Combating Cyber Crime: Too Little, Too Late?

EstDomains, Inc Combating Cyber Crime -- Thousands Domain Names Suspended

In September 2008 EstDomains, Inc, (http://estdomains.com), a US-based domain name Registrar, announced a great cleanup season among the accounts registered under the name of the company. The new advanced account monitoring system has been applied in order to reveal the possible presence of corrupted data outgoing from the domain names purchased from EstDomains, Inc and every single account has been scanned thoroughly; thousands of domain names were irreversibly suspended as a result.

Wilmington, DE (PRWEB) October 24, 2008 -- In September 2008 EstDomains, Inc, (http://estdomains.com), a US-based domain name Registrar, announced a great cleanup season among the accounts registered under the name of the company. The new advanced account monitoring system has been applied in order to reveal the possible presence of corrupted data outgoing from the domain names purchased from EstDomains, Inc and every single account has been scanned thoroughly; thousands of domain names were irreversibly suspended as a result.

As it has been announced previously, EstDomains, Inc management has carefully revised the Acceptable Usage Policy and several critical amendments have been applied. Once again it should be noted that the company has its ultimate right to act against account holders who: involve their domain in spam messages sending, storing or spreading materials of certain abusive content, and using the unlawful software that provides an unauthorized access to private and billing information. Storing or distributing malicious software, such as worms and viruses and deliberate misleading website visitors into giving away credit card details officially, also known as phishing, officially falls under criminal law and is strongly prohibited by EstDomains, Inc policy.

One should proceed to EstDomains, Inc homepage at: http://estdomains.com in order to find more details about aspects prohibited by the AUP. In accordance with amended policy, all the domain names registered with EstDomains, Inc had to undergo the thorough checkup for possible traces of prohibited activity presence.

The company's statistics shows that about thousands of domain names have been suspended for being privy to threatening Internet user's safety. The owners of suspended domains were immediately deprived of their accounts along with the rest of domain names and funds without any right to claim the compensation. In order to prevent such customers from being able to continue with their illegal activity, the new advanced and more efficient account monitoring system has been applied to the services provided for domain name registration. Various details, such as IP addresses, minute payments descriptions, personal data analysis, accounts sign up logs and so on, are used for the creation of a common pattern, which indicates characteristic features of one particular person.

These patterns are used for further investigations that are being led in order to recognize corrupted account holders from other law-abiding customers. EstDomains, Inc (http://estdomains.com) will not tolerate the involvement of its good name in spamming or malware distribution and will cease suspected accounts without dispute.

In order to avoid unpleasant incidents and long-term arguing EstDomains, Inc management team once again asks its current and potential customers to read through the company's Acceptable Usage Policy before registering a domain name. Only the close cooperation of the online services providers and webmasters will make Internet safer and is greatly appreciates by common users. The company also addresses the online-oriented community and asks to submit the reports for the domain names that are exposed as the infringement of Internet user's security or interests to: https://support.estdomains.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Konstantin Poltev
+1 302 722 4217

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In The News Today:

EstDomains on the chopping block; 280000 domains seek new home
Heise Online, Germany - 4 hours ago
ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is shutting down the controversial domain registrar EstDomains – and as a result.

ICANN De-Accredits EstDomains Washington Post
ICANN Targeting Notorious Domain Name Seller Wired News
EstDomains fighting for life VNUNet.com
The Industry Standard - eWeek

EstDomains Loses Accreditation, 280k Domains up for Grabs
Domain Name Wire, TX - Oct 29, 2008
EstDomains also resold Directi services including its whois privacy service. (Directi is parent company of domain parking service Skenzo).

New Phishing Attacks Target Legitimate Web Domain Owners
Dark Reading, NY
They say it may be the work of worried customers of EstDomains, which was terminated as an Internet domain registrar by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names.

One criminal Internet registrar down...
InfoWorld, CA - Oct 29, 2008
EstDomains has finally lost its Internet Registrar accreditation due to the criminal activity of its CEO. Well, he *was* already in jail.

280 000 clients of Estonian cyber scamp may lose their domains
Baltic Business News, Europe
The page EstDomains.com is linked with company Esthost and contact person is Vladimir Tšaštšin. In the spring Tartu county court found guilty in falsifying ...

 

Premium Domain Treasure Chest Pried Opened With Yummy Name

Tucows Opens Hidden Treasure Chest of Premium Domains with YummyNames

Allows marketers to search and select from thousands of superior domain names to enhance marketing and branding initiatives

TORONTO, Oct. 29 - Tucows Inc., (AMEX:TCX, TSX:TC) a global provider of domain names, email and other Internet services, today announced the launch of YummyNames, a new service providing exclusive access to a large selection of premium domain names from the Tucows Domain Name Portfolio. Created especially with marketers in mind, YummyNames allows people to search for and obtain the perfect domain name for their organization from tens of thousands of high-quality domain names.

