ICANN to close internet domain name loophole
Last Updated: Thursday, January 31, 2008 | 12:34 PM ET
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
External Links
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
The oversight group for the registry of addresses on the internet is hoping a change in policy will stamp out the practice of sampling or "tasting" domain names without paying for them.
The California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, announced Tuesday that it was looking into closing a loophole in the process of registering domain names.
The loophole, called the Add Grace Period, allows a five-day period following the registration of a domain name during which time the registrant can cancel the registration and receive a refund.
Originally designed to allow people to rectify mistakes — such as spelling errors — the grace period has become controversial because automation allows savvy computer users to sample domain names in large numbers and keep those that might generate ad revenue — a practice called "domain tasting."
"Domain tasting has been an issue for the internet community and ICANN is offering this proposal as a way to stop tasting," Paul Twomey, ICANN's president and CEO, said in a statement. "Charging the ICANN fee as soon as a domain name is registered would close the loophole used by tasters to test a domain name's profitability for free."
ICANN says tasting has been a serious challenge for the internet community and has grown exponentially since 2004. In January 2007, the top 10 domain tasters accounted for 95 per cent of all deleted .com and .net domain names — or about 45.4 million of the total 47.8 million domain names deleted.
The oversight group still has to get the proposal approved at an ICANN board meeting in June. If it's approved, it could be implemented later this year.
Google to crack down on domain kiting
ICANN's decision comes after Google Inc. announced on Jan. 25 it would place more stringent rules on one of its advertising programs to eliminate both domain tasting and another practice, called domain kiting.
With domain kiting, registrants cancel their domain name before the grace period expires and immediately re-register it, a process that can continue indefinitely and allow a person to avoid ever paying for the domain name.
Google's new kiting detection system is to take effect on Feb. 11.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- Henrique's OT goal sends Devils into Stanley Cup final
- The New Jersey Devils will vie for a potential fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern final, courtesy of rookie Adam Henrique's goal early in overtime. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- Unloading of docked SpaceX capsule to start Saturday
- The privately bankrolled SpaceX Dragon capsule made a historic arrival at the International Space Station on Friday, and astronauts will begin unloading some of the 544 kilograms of food, water, clothing and other supplies its carrying starting Saturday. more »
- South Africa, Australia to share world's largest telescope
- South Africa and Australia will jointly host the Square Kilometre Array, which promises to be the world's largest telescope, the international consortium in charge of the project said Friday. more »
- Bonavista, N.L., 'coyote' was really wolf, tests confirm
- Wolves have not been seen in Newfoundland since around 1930 and were believed to have been hunted to extinction on the island, but genetic tests have confirmed that an 82-pound animal shot on the Bonavista Peninsula in March was, in fact, a wolf. more »
- Once-rare argus butterfly thriving thanks to climate change
- Global warming is threatening the existence of many species, such as the giant polar bear, but in the case of Britain's brown argus butterfly, it took a species in trouble and made it thrive. more »
- Yahoo scraps digital magazine designed for iPad
- Yahoo has killed Livestand, a tablet magazine, just six months after its debut on the iPad. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Government to shut down unique fresh water research area May. 25, 2012 12:31 PM The Experimental Lakes Area research facility in Northern Ontario is being closed down after 44 years of providing invaluable data to scientists in Canada and internationally, a decision that has stunned researchers and environmental groups.
Quirks & Quarks
- May 26: Before the Lights Go Out May. 25, 2012 4:15 PM A new book, "Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us", suggests that the unpredictable, unplanned, ad-hoc way our energy use developed in the past will shape our energy future.
Latest Features
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
