After giving away free .ml domain names as part of a campaign to raise Internet awareness, the African state of Mali has run into serious problems with cybercriminals. According to statistics released by security experts Netcraft, nearly 6% of all websites with Malian domain names have already been blocked for hosting phishing websites.
The unwelcome title of “phishiest TLD” (Top Level Domain) means that Mali is now regarded by security providers as a hotspot for criminal activity by quite some way. The second most phishy domain belongs to Bhutan (.bt) which has the comparatively low block rate of 0.7%. As things stand, Mali has nearly ten times as many phishing sites as Bhutan.
Malian domains that are four characters or longer can be registered completely free of charge via Dutch registry Freenom. Domain names can be reserved for as a little as one month, right up to a year and all are available to be renewed as many times as the holder wants. To register a free domain, users need nothing more than a valid email address.
The lure of free domain names is powerful for spammers and legitimate businesses looking to keep their operating costs low. However with the .ml TLD rapidly losing credibility, businesses would be well advised to investigate low-cost alternatives such as .co.uk and .com.
For more advice about choosing a reputable domain name, call the Broadband Cloud Solutions team on 0141 585 6363.
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