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...]
Domain Days Dubai Set To Take Place At Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Nov 5-6
WEST ASIA - Domain Days Dubai 2024 is set to take place at the Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah on November 5-6, 2024. This will be the second edition of the event, aimed at professionals in the domain, hosting, and digital asset sectors across the Middle East and Africa. The conference will feature 40 speakers, attracting around 200 attendees from over 100 companies. Key topics will include domain name management, auctions, and monetization strategies, with a special focus on … [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...]
Following Initial Early Non-Public Release Period, .MUSIC TLD Now Available
LOS ANGELES, CA - Following a brief period of time last year when the new “.MUSIC” Top-Level Domain (TLD) – a domain for artists and those adjacent of the music community – was made available for a limited number of select applicants, the domain is now freely available for public registration, first come, first served. .MUSIC first launched in September 2023, initially offering a 30-day period between September 11 through November 15 when trademark holders could register … [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...]
Threads.com Acquired by Facebook Parent Meta; Expected to Redirect Soon
MENLO PARK, CA - Meta, the parent company of Facebook (which changed its corporate name in October 2021 to align with its vision for the "metaverse"), has acquired the domain "Threads.com" for its X (formerly Twitter) competitor, Threads. Originally, Meta launched the service using the domain "Threads.net" due to the prior ownership of Threads.com by another company, which was running a cloud-based team communications platform. In June 2024, the company that owned … [Read more...]
Growing Scarcity of Geographic Domain Names: A Look at U.S. State Domains
PALM BEACH, FL - The internet landscape has undergone rapid transformation since the early days of the web (1990s), and one of the most valuable assets to emerge during this time is domain names. As businesses, organizations, and individuals rushed to stake their claims online, certain categories of domain names have become increasingly scarce, with geographic domains—particularly those tied to U.S. cities and states—standing out as prime real estate. Owning a domain like … [Read more...]
56% Increase In Disaster Recovery Events Related To Microsoft 365 Domains
REDMOND, WA - According to new data released by IT services data protection and security company N-able, 2024 so far has seen a huge uptick in hacking and cyberattacks targeting Microsoft 365 domains, with a 56 percent increase in the number of disaster recovery events among the service’s clients and a large uptick in the number of backups among its partners. Critical Start’s Cyber Research Unit (CRU) issued a report that states the number of cyber alerts in the first … [Read more...]
Sensational Spelling: Variants on Generic Keyword Domains Growing in Popularity
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...]
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...]
Lawsuit Alleges GoDaddy “Stole” Domain Name Two Months After Purchase
TEMPE, AZ - A lawsuit filed by Sweden-based Crisby Studio AB alleges that the biggest Internet registrar in the world, GoDaddy, “wrongfully took possession of” a domain name, two months after it had been successfully purchased by the company earlier this year. Crisby Studio AB, a Swedish limited liability company, and Niklas Thorin, a Swedish resident Plaintiffs, v. GoDaddy, Inc., a Delaware corporation, GoDaddy.com, LLC, a Delaware corporation, … [Read more...]
FBI Shutdown Prolific Ransomware Group “Radar/Dispossessor,” Domains Seized
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The FBI has announced they have shut down a prolific ransomware group known as “Radar/Dispossessor” and seized multiple internet domains and servers utilized by the cyber threat actors, reportedly headed up by an individual known by the code-name “Brain.” As part of the FBI’s enforcement actions, they have dismantled a plethora of servers utilized by Radar/Dispossessor to carry out their ransomware attacks, including three in the United States, … [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...]
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...]
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...]