Cited from The Background Investigator
The Background Investigator March 2009 Issue

Report: Most Spam Sites Tied To Just 10 Registrars

Nearly 83 percent of all Web sites that are advertised through spam email can be traced back to only 10 domain name registrars, concludes a new Knujon study, which collected data from millions of junk messages over the course of a year.

The registrars, in order according to Knujon's study, are XinNet Cyber Information Company Limited, eNom, Network Solutions, Register.com, Planet Online, Regtime Ltd., OnlineNIC Inc., Spot Domain LLC, Wild West Domains, and Hichina Web Solutions.

Knujon co-founder Garth Bruen says registrars made the list based on the number of reported illicit domains held by the registrar, the number of unsolicited messages used to advertise those domains, the percentage of illicit domains compared to the registrar's total portfolio, and the rate of unsolicited emails for the total illicit domains.

If two of the registrars tied on those factors, the tiebreaker was the registrar's volume of unlicensed online pharmacies.

XinNet responded by saying the company tries its best to suspend sites that are abused by spammers. XinNet is the only registrar used by the authors of the Waledec worm, which uses email to lure people into visiting Web sites that try to install and distribute the worm.

Four of the registrars on the list are some of the largest registrars in the industry.