A few of the YummyNames domain names available include countryrock.com, divorced.com, lemons.com, listener.com, mygarden.com, thepub.com, tool.com and veggies.com.

Marketers seeking high-quality domain names for their company, clients or campaigns can go to http://www.yummynames.com and search through a large portfolio of premium domain names. They have the option of purchasing a name outright or leasing the domain name for a finite period of time, the latter being a payment option particularly advantageous for short-term or seasonal marketing campaigns.

Developed and managed by a team of marketing and domain name veterans at Tucows, YummyNames is also a useful resource for SMB owners who recognize that obtaining a high-quality domain name is critical to the success of their business. "It's important for marketers and organizations to realize they don't need to settle on a lousy domain name," said Bill Sweetman, General Manager, YummyNames. "Domain names are a vital component to successfully marketing a brand - whether it's the launch of a new company, website or marketing campaign. A high-quality domain name is short, relevant and most important, easy to remember. We're excited to open the Tucows portfolio of premium domains to the public through YummyNames. We're confident users will find their perfect name."

"YummyNames, the public face of our domain portfolio service group, provides an additional means by which to realize the value of our domain portfolio assets to drive continued growth for the Company," said Elliot Noss, President and CEO, Tucows.

About Tucows
Tucows is a global Internet services company. OpenSRS manages over eight million domain names and millions of email boxes through a reseller network of over 9,000 web hosts and ISPs. Our Retail group sells services directly to consumers and small businesses through Domain Direct, It's Your Domain and NetIdentity. YummyNames owns premium domain names that generate revenue through advertising or resale. Tucows.com remains one of the most popular software download sites on the Internet. More information can be found at http://tucowsinc.com.

For further information:

Contacts:
Lauren White, LEWIS PR, laurenw@lewispr.com, (202) 349-3799;
Leona Hobbs, Tucows, lhobbs@tucows.com, (416) 538-5450

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Are Domain Names Considered Property or Not?

Domain Name News has been following a story about a case involving the 141 gambling domain names seized by the state of Kentucky, that should never have been started in our opinion. But it has the potential to muddy the waters and cause problems for honest domain owners.

Today's post is Are Domain Names Considered Property or Not? and should be followed by any one that is serious about domain names.

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Gasta Search Engine Network Seeks Sale or Merger

UK-Based Gasta Search Engine Network Enters Into Sales / Merger Talks

The Gasta search network is a blended search that will deliver web results, news, videos, and images with one single keyword search, then lets users social bookmark search results in their own library. The Gasta search network extends its reach into Europe and USA, has search engines launched in South Africa, China, and Japan. Gasta is a European trademark and the Gasta search engine was last year's winner of the PWC award for innovation, it also holds one of the UK most valuable property domain holdings.

Belfast, Ireland (PRWEB) October 14, 2008 -- It was announced here today that the Belfast-based web 2.0 Search Engine Network Gasta is in talks with several companies for a possible sale or merger. A well established player in European, US, and Asian search, The Gasta.com search engine network currently consists of 450+ Domains, is translated into six languages, offers a contextualised ad system, powerful SEO options, keyword management tools, and full service administration to create, launch, and quickly deploy new search engines in emerging markets and geographical regions as needed.

Gasta has created a very easy to use back-end admin system that is designed for non technical use, within the admin you can add new keywords, manage ad campaigns, replicate advertising codes, and launch new search index's and directories in minutes, Gasta has developed its own text based contextualised ad system, InstantAdsTM and the keyword direct hit service SearchMatchTM allowing users to buy targeted keywords for the geographic region they do business in. As well as this there are many SEO options including InstantLinksTM the free link exchange system that publishes the main directory." We can launch new search engines in emerging regions very easily, with the rapid deployment platform we have developed" said Higgins. "We can launch in Poland and Malaysia very quickly and have been looking out for possible local partners on the ground in these regions".

While Gasta.com is well-established in the Search Industry, it has chosen to maintain a low profile and provided state of the art services to its visitors and advertisers. Christian Nielsen, owner of NielsenTech.com, an Internet consulting firm located in the US said he has used Gasta for many years. "Yes, I was submitting client sites to Gasta's system back as early as 1999 when we started doing SEO and web promotion. They have evolved over the years, and we have keep in contact due to their attitude of service and ethics. Most other firms in the US don't seem to know about them and that's been a competitive edge for us."

