IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

DNS abuse and criminal infrastructure

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Theme 1 – Trade‑off between delaying domain activation for security vs. hindering legitimate instant use
- “By the time the certificate is seen on the transparency logs and the takedown request sent, it's too late. The criminals have taken what they need and they don't care that the domain is now blocked or on warning lists.” – edent
- “On the other hand, I struggle to think of a reason how harm could come from delayed activation of a registered public name.” – tremon
- “I agree that there's no great harm in having to wait a day, or a week, for registration to complete. But in a world of instant gratification, it feels old fashioned.” – edent

Theme 2 – Risks of censorship/centralized control and abuse of objection mechanisms
- “Having the time and resources to monitor registrations becomes a barrier and that makes it a time and resource based system. IE: Rich individuals and companies can pay a monitoring service that objects very broadly.” – TLDRisk
- “Better would be a ‘this site is suspiciously new’ warning in browsers.” – FromOmelas
- “Why should alleged ‘cybercriminals’ not be be allowed to register domain names? … suggests that what they call ‘malicious actors’ should somehow be deprived of infrastructure because they are suspected criminals.” – jonathanstrange
- “Domains are one of the core building blocks that makes a decentralized internet work. Adding strong moderation tools to that is a huge risk because moderation and censorship are closely related.” – TLDRisk

Theme 3 – Alternative, reputation‑based or opt‑in solutions (subdomains, Safe Browsing, ccTLD verification, decentralized DNS)
- “I'm not entirely sure. But we have have mechanisms like Google Safe Browsing, and I can imagine that a similar mechanism could be used.” – amluto
- “Back in the day (~2003) it was popular to get a domain name for every project… I even had a few (~40). But in like 2008 I think I switched over to using just sub‑domains of my primary.” – edoceo
- “It works well, and on top of that it is still possible for someone to host content on behalf of someone else to protect the anonymity of that other person…” – QuantumNomad_ (describing Norway’s .no ccTLD with verification)
- “Look at how email devolved because of the features that made spam 'unfixable'. I would like dns not to go down the same path…” – peanut‑walrus
- “Slide 17 is the one people should read before they get on their blog complaining that their emails are rejected by Google and Microsoft. The entities associated with your domain and network, the DNS hosts, registrars, network blocks, and all that each have their own reputation.” – jeffbee

🚀 Project Ideas

NewDomainWatch

Summary

  • Provides real‑time reputation scoring and threat intelligence for newly registered domains, flagging suspicious registrations before they can be abused.
  • Core value proposition: gives browsers, security tools, and registrants an early‑warning system that reduces the window for hit‑and‑run spam/scam sites while preserving instant registration for legitimate users.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Security teams, browser vendors, DNS registrars, and concerned end‑users who want protection against fast‑flux abuse
Core Feature Real‑time feed of domain registration events combined with ML‑based risk scoring (WHOIS changes, registrar reputation, substring analysis) delivered via API and a lightweight browser extension
Tech Stack Python (FastAPI) for backend, Apache Kafka for streaming registration data, TensorFlow/PyTorch for model, React + TypeScript for extension, PostgreSQL for storage
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: subscription tiers (free API limit, paid for higher volume & SLA)

Notes

  • HN users complained that “by the time the certificate is seen on the transparency logs… it's too late” (edent) and wished for a “this site is suspiciously new” warning (FromOmelas). NewDomainWatch directly addresses that need.
  • Offers a pragmatic, opt‑in mitigation that avoids blanket delays or censorship, aligning with TLDRisk’s preference for transparent, reputation‑based solutions.

HoldRegister

Summary

  • A registrar‑level plugin that enforces a configurable hold period (e.g., 24 hours) on domain activation while publishing a public objection board where anyone can raise concerns.
  • Core value proposition: balances the desire for instant gratification with a low‑friction mechanism for community‑driven abuse prevention, reducing collateral damage to legitimate users.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Domain registrars, resellers, and privacy‑conscious registrants who want optional friction against abuse
Core Feature UI/API that puts newly purchased domains into a “pending” state, displays a public objection thread, and automatically releases the domain after the hold if no validated objection is raised
Tech Stack Go microservice for hold logic, PostgreSQL for audit trail, React admin dashboard, optional integration via registrar’s EPP extension, Docker/Kubernetes for deployment
Difficulty High (requires registrar cooperation and EPP extension handling)
Monetization Revenue-ready: per‑domain hold fee (e.g., $0.10) or premium registrar add‑on package

Notes

  • Edent’s original question about a “24 hour mandatory wait period” and the debate over “legitimate objections” is directly answered by a system that makes the delay visible and contestable.
  • Commenters like TLDRisk emphasized the need for “transparent systems with independent trust ranking”; HoldRegister provides a public, auditable objection log that can be built into trust scores.

SubdomainShift

Summary

  • Offers free, reputable subdomains on trusted second‑level domains (e.g., yourproject.provider.app) with built‑in abuse reporting and reputation scoring, encouraging users to skip registering new gTLDs for quick experiments.
  • Core value proposition: eliminates the perceived need for instant domain registration while providing a reliable, low‑risk alternative that benefits from the host domain’s established reputation.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Hackers, hobbyists, startups, and anyone needing a quick web presence without the overhead of a fresh domain
Core Feature Platform where users claim a subdomain, get automatic HTTPS via Let's Encrypt, and can flag abuse; the platform aggregates reputation data and can suspend abusive subdomains instantly
Tech Stack Node.js (Express) for API, NGINX for reverse‑proxy & TLS automation, Redis for rate limiting, Vue.js for dashboard, deployed on cheap VPS or serverless (Cloudflare Workers)
Difficulty Low
Monetization Hobby (free tier) with optional Revenue-ready: premium features (custom subdomain vanity, analytics, SLA) for $5/mo

Notes

  • Several commenters (skrebbel, edoceo, xp84) noted that many successful projects (Wordle, Neal.fun) never needed their own domain and that subdomains on trusted bases work fine.
  • SubdomainShift gives users the instant gratification they crave while leveraging the host’s reputation, directly addressing the frustration about waiting for domain approval and the abuse of fresh gTLDs.

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