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Introduced | 1997 |
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TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
Status | Active |
Registry | GETESA |
Sponsor | GETESA |
Intended use | Entities connected with ![]() |
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.
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 1, 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.
- ^ "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
- Dominio.gq, the .gq registry website