An analysis of newly registered .cz domain names has found that there were 1,209 newly registered domains relating to the coronavirus pandemic at the end of the first quarter.
Tag: .CZ
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.CZ Turns 25!
On 13 January the .cz ccTLD celebrated its 25th anniversary. The country code top level domain for the Czech Republic replaced .cs which disappeared along with Czechoslovakia. According to statistics from the CZ.NIC Association, administrator of the Czech Republic’s ccTLD, there are now more than 1.3million .cz domain names.âInternet domains have been registered in the Czech Republic since the early 1990s. At that time, those were now non-existent .CS domains. The registration of these domains was the responsibility of the computing center at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. The Czech domain .CZ came to be after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993. At that time, the domain administrator covered the costs of the registration system, and the registration and use of the second level domain names was free of charge,â recalls OndÅej Filip, CEO of CZ.NIC that has been administering the national domain since September 1999.
According to public statistics from CZ.NIC, most registrants have just the one domain name, with the most common length being nine characters. In terms of regional representation, the most registrants reside in Prague, while the Karlovy Vary region has traditionally had the lowest number of them. Outside the Czech Republic, .cz domains are being registered mostly in Slovakia, Germany and the United States of America.
â.CZ is by far the most widely used domain in the Czech Republic. Two key events contributed to this fact: in 1997, relatively strict registration rules relaxed, which made it possible for natural persons to register domain names. Ten years later, CZ.NIC introduced its own FRED domain administration and registration system, which significantly accelerated the registration process and also made it cheaper,â adds OndÅej Filip.
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2015 CENTR Awards finalists revealed
[news release] CENTR today announced the shortlisted candidates in each of the five categories of the 2015 CENTR Awards, which aim at highlighting ccTLD registry projects, teams and people that are making a difference in the industry.Marketing category:⢠AustriaLoves.at – “Darlinks” of the nation, NIC.AT (.at)⢠Domain Pirates campaign, IIS (.se)⢠âWithout a name it remains a dreamâ campaign, Registro.it
Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) category:⢠OPTIMISE Fund, IEDR (.ie)⢠Browse in Catalan, Fundació PuntCAT (.cat)⢠Community Investment Program, CIRA (.ca)
Research and Development (R&D) category:⢠Zonemaster by Afnic and .IIS (.fr, .se)⢠Knot DNS by CZ.NIC (.cz)⢠turing by Nominet (.uk)
Security category:⢠Rapid adoption of DNSSEC, Norid (.no)⢠Collaboration on auditing the ISO27001 ISMS, Christa Falkensammer (SWITCH [.ch]), Boban Krsic (DENIC [.de]) and Christian Proschinger (NIC.AT [.at])⢠Turris Project, CZ.NIC (.cz)
Contributor of the Year category:⢠Lise Fuhr (DK Hostmaster, .dk) and Mathieu Weill (Afnic, .fr) (combined nomination)⢠CZ.NIC (Registry as a whole)⢠Marcos Sanz (DENIC, .de)⢠Kristof Tuyteleers (DNS Belgium, .be)All shortlisted nominations in the first four categories were forwarded to Jury members, who have until 18 September to submit their choices. âThis shortlist is very promisingâ, says Carolina Aguerre, LACTLD General Manager and Chair of the 2015 CENTR Awards Jury. âWe really look forward to diving into the details of each project.â
This year, the CENTR community will also be voting for the Contributor of the Year Award. Votes are open to full and associate CENTR members, with one ballot per member.
The winners this year’s edition will be announced at the 2015 CENTR Awards Ceremony in Brussels on 7 October.
Congratulations to all participants!
This CENTR news release was sourced from:
https://centr.org/news/centr-awards/08-25-2015/4343/2015-centr-awards-finalists-revealed -
Centr Publishes May European ccTLD News
Centr has published their latest European ccTLD News. The May 2014 edition includes updates on:- Article: IPv6 and DNSSEC in the Czech Republic
- Technies visit NASK/.PL
- Registrar Market Shares: Who’s selling the ccTLDs?
- Q+A with Lise Fuhr (.dk and CENTR Board)
- ccTLD news highlights and statistics.
To download the May edition, go to:
https://centr.org/news/05-30-2014/european-cctld-news-may-2014 -
NIX.CZ Association Launches New Project To Make Czech Internet Safer
[news release] ACTIVE 24, CESNET, CZ.NIC, Dial Telecom, Seznam.cz and Telefónica Czech Republic are the six companies that joined the new project called Secure VLAN. It is designed to help to cope with the DoS and DDoS attacks which are targeting the popular Internet services in the Czech Republic.
The Secure VLAN project has home to existence on the NIX.CZ platform as a reaction to massive DoS attacks of March 2013. By joining the project, these companies clearly indicate their intention to make Czech Internet safer for their customers. Currently, there are other companies preparing to join the project too.
