domain

Startup proposes a safer Internet locale via a '.secure' domain

A security startup called Artemis Internet has proposed a new ".secure" top-level domain that would require Web sites using the domain to maintain stringent security practices.

The goal is to offer a place on the Web where sites have higher security standards and Web surfers can have more faith that their data and communications will stay out of the hands of malicious hackers and criminals.

"Right now software and security engineers are really bad at building good user experiences," Artemis founder Alex Stamos said in an interview today. "It's time for us to take … Read more

Is anyone actually going to .XXX domains?

I know that many people were excited when .xxx domains first reared their pretty heads a year ago.

Yet there was already some evidence at the end of last year that some institutions, such as, for example, Stanford and the U.S. Department of Justice had not bothered to protect themselves by registering their own .xxx.

Now, some very diligent people at Domain Name News decided to see how many .xxx domains were generating heat.

It transpires that people don't seem to be rushing to the .xxx version of much at all. For Domain Name News discovered that a … Read more

Meet the 'Mann' who registered 14,962 domains in 24 hours

The next time you find yourself pounding your keyboard in frustration because the domain name you want is already taken, direct your ire toward Mike Mann.

Mann is one of the longest members of the clubby world of domain speculators, and he's buying up names in force these days. And not all on the aftermarket, as some others do. But new names. Dot-com names that aren't registered -- even though 100 million-plus already are -- that he then turns around and sells for a few hundred bucks, sometimes far more.

And this week, in a span that lasted … Read more

ICANN forced to extend Web domain application deadline

A technical issue forced the Internet's primary governing body to extend the deadline for applications for new generic top-level domains.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced in a statement today that "unusual behavior" with the system's software led the organization to reschedule the GTLD application cutoff date to April 20:

ICANN constantly monitors the performance of the TLD Application System (TAS). Recently, we received a report of unusual behavior with the operation of the TAS system. We then identified a technical issue with the TAS system software. ICANN is taking the most … Read more

How Box.net became Box.com for just shy of a million bucks

I just had a nice talk with Aaron Levie, the CEO of Box.net. I mean, Box. I had to ask him how much it cost for the company to drop the ".net" and become a ".com," a change that happened in December of 2011. I expected that the three-letter common-word domain of an already-successful, well-funded company would go for a lot, several million dollars possibly.

"How many zeros?" I asked.

"Six," Levie said.

How big an integer in front of those zeros? I asked.

"The lowest. And actually, it was … Read more

The Pirate Bay sparks new criminal investigation

The torrent-downloading site The Pirate Bay announced last week in a blog post that the Swedish authorities had launched a new criminal investigation into its activities.

"The Swedish district attorney Fredrik Ingblad initiated a new investigation into The Pirate Bay back in 2010," the blog said. "Information has been leaked to us every now and then by multiple sources, almost on a regular basis."

Today, the torrent news site TorrentFreak confirmed that the Swedish police were looking into The Pirate Bay. Apparently, authorities requested that the Swedish hosting company Binero, where The Pirate Bay is registered, … Read more

.CO Internet is a company cool enough for Brooklyn hipsters

AUSTIN,Texas--If you haven't heard of Juan Diego Calle's company quite yet, consider yourself not among the in-the-know here over the last few days.

Yes, the buzz at this year's South by Southwest Interactive has been around social apps like Highlight and Glancee hoping for a Twitter-like breakout. But there's another hot startup here that gets little press and yet is everywhere.

I'm referring to .CO Internet, the Miami company that fought hard to land a contract with the government of Colombia so it could commercialize the country's top-level-domain, or TLD.

At last year'… Read more

Dear Zynga, Markpincus.com is expired

We all know that controlling your brand is crucial, especially in big business. You can't afford to let someone else get ahold of your name, and in the Internet era, that means keeping your Web site locked down, far from anyone else's reach.

So it was quite a surprise to me when I found out today, via the Twitter feed of the great game designer Brenda Brathwaite, that Zyngo CEO Mark Pincus could be in real danger of losing Markpincus.com.

According to a Whois search, the URL expired on February 9. And while registrars usually give domain … Read more

ICANN attracts 100 would-be Net domain operators

ICANN, the Internet overseer that's begun a process to expand Net domains dramatically beyond the likes of .com and .edu, said today 100 organizations have registered to get involved.

The expansion concerns generic top-level domains, or GTLDs. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) spent years putting the new program together so the Internet could use Web and e-mail addresses ending in .paris, .canon, .hotel, and .eco.

As of Monday, 100 registrants successfully joined the program, but ICANN didn't say who they are or what GTLDs they're seeking to establish. Organizations have until March 29 … Read more