Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Neat, but will they turn a blind eye to domains registered with false information? After all, the biggest advantage of Bitcoin over traditional digital payment methods is its capability to be used anonymously.


> Neat, but will they turn a blind eye to domains registered with false information?

I imagine in the future internet, domain registrations will be just as anonymous (like .onion on tor) as bitcoin, no reason domain names can't be decentralized (different tld's of course).


Probably you know, but there is an alternative blockchain called namecoin for DNS. http://dot-bit.org/Main_Page


i would love a method to be able to anonymously host websites that is un-take-down-able and untracable. It would mean that contriversial stuff can be put there without fear of repercussion, and thus, more democratic.




Providing falsified WHOIS information will only harm the registrant.


It's cheap to register a domain. Fake WHOIS information may mean that you have a possibility of losing the domain, but if you're doing something sketchy, or just politically unpopular to people who matter, there isn't a paper trail.

Really, a debit card card purchased with cash would probably work just as well, but there are imaginable situations where the risk of losing the domain is less of a problem than being identified as the registrant.


How?

I keep valid contact information in the WHOIS records for my domains, and all I get out of it is e-mail spam from my registrar, e-mail spam from everyone else, snail mail spam from my registrar, snail mail spam from competing registrars (Domain Registry of America, anyone?), "SELL YOUR DOMAIN TO US!" robocall spam, and yearly ICANN WDRP e-mails from my registrar.


Because, according to ICANN rules - you may lose the right to your domain if the registrant information is falsified.

That's why they "spam" you once a year, reminding you to keep the registrant information up to date.

I have not heard of anyone losing their generic TLD in a random check, but the risk always exist.


You need an anonymized WHOIS service. Namecheap offers free anonymized WHOIS by default on their domains ... its called "WhoisGuard Protection". Its a must have these days.


Yes, I want to be anonymous so I'll sign legal control of my domain over to a third party service (per their terms and conditions - http://www.whoisguard.com/registrant-agreement.asp):

• who you have to "provide […] truthful, complete, current, accurate and reliable contact details" to,

• who "has the right to disclose your identity and your other Personal Information" and

• who "may resolve any and all third party claims, whether threatened or made, arising out of your registration or use of the Domain"

Now for a lot of people who just don't want their name easily visible, that's fine because it's unlikely these terms will be acted on. But for anyone who actually needs anonymity, to protect their right to free speech (for example), that's not good enough.


If you're looking to actually protect your anonymity when registering a domain, you ought to do so with your own privacy protecting corporation. Delaware corporations (any many offshore corporations) can be legally registered anonymously, which will keep your information off the whois information, without relying on a shaky 3rd party agreement.


> Namecheap offers free anonymized WHOIS by default on their domains ... its called "WhoisGuard Protection".

Free for just the first year after transferring/registering a domain, after that it costs you.


I'm honestly not sure, but I was under the impression that bitcoin wasn't really anonymous. All transactions are publicly logged to prevent double spend, so you can trace a coin from the first time it was used. If you happen to know that an address maps to a specific someone, you can begin to create a pretty identifiable picture.

See, eg: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=241.0


I thought this too, but after looking into it I understood how it could be used anonymously: http://www.jefftk.com/news/2013-01-28


The biggest advantage of Bitcoin is being able to transfer funds globally without an intermidiary. Think of it as a payment method rather than a currency for the time being and you'll be better served.


Well the thing is they offer web & vps hosting as well.

I really don't see how they can do that anonymously and still function. They will be constantly fighting scammers and spammers.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: