Microsoft releases tool to squash typosquatters
Wednesday, April 12th, 2006
Microsoft has launched a tool to block ads on typosquatted domains.
Typosquatting, the act of registering typos of popular domains, is a big business. Witness some recent typo domains that have sold for big bucks: Mortage.com for $242,400, CicuitCity.com for $20,250, MySpac.com for $31,600, and Porker.com for $155,000.
Microsoft researched the issue and released its findings a couple months ago. One of the biggest issues is typosquatting brand names and parking the domains with services like Sedo. Often times the actual trademark owner’s ads will show up on the parked pages! Another issue is typosquatting sites that forward to adult sites.
Microsoft just released a new software program called StriderURL with Typo-Patrol. The software blocks some ads from showing up on typo domains. It also notifies browsers if a typo domain forwards to another URL.
This software could make a dent in the typosquatting market. If enough people download it (or if Microsoft adds it to new releases of Internet Explorer) traffic and clicks on typosquatting domains could plummet. Only time will tell if the software will prove effective.
For more information about typosquatting, see these previous articles:
-Wall Street Journal article about typos
-Is GoDaddy typosquatting?
-Google might clamp down on typosquatting
-Typosquatting: What’s the worst that can happen?
Further Reading:
[...] has done significant research on typosquatting and cybersquatting, and has a tool called Strider Typo-Patrol. Using browser plug-ins, typosquatted and cybersquatted domain names can be blocked from resolving [...]
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