domain names

The organization that oversees the distribution of Internet domain names has given final approval to ".xxx", a domain dedicated to adult subject matter. The new domain is known as a generic top-level domain, meaning it is the final part of a website ... address and isn't country-specific (like .ca for Canada and). This is the first new top-level domain since 2004's .pro for professionals. It could be the last to get specific approval, as there are plans to open up the system so that individuals and organizations can register and control their own top level domains using any word or ... (view more)

When security officials decide to "go after" computer malware, most conduct their actions from a defensive standpoint. For most of us, finding a way to rid a computer of the malware suffices -- but for one computer researcher, however, the change ... from a defensive to an offensive mentality is what ended the two year chase of a sinister botnet once and for all. For two years, Atif Mushtaq had been keeping the notorious Mega-D bot malware from infecting computer networks. As of this past November, Mega-D had forced more than 250,000 PCs to do its bidding via botnet control. That's when Mushtaq ... (view more)

The body that controls the way website addresses work plans to allow non-English characters to be used in domain names. The move follows increasing demand for the change, thanks to the rapid growth of Internet use in largely non-English-speaking ... countries, like China. At the moment, the only characters allowed in domain names are those in the Latin alphabet; that is to say, those used in languages such as English, French and German. Those who use languages based on other alphabets, such as Russian or Chinese, must use special software that lets them type on keyboards (with their own alphabets ... (view more)

A brand specialist says more and more web domain names are being registered solely to cash in on existing firms' business. The report from MarkMonitor examines five types of 'abuse' related to domain names of varying legality. The biggest problem, ... which is also the fastest growing, is cybersquatting: buying up a domain name that is the same as an existing business with the intention of selling it back to a firm at a profit. According to the report, that problem affected almost 450,000 domain names during the last quarter of 2008, up 18% on the previous year. Approximately 80% of the sites ... (view more)

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has decided to radically expand the choices of domain names that can be assigned. Two new proposals to the regulatory group were recently considered: a) allowing non-Latin characters (e.g. ... Russian, Chinese, Arabic, etc.) and b) domains that consist of any letter or number combination up to 64 characters in length. (Source: cbc.ca ) The proposal to consider non-Latin characters will be tested before final approval. The proposal to open up domain names was approved. The change was initiated by concerns that all the meaningful domain names ... (view more)

A security firm claims Hong Kong is home to the Internet's biggest security holes, with 19% of sites using the .hk domain posing a security risk. The country has rocketed up (or down, depending on your perspective) the charts, having been ranked ... just 28th-most-risky last year. Second place in this year's study, which looks at 74 domains, went to China, which was 12th last year. Other countries which performed poorly included Romania, Russia, and the Philippines. Finland was ranked the safest, followed by Japan and Norway. The survey also looked at the generic domains (such as .com) which aren ... (view more)