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Somewhat related question: I have a (obscure) domain that I'm planning to let expire soon. Is there anything I could / should do to stop it being used for quest

by Joeboy 2y ago

Somewhat related question: I have a (obscure) domain that I'm planning to let expire soon. Is there anything I could / should do to stop it being used for questionable purposes?

kxrm 2y ago
Once you let your domain expire you no longer have any say over what happens with the domain so no, not really. I would just recommend cleansing the domain from any systems you may have used it on and ensuring that you have no other technical ties the domain. Treat it just like any other domain you do not own.
hk__2 2y ago
If you don’t own the domain then you have no say over what’s it’s used for. The only thing you can do is not to let it expire.
belorn 2y ago
Create a permanent redirect to any other site should transfer any search "scores" onto the new site. You can also request google to de-list the domain from search, which should reset any value that the domain has acquired from the time you owned it. If the account is validated on large platforms, it should be a good idea to remove those from the account as a way to signal the platform that it is no longer validated on that site.
sybercecurity 2y ago
Some TLDs/registrars let you park registrations. They won't appear in the DNS, but they can't be registered by anyone else. Or there is a delegation to some internal hosting service that the registrar operates that is an empty zone (i.e. no A, MX, etc.) so there is nothing reachable. I've done this with zones I've had for a while - it sucks since you want to be a good net citizen and not let the zones be used for spam/attacks. You end up paying for a domain for years after you stopped needing it.
pabs3 2y ago
First, let ArchiveTeam know, so that we can save anything public you have on the domain to archive.org so it will persist beyond the expiry. https://archiveteam.org/ https://archiveteam.org/
8organicbits 2y ago
Delete any accounts you've created using that domain, those could be taken over by the new owner. Especially important if you ever used email on the domain.

by Joeboy 2y ago

Somewhat related question: I have a (obscure) domain that I'm planning to let expire soon. Is there anything I could / should do to stop it being used for questionable purposes?

kxrm 2y ago

Once you let your domain expire you no longer have any say over what happens with the domain so no, not really. I would just recommend cleansing the domain from any systems you may have used it on and ensuring that you have no other technical ties the domain. Treat it just like any other domain you do not own.

hk__2 2y ago

If you don’t own the domain then you have no say over what’s it’s used for. The only thing you can do is not to let it expire.

belorn 2y ago

Create a permanent redirect to any other site should transfer any search "scores" onto the new site. You can also request google to de-list the domain from search, which should reset any value that the domain has acquired from the time you owned it. If the account is validated on large platforms, it should be a good idea to remove those from the account as a way to signal the platform that it is no longer validated on that site.

sybercecurity 2y ago

Some TLDs/registrars let you park registrations. They won't appear in the DNS, but they can't be registered by anyone else. Or there is a delegation to some internal hosting service that the registrar operates that is an empty zone (i.e. no A, MX, etc.) so there is nothing reachable. I've done this with zones I've had for a while - it sucks since you want to be a good net citizen and not let the zones be used for spam/attacks. You end up paying for a domain for years after you stopped needing it.

pabs3 2y ago

First, let ArchiveTeam know, so that we can save anything public you have on the domain to archive.org so it will persist beyond the expiry. https://archiveteam.org/ https://archiveteam.org/

8organicbits 2y ago

Delete any accounts you've created using that domain, those could be taken over by the new owner. Especially important if you ever used email on the domain.