IBM's case was "ill conceived and poorly executed," but panelist stopped short of finding reverse domain name hijacking. IBM has lost a cybersquatting claim it made against IBMS.com, and the panelist found that IBM's "prosecution of the Complaint ... Continue ReadingLeave a Comment
DomainTools names and shames bad TLDs
· Policy & LawThe "bad" domains have something in common. Update: DomainTools has taken the report down to verify/update some calculations. Its website states: We are investigating a possible error in one of the data inputs we use for this seasonal Domain ... Continue Reading2 Comments
The innocent victims of DNS abuse complaints
· Policy & LawIt's easy to advocate for fast takedowns, but that can hurt legitimate businesses. On February 20, 2020, Domain Name Wire was down. Anyone who operates a website knows that horrible feeling of finding out your site is down and not being able to ... Continue Reading6 Comments
Law firm Debevoise & Plimpton files lawsuit against domains used in phishing
· Policy & LawLarge law firm tries to capture infringing domains. Debevoise & Plimpton, an international law firm with over $1 billion in annual revenue, has filed an in rem lawsuit (pdf) against two domains it says were used for nefarious purposes. The ... Continue Reading2 Comments
Masterclass teacher schooled by trademark blogger
· Policy & LawAttorney John Berryhill analyzes an interesting UDRP case. Once in a while a UDRP dispute is almost more interesting because of who, instead of what, is involved. The decision in Help-Aetna(.)com is one of those cases. On its face, you would ... Continue Reading3 Comments
Tackling DNS Abuse – DNW Podcast #334
· PodcastsNew group wants to get a handle on DNS abuse such as phishing and malware distribution. My guest this week is Graeme Bunton, Director of the new DNS Abuse Institute. We discuss types of DNS abuse and how the institute plans to help the domain name ... Continue ReadingLeave a Comment
The scariest thing about that GoDaddy phishing test story
· Domain RegistrarsA lot of employees apparently fell for it. GoDaddy has been taking a lot of heat for a phishing test email it sent to many of its employees right before the holidays. The email told recipients that they were receiving a $650 holiday bonus and ... Continue Reading27 Comments
Morgan Stanley’s interesting domain name patent application
· Policy & LawCompany proposes a way to determine if a domain name might trick web users. I often come across domain name-related patent applications filed by internet security companies. But it was interesting to see financial services company Morgan Stanley ... Continue Reading1 Comment
The problem with branded URL shorteners
· UncategorizedThey train customers to click links that don't match the company's main domain name. Brands love branded URL shorteners. When sharing shortlinks, why use a default bitly link when you can include your brand in the domain? Many companies use ... Continue Reading8 Comments
September’s Top 5
· UncategorizedHere's a look at the top five posts on DNW in September, ranked by pageviews: 1. Man who paid $360k for 81.com says it’s stolen - Sami Debizet says he bought the domain in 2013 and that it has been stolen. 2. Oops: New .Ca commercial has a trademark ... Continue ReadingLeave a Comment
