Web fundamentals
DNS: the name is part of the security boundary
A familiar domain must still resolve to the intended service.
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Original MASTR posts on X
Names and destinations
DNS translates domain names into information needed to locate services. Your browser does not find a server merely by recognising a familiar logo. It relies on name resolution as part of reaching the destination.
Control of a domain's configuration is consequently valuable. A project can retain control of its onchain contract while losing control of the website through which users normally reach it. This is one reason a smart-contract audit cannot cover the entire experience.
Read the full domain
A brand word in a subdomain does not make the site belong to that brand. In an illustrative address such as brand.account.example, the familiar word appears beneath a different controlling domain. Similar spelling creates another source of mistakes.
Use an independently established address for sensitive account access, particularly when an unsolicited message creates urgency. Record the exact URL in an investigation rather than writing only the project name. A later reader needs to distinguish the official service, a compromised page and an imitation. Continue with TLS and support impersonation.