Detecting Anonymously Registered Domains

Spamresource.com has up a piece describing a new service that could be useful in evaluating the reputation of sites you deal with — anonwhois.org returns information on domains registered anonymously. It provides a DNSBL-style service that "is not a blacklist and wasn't meant to be used for outright rejection of mail." Only 619,000 domains are listed so far, but more are added as they are queried, so the database will grow more complete. Anonwhois.org seems to be a sister site to Spam Eating Monkey.

Re:Stupid

[Anonymous Coward]

Says the Anonymous Coward.

Jeebus

[Anonymous Coward]

This is just more kdawson FUD.

I thought he was relegated to the night shift. Guess not.

Contact!

[caturday]

Everyone who has brought up or agreed with any of the points raised here (private information protection, spammers lying, disclaimers not working, etc), please use the contact form on the anonwhois site to send them a message informing them that they're doing us all a disservice. Doubtful that we'll get anywhere, but you never know... Note: in the case that this is a front for spammers trying to farm information, you'll probably not want to associate your domain with this site in any way.

Re:Continued misuse of blacklists

[sopssa]

Anecdotes are not data (and a mailbox works as a contact address).

Maybe in the US. What do you suggest those in the other countries, which have dropped the usage of mailbox addresses, do? No, I'm not putting my home address on the internet, and no, I'm not registering a costly company (with all the tax filing and other things) just so I can register a domain for a hobby site.

Everyone should also be able to be tell their opinion anonymously (interestingly you also posted as anonymous coward).

I'm waiting for your insightful answer.

Re:Continued misuse of blacklists

[eldavojohn]

Operating a server with internet services is contrary to popular belief not for amateurs and basement dwelling guys of the "Hmmm. Lemme se how this works. Ooops!" persuasion. The internet is a global collaboration based on informal (and some not so informal) rules. It's not a testing ground for stuff you found on Google or software you downloaded from Sourceforge.

Wow! The internet is some serious shit! I thought I would just log on and, like, clear up the tubes and make a really wicked site, brah! So tell me, how do I get to be as fucking awesome as you if I can't tinker with hosting a real server with real internet services on the real internet?

Do you imagine that I am paying $70 a year to a web hosting company so that I can open all the ports on their servers, drop my pants, bend over and wait for the first botnet to have their way with me?

Contrary to your elitist belief system, web hosting companies exist that offer you servers and restrict your abilities to protect you and others from the horrors of the internet.

Now get off my lawn before I call the Internet Police.

The Internet Police!? Well, now I'm fucked. And all this time I thought it was the ma-and-pa Windows 9x machines out there that were part of the big bad botnets. Thank you for opening up my eyes, I realize now that I caused all internet cancer.

Re:Continued misuse of blacklists

[Anonymous Coward]

I never said anything about blocking anyone, but I WAS trumpeting the usefulness of real contact data on domain registrations. As with all other black lists, it's advice you take or advice you don't take. Uninformed decisions are the domain of kneejerks, feelgooders and people who are out on a mission, not professionals whose job (or reputation) hangs in the balance.

I'll start looking up everything on this list, and if 99% of what is otherwise considered spam is also on the list after a few months, I'll start assigning scores to it. That'll leave me with around a 5,000,000 sample body of mails. That's the logic I'm going for, and teenager style similes and anecdotes are still not data.

Anonymous registration is necessary

[StealthyRoid]

I'm the owner of an anonymous hosting company, InvisiHosting.com, and I'd like to comment briefly on the distaste for anonymous domain registration.

1. ICANN regulations require the listing of accurate data in a WHOIS record, with a threat of revocation if inaccurate data is not corrected. That means that anyone who has a domain name, who doesn't have a company to register it under, has to have their real name, address, email and phone number listed in the WHOIS record. While most registrars are pretty lax in enforcing this, it still leaves normal, good people faced with having to put information that they wouldn't necessarily want public. Anonymous registration makes this unnecessary.
2. Many people have very very good reasons for not wanting to be associated with a website. Whistleblowers, pranksters, bloggers, etc, all could face serious legal or social repercussions if they data they make public is attached back to them. Many of my non-American customers would be arrested or sued for exercising nothing more than the freedom of speech that the rest of us are accustomed to.
3. If this idea really takes hold, and ANONWHOIS lists are actually used to spam score email, real spammers will just find a registrar that doesn't enforce ICANN policy too strictly (Joker, GoDaddy, etc...), throw up fake data, and the list would be left penalizing honest people who simply don't want their name attached to their domain.