âNaturally, for a significant number of companies connected to NIX.CZ it is their key Czech customers that matter the most. During attacks it becomes impossible for affected customers to connect to important Internet services. In an event of such an attack a company joined in the project has a possibility to maintain a connection through the Secure VLAN and provide access to services thanks to other companies joined in the Secure VLAN project and this is the basic idea of the project.â explains Martin Semrád, the director of the NIX.CZ Association.
A participation in the project is subject to a number of conditions set in the Terms which must be fulfilled by each company wishing to join the project. For example, the company must be connected to NIX.CZ for a certain time period prior to joining the project, it must be trustworthy and it has to actively participate at the Working groups.
âTo become a member of the Secure VLAN a company must have a first-rate level of technology. Potential participants must fulfil strict security conditions and they have to make adjustments of their networks, such as implement safety measures against IP spoofing, which is the most common method to hide the true origin of DoS attacks.â adds Adam Golecký, the technical director of the Czech peering node.
The Secure VLAN is governed by its members, who are fully independent from NIX.CZ and have a full autonomy in their decisions. The project started to emerge last year and the representatives of the NIX.CZ Association have been discussing it on a number of Working groups and meetings.
âI am firmly convinced that a membership in such a project will become vital for companies that provide connection for important services, these need to maintain an uninterrupted connection even in the most critical moments. For many this step will mean a financial investment which will however return in a bigger marketing potential due to the membership in such a project.â says Martin Semrád.
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CcTLD Updates: .au, .cr, .id, .nl, .ru, .sg
Following the 2010 Names Policy Panel, auDA, the .au policy and regulatory body, has announced they will be implementing some of the Panelâs recommendations.
There are two main policy changes. One relates to domain monetisation in .com.au and .net.au, which sees the policy rules in effect âincorporated into the Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Policy Rules for Open 2LDs at Schedules C (com.au) and E (net.au).â
The second relates to the little used .id.au 2LD, previously open only to individuals using their actual name or nickname. Now registrants will be able to register a domain name in the 2LD that relates to âa personal interest or hobby of the registrant.â
NIC Costa Rica announced that on 16 October 2012, the registries from Germany (.de), Brazil (.br) and Czech Republic (.cz) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NIC Costa Rica (.cr). In their announcement NIC Costa Rica notes âthe agreements allows for mutually beneficial projects such as: promote the exchange of expertise, share best practices related to management, strategy and business models, work together on initiatives that can lead to more efficient processes among other projects.â
The registry for .id domain names (Indonesia) said there is a good chance the ccTLD will become the largest in south east Asia. According to a Tech In Asia report, Indonesiaâs 103,882 .id domains are still outnumbered by Singaporeâs .sg and Malaysiaâs .my domains, which have 144,591 and 206,663 registered domains respectively.â The ccTLD has seen a 62.5 percent increase in registration in 2012 with the registry, PANDI, forecasting a growth rate of up to 170 percent in 2013 which, if it happens, would mean there would be 300,000 more new .id domain names at the end of 2013.
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and SIDN have jointly written to ICANN on the subject of last resort redelegation. The move is linked to contingency arrangements that the ministry and SIDN made in the 2008 Covenant on Safeguarding the .nl Domain, with a view to ensuring the continuity and stability of the .nl domain under all circumstances. The letter informs ICANN about the Covenant and about the contingency arrangements made at the national level, in case a last resort redelegation should ever be necessary.
On 19 December, 2012, the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ hosted a press conference on the “Russian Domain Space 2012: the bottom line”. The press conference looked at the achievement os 2012 and emerging future trends.
Issues covered were the stability of Russiaâs TLDs, .ru and .ÑÑ, the growth in registrations of both TLDs to go past a combined total of five million, the safety of the DNS and DNSSEC and Russian applications for new gTLDs.
And the Coordination Center for TLD RU also announced the Russian Domains stats portal now enables to compare the domain zones in a highly visual mode. Compare Data will prove useful for web analysts, media and other Internet community members as well as for the members of the domain industry.
The Singaporean registry, SGNIC, announced that from 2 January 2013, all new businesses and companies registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) via its BizFile system on or after 5 October 2012, will save at least S$30 for the first year of registration for their first .sg domain name (ending with “.com.sg” or “.sg”).
In another SGNIC announcement, from 1 to 31 January 2013, a selected group of Premium Domain Names (âPDNsâ) will be released for application at a base price ranging from $642 to $21,400 (including GST). If the name has multiple applications, it will be allocated to the applicant with the highest bid.
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.CZ Reaches One Million Active Domains
On 19 November at 17:24, the number of active .CZ (Czech Republic) domain names reached one million CZ. NIC Association announced.Among the top-level domains of member states of the EU, the .CZ domain became the 12th âmillionaireâ and is among those with the fastest growth. Over 10,000 new domains are registered each month.This achievement was helped particularly by the introduction of the FRED registration system, which is 5 years old this October, and which made the registration process considerably faster and cheaper.
