Understanding implications of DNS zone provisioning

DNS is a critical component of the Internet. This paper takes a comprehensive look at the provisioning of Internet domains and its impact on the availability of various services. To gather data, we sweep 60% of the Internet's domains for zone transfers. 6.6% of them allow us to transfer their complete information. We find that carelessness in handling DNS records can lead to reduced availability of name servers, email, and Web servers. It also undermines anti-spam efforts and the efforts to shut down phishing sites or to contain malware infections.