Registrar denies 'front-running' Net registration
Contrary to claims that emerged Wednesday, Network Solutions said it isn't "front-running" the Internet address registration process, a practice in which a company registers a potential domain immediately after a prospective buyer searches to see if it's available. In fact, the practice that triggered the accusation is an attempt to counteract front-running, the company said.
Front-running can give a registration company an advantage over the customer who wants to register the site--for example by preventing the customer from registering it through a competing registrar or by selling it to the customer at an inflated price.
The company faced criticism of front-running Tuesday, with discussions cropping up at Domain Name News, Slashdot, and DomainState discussion boards.
"Network Solutions has instituted a four-day lock on all domain names searched on their site. They are effectively using phishing techniques to hijack or steal domain names and forcing domain name registrants to register their names at Network Solutions. The standard domain name registration fee at Network Solutions is $34.99--significantly higher than the leading alternatives," complained one commenter.
Although Network Solutions does temporarily register a site a customer searched for, spokeswoman Susan Wade denied there's anything nefarious afoot. "Network Solutions is not front-running," she said.
Network Solutions holds the domain for up to four days, during which time a customer can register it only from Network Solutions and after which it again becomes generally available if unregistered, Wade said. But that feature, she said, is a "pre-emptive" measure to protect customers--from front-runners.
That's because front-runners can tell when a customer has searched for a domain at Network Solutions, for example because Network Solutions then must check availability at other sites when a customer searches, Wade said.
"This search data is captured at the various registries. We believe there are registries and/or Internet service providers that may be selling this data to front-runners. So, by holding domains searched on Network Solutions, this pre-empts the search data being captured," she said.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
Network Solutions are front-runners; they wouldn't give out the information from their database to third-parties anyway, to expose the searches.
anyone about your search. It's in: Applications>Utilities>NetworkUtility.app
One of the most controversial moves of Network Solutions (in the VeriSign era) was the implementation of a wildcard record in the .com and .net root zone. They directed this wildcard record to a page containing advertising.
This fundamentally changed the way DNS used to work and broke a lot of things around the planet. The only reason to do this was greed, they wanted to profit from the many people that mistyped URLs ending on .com and .net by cashing some extra advertising dollars.
What they are doing now is also very questionable and I would NEVER do business with a company that employs such activities.
I've just tried it myself by entering some stupid domain name ending on .com on their website. I tried to register this domain on another registrars website and it was no longer available. The whois tells me that it is taken by "This Domain is available at NetworkSolutions.com", also featuring some nice advertising:
This Domain is Available - Register it Now!
600,000 domain names are registered daily! Don't delay; there's no guarantee
that a domain name you see today will still be here tomorrow!
Register it Now at www.NetworkSolutions.com.
This alone is probably against any rules ICANN has formulated for the public WHOIS registry...
Even better, they already put up a website on the address telling me "This Domain is available - Get it Now!".
There is no other name for this than "front-running". I hope ICANN will investigate this and put an end to shuch practices.
http://domainnamewire.com/2008/01/09/editorial-where-network-solutions-went-wrong/
Although the practice of this is somewhat questionable, the motive, I feel, is quite sound and the intentions are just. Cybersquatters are more of a threat to a free internet than are companies trying to do the right thing, so before we really start to hammer down on NS for this practice, what we should REALLY be doing is giving voice to help provide a more appropriate method of dealing with domain name searches for the purposes of purchase and saving the grief of someone sitting on them to sell to the 'highest bidder.'
I worked for a guy that purchased domain upon domain just to try to stifle his competition and I'm almost tempted to say he's monopolizing the market for the type of service rendered and although I'm unwilling to say who it was, I can say that I think his practice was more unethical than NS.
NS should drop their prices or perhaps come up with a way to negotiate a fair trade over to a qualified registrar in order for a potential buyer to get it for the lowest price possible - a benefit to the buyer and a benefit to qualified registrars with a kick-back to NS. They wouldn't be getting their asking price for the domain, but at least they'd get a small kick-back for it if they're still holding onto it...
They don't hold the domain for the customer- they are double talking. There is a parked page with a link- ANYONE can buy it as long as they pay NetSol for it. NetSol isn't protecting anyone!
This is disgraceful- and nothing will be done about it. That is the sick part.
Rob
http://www.bitrealty.com
Solutions was an honorable company.
Their practice of front-running domain names has caused me to
NEVER trust them again. I will NEVER visit their site and will
NEVER solicit any of their business offerings ever again.
If you ask me, front-running is actually akin to stealing. It is
very typical that someone may visit NetworkSolutions.com do a
WHOIS search to check availability of a domain name, but then
may choose to work through their own hosting provider to
actually register/pay for the domain name. That is what I tried to
do.
My hosting provider charges only $2/year for a domain name
registration. Network Solutions was charging $35/year. Because
I did a simple domain check from their site, I no longer have a
CHOICE (ie. choice = American value) as to who I can order
from, unless I wait until the domain name is released again to
the public.
Network Solution, in the past, was the ultimate authority on all
domain name registrations. So, it makes perfect sense that a
consumer might go straight to 'the source' to find out if a
domain name is available. They are trying to capitalize on the
public's trust.
It constantly disappoints me when businesses implement
business practices that STEAL from consumers.
Goodbye Network Solutions!!
I sincerely wish that you go bankrupt from this business practice
and fall off the face of the Earth... You have lost my support
forever and I encourage anyone else thinking of doing business
with you to reconsider doing so.
practice and should be looked into by the legal authorities.
Can you imagine a world where you might use an online tool to
research a house you want to buy, but you then find out that the
search engine you used has already put a tentative bid on the
house and that the only way that you can buy the house is to
pay them a premium...? Insanity.
Hey Network Solutions - How about using your influence to
make the world a better place instead of raping it...
- by POWinCA April 7, 2009 1:27 PM PDT
- BS! Don't let any propagandists tell you this is not happening.
- Reply to this comment
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(22 Comments)One day I came up with two great ideas for domain names during a conversation with a friend. I typed the URL http://wwww."mygreatURLidea".com into the browser and got a "page not found" error. So there was NOTHING PARKED there.
I already had two domain names registered with GoDaddy and I keep getting coupons from them. So I clicked on their coupon and did a search for the domain name that I had JUST VERIFIED WAS AVAILABLE. Lo and behold, the moment I searched, GoDaddy told me that the domain name was taken. They offered me a .net domain of the same name at a MUCH HIGHER PRICE. I went immediately back to the .com website and what do I find? I find a GoDaddy website parked there with keywords linked to ads based on MY good idea - a website that WAS NOT THERE just two minutes earlier.
This was not an isolated incident. It happened to me THREE TIMES. I reported the incidents to ICANN with the dates and times I visited the URL and requested the domain name. I asked them to verify whether GoDaddy had registered the domain name at those dates and times or sometime prior. That would be the smoking gun. But I got NO RESPONSE from ICANN.
Domain names are the new real estate of the 21st century. People make tens of millions of dollars a year wheeling and dealing in domain names. Why shouldn't we believe that GoDaddy is trying to muscle in to this gold mine? Why should we believe ICANN isn't in on it?
This is outright THEFT of intellectual property by a private company acting as an agent for domain name registration on behalf of the US government. This is analagous to filing for a patent and having the patent clerk tell you it was already invented... by HIM... and he crosses out your name and puts his name on YOUR patent.