WASHINGTON – Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that they have seized the internet domain name weleakinfo.com. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge Timothy M. Dunham of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The website claimed to provide its users a search engine to review and obtain the personal information illegally obtained in over … [Read more...]
Wyden: “I Will Explore Every Avenue To Ensure Users, Nonprofits Are Protected”
PALM BEACH, FL - In the ongoing debacle which has highlighted ICANN's unusual position on the .org registry sale which resulted in the billion-dollar sale of .org to a private equity company, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) told The Register that the response from Ethos Capital to his and several of his colleges concerns regarding the sale .org - just isn't good enough. Ron Wyden is very active on issues involving internet freedom and has been called a hero for introducing … [Read more...]
Why Do My Search Results Look Different? “Determining Relevance Based On Users”
PALM BEACH, FL - Just because you see something in ‘search’ doesn’t mean someone else will see that same result. This is because more and more of the web, as well as the experience you receive on your mobile device – be it Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Google, etc., is being influenced by your past search and browsing habits, as well as where you go and how valuable your visit might be, and/or how many times you might return for more - all of which are being done through various … [Read more...]
Laundry List of Questions on .ORG Sale Delivered by Congress to Ethos, IS, PIR
PALM BEACH, FL – A letter signed off by four U.S representatives, one of which is presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, was delivered to Ethos Capital, Internet Society and Public Interest Registry posing a long list of questions regarding the future operation of the .org domain registry. The letter signed off by four United States Representatives, all democrats, sending questions about the proposed .org registry sale. Among these questions, is what guarantee will … [Read more...]
Data of 267 Million Facebook Users Exposed in Online Database; Found on Hacker Forum
PALM BEACH, FL - Data security researchers discovered an online database containing the names, phone numbers, and Facebook IDs of 267 million Facebook users available for download on a hacker forum. The database was not password protected and had been posted on December 12th. On December 14th, the researchers contacted the internet service provider that was hosting the database and the database was removed on December 19th. According to the Associated Press, a … [Read more...]
Miami Herald To Cease Printing on Saturday, Says More Customers Reading Online
PALM BEACH, FL – The Miami Herald, one of the largest newspaper media companies in the State of Florida, has announced it will cease printing its Saturday edition newspaper and instead, bulk-up its Friday and Sunday editions. Aminda Marqués González, President, Publisher and Executive Editor of the paper, announced the news via a letter to readers published December 17, 2019. The Miami Herald is changing to meet the needs of our readers and the communities we serve … [Read more...]
Keep In Mind, New gTLD “Buzz Factor” SEO Ranking Weakens Over Time; Use Best URL
PALM BEACH, FL – About a year and half ago in April of 2018, I wrote about an out-of-the-ordinary domain name sale when the new gTLD domain “Vacation.Rentals” changed hands for a little over ‘half a million’ in cash, supposedly. I still sort of question the sale as either authentic and insane - or completely bogus, intentionally and strategically planned to not only create industry buzz, but boost sales for nGTLDs. Either way, and it probably doesn't really mater … [Read more...]
This AMEX Email Phishing Scam Wants You Homeless & Poor, With A Zero FICO Score
PALM BEACH, FL - Nothing could better destroy your holiday spirit than a compromise of your most secure personal information in the form of a phishing expedition. Here is one of the latest email scams circulating what is probably hundreds of thousands of inboxes, just in time for Christmas. Here is how it all plays out: You receive an email which appears to be from American Express, but it isn't, it's from some scrupulous hacker hiding somewhere behind a computer who … [Read more...]
ROOTS: Frank Schilling, Uniregistry, Join ICA; Group Sees Busy Year With Slew of Issues
PALM BEACH, FL – According to an internal membership notification, this past week, Frank Schilling, known for amassing one of the world's most valuable domain name portfolios as well as building one of the most robust domain name platforms in the industry, “Uniregistry,” has returned to the Internet Commerce Association as a “Gold” member; there are currently five (5) membership levels (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Individual). Schilling's return to ICA is … [Read more...]
DN Journal’s Ron Jackson Interviews Name Brokers’ Jeff Gabriel and Amanda Waltz
PALM BEACH, FL - Ron Jackson, known within industry circles as running one of the most authoritative websites related to the domain business, “DNJournal.com”, has been covering the Internet and domain space since 2003. One of the latest updates to his site, an equivalent of a print trade publication in today's world, includes a video update and interview with domain name brokers, Jeff Gabriel and Amanda Waltz who became friends while working together at Igloo.com / Domain … [Read more...]
Blowback: All Eyes on ICANN Over Poor Decision to Allow Price Cap Removal
PALM BEACH, NY – Unanswered questions and lots [and lots] of suspicion swirls around ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and its own transparency – all due to its super-controversial decision to allow the Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry to renew without price-caps in place. It’s a decision that keeps coming back to haunt them, likely until this “.org” fiasco deal finally dies. If the organization (ICANN), which is supposed … [Read more...]
Is Paypal’s Algorithmic “FGA” (Flexible Guest Account) Checkout Killing Your Web Sales?
PALM BEACH, FL – I’ve been using Paypal for about 15 years now and while it’s a great and extremely simple way to except payments online, I dislike it as a single point of payment. While Paypal is very smooth and provides an easy and quick set up, many consumers avoid using Paypal from either: A) negative past experience or B) simply not sure if they can use it (confusion on whether or not users are required to have a Paypal account to use it). Imagine how many sales … [Read more...]
Would You Rename Your Software Business And Change Web Address For $5.2 Million?
PALM BEACH, NY – In April 2011, a south Sweden based company called “Xcerion” changed the name of its cloud file hosting service to “CloudMe” and registered a U.S. federal trademark for the same moniker. At the time, it was just speculation, later confirmed, that the real celebration illustrated in this above graphic, was the sale and acquisition of the domain name. The company had purchased the domain name “CloudMe.com” just three to four weeks earlier; the service … [Read more...]
NYT: “Dot-org Symbolizes Neither Quality Nor Trust; False Association with Credibility”
PALM BEACH, NY - Wow, the New York Times has taken a firm and unique approach to the news and industry buzz surrounding the sale of the .ORG registry to private equity firm, Ethos Capital. Bash the domain in a hitpiece to level the playing-field in what it calls the domains' opportunity to be used by a host of bad actors, all whom reap the benefits of dot-org’s "false association with credibility." In an opinion piece published yesterday by Sam Wineburg and Nadav Ziv, … [Read more...]
Must Be Nice To Be “THE Sheriff” with “Sheriff.org”… URL Branded Vehicles
PALM BEACH, FL – Sometime back in 1996 someone had a pretty decent idea down in Florida; to register the Internet domain name “Sheriff.org” for the Broward County Sheriff's Office. I’m often reminded of this ‘solid decision’ as I live one county North and often see these URL branded police vehicles Wizz by me with “Sheriff.org” branded on the back bumper. Photo credit: https://www.allpar.com I always think, there’s probably a lot of Sheriff’s offices around the entire … [Read more...]