SAN FRANCISCO, CA - It was revealed this week that “chat.com” was purchased by San Francisco, California-based artificial intelligence (AI) research organization OpenAI for over $15 million, marking the third time the domain has changed hands in just two years. HubSpot founder Dharmesh Shah originally purchased Chat.com last year for $15.5 million; he then flipped it for an unspecified amount reported to be “well over $15 million” – with the entrepreneur writing at the … [Read more...]
Senator Demands Domain Registrars Address Russian Influence Operations During 2024 Election
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has issued a demand to several of the top American internet domain registrars to clamp down on the abuse of their services by Russian disinformation actors who he alleged are attempting to interfere with and influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Warner sent a letter earlier in October to several well-known companies in the web domain registering and hosting … [Read more...]
These Countries Are Beniffting Big from Their Distinctive Top-Level Domains
PALM BEACH, FL -The rise in prominence of artificial intelligence in the tech industry has proven to be a significant boon for Anguilla, which has seen a huge spike – and along with it, a lucrative revenue stream – from companies and organizations seeking to register the small Caribbean island nation’s top-level domain (TLD) of “.AI.” This development has been making headlines in the press, but Anguilla isn’t the only country with a TLD that is desired across the globe for … [Read more...]
GoDaddy or Namecheap: Which Registrar Should You Use to Buy an .AI Domain?
PHOENIX, AZ - With the boom of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution the talk of the technology industry – both for good and bad – the demand for the .AI domain has skyrocketed. Originally an obscure country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the small Caribbean island of Anguilla, it has spiked in popularity with tech companies looking to cash in on the AI craze, making it one of the most popular extensions out there currently. That being said, the US-based GoDaddy … [Read more...]
Google Announces Parked Domains Will Automatically Be Opted Out of Ad Serving
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - On Thursday, September 5, Google informed advertisers and users that they will be changing their Content Suitability policy, with new accounts being automatically opted out of serving ads on parked domains, beginning in October 2024. A parked domain is a domain name has been registered, but is not currently connected to an online service such as a website or email hosting. Simply put, it is a domain that has been bought but is currently unused; instead, … [Read more...]
Brooklyn, NY Based Domainer Sells “HarrisWalz.com” Domain for $15,000
BROOKLYN, NY - With the news that current Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 election, you might decide to pull up a web browser and head on over to “HarrisWalz.com” to find out a little more about this duo and their platform. However, if you do, you’ll simply be greeted with a green background with the word “Walz” spelled out in black, low-resolution letters. No campaign material, no policies, no biographies, … [Read more...]
Experts: Hackers Registered Over 500,000 Domains for Massive Cyber-Attack
SANTA CLARA, CA - Hackers have been around since the debut of the Internet, and over the years they’ve learned a number of underhanded tricks to use on unsuspecting victims; one of the most prolific is registering new domains to use to disseminate malware and conduct fishing attacks – while posing as innocent and trustworthy websites – in order to get the unwary to share sensitive information or download malicious software. That being said, according to cybersecurity … [Read more...]
FIASCO: Multiple Squarespace Domains Hijacked After Security Loophole Exploited
NEW YORK, NY - Last week, multiple organizations with domains registered with Squarespace had their websites hijacked by hackers, with most of the instances primarily targeting cryptocurrency-based businesses, such as Celer Network, Compound Finance, Pendle Finance, and Unstoppable Domains. The hijacks took place between July 9 and July 12, and involved Google Domains assets; Squarespace had purchased the Google Domains service in June 2023 – along with approximately 10 … [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...]
Unstoppable Domains and Blockchain.com Partner to Launch “.blockchain” Domain
LAS VEGAS, NV - Unstoppable Domains, a crypto domain name and wallet address registrar, has announced they have teamed up with Blockchain.com in order to launch a “.blockchain” domain name system (DNS)-enabled Web3 domain, with plans to go on to commercialize the joint venture for profit. A web3 domain name is a a decentralized, blockchain-based domain name that's registered on a crypto network, like Ethereum or Algorand. Web3 domains are also known as … [Read more...]
Expired Domains: New Tool to Search for Recently Expired Names You Can Register
PALM BEACH, FL - A new free-to-use website features an interesting tool that allows domain investors to search for expired, inexpensive domains that can be registered. https://justexpired.net allows users to search through a plethora of domains that have recently expired in order to discover ones that may be worth picking up for their possible intrinsic value. Typically, the most desirable expired domains are not picked up in searches such as these because they are … [Read more...]
ApeCoin Community Endorses Registering .APE as Top-Level Domain with ICANN
PALM BEACH, FL - The ApeCoin community has enthusiastically endorsed a proposal that would involve registering “.APE” as a top-level domain (TLD) with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit organization that oversees the domain industry. It is anticipated that ICANN would be motivated to allow .APE to become registered as a TLD, given their stated goal of introducing new generic top level domains by 2026. 91.68 percent … [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...]
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...]
Squarespace Sees Sharp Dropoff of Google Domains Customers After Acquisition
NEW YORK CITY - After acquiring Google Domains late last year after the internet giant decided to close down the service, Squarespace has seen a sharp drop-off of customers from the business in the subsequent months since the sale was completed, reports say. Back in July of 2023, Google abruptly announced that it would be ending its Google Domains service after nearly 10 years and would be selling the business and all of its assets to Squarespace, a New York-based website … [Read more...]