WEST PALM BEACH, FL - At this point, the Internet has been around for a while, and there are countless number of domain names out there that have been snapped up for nearly every conceivable purpose. With that being said, an ever-growing number of legitimate brand name domains have been snapped up, giving rise to the growing popularity of alternate spellings of well known, generic, business-related keywords for domains, known as “sensational spelling.” Sensational spelling … [Read more...]
Thousands of “Sitting Duck” Domain Names Highjacked by Russian Cybercriminals
PALM BEACH, FL - A critical vulnerability within the Domain Name System (DNS) has been unearthed and exploited by dozens of cybercriminals and hackers originating from Russia to take over thousands of domain names, according to cybersecurity researchers from Infoblox and Eclypsium. An estimated 30,000 legitimate domains have been hijacked by the digital thieves since 2019, experts say, utilizing a technique known as “Sitting Ducks” that exploits weak DNS services. The … [Read more...]
Large-Scale Fraud Campaign Utilizes Over 700 Domains to Sell Fraudulent Tickets
CHANDLER, AR - Authorities have discovered that a group behind a widespread internet scam – dubbed “Ticket Heist” – has been utilizing over 700 domain names, registered over the course of over two years, in order to sell fraudulent tickets and hotel accommodations to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The operation, which researchers at threat intelligence company QuoIntelligence say seems to primarily target Russian-speaking individuals, has not only offered … [Read more...]
Site Building Gets Crazy Easy as Newfold Digital Adds GenAI to Its Website Builders
JACKSONVILLE, FL - In an effort to streamline the process of creating websites for its users, domain registrar and hosting provider Crazy Domains announced this week that the company will be adding generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to its website building toolkit. Dubbed the AI Website Builder, the tool is being touted as a way to assist small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that are not experienced with web development into their first foray of … [Read more...]
Over 20,000 Short Premium Domains to Be Released at NamesCon Global 2024
BELLEVUE, WA - Domain name registrar and registry services provider Identity Digital has announced they will be releasing – for first-time availability – over 20,000 short premium domains at NamesCon Global 2024, including hundreds of .vote domains just in time for election season, as well as more than 1,000 one and two-character .info domains. Identity Digital noted that the launch of the Early Access Phase (EAP) for these premium domains is slated to take place … [Read more...]
Unstoppable Domains & Secret Network Launch “.Secret” Top-Level Domain (TLD)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Digital identity provider Unstoppable Domains (UD) and Secret Network, the confidential computing layer of Web3, officially announced on Thursday, May 30 that they have launched the ".Secret" Web3 top-level domain (TLD), which will offer enhanced digital privacy and communication for users within the blockchain community. The .Secret TLD – which will function as both a web address and digital identifier – represents a huge leap in terms of privacy for … [Read more...]
Domain Registrar, Site Builder Squarespace Purchased by Permira for $6.9 Billion
NEW YORK, NY - Private-equity firm Permira has entered into a deal with Squarespace to acquire the website-building platform and domain host/registrar in an all-cash deal valued at $6.9 billion, according to an announcement made this week by both companies. The deal involves Permira paying approximately a 30 percent premium to Squarespace’s unaffected share price, which comes to $44 a share in cash; as a part of the transaction, the publicly-traded web company – … [Read more...]
Google Begins Testing Custom Filters for Search Based on Domains, Keywords
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Google has begun testing custom filters for its search engine for results based on domains and keywords. Currently, these new features have been made available only to a certain number of users, which allow them to customize their search results according to certain specific domain types, websites, and keywords in order to find the information they are looking for. Reports indicate that these new filters allow users to search for specific types of files … [Read more...]
Google’s John Mueller on Why Hyphens Aren’t Used in Domain Names Anymore
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - In a recent Reddit Q&A, John Mueller, the Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst and Search Relations team lead at Google, fielded a query on why hyphens are no typically longer utilized in domain names, and if their fall from grace was something to be concerned about. Mueller noted that hyphens in domain names were a trend from a bygone era of the internet, and their curtailed use in modern times has occurred for a number of reasons, ranging from the way … [Read more...]
Creative Use of Domain Name In Action; Not So Great Google Reviews
PALM BEACH, FL - Being that I'm involved in both the marketing and domain industries, I enjoy seeing creative uses of domain names. The other day I snapped this shot from the car when I noticed a company called “Simply Health Care” using a creative domain name “Simply Enroll Now” (SimplyEnrollNow.com) as a landing page. The company, which appears to be called “Simply Healthcare Plans” at (SimplyHealthcarePlans.com) provides consulting services for Medicaid qualified … [Read more...]
Google Now Displays Wallet Balances for Ethereum Name Services (ENS) Domains
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Google has recently integrated native support for wallet balances of Ethereum Name Services (ENS) domains in its search results, a move that should simplify the process of sending and receiving funds on the part of cryptocurrency holders by substituting standard – and, thus, easier to remember – domain names in the place of the complicated wallet addresses commonly associated with blockchain-specific domains. ENS translates computer identifiers into … [Read more...]
New 2024 Global Domain Report Notes “Game Changing” Industry Insights for “.AI”
CAMBRIDGE, MA - InterNetX and Sedo Have released their 2024 Global Domain Report, which breaks down the domain industry and examines trends and shifts that are expected in the upcoming year, with the main emphasis being placed upon tech developments and the evolution of AI and its growing influence upon the internet. The free-to-download 80-page report – of which this article will provide a brief summary – noted that 359.8 million new domains were registered in 2023, … [Read more...]
Thousands of Domain Names Owned by Legitimate Brands Hijacked to Send Spam
TEL AVIV - As part of a sophisticated scheme involving spam proliferation and click monetization, over 8,000 domains and 13,000 sub-domains once owned by major, legitimate brands and institutions have been hijacked to allow millions of spam emails to bypass standard security blocks for nefarious gain. This coordinated malicious activity – dubbed “SubdoMailing” – has been going on since at least September 2022, according to Guardio Labs, the Israeli security … [Read more...]
Ethereum Name Service, GoDaddy Partner for Free Pairing of Domains, Crypto Wallets
ARIZONA - The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) – a decentralized, blockchain-based naming system that facilitates user-friendly names for wallet addresses – and domain registrar and web hosting company GoDaddy have partnered up to allow customers to pair Domain Name System (DNS) website domains (such as .com or .net) to an ENS (.eth) name for free which will promote use with crypto apps and wallets. While ENS domains can be assigned to an Ethereum wallet to streamline the … [Read more...]
ICANN Proposes New “.INTERNAL” Domain for Local “192.168.x.x” IP Addresses
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – the nonprofit organization that oversees the domain industry – is proposing a way to cut down on the confusion associated with local “192.168.x.x” IP addresses by creating a new top-level domain (TLD): “.INTERNAL,” which would be for internal use but never connected into DNS or other infrastructure that would enable others users to access it on the open web. “192.168.x.x” IP … [Read more...]