".zip Registry Agreement". www.icann.org.
  3. 1 2 Alcantara, Jan Michael (12 June 2023). ".Zip and .Mov Top Level Domain Abuse: One Month After Being Made Public". Netskope.
  4. 1 2 Newman, Lily Hay (21 May 2023). "The Real Risks in Google's New .Zip and .Mov Domains". Wired.
  5. 1 2 Stockley, Mark (17 May 2023). "Zip domains, a bad idea nobody asked for". Malwarebytes.
  6. ↑ "".Zip" top-level domains draw potential for information leaks". Cisco Talos Blog. 13 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Brinkmann, Martin (15 May 2023). "Google's .zip Top Level domain is already used in phishing attacks - gHacks Tech News".
  8. 1 2 Ramesh, Reethika; Chen, Zhanhao; Li, Wanjin; Liu, Daiping (30 August 2024). "TLD Tracker: Exploring Newly Released Top-Level Domains".
  9. 1 2 Deacon, Alex (July 17, 2023). "The .zip TLD: Ripe for abuse, but so far so good". DNS Research Federation.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.