âThe importance of internet domains keeps growing. The primary reason for that is the development of the internet, which is increasingly becoming an integral part of our lives. And if you want people to find you quickly and easily on the internet, you need a good domain. A dedicated internet domain is now one of the basic tools of all organisations. Even individuals are recognising its benefits more and more. The importance of internet domains is also illustrated by the process, which has already started, of extending the domain space with more suffixes. In addition to domain names ending in .CZ, .COM or .EU, next year we may start encountering domain names with the name of a city or organisation after the last full stop,â says OndÅej Filip, Executive Director of the CZ.NIC Association. âI am glad that in the eyes of domain holders, .CZ remains a prestigious suffix, being by far the most widely used one both for business and personal websites in the Czech Republic. I believe that our active approach to domain security and providing other services for registrars and users also plays its part.â
According to the most recent statistics published by CZ.NIC this April, the share of domain names owned by individuals is gradually increasing, accounting for 58 per cent of .CZ domains today. Most holders have only a single domain; in 2011, the highest number of .CZ domains with one owner was 4,054.In terms of regional distribution, the largest number of holders comes from the Central Bohemian region; the Karlovy Vary region has the lowest representation.
The content analysis of 1,200 randomly selected websites in the .CZ domain shows that the highest percentage of them are company websites (41 per cent), followed by parked domains (19 per cent), e-shops, and non-functional websites (8 per cent). Personal websites account for 7 per cent of domains.
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CZ.NIC brings clarity to the domain market by introducing registrar certification
Registrar certification is being introduced by the registry for .CZ domain names to help give registrants greater confidence when registering domain names.The new certification comes about after CZ.NIC observed the near tripling since 2008 of firms in the Czech Republic offering domain name registration services as well as serious pricing competition leading to what the registry views as âdisorderâ in the market.
The registrar certification project is aimed at providing those interested in domain names a basic overview of the level of services offered by individual registrars and at defining the ideal qualities and functions of the registration system and related services.
âCertification is voluntary, and a registrar can apply at any time. The evaluation takes into account criteria such as the possibility to register the .CZ domain, the quality of help and documentation as well as the technical functionality of the system and additional services. A registrar can earn up to five stars depending on their level. Registrars with at least one star are authorized to use the designation Registrar Certified for Retail,â explains Martin Peterka, operations director of CZ.NIC and the person responsible for the Associationâs cooperation with .CZ domain registrars.
As the evaluation project is intended for registrars focused on end customers, the assessment criteria are defined according to the needs of this type of client.
For more information on .CZ domain names, see www.nic.cz.
To register your .CZ domain name, check out Europe Registry here. -
Three-Quarters Million .CZ Domains
There are now three-quarters of a million .CZ domain names, the registry for .CZ domain names, cz.nic, has announced.For more information, see the news release below:
The pace of new domain registrations continues to keep up. There are already 750,000 of them
Prague, 6 January 2011 â Today at 3:20 a.m., the CZ.NIC association, administrator of the Czech top-level domain, recorded the 750,000th registration of the .CZ domain. The average monthly increase in the number of .CZ domains has thus remained around 10,000. The last 50,000 domains have been added since last August. According to CZ.NIC statistics, 87% of domain holders are men, and 52% are companies and legal entities.âFrom the beginning of 2006 until October 2007, around 5000 domains were registered each month. Since 2007, after the migration to FRED, a new registration system that streamlined the process and made it much cheaper, the number of new registrations has doubled. If we maintain this trend, we could celebrate the first million by the end of 2012,â said OndÅej Filip, Executive Director of the CZ.NIC association.
To register your .CZ domain name, check out Europe Registry here. -
Czech Internet Users Reject IDNs for .CZ
While most ccTLDs, and even countries, are introducing internationalised domain names, the Czech public has said thanks but no thanks in a consultation held by CZ.NIC.This latest consultation was the fourth time in a row that the Czech internet public rejected the introduction of diacritics in the .CZ ccTLD according to research carried out by Markent for the CZ.NIC association, the registry for .CZ.
The number of organizations opposed to the use of diacritics was up 6 per cent compared to the previous survey taken in 2008, while for ordinary internet users it was down 4 per cent. The survey results are an important factor for the CZ.NIC association in terms of accepting or refusing IDN in domains with the .CZ suffix.
âThe repeated refusal of IDN was not a surprise. The last three surveys had very similar results and there have been no signs over the last two years pointing towards a change in this trend. Quite the opposite â in the long term, the negative attitude of the Czech Internet public toward IDN is growing,â said OndÅej Filip, Executive Director of the CZ.NIC association.
Among the most frequent mentioned reasons for rejecting IDNs was the unwillingness to get used to the change and more complicated access for foreign visitors.
However the survey indicates that those less familiar with languages such as English are more likely to support IDNs being introduced to .CZ. The survey found that a typical supporter of IDNs among individual users is a woman over 50 years of age who lives in a municipality with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants and who uses the internet occasionally. As for organisations, the typical entity is a non-profit organisation or an entity active in the public administration, education, or health sectors.
To register your .CZ domain name, check out Europe Registry here.