# Domain Typosquatting & Phishing Detector (dnstwist) (`ntriqpro/dnstwist-osint`) Actor

Find registered look-alike domains (typosquatting, homoglyphs, TLD swaps) impersonating your brand — powered by the open-source dnstwist engine. Public DNS data only. For brand protection and authorized security research.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/ntriqpro/dnstwist-osint.md
- **Developed by:** [daehwan kim](https://apify.com/ntriqpro) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$30.00 / 1,000 registered domain founds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## Domain Typosquatting & Phishing Detector (dnstwist)

Find **registered look-alike domains that impersonate your brand** — typosquatting, homoglyph (IDN) spoofs, TLD swaps, bitsquatting, and more — powered by [dnstwist](https://github.com/elceef/dnstwist) (Apache-2.0), the industry-standard domain permutation engine. The Actor generates thousands of permutations of your domain and resolves **which ones are actually registered**, so you see the real phishing and brand-impersonation threats instead of a noisy wordlist.

Built for **brand-protection teams, security analysts, fraud investigators, and SOC/CTI teams** who need to monitor domain abuse with zero setup. Public DNS data only — this Actor never logs into or scrapes the content of any target domain.

> **Legal Disclaimer:** This Actor is an unofficial integration of dnstwist (elceef/dnstwist) and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the original project. It uses publicly available DNS data for defensive brand-protection and authorized security research. Comply with all applicable laws in your jurisdiction.

---

### What does this Actor do?

Give it a domain (e.g. `yourbrand.com`) and it will:

1. Generate thousands of **permutations** — typos, character swaps, missing/added letters, homoglyphs (e.g. `yourbrаnd.com` with a Cyrillic "а"), hyphenation, TLD substitutions (`.com` → `.net`, `.co`, ...), and bitsquatting.
2. Resolve each permutation's **live DNS records** (A, AAAA, MX, NS).
3. Return the ones that are **actually registered** — the genuine impersonation risk — including whether they have a **mail server (MX)**, which signals possible phishing-email capability.

Running on Apify gives you scheduling, a REST API, dataset exports (JSON/CSV/Excel), and monitoring — so you can watch for newly registered look-alikes on a recurring schedule.

### Why use this Actor?

- **Brand protection** — discover domains squatting on your brand before customers get phished.
- **Anti-phishing** — `hasMailServer` flags look-alikes configured to *send* email (the dangerous ones).
- **M&A / due diligence** — map the domain footprint and impersonation exposure of any company.
- **Continuous monitoring** — schedule weekly scans to catch newly registered copycats.

### How to use it

1. Enter your **domain** (just the domain, e.g. `example.com` — no `http://`, no path).
2. Leave **Registered domains only** on to see just the real threats (recommended).
3. Run it. Each registered look-alike becomes one row in the dataset.
4. Export to CSV/JSON/Excel or pull via the API. Schedule it for ongoing monitoring.

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `domain` | string | The domain to protect, e.g. `example.com`. **Required.** |
| `registeredOnly` | boolean | Only return permutations that actually resolve (default `true`). |
| `maxResults` | integer | Cap on look-alikes returned/charged (default 200, max 500). |
| `timeout` | integer | Max scan time in seconds (default 300). |

### Output

Each registered look-alike domain is one dataset record. You can download the dataset in JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

```json
{
  "inputDomain": "example.com",
  "variantDomain": "example.com",
  "fuzzer": "omission",
  "registered": true,
  "hasMailServer": true,
  "dnsA": ["203.0.113.10"],
  "dnsMX": ["mail.example.com"],
  "dnsNS": ["ns1.somehost.com"],
  "scannedAt": "2026-06-29T00:00:00+00:00"
}
````

### Data fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `variantDomain` | The look-alike domain found |
| `fuzzer` | Permutation technique (omission, homoglyph, tld-swap, addition, ...) |
| `registered` | Whether the domain resolves (has DNS records) |
| `hasMailServer` | Whether it has an MX record (can send/receive email → phishing risk) |
| `dnsA` / `dnsAAAA` | IPv4 / IPv6 addresses |
| `dnsMX` / `dnsNS` | Mail servers / nameservers |

### Pricing / Cost estimation

This Actor is **pay-per-result**: you are charged **$0.03 per registered look-alike domain** discovered. A typical brand has a handful to a few dozen registered look-alikes, so most scans cost a few cents to under a dollar. Invalid input and "no look-alikes found" runs are **free**. New Apify users get free monthly credits to start.

