WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Coronavirus outbreak is nothing to joke about, so this short article is not intended to embarrass or make fun of the fact that the web address was misspoken; it is to point out that it keeps happening, and that even younger people continue to just assume that their website is a dot com, just on basic instinct. This morning, I was surprised to hear during a breaking news video on the TODAY show, that U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, told … [Read more...]
Feds Take Down First Coronavirus Scam Site
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The world’s first web site taken down of a fraudulent Coronavirus scam has taken place – and in record time. On Sunday, the US Department of Justice announced it had shut down a website in connection with COVID-19, the disease caused by 2019 Novel Coronavirus. The site, CoronavirusMedicalKit.com, promised visitors a free vaccine from the World Health Organization (WHO) and shoppers needed only to pay shipping costs of $4.95 to receive their cure, … [Read more...]
Will Coronavirus Create Pandemic Volatility and Effect The Domain Name Industry?
PALM BEACH, FL - According to the CDC, the corona virus, now known as COVID-19, is expected to create a pandemic in the United States very soon. There are already cases in the Boston area which are being closely monitored with some people in quarantine. California has also seen its first case at the LAX airport. It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will … [Read more...]
Federal Government Rolls Out Authoritative “.Gov” Domain Message to Top of Websites
PALM BEACH, FL – Today, I noticed that visiting websites of the Federal Government, now include a statement helping users better identify if they are truly visiting a government operated site. The quick to see message on top of sites seems extremely helpful and will better educate visitors that “.Gov” is indeed official. It also mentions that the domain ending “.Mil” should be equally respected. The message is used in an expandable drop-down which includes the following … [Read more...]
Nonprofit “ICANN” Exists to Serve the Public Good, Or Does It? What Say You?
PALM BEACH, FL – An important awareness message came out of The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) today, and it should make, even the least interested shopper, question whether or not price increases to consumers are justified when an item or service is purchased from a company with specific oversight from an authoritative body. Whether it is over domain names, or anything else, the question should be, when does a company - any company, which is permitted to … [Read more...]
First Ever Crime-Fiction Story Based Entirely On An Internet Domain Name Released
PALM BEACH, FL – What do you do with a domain name you can’t sell? Well, one thing you could do is make a book or movie out of it. That is, if you believe the name can grab some attention. Such is what I did with Murder.net, a domain name I scooped up years ago for a few thousand dollars as I thought it was unique. A single generic word .net that is highly searched, but hard to monetize. The reason why selling the domain name for a profit has been unproductive. That’s … [Read more...]
Bad News for ICANN: Pressure Intensifies for Decision Behind .Org Price Cap Removals
PALM BEACH, FL – Sometimes they say “where there is smoke, there is fire,” and the room keeps getting hotter for ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, for its poor, super-controversial and extremely suspect decision to allow the Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry to renew without price-caps in place. The whole situation is turning into a hot potato / can of worm’s scenario where -if- any backroom deals or funny business exists; … [Read more...]
NamesCon Live Auction List with 136 Domains and Auction Order Published
AUSTIN, TX - If you are interested in one or more domain names going up for auction starting today, January 30, 2020 between 4:30pm CST- 7:30pm Central Standard Time, a list has been released by Monte Cahn, President of RightOfTheDot for those names which will be included in the live event. If you are not in Austin but still want to bid on domains, RightOfTheDot’s Proxibid system will be the live bidding platform used for the event auction. The remaining names will be … [Read more...]
NamesCon Global 2020 Domain Auction to Include Two “Good Cause” Domain Sales
PALM BEACH, FL – If you will be participating in the live domain auction which will take place Thursday, January 30 at the Omni Hotel (Downtown) in Austin Texas, you’ll have the chance to not only scoop up what will likely be some great domain deals, but you’ll also be able to help contribute with two sales having a portion of their proceeds benefiting domainers directions.com and toolchest.com. When the action begins at 4:30 pm Central Standard Time, you’ll want to pay … [Read more...]
10 Simple Yet Effective Security Tips To Keep You Cyber Safe and Worry Less in 2020
PALM BEACH, FL - There is no shortage of security breaches and data leaks reported in the news this past year. As we all move into 2020, here are some simple tips to help keep you stay cyber safe, so you can worry less and have more to look forward to this year. Don't Shorten 2020 in Dates You shouldn’t shorten the year 2020 when signing things. Scammers can easily change the abbreviated date, for example from “3/30/20” to “3/30/2018”. Make sure to write out the full … [Read more...]
DOJ Seizes Domain Used to Sell Access to Hacked Personal Info and Account Logins
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 10,000 … [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. ....nothing in this response addresses my concerns that selling .org to a private equity firm would be a … [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. Among these questions, is what guarantee will be provided that the registry will not be relocated outside of the United States, which could put the domain name, widely used for U.S. … [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...]