You can use the end, or suffix, of a domain name to help you judge the validity of the information and identify the potential bias of a website. This strategy is a guideline as people or organizations may purchase domains that do not necessarily reflect their actual purpose.
.ac - Academic Institution (generally outside the U.S.) .aeroa - site from the aviation community .biz - Business.coCompany, usually with a country code .com - Commercial (commercial sites may vary in their credibility) .coopa - cooperative.eduEducational Organization (most U.S. colleges and universities) .govU.S. - Government Agency.infoGeneral Information .int - International Institution.k12Most U.S. school sites .milU.S. - Military.museumMuseum .name - Individual Internet User .net - Networked Service Provider or Internet Administrative Site .org - Organization, often a nonprofit site .pro - Professional.storeRetail Business~ (tilde symbol)This symbol indicates that the website is a personal page
Establish credibility by using one or more of the following tools:
Perform a Link Check. - Use a search engine such as AltaVista or Google to see which other sites have chosen to link to the site you are evaluating.
Type: link:http://siteaddress.
To find the owner of a site, go to easyWhois at http://www.easywhois.com * and type in the URL for the website you are using.
Check the history of a website by using the Wayback Machine. Go to http://www.archive.org *. Type in the URL and click on the Take Me Back button.