Dear Bong,
It is possible, but not easy, to get a list of all domain names. There
are two problems with your request, that might hinder the
accomplishment of this idea on your behalf :
(1) There are different authorities to contact for most TLDs (website suffixes).
(2) That means that you'll have to apply separately, for example, for
.com/.net domain names and then for .uk names, and one of the
authorities might refuse your request (and I understand they do, when
there is it is not "justified" in their opinion), allegedly because
the advantage spammers might take of such lists.
Let's start with the "easiest" list. This is the list of .com and .net
domain names. This list is available through the Shared Registration
System. The Shared Registration System (SRS) is "the central system
for all accredited registrars to access and register and control
domain names."
"VeriSign?s COM NET Registry is the authoritative registry for .com
and .net domain names. VeriSign manages relationships with more than
150 ICANN-accredited registrars who submit over 100 million domain
name transactions daily. VeriSign is fully committed to equitable
treatment of all ICANN-accredited registrars."
(SOURCE: "COM NET Registry", Verisign,
<http://www.verisign.com/products-services/naming-and-directory-services/naming-services/com-net-registry/index.html>).
In order to receive this list, you must become a registrar. On the
page provided above, you can click on "become a registrar" - a pop up
window would appear, that would tell you how to become a registrar.
There are several steps that you must take, and more importantly, to
prove technical and financial provisions.
This was the "easy" part: all that you had to do, is become a
registrar or prove that you already are one. Given that .com and .net
are the most popular registered domain names (55% of all registered
domain names together, see source at the end of this parapgraph), it
is certainly an advantage (SOURCE: "The .com domain name remains the
industry leader, accounting for 47 percent of all domain name
registrations.[...] .net accounts for only 8 percent of the domain
name base", SOURCE: Registrar Connections, Verisign January 2005,
<javascript:linkPopUp("http://www.verisign.com/Resources/Naming_Services_Resources/Registrar_Connections/page_022055.html")>).
It seems that also .org names could be obtained through Verisign (they
are managed through PIR - that also has a special portal for
registrars:
PIR
<http://www.pir.org/>). It might be also possible to receive a full
.edu list from Verisign, though I doubt it: like .mil or .gov, .edu is
only allocated to specific institutions (higher education), and not
through registrars.
It might not be so easy with may other TLDs. There are many more
domain registries, and the way it looks, you have to contact each in
order to receive a list. As I said, since each forges its own
policies, they might be different from that of Verisign, and they
might not comply with your request.
For a start, have a look at the list of registries provided by NORID
(the Norwegian registry for .no sites):
Domain name registries around the world
<http://www.norid.no/domenenavnbaser/domreg.html>
Clicking on each domain name would link you to the relevant registry.
It is possible that you have to register as registrar for each.
However, for example NORID write in their FAQ:
"May I have a list of all domain names in Norway ?
Norid have some guidelines for how the information that is collected
through the domain name applications should be treated and presented.
This is reflected in the design of the WHOIS-database. Using this
database one may check whether a specific name has been registered,
but we do not give out lists over all domain names under .no, and do
not allow people to download our database.
Lists of all registered domains are a godsend for those who wishes to
map their competitor's domain name strategy, or wishes to do bulk
emailing (spam) and will therefore not be given out for the .no
domain."
(SOURCE: NORID FAQ, <http://www.norid.no/domeneregistrering/faq.en.html#Domeneliste>).
This might well be true for other registries. The Belgian one, for
example, also states in its FAQ:
"9. Can I get a list of all domain names?
No, this is against the Belgian privacy legislation and such a list
can be abused for spamming. Our whois service can be used to find some
information, this can be done using our whoisserver whois.dns.be or
using our website: Domain Search in the top banner.
Subsequently interrogating our whois server will be seen as abuse,
this can result in the blocking of your IP address for a certain
time."
(SOURCE: DNS Belgium, <http://www.dns.be/en/home.php?n=101>).
Similar problem might arise regarding some generic TLDs (such as
.mil), of obvious reasons beyond those of spamming.
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search terms
(except for personal knowledge) were:
"list of all domain names", GetAllDomains, "authoritative root
server", "authoritative root servers", "complete directory" DNS,
"complete directory of the DNS", "authoritative registry for" domains
.uk, "authoritative registry for" domains"domain names" "zone file",
"list of all" "domain names" "zone file", "list of all domain names",
list of all domain names, "Shared Registration System", |
