<s>
A	O
domain	B-Application
name	I-Application
registrar	I-Application
is	O
a	O
company	O
that	O
manages	O
the	O
reservation	O
of	O
Internet	O
domain	O
names	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
domain	B-Application
name	I-Application
registrar	I-Application
must	O
be	O
accredited	O
by	O
a	O
generic	O
top-level	O
domain	O
(	O
gTLD	O
)	O
registry	B-Protocol
or	O
a	O
country	B-Application
code	I-Application
top-level	I-Application
domain	I-Application
(	O
ccTLD	B-Application
)	O
registry	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
registrar	O
operates	O
in	O
accordance	O
with	O
the	O
guidelines	O
of	O
the	O
designated	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registries	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
function	O
of	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registry	I-Protocol
operator	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
sole	O
registrar	O
for	O
these	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
one	O
such	O
company	O
,	O
Ivan	O
Pope	O
's	O
company	O
,	O
NetNames	O
,	O
developed	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
standalone	O
commercial	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
service	O
which	O
would	O
sell	O
domain	O
registration	O
and	O
other	O
associated	O
services	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
,	O
effectively	O
establishing	O
the	O
retail	O
arm	O
of	O
an	O
industry	O
with	O
the	O
registries	O
being	O
the	O
wholesalers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NSI	O
assimilated	O
this	O
model	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
separation	O
of	O
registry	B-Protocol
and	O
registrar	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
PGMedia	O
filed	O
an	O
antitrust	O
suit	O
against	O
NSI	O
citing	O
the	O
DNS	B-Protocol
root	I-Protocol
zone	I-Protocol
as	O
an	O
essential	O
facility	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
US	O
National	O
Science	O
Foundation	O
(	O
NSF	O
)	O
was	O
joined	O
as	O
a	O
defendant	O
in	O
this	O
action	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1998	O
,	O
following	O
pressure	O
from	O
the	O
growing	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
business	O
and	O
other	O
interested	O
parties	O
,	O
NSI	O
's	O
agreement	O
with	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Department	O
of	O
Commerce	O
was	O
amended	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
system	O
officially	O
commenced	O
service	O
on	O
November	O
30	O
,	O
1999	O
under	O
the	O
supervision	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Corporation	I-Application
for	I-Application
Assigned	I-Application
Names	I-Application
and	I-Application
Numbers	I-Application
(	O
ICANN	B-Application
)	O
,	O
although	O
there	O
had	O
been	O
several	O
testbed	O
registrars	O
using	O
the	O
system	O
since	O
March	O
11	O
,	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
,	O
over	O
900	O
registrars	O
have	O
entered	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
widely	O
used	O
registrars	O
include	O
Enom	B-Protocol
,	O
Tucows	O
,	O
and	O
Webcentral	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
ICANN-accredited	O
registrar	O
must	O
pay	O
a	O
fixed	O
fee	O
of	O
US$	O
4,000	O
plus	O
a	O
variable	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	O
registration	O
information	O
is	O
maintained	O
by	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registries	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
contract	O
with	O
domain	B-Application
registrars	I-Application
to	O
provide	O
registration	O
services	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
the	O
designated	O
registrar	O
may	O
modify	O
or	O
delete	O
information	O
about	O
domain	O
names	O
in	O
a	O
central	O
registry	B-Protocol
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
registrar	O
registers	O
a	O
.com	O
domain	O
name	O
for	O
an	O
end-user	O
,	O
it	O
must	O
pay	O
a	O
maximum	O
annual	O
fee	O
of	O
US	O
$7.85	O
to	O
VeriSign	B-Application
,	O
the	O
registry	B-Protocol
operator	I-Protocol
for	O
com	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
US	O
$0.18	O
annual	O
administration	O
fee	O
to	O
ICANN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
domain	B-Application
registrars	I-Application
price	O
their	O
services	O
and	O
products	O
to	O
address	O
both	O
the	O
annual	O
fees	O
and	O
the	O
administration	O
fees	O
that	O
must	O
be	O
paid	O
to	O
ICANN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Registration	O
of	O
a	O
domain	O
name	O
establishes	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
name	B-Protocol
server	I-Protocol
records	O
in	O
the	O
DNS	B-Protocol
servers	I-Protocol
of	O
the	O
parent	O
domain	O
,	O
indicating	O
the	O
IP	O
addresses	O
of	O
DNS	B-Protocol
servers	I-Protocol
that	O
are	O
authoritative	O
for	O
the	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Registrars	O
require	O
the	O
specification	O
of	O
usually	O
at	O
least	O
two	O
name	B-Protocol
servers	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Domain	B-Protocol
Name	I-Protocol
System	I-Protocol
Security	I-Protocol
Extensions	I-Protocol
(	O
DNSSEC	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
Internet	O
Engineering	O
Task	O
Force	O
(	O
IETF	O
)	O
specifications	O
for	O
securing	O
certain	O
kinds	O
of	O
information	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
