smithsonianmag.com

Checked 22 October 2026, 10:44 UTC · via 8.8.8.8
✗Problems found
25 passed 2 warnings 1 failed 3 info

Registration

info

.com generic · DNC Holdings, Inc. · expires 2032-08-07

Found

TLD
.com (generic)
ICANN policies apply
yes
Registrar
DNC Holdings, Inc.
Registered
8 August 1997
Last changed
24 August 2022
Expires
7 August 2032
Status
client delete prohibited, client transfer prohibited, client update prohibited
Registry nameservers
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org, ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk, ns-472.awsdns-59.com, ns-726.awsdns-26.net
RDAP server
https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/

Checks

  • i
    .com is a generic TLD (gTLD)
    Generic TLD under an ICANN registry agreement: ICANN-accredited registrars, UDRP and RDAP apply.
    #1
  • ✓ TLD delegated and signed #2
    .com is delegated in the root zone and DNSSEC-signed.
  • ✓ Expires on 2032-08-07 #3
    The registration is valid until 2032-08-07 (2115 days).
  • ✓ Transfer locked #4
    Registry status: client delete prohibited, client transfer prohibited, client update prohibited.
  • ✓ Registry and delegation match #5
    The nameservers registered at the registry are the ones published in DNS.

Delegation

info

ns-1149.awsdns-15.org, ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk, ns-472.awsdns-59.com, ns-726.awsdns-26.net

Found

Parent zone
com
Delegation from
a.gtld-servers.net (192.5.6.30)
NS at the parent
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org, ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk, ns-472.awsdns-59.com, ns-726.awsdns-26.net
NS in the zone
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org, ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk, ns-472.awsdns-59.com, ns-726.awsdns-26.net
NameserverAddressesNetwork (AS)Glue
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org205.251.196.125 2600:9000:5304:7d00::1AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US-
ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk205.251.199.86 2600:9000:5307:5600::1AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US-
ns-472.awsdns-59.com205.251.193.216 2600:9000:5301:d800::1AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US205.251.193.216 2600:9000:5301:d800::1
ns-726.awsdns-26.net205.251.194.214 2600:9000:5302:d600::1AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US AS16509 AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US-

Checks

  • ✓ 4 nameservers #6
    Delegated to ns-1149.awsdns-15.org, ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk, ns-472.awsdns-59.com, ns-726.awsdns-26.net.
  • ✓ Parent and zone agree #7
    The parent delegation and the zone's NS records list the same nameservers.
  • ✓ No glue needed #8
    All nameservers are outside the zone, so no glue records are needed.
  • ✓ All names resolve #9
    Every nameserver name has an address and is not an alias.
  • ✓ Nameservers in different networks #10
    The nameservers are spread over 4 IPv4 /24s and 4 IPv6 /48s.
  • i
    All nameservers in one AS
    All nameserver addresses are announced by one network operator (AS16509 (AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US): 8 addresses). An outage or attack on that network affects all nameservers; large anycast providers mitigate this, but a secondary DNS provider adds independence.
    #11
  • ✓ Nameserver names under 4 TLDs #12
    Nameserver names use the TLDs .com, .net, .org, .uk.
  • ✓ All reachable over IPv6 #13
    Every nameserver has an IPv6 address.

Nameservers

pass

8 of 8 addresses answer authoritatively

Found

NameserverAnswerRecursionTCP / EDNSAXFRVersion
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org 205.251.196.125NOERROR, 3 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org 2600:9000:5304:7d00::1NOERROR, 4 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-
ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk 205.251.199.86NOERROR, 9 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-
ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk 2600:9000:5307:5600::1NOERROR, 9 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-
ns-472.awsdns-59.com 205.251.193.216NOERROR, 9 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-
ns-472.awsdns-59.com 2600:9000:5301:d800::1NOERROR, 9 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-
ns-726.awsdns-26.net 205.251.194.214NOERROR, 4 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-
ns-726.awsdns-26.net 2600:9000:5302:d600::1NOERROR, 5 ms, authoritativenoyes / yesrefused-

Checks

  • ✓ All respond #14
    All 8 nameserver addresses answered.
  • ✓ All authoritative #15
    Every responding nameserver answers authoritatively for the zone.
  • ✓ No recursion #16
    The nameservers do not answer recursive queries for other domains.
  • ✓ No version disclosed #17
    The nameservers don't reveal their software version.
  • ✓ Zone transfers refused #18
    No nameserver allows a zone transfer to the public.
  • ✓ TCP supported #19
    All nameservers answer over TCP.
  • ✓ EDNS supported #20
    All nameservers support EDNS(0).
  • ✓ Public addresses #21
    All nameserver addresses are publicly routable.

