Method & data sources
Website
We resolve www.domain (otherwise the domain itself) and map the IP address to a place and a network operator using MaxMind's GeoLite2 databases.
Mail servers are listed in the domain's MX records. For Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace we name the service instead of a place, because the database puts their addresses centrally in the US.
Content delivery networks
If a website sits behind Cloudflare, Akamai or Fastly, you only see the node closest to the visitor. The real web server stays hidden – we then show “hidden” rather than a misleading place.
SPF records
The SPF record names the servers allowed to send the domain's mail. A web server listed there only counts for us if it actually serves the website on a direct request. Servers that answer every request the same way (webmail, shared applications) are filtered out with a control request.
Inferred locations
If a website sits behind a CDN, its server stays hidden. If other sources tell us where the agency that built it runs its servers (for example because its own DNS and mail servers are there), we show that country as “probably” – dashed on the map and marked “inferred”. It is not measured; the history only stores measured values.
Belgian data centres
Data centres in Brussels are shown as “Brussels, Belgium”. Our own customers' websites appear as Euregio.Net.
Who built the website?
Agencies usually name themselves in the imprint or footer. We quote that statement with a date and a link. If the page can't be reached, we use an archived copy (Internet Archive). Only if both are missing do we give a technical attribution – clearly labelled as such.
East Belgium monitor
The list covers websites of the government, ministry, parliament, municipalities, public services, schools with their own domain, media, associations, parties and politicians. It is re-checked weekly; changes are recorded with their date. Is a domain missing or an entry wrong? Let us know.
Limits
IP geolocation is an estimate: it nearly always gets the country right, not always the city. And a server in Belgium run by a foreign company is legally not the same as a Belgian provider – which is why we always name the operator too.
Data sources
- IP locations and network operators: GeoLite2 City and ASN by MaxMind.
- DNS records (A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT/SPF): queried directly at the time of the check.
- Base map: Natural Earth via world-atlas. All files are served from our own server.