Domain names might be used to provide updates and recall information.
Auto maker Volkswagen has registered a handful of domain names related to the diesel emissions scandal. The names don’t seem defensive and could be used to disseminate information about what it is doing in the wake of the revelations that it outfitted cars with software to outsmart emissions tests.
[Update 9/24/15 5:20 PM: The nameservers for the domains have been moved to Rackspace and if you visit them you’ll get a login prompt, so they are setting the domains up to use them.]
These domain names were registered yesterday:
- volkswagendieselinfo.com
- volkswagenemissioninfo.com
- volkswagenusainfo.com
- vwdieselinfo.com
- vwemissioninfo.com
- vwusainfo.com
Verisign’s DomainView isn’t displaying all registrations with “volkswagen” in them, but it does pull up some third party registrations related to the fiasco.
Geoffrey Shenk of Redwood City, California registered volkswagonsmogrecall.com, volkswagonlawsuits.com, volkswagonsmoglawsuit.com, Volkswagonrecall.com and volkswagonlawsuit.com. He’s pointing these domain names to GoDaddy’s Cash Parking service.
Another person using whois privacy registered VolkswagonFraud.com.
I heard this morning BMW may be facing similar scrutiny. Perhaps this problem is widespread. A more generic domain for investment may be in order.
I wonder if they considered going down the Kaiser route….like VW-Made MyGrannyCough.com 😉
🙂
What’s The best way to sell. ca versions
VWrecall.ca
Vwlawsuit.ca
Volkswagenrecall.ca
Volkswagenlawsuit.ca
Vwclassaction.ca
Well, I was quicker than VW on at least these ones:
DEFEATPROGRAM.COM
DEFEATPROGRAMS.COM
DEFEATDEVICES.COM
(Kudos to the one beating me on DEFEATDEVICE.COM 😉
DefeatSoftware.com has just been registered under privacy at UniRegistry.
Update: The nameservers for the domains have been moved to Rackspace and if you visit them you’ll get a login prompt, so they are setting the domains up to use them
Information technology is changing so many things, even in the auto industry.