DailyStormer is currently offline. If you attempt to visit the main domain name or any of its associated sections, which resided under various subdomains, you’ll either get a “host not found” error or be greeted by something like this:
The domain registration’s status has changed slightly:
Domain Name: DAILYSTORMER.COM
Registry Domain ID: 1787753602_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.google.com
Registrar URL: http://domains.google.com
Updated Date: 2017-08-15T00:30:23Z
Creation Date: 2013-03-20T22:43:18Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2020-03-20T22:43:18Z
Registrar: Google Inc.
Registrar IANA ID: 895
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: registrar-abuse@google.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8772376466
Domain Status: clientHold https://icann.org/epp#clientHold
Name Server: JEAN.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM
Name Server: KIRK.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
>>> Last update of whois database: 2017-08-15T06:49:35Z <<<
As you can see above the domain name registration is still with Google, but the EPP status is now set to “clientHold”. What that means in simple terms is that the domain name “exists” and is registered, but that the domain has been pulled from the zone and can no longer resolve on the internet. The nameservers are still showing as CloudFlare’s, but that won’t matter in a few hours, as the caches on DNS resolvers around the world expire. It’s the kind of EPP status that a registrar would use on a domain name that is being used for some kind of abuse.
Yesterday evening it was reported that Google was going to cancel the registration, but it wasn’t clear what that meant nor was it clear when. At the time the domain’s status was normal, so the domain was working 100%.
So what now?
With the domain set to “clientHold” any service associated with DailyStormer.com is offline.
The website operators might be able to move the domain to another domain name registrar, but as I mentioned last night, it’s going to be hard for them to find a “home” for the domain name in North America.
Switching to an EU based registrar won’t work, as we have legislation against hate speech in general, while some countries have strong anti-nazi legislation.
It would be rather odd if a website that promoted white supremacism ended up moving its domain name to Asia..
Will the site and domain remain offline?
I’ll be keeping an eye on the domain’s status over the next hours and days to see if anything changes. The current status does not preclude it being switched to another registrar, but I suspect some registrars have already put a block on their systems to stop the domain name being added to their platforms.
So you wrote an entire article without even mentioning what this website is? I’m assuming it’s some neo Nazi site, based on recent events, but how can you as a journalist fail to mention that critical point?
I’ve written several posts about the site over the last few days and the domain name(s) have been mentioned multiple times.
I’d have assumed that most people would know that it is a right-wing neo-nazi site, which I did mention in one or two of the posts, but maybe not all of them. Thanks for raising this point.
Michele