Tag: fraud

Categories
domains

Network Solution Saga Continues

After numerous confirmations of scam-like business practices, Network Solution is now looking into implementing a feature that will allow users to “lock” domain for 4 days, instead of doing this for them automatically. Ironically, this feature look just awfully familiar – just like “domain tasting”. With difference being that now anyone can lock the domain without even providing their contact info. Don’t even need to set up various fake registrars to grab and drop domains for tasting, just keep searching for it.

Another bad trick here is that since domain name would appear registered – there is a very good chance squatters may snipe it right the moment it will be released. And it is already very well known what it means. Some of my clients paid pretty large sums for their trademarked name – just to get it faster then through the lawsuit.

Interesting facts:

  • In 2000 Network Solutions was purchased by Verisign for $21 billion.
  • In 2007 they were purchased for $800 million.

My take? If you have domain names at Network Solutions – move them to someone not so dangerous. GoDaddy, Moniker or NameCheap (we use all three of them) look much better.

Categories
domains

Network Solutions Plays It Dirty

So, after all this time it turns out to be true – someone DOES snitch domain names at the time of the search. Guess who that might be? Some anonymous hacker? Wrong! It’s one of the largest domain name registrar – Network Solutions. Multiple blogs and other sources confirm that NetSol preserves any .com name searched through their web site for at least 4 days “to protect customers from front-runners”.

What it looks like to me is that whenever any company feels too comfortable at the place it is bad things start to happen. But off with the generalizations. I have some clients who have some domains registered through Network Solutions. After a hit like that the company might do all kinds of crazy stuff, so I better have those domains secured at other registrars.

Categories
annoyances

Twitting in a new way

There is a post on Mashable that outlines how to game Twitter into becoming a natural environment to spread malware. There is little to none incentive to create pure spam feeds, as they will, undoubtedly, be closed and all future links will be marked with “nofollow” attribute. Malware, however, is whole another story. In this case the attacker doesn’t have to have clean direct links. In fact, as it is mentioned in original article, attacker, actually, have to mask destination with some sort of shortener (worse yet, if the link looks like “legit” affiliate link). By gathering large enough audience, an attacker can get to them in a single strike. And if the destination look innocent enough, he might get away with it just long enough. After all -it all is still same old social engineering.

Educated guess says that Jaiku might be vulnerable the same way. Just look what happened to the Blogger.com (aka Blogspot) – it became free doorway hosting service right at the beginning…