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...]
Recently Discovered October 2023 Xfinity Hack Affects Nearly 36 Million Customers
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Leading internet service provider, Xfinity, recently released information regarding a major data breach that is expected to have affected millions of customers. The offenders exploited a vulnerability left by a patch, causing unauthorized access to software provider Citrix, a system used by Xfinity. It is important for Xfinity users to amend their usernames and passwords in response to this breach, even if their data has not been directly exposed. While … [Read more...]
Experts: 23andMe Hack Is DNA Catastrophe; Leaked Millions of Genetic Profiles
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Earlier this week, in a startling revelation, 23andMe conceded that a hack in October was significantly worse than initially reported. Affecting nearly 6.9 million people, the scale of this data breach was shockingly larger than the initially stated figure of 14,000 users. Regrettably, the stolen data contained not only sensitive information such as full names, but genetic profiles. Yet, the severity of the situation was met with indifference by some … [Read more...]
Mega Domain “NewYork.com” Has New Property Manager After Reported Sale
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - In 2019, I put a spotlight on mega domain and website NewYork.com, virtually disappearing into thin air after its owners fell into a complex legal dispute which pushed the business to its breaking point after years of litigation. At that time, I remember being shocked that a dispute could not be resolved to the point where the entire business would collapse, and virtually vanish, but for whatever reason that’s what happened. Now, approximately … [Read more...]
You Really Can Make A Logo In 3 Minutes With Founder Richard Lau’s Logo.com
PALM BEACH, FL - Richard Lau, it’s a name many in the domain industry will be familiar with, as he was a Co-Founder of NamesCon, the domain industries “main event” so to speak, now owned by GoDaddy.com through its acquisition of World Hosting Days. Richard is also known for his long-term support of WaterSchool, a global nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. It was a staple at NamesCon events – at least that is where … [Read more...]
FTC Warns Consumers of Fake Equifax Data Breach Websites for Settlement Claims
PALM BEACH, FL – The Federal Trade Commission is warning Internet users, all 147 million people who were affected by the Equifax Data Breach in 2017, to beware of fake Equifax settlement websites which have been setup by thieves trying to steal consumers information when they attempt to file a claim online. Typically, users are sent an email that a class action lawsuit has resulted in a settlement making them eligible for credit monitoring services and/or a cash claim … [Read more...]
Did DuckDuckGo Just Acquire Premium Domain “Duck.com” from Google?
NEW YORK, NY – Popular privacy search engine DuckDuckGo.com, might just be quacking all the way to the bank with its latest [potential] acquisition, Duck.com, according to name server and domain registrar details pointed out by domain industry website DotWeekly.com. It is important to note that this is just speculation at this time, but knowing that the privacy based search provider has been eyeing the domain for some time, specifically saying that it creates confusion … [Read more...]
Will Google’s Instant Answers Threaten, Even Destroy, Search Giant’s Future
LONG ISLAND, NY – This is a theoretical opinion and is far from fact, but I thought about it today and I’m going to share it with my readers, as I ordinarily do here on this site, a place where my thoughts about the Internet, meet the Internet itself - and my ramblings are meant, not just to entertain, or act as some therapeutic outlet, but to help form options, influence discussion, create dialog and educate. Today, we will touch on something that is a growing problem for … [Read more...]
Insane: France Seizes Geographic Domain Name France.com with Help from Web.com
NEW YORK - An unprecedented theft has occurred in the domain space as the European Country of France has stolen the Internet domain name France.com from its owner, who according to a lawsuit filed this month in California "has lawfully owned and used the domain name in commerce since 1994." Although Networks Solutions (Web.com) is not party to the lawsuit, it seems they would be guilty of gross misconduct in my opinion and should also be sued for transferring the … [Read more...]
There’s Pork In That Bill; DNA’s HDI Overreaching with Registry Handling of Copyright Infringement
NEW YORK, NY - The Domain Name Association (DNA), a new non-profit association “supposedly” (I just learned about them) representing the interests of the domain name industry, is suggesting in its “Healthy Domain Initiative” (HDI) four objectives for registry and registrars to participate in voluntary actions which are intended to protect and advance the evolution of the domain name system. Again, I use the word “supposedly” only because I just recently heard of this … [Read more...]
Sometimes You Just Cannot Have the .com Name That You Want; Now Move On
It’s aggravating to find frivolous lawsuits such as one I will talk about today where someone fighting for a domain just doesn’t get it. The single thing that takes a negative situation like this and shows some positive light is when you find that there are good - no great people such as David E. Weslow (handling the case pro-bono) and organizations like the Internet Commerce Association (how I found out about this) which help tilt the scale in the other direction. Situations … [Read more...]
Google’s Eric Schmidt and the Government; It’s Like Public Relations, Just Different
NEW YORK, NY - A number of years ago Google's then Chief Executive Officer, Eric Schmidt, began visiting the White House, often. I believe the talks were originally about cyber-security and it was around the time where the failed Obamacare website was falling apart. Also, around the same time there were lots of issues with Google being sued and investigated, issues such as the PRISM spying leaks and all sorts of anti-competitive and privacy lawsuits being launched against … [Read more...]