### Tips & advanced options

- Keep `registeredOnly: true` for signal over noise — unregistered permutations are not an active threat.
- Watch the `hasMailServer` flag: a look-alike with MX records is set up to send email and is a high-priority phishing risk.
- Schedule a weekly run and diff the results to catch **newly registered** copycats early.

### FAQ, disclaimers & support

**Is this legal?** Yes — it only generates name permutations and queries **public DNS**, the same data any DNS resolver returns. It does not access private data or the target domains' content. Use it for defensive brand protection and authorized research.

**Known limitations:** DNS results depend on resolver propagation; very large brands may exceed the result cap (raise `maxResults`). Homoglyph detection follows dnstwist's database.

- Found a bug or need a custom OSINT/brand-protection solution? Open an issue in the **Issues** tab.

***

### 🔗 Related Actors by ntriqpro

Build your full OSINT & brand-protection stack:

- [**maigret-actor**](https://apify.com/ntriqpro/maigret-actor) — Username OSINT across 3000+ sites
- [**email-osint-search**](https://apify.com/ntriqpro/email-osint-search) — Find which 120+ sites an email is registered on
- [**theharvester-osint**](https://apify.com/ntriqpro/theharvester-osint) — Subdomains, hosts & emails for a domain
- [**whois-domain-lookup**](https://apify.com/ntriqpro/whois-domain-lookup) — WHOIS registration intelligence

### ⭐ Love it? Leave a Review

Your rating helps other defenders discover this Actor. [Rate it here](https://apify.com/ntriqpro/dnstwist-osint/reviews).

# Actor input Schema

## `domain` (type: `string`):

The domain to protect, e.g. "example.com" (no http://, no path). The Actor generates thousands of permutations and checks which are registered.

## `registeredOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only return permutations that are actually registered (have DNS records) — the real threats. Turn off to also list unregistered permutations.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum look-alike domains to return and charge for (hard cap 500).

## `timeout` (type: `integer`):

Maximum time for the DNS permutation scan.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "registeredOnly": true,
  "maxResults": 200,
  "timeout": 300
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domain": "example.com",
    "maxResults": 200,
    "timeout": 300
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("ntriqpro/dnstwist-osint").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "domain": "example.com",
    "maxResults": 200,
    "timeout": 300,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("ntriqpro/dnstwist-osint").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "maxResults": 200,
  "timeout": 300
}' |
apify call ntriqpro/dnstwist-osint --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=ntriqpro/dnstwist-osint",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Domain Typosquatting & Phishing Detector (dnstwist)",
        "description": "Find registered look-alike domains (typosquatting, homoglyphs, TLD swaps) impersonating your brand — powered by the open-source dnstwist engine. Public DNS data only. For brand protection and authorized security research.",
        "version": "1.0",
        "x-build-id": "vf0swNr0dZcQHgwqS"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/ntriqpro~dnstwist-osint/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ntriqpro-dnstwist-osint",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/ntriqpro~dnstwist-osint/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-ntriqpro-dnstwist-osint",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/ntriqpro~dnstwist-osint/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-ntriqpro-dnstwist-osint",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "required": [
                    "domain"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "domain": {
                        "title": "Domain",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "The domain to protect, e.g. \"example.com\" (no http://, no path). The Actor generates thousands of permutations and checks which are registered."
                    },
                    "registeredOnly": {
                        "title": "Registered domains only",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "Only return permutations that are actually registered (have DNS records) — the real threats. Turn off to also list unregistered permutations.",
                        "default": true
                    },
                    "maxResults": {
                        "title": "Max results",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 500,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum look-alike domains to return and charge for (hard cap 500)."
                    },
                    "timeout": {
                        "title": "Timeout (seconds)",
                        "minimum": 30,
                        "maximum": 600,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum time for the DNS permutation scan."
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```