.gq
 | |
| Introduced | 2015 |
|---|---|
TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | GETESA |
| Sponsor | GETESA |
| Intended use | Entities connected with  Equatorial Guinea |
| Actual use | Many uses, most not in Equatorial Guinea. Free domains available or paid registrations for legal ownership with no activity requirement |
| Registry Website | Freenom dominio.gq |
.gq is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Equatorial Guinea. Freenom relaunched the TLD on October 1, 2014, and domains became available for free on January 1, 2015.[1][2]
The .gq registry allows the creation of emoji domain names.
Contents
1 History
2 Second-level domains
3 Abuse
4 References
5 External links
History
The .gq domain was launched in July 1997 by GETESA, the nation's prominent internet service provider.[3]
In October 2014, domain company Freenom partnered with GETESA to try a business model which involved giving away .gq domain names for free. Before the public launch, there was a sunrise period to allow trademark holders to register their names. Public domain registration commenced on January 1st, 2015.[4]
Second-level domains
Registrations are taken directly at the second level, or at the third level beneath the following second level names:
.org.gq for organizations
.gov.gq for Government entities
.edu.gq for Educational institutions
.mil.gq for Military entities
.com.gq for Commercial
Abuse
Due to the lack of cost required to obtain a .gq domain, the TLD has been prone to usage for spam, phishing and other malicious purposes. A study conducted by internet security company Symantec found that 92% of the top 50 .gq websites were being used for "shady" purposes. Out of all of the websites on a .gq domain that were surveyed by Symantec, a whole 98.94% were being used for malicious purposes.
[5]
References
^ "FREENOM RELAUNCHES THE NATIONAL TOP LEVEL DOMAIN OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA" (PDF). October 1, 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "REGISTRATION OF A DOMAIN". December 11, 2014.
^ "IANA — .gq Domain Delegation Data". www.iana.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
^ Freenom. "Freenom Relaunches The National Top Level Domain Of Equatorial Guinea". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
^ "Shady TLDs: .GQ Not Looking So Dapper". Symantec Security Response. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
External links
- IANA .gq whois information
Freenom, a registrar offering free .gq registration
Dominio.gq, the .gq registry website
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