• VeriSign sued over fake domain name swop
  Storage specialist Optima Technology has filed a lawsuit against Network Solutions, alleging that the registrar gave away its domain name without its permission and in doing so caused damage to its business
  .... full story

09/26/2003

• Suit filed over VeriSign domain redirect
  VeriSign is facing a new class-action lawsuit over its controversial "SiteFinder" service, which redirects all misspelled or unassigned .com domain names to a search page managed by the domain name registrar
  .... full story

• Africa's first root domain name server installed
  South Africa has its own insurance policy against an Internet catastrophe, with its own root name server now operational at the Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX), thanks to volunteers and sponsorships.
  The root name server, or in this case f.root-servers.net, is the high-level domain name server that enables the domain name system to work. Top-level domain names, such as .za, were until recently dependent on the US, and use the root name server to function
  .... full story

09/25/2003

• Has VeriSign Overstepped Its Domain?
  Years ago the government entrusted VeriSign with a key piece of Internet infrastructure. Now the company's push for profits is threatening the Web's stability -- and VeriSign's reputation
  .... full story

09/24/2003

• FTC settles with VeriSign over domain transfers
  In a settlement with U.S. regulators, VeriSign Inc. has agreed to abstain from marketing practices that allegedly tricked consumers into transferring domain names to its Network Solutions business
  .... full story

• Domain name marketing mailing under fire
  Danish firm accused of tricking unwary customers into paying £500
  A Danish domain name company has come under fire after sending out invoices for internet naming registrations to potential customers who had yet to agree to buy the service
  .... full story

09/23/2003

• VARs Blast VeriSign Domain Search Move
  Solution providers are blasting what they and others are calling VeriSign's attempt to hijack Web traffic
  .... full story

• VeriSign stands firm on domain redirect
  VeriSign said Monday that it would not abandon its decision to point unassigned domain names at its Web site, but representatives did say the company would form a technical committee later this week to look into the problems caused by the change.
  During the last week, criticism has steadily grown over VeriSign's "SiteFinder" service, which has caused problems for network administrators and confused spam-blocking utilities. A number of Internet standards bodies and administrative groups have asked the Mountain View, Calif.-based company--which enjoys a government-granted monopoly over the .com and .net registry--to stop, and a second lawsuit seeking an injunction against the practice was filed Monday
  .... full story

• Man beats Microsoft, becomes instant domain expert
  Microsoft has backed down from suing the owner of www.xbox.ws, according to the man himself, Mike Chatha
  .... full story

09/22/2003

• ICANN investigates VeriSign domain redirects
  ICANN has asked VeriSign to stop redirecting unassigned domain names to the VeriSign website, while complaints are investigated.
  VeriSign, which acts as the registry for .com and .net domain names, has just launched its'"wildcard' redirection service.
  This means users who search for non-existent Web addresses are automatically sent to the VeriSign website, instead of finding the traditional "404 page not found" error page
  .... full story

09/19/2003

• ICANN to rule domain names for three more years
  An agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was extended by the United States Department of Commerce (DoC) on Wednesday. It lasts until September 30th 2006
  .... full story

09/18/2003

• Mail-Block Unaffected by VeriSign Decision to Redirect Domain Lookups for Misspelled or Nonexistent Names to Its Own Site
  CEO of Mail-Block Robert Craddock announced that because of the technology of VERGL (Verified Embedded Random Generated Links) the surprise decision by VeriSign to take control of all unassigned .com and .net domains has not affected any corporate or business customer using the Mail-Block system
  .... full story

09/17/2003

• VeriSign's Move To Redirect Domain Errors Comes Under Fire
  While resistance to VeriSign's plan has begun appearing in workarounds and blocks to SiteFinder from network administrators, a more central counter to the service took shape in the form of a patch from the Internet Software Consortium, which publishes critical Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) software that powers most domain name servers
  .... full story

• VeriSign condemned for domain-system changes
  People making typos or searching for nonexistent Web sites are being redirected to VeriSign's homepage, a move that is generating anger in the Internet community
  Network operators, anti-spam campaigners, security experts and engineers have hit out at VeriSign over the changes it made to the top level domain system
  .... full story

• VeriSign's New Site Finder Redirects Bad Domain Traffic
  VeriSign is now resolving requests for non-existent .COM and .NET domains to an error page that features a search engine that it operates called Site Finder, a move that's quickly raised controversy.
  Previously, such bad requests would have resulted in an error that in turn would be handled in different ways by various browsers
  .... full story

09/15/2003

• Domain board announced, transfer under way
  Negotiations are under way for the transfer of the .za domain name from the current administrator to the new company set up by the Department of Communications, according to director-general Andile Ngcaba
  .... full story

09/12/2003

• Domain names--three strikes you're out
  Businesses making the move online are falling at the very first hurdle, as too many fail to register an appropriate or memorable domain name
  .... full story

09/09/2003

• First Arrest Made In US Under Truth In Domain Names Act
  Notorious 'typosquatter' John Zuccarini was arrested in the United States last Wednesday on charges of creating misleading domain names in order to trap unwary internet users into viewing pornography.
  Zuccarini stands accused of registering more than 3,000 misleading domain names, many based on common typographical errors (for example, dinseyland.com), which were set up for the sole purpose of directing users to websites advertising pornography
  .... full story

• Businesses targeted by new domain scam
  UK firms have become the target of unscrupulous domain name registrars who are inviting them to pre-register for the new .eu domain name, due to become available at the end of this year
  .... full story

09/08/2003

• Arrested man faces domain name challenge
  Philadelphia man John Zuccarini, 53, has been arrested and charged with one count of registering misleading domain names on the internet
  .... full story

09/07/2003

• New Kids' Domain Open for Business
  A new Web domain geared toward children went live this week, just as the U.S. government announced the arrest of an alleged cyber squatter accused of pointing children to explicit material online
  .... full story

09/06/2003

• Domain name sellers told to weave a stronger net
  One day after US attorneys charged a Miami man with using misspelled domain names to direct web surfers to pornography sites, lawmakers said the manner in which domain-name sellers collect information about their customers is too lax. A new law to require accurate customer data might be necessary because the US department of commerce and other oversight bodies have not been doing their job, lawmakers on the House of Representatives intellectual-property sub-committee said
  .... full story

09/05/2003

• UK music biz tackles Nominet over domain nobbling
  The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) - the UK's answer to the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) - may be planning an all-out assault on websites that allow copyrighted tracks to be downloaded.
  In minutes of a recent meeting of Nominet's Public Advisory Board (PAB), it was revealed the company in charge of the UK's domain registry had been approached several times by the BPI seeking to enforce correct domain details - essential if a prosecution is to be brought.
  .... full story

• Second-best Bond wins domain name
  The second-best actor to play James Bond - Pierce Brosnan - has won a domain dispute under the UDRP against "notorious domain squatter" Jeff Burgar, who has previously preyed on other celebrities such as Kevin Spacey, Dr. Michael Crichton, Pamela Anderson and Albert Einstein
  .... full story

• auDA raises class action against domain company
  .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA), the Australian not-for-profit company which operates the .au domain name, has issued legal proceedings against a company which it claims has sent misleading or deceptive mailers to domain name registrants.
  .... full story

09/04/2003

• Bugwatch: Protecting your domain name
  Registering a domain name is child's play, but losing it can be just as easy.
  .... full story