AFILIAS Announces New Policy To Make .INFO Even Safer For Internet Users

New policy leads industry in the effective deterrence of abuses like phishing and spam

October 7, 2008; 09:19 AM

DUBLIN, IRELAND - 7 October 2008 - Afilias, a global provider of registry  services, today announced a new registration policy that makes the nature of domain name abuses clear for registrants and registrars, and furthers the  power of the registry to take quick and appropriate action regarding .INFO  domains used for abusive behavior. This policy will go into effect on 6 November 2008.

"This policy is the result of over a year of dedicated work by Afilias to understand and curtail the abusive use of domain names, and to design effective deterrents," said Ram Mohan, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Afilias. ".INFO's tremendous overall popularity has attracted criminals online, as do many other domains, so we are taking further firm action to protect users by improving detection and enforcement actions." 

Under the policy, abusive use has been more clearly defined and includes, but is not limited to: phishing, e-mail spam and other types of spam, the willful distribution of malware, the use of botnets and fast flux hosting, distribution of child pornography, illegal access to other computers or networks, and other illegal or fraudulent actions. Domains that are being abused will be reported to the sponsoring registrar, and Afilias has the option of removing them from the DNS and reporting the abuser to law enforcement.  Afilias is committed to working closely with its registrars, legal authorities, security professionals, and others to rid the Internet of the scourge of domain abuse.

"This is a positive step forward demonstrating how registries can take positive actions to increase protection against security threats such as spam, phishing and malware," said Steven Crocker, Chair of ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee. "We applaud Afilias' efforts to deter such abusive practices."

The full details of the .INFO Anti-Abuse Policy can be found at:  http://www.info.info/info/abusive_use_policy

About .INFO
..INFO is the most intuitive path to information on the Internet. It was the first unrestricted generic top-level domain (TLD) launched since .COM and today contains over 5 million registered domains and millions of live Web sites. For more information on .INFO please visit www.info.info.

About Afilias
Afilias provides global registry services that leverage proven technology to deliver fast, reliable and secure service. Afilias' technology supports a wide range of applications, including Internet domain registries such as .INFO, .ORG, .aero, .mobi, .asia, .me, and many country code domains. Afilias also provides services in the RFID market with its Afilias Discovery Service, which enables real-time lookup of event histories across RFID networks. Afilias maintains international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, sales offices in London, England, sales and operational facilities in Toronto, administrative offices in the U.S. near Philadelphia, PA, and operational offices in New Delhi, India. For more information on Afilias please visit www.afilias.info.