Not All Internet Neighborhoods Are Created Equal: What Domain Abuse Tells Us About Where You Live Online
Executive Summary
The DNS Research Federation’s updated 2025 Q1 League Tables reveal stark differences in online safety across domain registrars, much like real-world neighborhoods. A small group of registrars accounts for most abuse, while many others maintain low or zero abuse rates. Regional trends show higher abuse concentrations amongst Asia-based registrars, though some U.S.-based registrars also rank poorly. The report offers a snapshot of where online abuse currently thrives, as well as where it is being effectively managed, helping users navigate the internet more safely. In this article, we use the analogy of neighborhoods to illustrate how the “location” of a domain can signal trustworthiness or risk, much like a street address in the physical world.
Introduction
As more of our time is spent online, it's interesting to observe how online neighborhoods resemble those in the real world. In the real world, some neighborhoods are known for their safe, quiet streets and strong sense of community. Others, however, may have a reputation for higher crime rates or visual factors that raise suspicion, such as dark or missing lights and broken windows. We intuitively determine the trustworthiness and safety of a real-world neighborhood based on the location and other visual aspects.
As it turns out, the internet works in a similar way. Every internet service, whether it be a website, an email address, or a mobile app, lives in an online neighborhood. The DNS Research Federation's (DNSRF) latest report - 2025 Q1 LEAGUE TABLES REPORT (on TLDs and Registrars) - shows us which online neighborhoods are welcoming and secure, and which are more like dark alleys you should avoid.
League Tables - The Internet's Safety Scorecard
In 2023, the DNSRF published its first set of League Tables, ranking top-level domains (TLDs) such as .com, .net, and .uk, as well as newer ones like .xyz and .loans, based on the amount of online abuse reported in each. (Note: See the Registrar League Table Methodology section in the 2025 Q1 League Tables for further details.) Recently, the DNSRF released a new set of League Tables ranking abuse rates for domain name registrars, the companies that sell and manage domain names to individuals and businesses. These rankings tell us which internet neighborhoods are being actively patrolled and which are operating more like the lawless Wild West.
The neighborhood a website lives in (TLD), along with who manages and polices that neighborhood (registrar), directly impacts the website's ability to succeed. To continue the analogy, you want your website to be on a well-lit street with good foot traffic and minimal crime, not tucked away in a dark alley that people will avoid. Safe neighborhoods maximize website traffic and minimize risk to internet users and customers.
What the Registrar League Tables Show Us
The internet has both safe and unsafe areas. The key findings in our first report mirror what we might expect to see in the real world.
- Online abuse is concentrated among a small number of registrars.
A growing number of registrars are showing very high abuse report rates, while many others consistently maintain low or 0% rates. - Registrar rankings are relatively stable at the top but volatile at the bottom.
Those with the lowest report rates tend to stay consistent month-to-month, while those with the highest rates fluctuate more due to domain churn and sudden report surges. - Geographic Region and size-based breakdowns reveal nuanced areas of abuse.
Abuse rates vary by geographic region and size, with larger registrars being more prone to reports, although notable exceptions, such as Knet Registrar Co., Ltd., show strong performance.
Further details, including the methodology used to calculate these rankings, can be found on Page 2 of the 2025 Q1 LEAGUE TABLES REPORT (on TLDs and Registrars). In addition, the data in this report was current as of March 19, 2025. The current and “live” tables can be found here - Registrar League Tables | DNS Research Federation
Safe Neighborhoods (Low Abuse)
Our report found that 166 registrars reported no abuse (a 0% abuse rate). Most of these registrars were small in size, with a total domains under management well under 50,000. There are 277 registrars with an abuse rate of less than 0.1%, down from 291 registrars in the previous month.
- Name Share, Inc. holds the title for the cleanest registrar, with just 0.0023% abuse.
- Knet Registrar Co. LTD is the only large registrar with a 0% report rate.
- Coresearch Domains LLC, a corporate registrar.
Unsafe Neighborhoods (High Abuse)
The number of registrars with report rates above 5% increased significantly from 243 in the last month to 330 in the current month.
- Dynadot0 LLC - Its report rate is a staggering 600%, due to constant domain churn and abuse. (Note: If a registrar drops a lot of domains, this can lead to having more reported domains in the last year than the average number of domains registered in the previous year, resulting in a report rate greater than 100%.)"
- Dominet (HK) Limited’s report rate surged from 47.5% to 62.6%, with the number of reported domains rising from 295,792 to 386,202.
- Guangzhou Yiyou Information Technology Co. Ltd moved into the bottom three registrars with the highest report rates this month, as its report rate increased to 100%
This is a neighborhood you wouldn’t want to visit at any time of the day.
However, there is always room for improvement, and our analysis will also measure which registrars manage to reduce their report rates over time, for example, this month, Xiamen 35.com Information Co., Ltd had the most significant reduction in report rate in the >50k League Table. Despite an increase in reports (from 3,305 to 3,531), the large number of registrations this month lowered the average number of registered domains from 158,180 to 184,543 and reduced the report rate from 2.09% to 1.91%.
Regional Realities
Just like cities around the globe differ in safety, abuse patterns also vary by region. While some of the safest registrars are based in the U.S. and Canada, many of the most problematic ones are based in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and China.
Excluding registrars with a 0% report rate, the three registrars with the lowest report rates in the ‘All’ League Table were based in the Americas region, all located in the United States and Canada. However, Dynadot LLC, with the highest report rate in the ‘All’ Registrar League Table, is also based in the United States.
Several of the 10 registrars with the highest report rates of the ‘All’ Registrar League Table are based in the Asia region with NICENIC International Group Co., Limited, EU Technology (HK) Limited and Hongkong Kouming International Limited based in Hong Kong and Guangzhou YI YOU Information and Technology Co., Ltd located in China.
What's Next
In the next quarter, DNSRF will go even deeper by releasing ASN League Tables — these examine the internet’s “infrastructure level” to identify which networks are hosting bad behavior. Think of it like checking which highways and motorways are safely patrolled or not.
