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Is .za safe? The state of .za domain security — South Africa
.za is safer than the internet average. Across 1,221,854 graded .za domains, 61.9% score an F — cleaner than the 78.3% global average — better company than most of the web. 2.1% earn a B or better. Most .za domains can still be impersonated in email, but the ending shifts the odds, not your own domain's grade. As of 2026-08-16.
In the .za zone — covering South Africa — 57.4% of 1,031,537 graded domains earn an F, well below the 73.8% internet-wide average. DMARC enforcement here stands at 15.4% — above the 11.8% census-wide rate.
Note: .za is used as a proxy for South Africa based on the domain's TLD, not where the company is registered.
How do .za domains score?
Aggregate grade distribution across all graded .za domains — we never publish an individual business's grade. As of 2026-08-16.
| Grade | Domains | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 213 | 0% |
| A | 1,538 | 0.1% |
| B | 24,490 | 2% |
| C | 122,174 | 10% |
| D | 317,143 | 26% |
| F | 756,296 | 61.9% |
Does .za make a domain secure?
No — and that's the most important thing to know. A domain's grade is decided by how it is configured (SPF, DMARC, HTTPS, DNS), not by its ending. Choosing .za doesn't protect you, and a high-F-share ending doesn't doom you: a correctly configured .za domain earns an A while the crowd around it sits at F.
Want to know where your .za domain ranks? Check it privately and free — we only ever show an individual domain's grade to its verified owner. Run the free check →
Frequently asked questions
Is .za safe?
On average, .za is safer than the internet average: 61.9% of its 1,221,854 graded domains score an F as of 2026-08-16, against a 78.3% global average. Most domains on every ending are exposed — the ending shifts the odds, not your own domain's grade.
How secure are .za domains?
38.1% of .za domains score above an F and 2.1% earn a B or better. The rest fail the basic externally observable protections, most importantly enforced SPF and DMARC, so they can be impersonated in email.
Does choosing .za make my domain secure?
No. A domain's grade comes from how it is configured — SPF, DMARC, HTTPS, DNS — not from its ending. A well-configured domain earns an A on any ending; an unconfigured one sits at F on .za too.
What does "grade F" mean for a .za domain?
It fails the basic protections we can observe from outside — above all, it has no enforced SPF and DMARC, so its email can be forged and its customers targeted with convincing fakes.
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