Free Registrar co.cc Goes the Way of the Dodo 70
First time accepted submitter Nexus Unplugged writes "Free domain provider co.cc seems to have quietly and mysteriously disappeared. No official explanation has yet been provided, but a cached copy suggest that they stopped accepting new registrations some time ago. Speculation, however, seems to come to a single conclusion. From the article: 'Due to its free nature (and it's $10 for as many as you want), Co.CC was abused and used for scams and spamming and was even de-listed by Google at one point although they did re-enable it. Getting back to the article on hand a few days ago Co.CC seems to have removed its DNS records which ultimately has stops its own site from working and every sub domain it provided.'
It's worth noting that free domains are still easily obtainable from places like DotTK."
No surprise (Score:5, Insightful)
We can't have anything good and free because scumbags will take advantage of it.
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You can't have anything free. Ever.
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Air
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Ok, make that, unclean air.
Re:No surprise (Score:5, Funny)
It costs money to pollute that stuff!
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However, I would direct you to Mr. Humphries [youtube.com], who is always free.
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I agree speculation should be outlawed.
Oh wait, what about Wall Street...
I can't believe no one's noticed... (Score:2)
...that people can't get their free domains because co.cc has been cut off.
Or is that what this story is about?
still several for subdomains (Score:4, Informative)
If you're okay with a subdomain rather than looking to register directly under a TLD, FreeDNS [afraid.org] is another one that's been around for a while, though they target themselves a bit more at people who want a changeable hostname for their dynamic IP (a free alternative to the used-to-be-free-but-now-isn't DynDNS).
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.co.cc is already a subdomain.
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Like .co.uk is?
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Google offers very robust free subdomains (Score:3)
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Just add all the domains to your HOST file (Score:1)
apk, I summon you!
apk, I summon you!
apk, I summon you!
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It takes more than an APK to modify /etc/hosts on an Android device. If your device isn't rooted, you need to use Android Debug Bridge [slashdot.org].
(APK has two meanings, as does Twitter [slashdot.org].)
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how dare you (Score:2)
Some geographical .us subdomains are still free (Score:4, Interesting)
.wa.us is a good example. You can get seattle.wa.us and other such cities free. It's managed through nwnexus.com. I've always just contacted their sales staff to request forms to register a .seattle.wa.us or .olympia.wa.us for example. They're long, but definitely free.
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Can you explain this to me in detail? Their site has nothing specific to how this is done... Thanks.
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Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Is it a bad sign that grassroots, word-of-mouth advertising is now indistinguishable from shills, viral advertising campaigns, and astroturfing? It's only a matter of time before corporate America catches on to the fact that we're getting pissed off by this and sells our outrage back to us, in the form of even more cynical advertising methods.
Re:Great big .tk advertisement (Score:4, Informative)
.tk sucks
Their machine runs like so:
They give you a "free domain", and then when your DNS queries reach a certain number, they suspend your domain for "unspecified reasons" and then make you pay twice the price of .com to have the domain re-enabled.
Don't use .tk for anything that isn't disposable.
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And it's a playground for scammers. I wouldn't use a .tk domain for anything more important than a blog with fewer visitors anually than the ISS.
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Just registered with them to try their free domain.
How do they count DNS queries, when i'm not using their name servers? (I'm using mine, check my new http://kalevala.tk/ [kalevala.tk] domain)
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check my new http://kalevala.tk/ [kalevala.tk] domain
"If works"?
DotTK questions (Score:5, Funny)
If I write an NTP server in Tcl/Tk and register it on Dot.TK could I call it ticktock.tcl.tk?
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Actually tcl.tk is already the primary domain for active tcl.
I reference wiki.tcl.tk and their online man pages there frequently.
Blocked It At My Job (Score:2)
At my last job we encountered too many links to scammers and malware from sites on their subdomains via spam and customer applications. We went ahead and blocked *.co.cc and would not approve any potential customer applications if that's where their website was.
If a company wants to do a website on the cheap, domains don't cost much and hosting can be had for $5/mo to free depending on your content.
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Myabe it's just one of those things that only geeks notice, but it still boggles my mind when I see companies (not even small ones) with a website on freewebs and matching hotmail email.
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i a know multi-national company whose employees (VP's, Regional Managers, ...) regularly use yahoo or gmail accounts with vendors because their corporate e-mail system is so locked down that even the smallest of attachments (anything over 500kb) gets blocked.
co.cc? (Score:1)
I don't suppose it had anything to do with how that particular domain is pronounced?
Might be suited to adult sites, but it wouldn't work for everyone.
I always knew it (Score:1)
There Ain't Such A Thing As Free Co.cc.
Sounds like a good target for creative commons (Score:5, Interesting)
you get what you pay for (Score:1)
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Obviously you did not read their terms and conditions [www.dot.tk] before relying on the service. DotTK are crooks by design. Their businness model is clear: get your money once you find the service useful.
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Had my website there (Score:1)
Missed opportunity (Score:2)
They should have positioned themselves as an alternative to .xxx during the years (decade?) when people were fighting about that one. Only problem is for lesbian sites, but they could do things like we.need.no.co.cc.