Blog Articles
Intermittent degraded performance resolved
Last night we experienced a sequence of events that led to intermittent degraded performance across many OpenSRS services. At 1 AM UTC we were the target of a sophisticated DNS attack that was followed by an unrelated double failure of core network equipment at our main Canadian data center, caused by an undocumented software limitation. […]
The ICANN community is failing its customers
These days, anyone who registers a domain name is bombarded by a whole series of emails. While this feels spammy, many of these emails are legitimate, sent by registrars who are required to fill the inboxes of their customers with notifications and verification requests, as mandated by an ever-increasing number of intertwined ICANN policies. Even […]
Google and Symantec resolve Chrome browser trust issues
Update: January 12, 2018This blog post is a follow-up to the information we published a few months ago regarding the Google-Symantec conundrum. Symantec and Google have agreed on a plan that requires Symantec to migrate certificate validation to a third party. In exchange, Google would ensure that the Chrome browser continues to trust Symantec certificates […]
auDA directs OpenSRS to discontinue .au registrations for all Chinese resellers
OpenSRS is no longer able to provide .au domain registrations to any reseller that is based in China. This follows a formal direction Tucows was given by auDA, the registry for the Australian top-level domain, .au. In a letter we received today, auDA is directing Tucows, under the terms of our accreditation agreement with auDA, […]
Why you should outsource your email infrastructure
Owning and managing your own hosted email infrastructure can be a double-edged sword. On one side, you have absolute control over your email operations, but on the other, there are technical, financial and sometimes emotional costs involved. An IT team equipped with four-leaf clovers and tissue boxes may not be the best approach. Luckily, there’s […]
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What makes ccTLDs so complicated?
This industry is complicated. Recently, we shed some light on how the domain channel operates, and the unique roles that ICANN, registrars, registries, resellers, and registrants play within this interconnected system. In the world of generic top-level domains, like .COM and .ORG, the channel structure is at least clearly defined, although registration policies and requirements […]
Telcos want control of the Internet. Together we can still stop them
Time is running out to protect the internet as we know it. Today is a day to rally. A day to talk, to reach out and especially to act. It’s the last chance to fight to keep fair and equal access to the internet. The day we exercise our freedom of speech to maintain the […]
Understanding the registry, registrar and registrant hierarchy
The domain industry is complex, technical and sometimes unforgiving. Part of what makes it unique is the multilevel channel involved in creating a domain from scratch to making it viewable on your browser. Unfortunately, the creation and distribution of domains are far from straightforward. They involve multiple parties, doing different things, in different ways, with […]
How often do you think about account security?
We seem to only talk about account security in the aftermath of an attack or breach. It feels like the worst possible time to do so, as it’s reactive, and begs the question, “why weren’t these preventive efforts made earlier?”. Nothing bad has happened this time (we hope it will continue this way) but in […]
