Bulletproof hosting
Encyclopedia
Bulletproof hosting is a service provided by some domain hosting or web hosting firms that allows their customer considerable leniency in the kinds of material they may upload and distribute. This leniency has been taken advantage of by spammers
and providers of online gambling or pornography.
Many service providers have Terms of Service
that do not allow certain materials to be uploaded or distributed, or the service to be used in a particular way, and may suspend a hosting account, after a few complaints, to minimize the risk of their IP subnet
being blocked by anti-spam
filters using Internet Protocol
(IP) based filtering. Additionally, some service providers may have ethical concerns that underpin their service terms and conditions.
Often, a bulletproof host allows a content provider to bypass the laws or contractual terms of service regulating Internet content and service use in its own country of operation, as many of these 'bulletproof hosts' are based 'overseas' (relative to the geographical location of the content provider).
Many if not most 'bulletproof hosts' are in China
, other parts of Asia
, and Russia
/Russia's surrounding countries, though this is not always the case. For example, McColo
, responsible for 2/3rds of the world's spam when taken down, was US based.
Some examples of bulletproof hosts, with their takedown time:
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
and providers of online gambling or pornography.
Many service providers have Terms of Service
Terms of Service
Terms of service are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. Unless in violation of consumer protection laws, such terms are usually legally binding...
that do not allow certain materials to be uploaded or distributed, or the service to be used in a particular way, and may suspend a hosting account, after a few complaints, to minimize the risk of their IP subnet
Subnetwork
A subnetwork, or subnet, is a logically visible subdivision of an IP network. The practice of dividing a network into subnetworks is called subnetting....
being blocked by anti-spam
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
filters using Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
(IP) based filtering. Additionally, some service providers may have ethical concerns that underpin their service terms and conditions.
Often, a bulletproof host allows a content provider to bypass the laws or contractual terms of service regulating Internet content and service use in its own country of operation, as many of these 'bulletproof hosts' are based 'overseas' (relative to the geographical location of the content provider).
Many if not most 'bulletproof hosts' are in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, other parts of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
/Russia's surrounding countries, though this is not always the case. For example, McColo
McColo
McColo was a San Jose-based web hosting service provider. In late 2008, the company was shut down by the two upstream providers, Global Crossing and Hurricane Electric, because a significant amount of malware and botnets had been trafficking from the McColo servers.-History:McColo was formed by a...
, responsible for 2/3rds of the world's spam when taken down, was US based.
Some examples of bulletproof hosts, with their takedown time:
- Russian Business NetworkRussian Business NetworkThe Russian Business Network is a multi-faceted cybercrime organization, specializing in and in some cases monopolizing personal identity theft for resale...
(or RBN), taken down in November 2007 - AtrivoAtrivoAtrivo, also known as InterCage, was a Concord, California, United States-based website hosting provider.The Russian Business Network, a criminal organization, had used Atrivo servers. In August 2008, HostExploit, a web security blog, issued a report stating that Atrivo deliberately allowed cyber...
/Intercage, taken down in September 2008 - McColoMcColoMcColo was a San Jose-based web hosting service provider. In late 2008, the company was shut down by the two upstream providers, Global Crossing and Hurricane Electric, because a significant amount of malware and botnets had been trafficking from the McColo servers.-History:McColo was formed by a...
, taken down in November 2008 - 3FN, taken down by FTC in June 2009
- Real Host, taken down in August 2009
- Ural Industrial Company, taken down
- Group Vertical, taken down in Oct 2009
- Riccom, taken down in December 2009
- Troyak, taken down in March 2010
- Proxiez, taken down in May 2010
- Voze Networks, taken down in February 2011
- Ecatel, still operating