Domain	O
Name	O
System	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
new	O
GTLD	B-Application
registries	I-Application
and	O
registrars	O
must	O
support	O
DNSSEC	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICANN	B-Application
has	O
defined	O
a	O
Policy	O
on	O
Transfer	O
of	O
Registrations	O
between	O
Registrars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
end	O
user	O
verifies	O
that	O
the	O
whois	B-Protocol
admin	O
contact	O
info	O
is	O
correct	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
email	O
address	O
;	O
obtains	O
the	O
authentication	O
code	O
(	O
EPP	B-Protocol
or	O
UDAI	B-Protocol
transfer	O
code	O
)	O
from	O
the	O
old	O
registrar	O
,	O
and	O
removes	O
any	O
domain	B-Protocol
lock	I-Protocol
that	O
has	O
been	O
placed	O
on	O
the	O
registration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
whois	B-Protocol
information	O
had	O
been	O
out	O
of	O
date	O
and	O
is	O
now	O
updated	O
,	O
the	O
end-user	O
should	O
wait	O
12	O
–	O
24	O
hours	O
before	O
proceeding	O
further	O
,	O
to	O
allow	O
time	O
for	O
the	O
updated	O
data	O
to	O
propagate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
by	O
e-mail	O
to	O
the	O
e-mail	O
addresses	O
listed	O
in	O
the	O
WHOIS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
could	O
result	O
in	O
loss	O
of	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
registration	I-Protocol
and	O
failure	O
of	O
the	O
transfer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
a	O
shared	O
registry	B-Protocol
system	O
opened	O
up	O
the	O
previous	O
domain	O
registration	O
monopoly	O
to	O
new	O
entities	O
known	O
as	O
registrars	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
qualified	O
by	O
ICANN	B-Application
to	O
do	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
registrars	O
had	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
and	O
although	O
some	O
companies	O
offered	O
value	O
added	O
services	O
or	O
used	O
viral	O
marketing	O
,	O
others	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
VeriSign	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Domain	B-Protocol
Registry	I-Protocol
of	O
America	O
attempted	O
to	O
trick	O
customers	O
to	O
switch	O
from	O
their	O
current	O
registrar	O
using	O
a	O
practice	O
known	O
as	O
domain	O
slamming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
scammers	O
contact	O
end-users	O
by	O
telephone	O
(	O
because	O
the	O
contact	O
information	O
is	O
available	O
through	O
WHOIS	B-Protocol
)	O
to	O
obtain	O
more	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
notices	O
would	O
include	O
information	O
publicly	O
available	O
from	O
the	O
WHOIS	B-Protocol
database	I-Protocol
to	O
add	O
to	O
the	O
look	O
of	O
authenticity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	O
name	O
expiry	O
dates	O
are	O
readily	O
available	O
via	O
WHOIS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
drop	O
catcher	O
is	O
a	O
domain	B-Application
name	I-Application
registrar	I-Application
who	O
offers	O
the	O
service	O
of	O
attempting	O
to	O
quickly	O
register	O
a	O
given	O
domain	O
name	O
for	O
a	O
customer	O
if	O
that	O
name	O
becomes	O
available	O
—	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
to	O
"	O
catch	O
"	O
a	O
"	O
dropped	O
"	O
name	O
—	O
when	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
's	O
registration	O
expires	O
and	O
is	O
then	O
deleted	O
,	O
either	O
because	O
the	O
registrant	O
abandons	O
the	O
domain	O
or	O
because	O
the	O
registrant	O
did	O
not	O
renew	O
the	O
registration	O
prior	O
to	O
deletion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
organizations	O
post	O
market-share-ranked	O
lists	O
of	O
domain	B-Application
name	I-Application
registrars	I-Application
and	O
numbers	O
of	O
domains	O
registered	O
at	O
each	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
published	O
lists	O
differ	O
in	O
which	O
top-level	O
domains	O
(	O
TLDs	O
)	O
they	O
use	O
;	O
in	O
the	O
frequency	O
of	O
updates	O
;	O
and	O
in	O
whether	O
their	O
basic	O
data	O
is	O
absolute	O
numbers	O
provided	O
by	O
registries	O
,	O
or	O
daily	O
changes	O
derived	O
from	O
Zone	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
February	O
2010	O
ICANN	B-Application
zone	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
access	O
concept	O
paper	O
explains	O
that	O
most	O
country	B-Application
code	I-Application
TLD	I-Application
(	O
ccTLD	B-Application
)	O
registries	O
stopped	O
providing	O
zone	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
in	O
2003	O
,	O
citing	O
abuse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monthly	O
(	O
but	O
with	O
approximately	O
a	O
three-month	O
delay	O
)	O
,	O
ICANN	B-Application
posts	O
registry	B-Protocol
reports	O
created	O
by	O
the	O
registries	O
of	O
all	O
gTLDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
reports	O
list	O
absolute	O
numbers	O
of	O
domains	O
registered	O
with	O
each	O
ICANN-accredited	O
registrar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Totals	O
included	O
.com	O
,	O
.net	B-Application
,	O
.org	O
,	O
.info	O
,	O
.biz	O
and	O
.us	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
cited	O
"	O
daily	O
changes	O
"	O
(	O
presumably	O
from	O
daily	O
zone	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
)	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
its	O
yearly	O
aggregates	O
.	O
</s>