SOA

fail

serial 1 · primary ns-472.awsdns-59.com

Found

Primary (MNAME)
ns-472.awsdns-59.com
Contact (RNAME)
stowellt2\@si.edu
Serial
1
Refresh / retry
21600 s / 3600 s
Expire
1814400 s
Negative TTL
300 s

Serial per nameserver

NameserverSerial
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org (205.251.196.125)1
ns-1149.awsdns-15.org (2600:9000:5304:7d00::1)1
ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk (205.251.199.86)1
ns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk (2600:9000:5307:5600::1)1
ns-472.awsdns-59.com (205.251.193.216)1
ns-472.awsdns-59.com (2600:9000:5301:d800::1)1
ns-726.awsdns-26.net (205.251.194.214)1
ns-726.awsdns-26.net (2600:9000:5302:d600::1)1

Checks

  • ✓ Serial 1 everywhere #22
    All nameservers serve the same version of the zone.
  • ✓ Timers within recommendations #23
    SOA refresh 6h, retry 1h, expire 21d, negative TTL 5m.
  • ✓ Primary is a public nameserver #24
    The primary nameserver ns-472.awsdns-59.com is one of the listed nameservers.
  • ✗
    Invalid contact address
    The SOA RNAME "stowellt2\\@si.edu" contains an @; it must be written with a dot instead (hostmaster.example.com).
    #25
  • ✓ Counter serial #26
    The serial 1 is a plain counter.

DNSSEC

warn

Not signed

Found

Validated by resolver
no

Checks

  • !
    Not signed
    The zone is not signed with DNSSEC, so answers can be spoofed. Enable DNSSEC at your DNS provider and publish the DS record at your registrar.
    #27

Records

warn

15 records at the apex

Found

Read from
205.251.196.125:53
TypeValueTTL
SOAns-472.awsdns-59.com. stowellt2\@si.edu. 1 21600 3600 1814400 300600
NSns-1149.awsdns-15.org.600
NSns-1878.awsdns-42.co.uk.600
NSns-472.awsdns-59.com.600
NSns-726.awsdns-26.net.600
A18.210.72.16960
A34.225.92.24760
A34.235.4.2160
MX0 web243.dnchosting.com.300
TXT"brave-ledger-verification=11a9cac139ab1bcfd98cc162e73dabc93c91f4b73ced85548b19d47aec7000fb"300
TXT"d900ss2nyp97pk2fn4ptmhj98ljx416m"300
TXT"google-site-verification=lh17VLiQGI0HcaDwAuMAu0L0QozE5yp5EcCv7aMHXmA"300
TXT"subscribe.smithsonianmag.com=718sbh8817q3c61pky6xtbgmbtl75rw6"300
TXT"v=spf1 include:smithsonian-spf.inetz.com -all"300
TXT"yahoo-verification-key=yaWfzJbVISCWCI6AAmw+hwOajsvFvOIO+JWbpyA20jE="300

Checks

  • !
    Very low TTLs
    These records have a TTL below 5m, causing extra queries and slower lookups: A (1m). Low TTLs are useful just before a planned change. The NS TTL at the parent is 2d and in the zone 10m; resolvers may use either.
    #32
  • ✓ No CNAME at the apex #33
    The zone apex has no CNAME record.
  • ✓ No wildcard #34
    Names that don't exist return NXDOMAIN.
  • i
    No CAA records
    Without CAA records any certificate authority may issue certificates for this domain. A CAA record limits issuance to the CAs you use.
    #35