Decentralized DNS
Goals
- Allow decentralized functioning
- Prevent control by government
- Avoid cost of domain ownership
- Use existed technology if possible
DNS parts
- Maintaining global unique names (registration, holding, release)
- Name to IP address translation
- Identification of owner
Possible solutions
Alternative roots
Web of Trust(WoT)
Crypto-currency based
Notable example is Namecoin which is based on Bitcoin.
Pros
- It can guarantee uniqueness of names
- Network can operate autonomously with manual policy
- It is independent to a government policy
Cons
- Squatters can occupy general important names
- Network protocol is complicated and relies on cryptographic keys which can be broken on overpowered in future
- Domain name registration and renewal need to be payed
- Block chain size is ever growing with keeping old also false records.
- Network is vulnerable by 51% attack
- If private key and domain names are stolen then they can't be retrieved back without negotiation with thief.
- If private key is lost then domain will expire and can be registered by other entity.