home Business, Cyber Security, Domains Donald Trump owns a record 3,643 websites, mostly defensive domains

Donald Trump owns a record 3,643 websites, mostly defensive domains

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters as he takes the stage for a campaign event in Dallas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

CNNMoney investigated 20 years of internet records using DomainTools, which tracks registrations and transfers. Some are obvious choices he acquired long ago, like TrumpOrganization.com and TrumpBuilding.org.

The recently elected 45th US President Donald Trump has a vast online portfolio of domain names — digital addresses that foreshadowed his political career, business projects and accusations of unethical behavior.

Before he reached the White House, Trump’s company had laid claim to at least 3,643 website domains, according to internet records gathered by CNNMoney.  The buying spree continued as he ran for president. Trump bought 93 of them after he launched his presidential campaign.

The vast majority are just blank pages. Only 50 of these domains are unique websites for Trump businesses. Another 400 redirect you to Trump websites. And a handful take you to weird destinations. ChicagoTrumpLimo.com redirects you to a site that sells “Proud2bDeplorable” shirts. TrumpOnTheBeachOnline.net rents out a Washington, D.C. party bus.

According to internet records, the registrant information for all of these 3,643 domains point back to The Trump Organization’s general counsel. The listed contact information is an email address for the company’s legal team.

“Digital breadcrumbs are constantly left by people who register domains. All of that is still tracked. People don’t think about this,” said Kyle Wilhoit, senior security researcher at DomainTools.

Trump — known for being a litigious celebrity — also bought ImBeingSuedByTheDonald.com in 2009.

“You’re preparing yourself for defamation of character, that’s why you would buy this,” said Armando Martinez Jr., whose firm SpiderBoost specializes in “reputation management.”

Source CNN

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James Barnley

I’m the editor of the DomainingAfrica. I write about internet and social media, focusing mainly on Domains. As a subscriber to my newsletter, you’ll get a lot of information on Domain Issues, ICANN, new gtld’s, Mobile technology and social media.

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