domains

Google buys g.co domain

Google+ is a strong statement that Google doesn't like Twitter's 140-character limits, but apparently the company still thinks there's a strong need to shorten Web addresses as much as possible.

The evidence: Google just bought the g.co domain that will enable it to have a shorter Web address for Google products and services.

"The shorter a URL, the easier it is to share and remember. The downside is, you often can't tell what Web site you're going to be redirected to," Gary Briggs, vice president of consumer marketing at Google, wrote in … Read more

Making headway against hackers? (week in review)

Law enforcement officers may feel they've made a dent in the fight against hackers, but that doesn't seem to be stemming the tide of activity.

A 19-year-old U.K. man has been arrested on suspicion of hacking and online attacks by the U.K.'s Metropolitan Police. Sky News reported early on that the teenager is the mastermind behind LulzSec, a prominent hacking group that has wreaked havoc on several companies and government organizations of late. However, the Metropolitan Police's e-Crime Unit stopped short of saying whether the man in custody might be connected to LulzSec.

LulzSec … Read more

Disney's Club Penguin domain name lapses

Disney was willing to pay up to $700 million for Club Penguin, but apparently forgot to renew its domain. Parents can't be happy.

If you go to Club Penguin--like my daughter did--you may get an odd-looking Network Solutions page. It's the page you get when you haven't renewed a domain name. The page has been down for a good chunk of the day. CBS News reported that Club Penguin returned about noon, but a lot of folks still can't get to the site. The outage has been widely reported on Club Penguin blogs such as the … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1493: We're all screwed. Drink. (Podcast)

It's both a fun game and a sad commentary on the state of our existence! On today's show, the average user is caught in the crossfire of the hacker wars, but dammit, even LulzSec agrees that Sega is off limits. Speaking of which, Donald might have been right about Bitcorn, rather than Bitcoin. Ouch. And how to restore the memories of really, really stoned rats. Poor little rats. --Molly

New Net addresses mean new trademark issues

Forget being limited to .com, .net, and .org.

The Internet's overseers today approved a plan to dramatically expand the number "generic top-level domains," or GTLDs, as soon as the end of 2012. There are only 22 such GTLDs today--others include .edu, .mil, and .biz--but the expansion could add dozens or potentially even hundreds more.

Among other implications, that means new opportunities and new complications for trademark holders.

"It opens up [what's] the right of the dot," said Rod Beckstrom, chief executive of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, speaking at … Read more

ICANN approves expansion of top-level domains

The Internet's primary governing body today approved the expansion of new top-level domains--one of the most dramatic changes in the Internet's history.

During a special meeting in Singapore, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted to dramatically increase the number of domain endings from the current 22, which includes the well-established .com, .net, and .org. The move will allow domains to end in almost any word, allowing companies to turn their brands into Internet extensions.

"ICANN has opened the Internet's naming system to unleash the global human imagination," Rod Beckstrom, president … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1489: 7073, people, keep it simple (Podcast)

The most common iPhone passcodes are revealed on today's show (no, not by LulzSec), but Tong has a pager-callback suggestion for all of us. A proposal in Congress would force U.S. companies to actually tell us when they're hacked and our data is stolen (yes, please), and Rojadirecta becomes the people's hero in challenging the government's domain-name seizures. Go, Rojadirecta, go!

Apple goes on WWDC-related domain buying spree

The same day Apple kicked off its Worldwide Developers Conference, the company staked its claim on domain names that include keywords of features in iCloud, iOS 5, and Mac OS X Lion.

Whois records dug up by TechCrunch show the company purchased at least 50 domain names. Some go directly to feature pages on Apple's Web site, while others dead end or show up as not yet being hosted.

Included are mentions of iTunes Match, Launchpad, Photo Stream, and Lion's resume feature. Some features even get their very own domain name, like iOS' airplaymirroring.com and conversationview.com. … Read more

Apple gains control of iCloud domain

Apple has taken administrative control of the iCloud.com domain, according to a Whois domain directory search, a week before the company is scheduled to unveil a cloud-based storage system of the same name.

The domain, which was previously owned by Sweden-based "hybrid cloud computing" provider Xcerion, was rumored to have been sold to Apple for $4.5 million. In April, Xcerion moved its cloud-based storage service from iCloud.com to CloudMe.com, however iCloud.com currently redirects to CloudMe.com

Apple representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company announced yesterday … Read more

Mozilla fights DHS over anti-MPAA, RIAA utility

No judge has ever declared a Firefox plug-in called MafiaaFire Redirector to be illegal. But that didn't stop the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from trying to censor it from the Web.

The Mozilla Foundation says DHS requested the removal of MafiaaFire, which describes itself as a utility that "automatically redirects you to the correct alternate site" if the main domain has been seized by the U.S. government.

Harvey Anderson, Mozilla's general counsel, told CNET today that the request from DHS was made over the phone. Anderson replied in writing, posing a list of … Read more