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 Nonexistent .BIZ Addresses Redirected to Sleazy Sites
posted by michael on Monday May 19 2003, @04:49AM
dtobias writes "I don't know if it's an official Neulevel policy decision, or if somebody's hacked the registry, but now if you type a nonexistent .biz address into your Web browser (like this), instead of it failing to resolve (as unregistered domains normally do), it sends you on a series of back-button-killing redirections involving sites with raw IP addresses instead of domain names, finally terminating on what seems to be a random destination. Sometimes you wind up on a gambling or adult entertainment site, sometimes on a page that pops up heaps of extra browser windows (you're best off using Mozilla as your browser so you can disable this stuff), sometimes on a sleazy pseudo-portal filled with multilevel marketing links."
[Editor's note: When I tried it this morning in two browsers, I got directed to something called "looksmart" every time. Maybe the other redirect was a (temporary) hack? This seems like policy...-mf]
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"This hardly seems like the best image for the top level domain that "means business", and promised "military level security". (The latter concept falls a little flat after some well-reported
.mil problems, anyway.) Register a .biz domain, and you won't have to wait for slimeballs to typosquat it by putting very annoying stuff at nearby addresses; Neulevel will do it for you!"
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Nonexistent .BIZ Addresses Redirected to Sleazy Sites
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Most of the registrars have discovered the value of using pay-per-click parking pages for domain names registered by customers who do not yet have web services, and who consequently use the registrars default nameservers.
This is merely taking the same revenue strategy to the next level.
The question is what is so fascinating about a "server not found" error?
But, yes, it does have the amusing side effect of the appearance of "pre-cybersquatted" domain names.
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[ Reply to This | Parent
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Readers of IW and my weblog will remember the uproar created a few months ago when Verisign began trapping for errors in the com and net TLDs and redirecting them to the plug-in page for IDN resolution. Is that much different than what is going on here with the biz errors?
Bret
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[ Reply to This | Parent
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Tina Dam, ICANN's Chief gTLD Registry Liaison, offered this response to NeuLevel's redirecting unregistered .biz domain names to LookSmart [looksmart.com].
Dear Doug,
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
However, the wildcard redirection of BIZ names is a short-term test of the BIZ directory performed by NeuLevel, with no revenue involved. Hence there is no breach of the NeuLevel Agreement with ICANN.
Kind regards,
Tina Dam
ICANN
Chief gTLD Registry Liaison
Phone: +1-310-301-5838
Doug Mehus
http://doug.mehus.info/ [mehus.info]
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U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,158 Domain name system lookup allowing intelligent correction of searches and presentation of auxiliary information
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Hey, I think this is a great thing. Neustar and Level, along with Looksmart, are trying to improve the Internet by getting rid of those annoying 404 error pages. There no logical reason this shouldn't happen. Rather than carping at the corporate players, just because they are doing something different, we should be supporting their efforts to improve the Internet experience.
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