DNS

01

DNS, explained

A lookup walks down a hierarchy. A resolver, usually run by an internet provider or a public DNS service, asks the root servers where the extension is served, asks the extension's servers (for .com, run by Verisign) which nameservers hold the domain, and then asks those nameservers for the record it needs. The nameservers are the ones set at your registrar. They hold the domain's records: A and AAAA records point to server addresses, CNAME records alias one name to another, MX records route email and TXT records carry text such as verification codes. Resolvers cache each answer for its TTL, so a change can take anywhere from minutes to a day or two to show everywhere.

For an investor, DNS is the switch that decides what a visitor sees. Pointing nameservers at a marketplace or parking service shows a for-sale page or ads, while leaving a name on a registrar's default page may show ads you do not control. UDRP panels hold registrants responsible for automatically generated ad links even when a registrar placed them. Registration and DNS hosting are separate services: your registrar holds the registration, the DNS can live there or elsewhere, and moving one does not require moving the other.

DNS settings are also a security target. Anyone who takes over your registrar account can change nameservers, redirect a valuable name or intercept its email, so protect the account with strong authentication, and turn on DNSSEC where your DNS host supports it so validating resolvers can detect forged answers.

DNS is becoming a channel for machines, too. RFC 10023, published in July 2026 as an informational document, defines a TXT record at _for-sale under a domain, beginning with v=FORSALE1;, that signals the name is for sale even while it stays in use. It can carry a code, a short note, a link or an asking price in machine-readable form, so software, including AI agents looking for names to buy, can read the offer without loading a web page.

Go deeper How to Sell a Domain Name: A Seller's Guide