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Understanding IP's and Domain Names
Understanding Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and domain names is important to your safety. Every domain name has an IP address associated with it.
About Domain Names:
Anyone, anywhere - with a credit card and an Internet connection – can register a domain name, typically for less than $10/year.
People who don't have a Website often don't have any experience with domain names and don't understand how they work. Knowledge is power.
Domain names are one of the building blocks of the Internet, and they are a critical part of every Web address.
Domain names come in many flavors - Google.com, Verizon.net, Job-Hunt.org, Harvard.edu, Del.icio.us, Simpatico.ca, Whitehouse.gov, Navy.mil, etc.
Since domains are so inexpensive, there are many bogus domain registrations and, consequently, bogus Websites. So, understanding domain names helps you be smarter and safer on the Internet.
What Is a Top Level Domain?
The letters after the “dot” – as in “dot com” – represent the Top Level Domain (TLD). And .com is the most common commercial TLD.
The TLD may give you a good hint about the credibility of the Website, and, sometimes, where it may be located. These are the most frequently found Top Level Domains:
*.com
Most common commercial domain in the U.S. (but do NOT assume that all .com’s are U.S. based). Open to purchase by anyone, anywhere.
*.net
Another very common commercial domain, not unique to the U.S. Open to purchase by anyone, anywhere
*.org
Another very common commercial domain, not necessarily associated with non-profit status. Open to purchase by anyone, anywhere.
*.us
The Country Code for the United States. Open to purchase by anyone who certifies that the are in the U.S.
*.ca
The Country Code for Canada – there are over 100 other Country Codes for most of the countries in the world, e.g. .uk for the United Kingdom, .ie for Ireland, etc. Requirements for purchase depend on what the country has chosen to do.
*.edu
Used by educational organizations, mostly colleges and universities, and is pretty reliably used only by education in the U.S. Difficult to acquire; fairly closely controlled.
*.gov
Used by the U.S. government. Closely controlled.
*.mil
Used by the U.S. Department of Defense. Closely controlled.
*.info
Used by anyone Open to purchase by anyone
What Is "Whois?"
Whenever you have a question about who owns a domain name, check one of the domain “whois” (literally, “who is?”) sites, like DomainTools.com. Every domain name has a "registrant" which is the owner of the domain name.
When it doubt, contact the domain registrant to verify who they are. The domain registration information should include the details about who owns the domain name, where they are located, and an email address.
Some domains are "private" which means the owner pays an extra fee to keep their name and contact information unavailable. This is a popular option used by scammers, so be wary of private domain names.
Use of Domain Names
- All domains are unique.
No two organizations use the same domain name, although the only difference may be the TLD (e.g. jobsearch.org vs. jobsearch.com), very close spelling (e.g. USAJOBS vs. USSAJOBSS) or hyphens (e.g. job-hunt.org vs. jobhunt.org) in the middle.
- Small changes in a domain name can make a big difference.
What may look like a little tiny change to a domain name (like adding or removing a hyphen or changing the spelling or the country code) can mean a very big difference in which website you are actually visiting. One may be safe, and one may not be.
- The same Web site may have multiple domain names.
Type job-hunt.com into your browser's Address bar, and you end up at job-hunt.org.
- Everything connected to the Internet is associated – somehow and somewhere – with a domain name, whether it’s an e-mail address or a Web page.
- A domain name must be associated with an IP (Internet Protocol) address to be visible or receive email.
About Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses
An IP address is the number assigned by the Internet network infrastructure enabling the network connect with different components of the Internet. I think of it as the "machine-language" address that corresponds to the "human-language" addresses we call domain names. Many IP addresses are comprised of a series of numbers in 4 sets of 1 to 3 numbers, ranging from 0 to 255. For example, 1.1.1.1 is an IP address, and so is 255.255.255.255, and everything in between. The new IPV6 addresses are series of numbers and letters separated by colons, like this: 2001:0db8:85a3:0042:1000:8a2e:0370:7334.
When you see an IP address in your browser's location bar, you have no idea what the domain name is. Sometimes that's accidental. More often, the IP address is used to disguise the domain name. So when you see an IP address in the location bar, be very careful!
Bottom Line
Knowledge is power. However, as the old sergeant on the Hill Street Blues TV show used to say, "Be careful out there!"
© Copyright, 1998 - 2013, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.
About the author...
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, NETability purchased Job-Hunt.org, which Susan has edited and published since. Susan also edits and publishes WorkCoachCafe.com. Follow Susan on Twitter at@jobhuntorg and on Google+.
