Kinds of names
Typosquatting (lookalike domains)
Typosquatting is registering a misspelling or lookalike of a well-known name, such as gooogle.com, to catch visitors who mistype or to imitate the brand.
What Typosquatting means in practice
Lookalikes use typos, swapped or doubled letters, similar-looking characters, added words such as "login", or a different extension. They are used for phishing as well as for catching stray traffic.
The Lookalike Finder lists variants of a brand and shows which are already registered, so a brand owner can see what is out there.
Why it matters
Registering the obvious variants of your own name, and watching the rest, is a cheap defence. Trademark law and the registries' dispute processes cover abusive cases.
Try it
- Lookalike Finder Typos, look-alike characters and "login"-style variants of a brand, and which are registered.
- Domain Screener Could this name be read as rude in another language, or by accident?
Related terms
- IDN (internationalised domain name) An internationalised domain name, or IDN, is a domain written with letters beyond the basic Latin alphabet, such as accented letters or Chinese characters.
- Domain blocklist A domain blocklist is a list of domain names reported for spam, phishing or malware, used by mail and security systems to block or flag them.