Verisign sinks even lower

Every mistyped domain name is now redirected to Verisign

[dougb]

Oh my God. I just can't believe how evil this is.

Slashdot article [slashdot.org]

Excerpt:

As of a little while ago (it is around 7:45 PM US Eastern on Mon 15 Sep 2003 as I write this), VeriSign added a wildcard A record to the .COM and .NET TLD DNS zones. The IP address returned is 64.94.110.11, which reverses to sitefinder.verisign.com. What that means in plain English is that most mis-typed domain names that would formerly have resulted in a helpful error message now results in a VeriSign advertising opportunity. For example, if my domain name was 'somecompany.com,' and somebody typed 'soemcompany.com' by mistake, they would get VeriSign's advertising.

[wackybrit]

So many 'fake' domains are linked from place to place (spam traps, and the like) that the search engines should have a field day hammering Verisign's servers on their next crawls! Well, they deserve it for this.. :-)

I see this becoming a big talking point at PubCon.

[cyberprosper]

I thought my computer was friggin' infected!

I hope Verign chokes to death on this one.

Is this related to the spam I have been getting for the past year "The Next Boon On The Internet-Keyword Ownership"?

Damnit! Verisign should not have this type of power!

[Chndru]

Two companies with ties to Yahoo Inc. are providing the technology and advertising know-how to drive the new VeriSign service. Inktomi Corp., a search technology company acquired by Yahoo in March, is one partner, while Pasadena, Calif.-based Overture Services Inc., a major provider of paid placement services, is the other.

From Here [bizreport.com]

<edited>

[dmorison]

So many 'fake' domains are linked from place to place (spam traps, and the like) that the search engines should have a field day hammering Verisign's servers on their next crawls! Well, they deserve it for this.. :-)

I'm sure Google (and others) will add an exception for the IP of sitefinder.verisign.com and not crawl anything resolving to that address.

[plumsauce]

And just where is ICANN in this mess?
Must still be in committee about setting
up a committee to study the need for a
task force.

Everyone who runs a dns server has a chance to
help out on this one if they are willing to
insert records to counteract this. You also
need an alternate destination to match the
record.

Let your friends know that they have a choice
of a "friendlier" dns server.

AOL/MSN can step up to the plate on their own
dns servers used by their subscribers.

++++

[killroy]

So, now a DNS resolver cannot find out if a domain is available or not because ALL domains resolve? Doesn'T that break down standard error reporting?

I just checked if a domain I have asked to have registered is ready, and it resolved to an IP, this was before I read this thread. I though I had lost hte domain already!

This cannot be right...

SN

[Lisa]

The backlash will come and I predict verisign will be forced to stop very soon.

[korkus2000]

I thought the courts just ruled domain names were property. Sounds like Verisign is treading some dangerous ground.

[wackybrit]

I just checked if a domain I have asked to have registered is ready, and it resolved to an IP, this was before I read this thread. I though I had lost hte domain already!

That's an unreliable method anyway. You can have registered domains that don't resolve anyplace. The foolsafe method, for .com, .net, .org, is to use ICANN's own InterNIC WHOIS. [internic.net]

[dmorison]

Just saw my first referral from sitefinder.verisign.com.

Fine by me :)

[Nermin]

you are always gonan have two groups on this

group that is loosing traffic because customer endup somewhere else and groups that are gaining traffic because of this

i do think that domains should be treated as private property but if you have mycompany.com that si yours and mycompanu.com is not :) so as long as they stay away from "your" actual domain then they are ok

look at this

go buy juliaroberts.com and UN will take it away from you but if you go and buy juliarobertsactress.com nobody is gonna bother you. speaking of which i should go to UN since somebody took my name domain :)

[olias]

And just where is ICANN in this mess?

Looks like ICANN have finally got their act together.

[news.bbc.co.uk...]

should be interesting to see how (if) Verisign respond.

[xcandyman]

[theregister.co.uk...]

At the weekend he wrote to ICANN declining the Net governing body's request to suspend VeriSign's controversial Site Finder service.

The story unfolds....

[figment88]

Here's some usage figures for the Verisign sitefinder service:

[biz.yahoo.com...]

More than 5MM unique visitors/day
11MM searchs sinced launched (looks like they say it launched 12-13 days ago, so just under 1MM searches/day)

Searches go to an Overture SERP.

So, I guess that Verisign has increased their revenue by $250-300k/day for flipping a switch.

Anyone else have better estimates - I'm just going from memory on what kind of avg ctr and cpc overture gets.

[Romeo]

godaddy.com say they file suit against VeriSign ... whatever this will be worth...

Regards,
R.

[Nermin]

are they big enough to go vs. verising?
they should get together and go against verising. :)

[bluelook]

My ISP, that has also a search engine that is my competitor, has replaced Verisignīs page with their own search engine results. A page with banners and so on. Maybe someday they include some pop ups too!
Not good for me... and it doesnīt seem ethical.

Today I can see again 404 error pages. I donīt know if they have removed their page (too many complaints?) or if itīs the server down due to many requests.

[Mozart]

I don't understand why there isn't much more of an uproar?! Essentially, Verisign has stolen over 99 percent of the internet! Whatever domain that is not yet registered you may type into your browser, Verisign owns you click! This is plain incredible! I actually think that this discussion should be moved into a more visible forum, say Webmaster General, as it affects everyone.

Mozart

[Mozart]

...but I guess the only thing we can do is sign the petition to get ICANN to act. But as they have already and Verisign declined to take the money-making machine offline... Verisign is supposed to make 1 million $$ a day by this "service".

Can I sue them for taking over the domain www.mynamemynamemyname.com? This is my and not their name, still they do resolve it to their "service"!

Take these monopoly powers away from them, ICANN! If U CANN that is!

Mozart

[Romeo]

... hmm, seems to me like they set their own rules and don't care about ICANN at all.
"He, who has the gold, makes the rule ..."

Oh, well ...
Disillusioned regards,
R.

[stuwad]

I have to admit that I actually like the sitefinder...of course I hate the verisign forced implementation...
I would love it if google toolbar could do the same thing (at my request)
stu

[rcjordan]

VeriSign has responded to a deadline from Internet quango ICANN and today suspended its SiteFinder service.

[theregister.co.uk...]

Darn, I was getting traffic from sitefinder.