Reports of suspected malware or botnet-related DNS Abuse may be submitted directly to Trustname at any time.
Reporters are strongly encouraged to first contact the relevant Internet Service Provider (ISP), Web Hosting Provider, or the domain registrant, as these parties often have direct control over server infrastructure and can typically mitigate malicious content more quickly.
However, prior contact with any third party is not required, and Trustname will review all properly submitted DNS Abuse reports regardless of whether such contact has occurred.
Key Takeaways
- Remember to Contact the Web Host Too – Reports of suspected malware or botnet-related DNS Abuse may be submitted directly to Trustname at any time. Reporters are strongly encouraged to contact the ISP, hosting provider, or registrant for faster mitigation, but prior contact is not required.
- Submitting a Report to Us – Reports can be filed through our Abuse Report Form. Please include verifiable technical evidence (domain, URLs, timestamps, logs, malware samples, etc.) to support investigation.
- Investigation and Actions – Each report is assigned a case number and reviewed. Where credible DNS Abuse is identified, Trustname may notify the registrant, request remediation, or apply appropriate DNS-level restrictions. Immediate action may be taken where necessary.
- Legal Framework – DNS Abuse matters are handled under the ICANN RAA and applicable law. Court orders are required only for issues outside the scope of DNS Abuse. Trustname does not host or moderate website content.
- Ongoing Commitment – We maintain abuse records and continuously enhance our anti-abuse detection and response measures.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Key Takeaways
- Definition
- Your Action Plan
- Additional Complaint Requirements For Malware
- What Will Happen
- Please Keep In Mind
- Remember
Definition
Malware, an abbreviation of "Malicious Software", describes programs designed to damage or gain access to a computer without the knowledge of the owner. Botnets are collections of Internet connected computers that have been infected with malware and are remotely controlled by an administrator.
Your Action Plan
- If you wish to have a malware or botnet issue addressed, it's best to contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or the web host of the source of the malware or botnet.
- Additionally, try to communicate with the actual domain owner, as they may be unaware of the issue. You can contact them using the information you find by performing a Whois lookup on the Registrar's website or via a generic service; this may be a link to a contact form or their email address. Look for a line that starts with "Registrant Email". If they are using our Whois Privacy Protection Service (WHOISPPS), you can use the contact privacy form. Please note that we have no control over the content of websites hosted on domains registered with us or any of our registrars.
- If you still believe Trustname can help you, you may submit a report here - Abuse Report Form - Malware, Botnets & Spam.
Additional Complaint Requirements For Malware
Evidence of the distribution of malware.
If we cannot determine what abuse is taking place, cannot verify or confirm the abuse, or if the activities fall outside the registrar's abuse policy, Trustname will be unlikely to take action.
What Will Happen
Upon receipt of such a request via our Abuse Report Form, Trustname will:
- Respond with a case number.
- Add the site, category, date, and resolution of your complaint to our internal database. Your personal information will not be recorded there.
- Review the site and investigate your complaint, including validating the court order. Please note that we, as a Registrar, will only accept court orders issued by or domesticated in the courts of Estonia, Germany, Canada, or the United States.
- If it is a malware or botnet-infected site, we will either expeditiously reset its Name Servers so that it does not resolve or work with the registrant to resolve an issue where a malicious actor has gained control of their site to use it maliciously.
Please Keep In Mind
- We cannot guarantee any particular outcome, but we will review your complaint and contact you only if necessary.
- Your complaint will be evaluated on its merits and addressed as appropriate.
- You will not receive any updates regarding the evaluation or outcome of the complaint. It is entirely at the discretion of the domain registrant whether or not to respond to you.
- We reserve the right to use your complaint to prove abuse to our customer, if necessary.
- Our team tracks complaints to improve anti-abuse processes and mitigate threats.
- If you submit your report using the Abuse Report Form, you will not receive further notification of receipt for additional submissions from your email address within 24 hours.
- The support code to submit this type of abuse report is S7Q-MLWR-Y9W.
Remember
- Limited Role – Domain name Registrars, such as Trustname, only maintain the system of domain names (example.org) that uniquely identify websites. They are not responsible for the content of the sites to which those domain names point.
This means that if you dislike a site or its content, you should first contact the domain owner, then the service that hosts the site (web hosting service), and if necessary, your local law enforcement authorities. As a domain Registrar, we can only act on court orders issued by or domesticated in the courts of Estonia, Germany, Canada, or the United States.
- ICANN Compliance – According to the ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) and Estonian law, as a Registrar, we are not authorized to take independent action against a domain based on third-party allegations. The responsibility for content and activities related to a domain lies with its administrator.
However, in accordance with our role as an accredited Registrar, we will take action against a domain administrator if we receive a valid court order or a request from an ICANN-recognized authority.
- Our responsibilities – As a Registrar include addressing issues such as Botnets, Malware, Pharming, Phishing, Spam, DNS security threats, and trademark infringement, as detailed by ICANN. For more information and our recommended solutions to these issues, please take a look at the related articles on ICANN's website.