LookalikeGuardBitsquatting explained
Computers store each letter as bits. Very rarely, hardware errors flip one bit in memory, turning one letter into another, for example o (01101111) into m (01101101) or g (01100111) into e (01100101). If a device's request for your domain gets one bit flipped, it can end up at a different domain. Registering those one-bit-off names is called bitsquatting.
Each device rarely sees this happen, but across a very large number of requests some traffic arrives. Bitsquats also often double as ordinary typos.
Free, no account needed. A scan takes 15 to 60 seconds. You get a shareable result link.
What the scan checks
- Every name that is one valid bit flip away from yours (letters, digits and hyphens only).
- Registered ones are scored like other one-character changes (+15) plus infrastructure, age and page signals.
Real examples from our scanner
Copied from LookalikeGuard scans of public brands run on 2026-10-18, 2026-10-19 (UTC). Data comes from public DNS, RDAP registration records, certificate logs and a fetch of the page. A score is an automated risk signal, not a finding that anyone is doing something wrong: many lookalikes are defensive registrations, unrelated businesses or parked pages. Results change over time. Names of medium and high results are partly hidden for that reason.
| Brand | Lookalike | Score | Techniques | Top reasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| basecamp.com | besecamp.com | 40 (low) | bitsquat, vowel-swap | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +0 MX is a registrar default, forwarding or parking service (not counted) +15 One-character variation of your name (bitsquat) +15 Registered in the last 90 days (55 days ago) -15 Looks parked, placeholder or for sale (no real content right now) |
| basecamp.com | basekamp.com | 25 (low) | bitsquat | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 Has mail servers (MX), so it can send or receive email +15 One-character variation of your name (bitsquat) -15 Registered 27 years ago (long-standing) +5 TLS certificate issued 15 days ago |
| basecamp.com | bacecamp.com | 10 (info) | bitsquat, replacement | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 One-character variation of your name (bitsquat) -15 Registered 15 years ago (long-standing) -15 Looks parked, placeholder or for sale (no real content right now) |
| allbirds.com | allbirdr.com | 40 (low) | bitsquat | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 Has mail servers (MX), so it can send or receive email +15 One-character variation of your name (bitsquat) -15 Looks parked, placeholder or for sale (no real content right now) |
| gitlab.com | gi•••ab.com | 50 (medium) | bitsquat | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 Has mail servers (MX), so it can send or receive email +15 One-character variation of your name (bitsquat) -15 Registered 13 years ago (long-standing) +5 TLS certificate issued 11 days ago |
| gitlab.com | gh•••ab.com | 45 (medium) | bitsquat | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 One-character variation of your name (bitsquat) +5 TLS certificate issued 23 days ago |
| gitlab.com | gitlib.com | 5 (info) | bitsquat, vowel-swap | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 One-character variation of your name (bitsquat) -15 Registered 12 years ago (long-standing) +5 Serves a live web page (title: "Gitlib") -25 Has its own distinct content that does not mention your brand (likely an unrelated site) |
Related: IDN and punycode lookalikes, misspellings.
What it does not do
LookalikeGuard is monitoring and early warning. It does not take down domains, send legal notices, or give legal advice. Scores are automated and can be wrong in both directions: a high score is a reason to look, not proof of abuse. Many lookalike domains are parked, owned by unrelated businesses, or registered defensively by the brand itself; you can mark those as yours or dismiss them.