VeriSign, Critics Gear Up for ICANN Hearing

A VeriSign Inc. official defended its contract to operate the .com domain Monday, after Network Solutions accused the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) of not requiring adequate security safeguards in its registry agreements. Network Solutions, a domain-name registrar, released a report last week saying ICANN has "failed" to address security in its latest proposals for the .com, .biz, .info and .org top-level domains. more»

Analysis Report Recommends Key Security Changes to ICANN's Pending Registry Proposals

A report released today ("DNS - A System in Crisis," commissioned by Network Solutions) has concluded that in proposals for the .com, .biz, .info and .org registries, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has failed to ensure adequate security safeguards. The report, written by security technology expert Jerry Archer, recommends that oversight, planning and testing provisions be implemented in the proposals to run these registries before they are finalized. more»

U.S. Likely to Keep Control of DNS

A U.S. State Department official on Wednesday said that the United States should retain control of the Internet domain naming system and not relinquish it at the end of September when the current agreement ends.

"It won't happen on my watch," said Ambassador David Gross of the State Department's Bureau of Economic Affairs. more»

Company Claims Right to SEX.EU Under Unusual Legal Interpretation

Yellow was the first company with a prior right to the term 'sex' to apply for the domain, which is usually enough to be successful in being awarded it. Yellow had a registered trade mark for the term 'sex'. Topeu on the other hand claimed it had a greater right to the domain because it had registered a trademark for the entire phrase 'sex.eu'... more»

Phishing Reaching Record Numbers in 2006

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is reporting a record number of legitimate "brands" were hijacked in July 2006. ...They also report to have found 23,670 total phishing websites used to commit identity theft, fraud and other malicious activity in July 2006. This number is second only to the record 28,571 phishing sites found in June 2006, and is nearly double the 14,135 phishing sites found in July 2005. more»

EarthLink Criticized for Redirecting Nonexistent Domains

Internet service provider EarthLink is drawing fire from customers after launching a test program in which it redirects nonexistent domains to a company-provided error page containing suggestions, a search box and advertisements. ...EarthLink responded in a company blog posting on the issue, saying it was listening to the feedback and was working to resolve any problems. However, it does not intend to disable the DNS redirection. more»

If You Adopt Vista, Your DNS Traffic is Going to Double

Microsoft's launch of Windows Vista could slow down or stall traffic on the Net, said Paul Mockapetris, who is widely credited with inventing the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS). Mockapetris believes Vista's introduction will cause a surge in DNS traffic because the operating system supports two versions of the Internet Protocol, a technology standard used to send information over computer networks. ""It is going to be mud season on the Internet, where things will just be kind of slow and gooey.""It is going to be mud season on the Internet, where things will just be kind of slow and gooey." more»

Software Error at .ES Registry Knocks Thousands of Spanish Websites Offline

A botched software update at Spain's central domain registry knocked as many as 400,000 sites offline for several hours Tuesday, according to the Esnic registry. The error left Internet users unable to access domains using .es, the country code top-level domain for Spain. more»

ICANN Names DNS Security Experts

The Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers yesterday named the 25 domain name system security experts that will be responsible for deciding whether proposed domain registry services could cause internet security and stability problems. The 25 people, who hail from all over the world, would be selected in five-person panels to decide on a case-by-case basis whether services proposed by the likes of .com registry VeriSign Inc or .biz registry NeuStar Inc constitute a problem to the internet. more»

With Tropical Strom Ernesto Comes the Domain Storm

With tropical storm Ernesto now blowing off the coast of Florida, Internet security experts are warning that fraudsters may be hard at work claiming Ernesto-related Web site domains. On Tuesday, 18 domains related to the storm became live, said Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer at the SANS Institute. They include such names as Ernestoinsurance.com, Ernestomoney.com and Ernestodamage.com. more»

Country Based Domains the Latest Sector to Heat Up in $1 Billion Market

"In many parts of the world, dot-com is not the preferred domain suffix. In Germany, for instance, companies advertise their .de Web addresses more prominently than their .com addresses." ...Even with Google and Yahoo's best efforts, the Internet advertising revolution is still in its early stages, especially overseas. But if they're successful at bringing online ads to more countries, overseas domain owners are going to find themselves sitting on prime property. more»

Microsoft Launches New Offensive Against Cybersquatters

Microsoft on Tuesday launched a new offensive against cybersquatters who allegedly gain illegal profits from thousands of Web sites, such as WindowsLiveTutorial.com and HaloChamp.com, that include the company's trademarked names.

Redmond filed three lawsuits in federal court this week claiming that some Web site operators have registered and operate hundreds of domain names with the sole purpose of reaping "bad faith" profits and in violation of federal and state laws. more»