Gasta.com owner Francis Higgins believes that now is a 'good time' to transition the search engines network due to the convergence of web 2.0 technologies. Higgins said "We believe that we have created great distribution platform to easily explore and rapidly develop new and emerging regions. We have looked into the possibility of partnering with a mobile carrier to deliver local mobile search in which great opportunities are coming in the future, Gasta works well now on mobiles but we would need the expertise of the big carriers to make an impact and monetize the service.

We have worked hard over the past 12 years to improve the reach and the depth of the Gasta network. With the rapid deployment and white label solution we have developed we can quickly launch blended search engines that will bring up web results, videos, news, and images with one keyword. Our brand commands a high level of respect by those that are familiar with us and those that do some research will see our extensive digital footprint built up over the years that shows our quality and consistency and has established our brand's value in the search marketing industry."

Contacts
Francis Higgins
Comm Director Gasta Search Networks
bizz @ amiwired.com
+44(0)2890333748
Mob:+44(0)7816447363

More Companies Eyeing European Search Market For Takeover Targets

More Companies Eyeing European Search Market For Takeover Targets

I am unable to confirm the information I have just received, but rumor has named two of the companies interested in the European Search Engine Network that I have posted about before. The first is Infosys.com whose name many not mean much to many in the US, but they are a huge player located in 23 countries and based in India. An IT services company, this deal could vault them into the search industry and they have extensive technology resources to pull it off and pull it off well. I have to admit I don't know much about the Indian search industry, but Infosys would become a major player overnight given the assets of the company they are thinking about buying.

The other name mentioned is also not one I have heard of, mobile and ISP Orange. This also makes perfect sense to me, since any mobile and Internet provider would be nuts to pass up on a deal like this. Orange is based in France so I'm sure that is the first place they would expand the Search Network to. It will be interesting to see what other players come to the table. I'm surprised no US companies have shown interest, but it may be just that word has not leaked out yet...

About Infosys
Infosys Technologies Limited (BSE: 500209, NASDAQ: INFY) is an information technology services company headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Infosys is one of India's largest Information Technology companies with over 94,379 professionals. Infosys has nine development centers in India and over 30 offices worldwide. Infosys's annual revenues for the fiscal year 2007-2008 exceeded US$4 billion with a market capitalization of over US$30 billion. http://www.orange.co.uk/

About Orange
Orange UK is a mobile telecommunications network operator and internet service provider in the United Kingdom which is owned by France Telecom. Orange was founded in 1994 by Hutchison Telecom which was later bought by Mannesmann AG and then in May 2000 sold to France Télécom. Orange UK has over 17 million customers who subscribe to its mobile and broadband services. http://www.infosys.com/

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Easy Access To European Search: Make Your Competitors Pay You

I guess it's small by some standards, but there seems to be increasing interest in the European Search Engine Network we have posted about before that is well established in several countries over the past 12 years. With over 3.5 million unique visitors a month it's not small, but it should be clear to almost anyone that there is substantial room for growth.

We've been asked to not disclose the name of the company or the main search engine at this time, but when I get the ok I will post again. I think this will be pretty big news when the full story comes out.

Short list of potential buyers:
AOL
Yandex
Rediff
Ask
Baidu
Cuil
Rambler
Amazon
Wikia
Alccoona

There are others but I am less certain about them.

There is talk about some companies with no connection to search currently jumping in with an acquisition such as this. It only makes sense, since the cost to run a large advertising campaign can be considerable and what better way to save money on advertising then to buy all of the search and eyeballs you need for one set price? Then you can charge your COMPETITORS to run their ads on your network of search sites.

Once you do that, you no longer "lose" any business to your competition, since they pay you if they get the customer...!!!

Qinetics Phones Om

Qinetics Wins Tender For Consultancy Service For Oman Domain Name Framework Development

Qinetics Solutions Berhad (Qinetics), a leading Registry system provider, announced today that it has been awarded the tender by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Oman to provide consultancy services to develop the domain name policy framework for Oman.

Each country or autonomous territory has a 2-letter country code that represents its "Top Level Domain (TLD)" under which Internet domain names can be assigned. For Oman, the country code is '.om'.

TRA, the body in Oman that regulates the telecommunication sector of the Sultanate of Oman is in the process of taking over the function of managing the '.om' TLD from the current incumbent '.om' manager Omantel.

"TRA is committed to implement a fair, efficient and effective world-class framework for the '.om' TLD. A consultancy is thus requested to review the domain name environment for the '.om' TLD taking into account the local and cultural values of the country." said Eng. Naashiah S. Al-Kharusi, TRA Board Member. "TRA decided to award the tender to Qinetics who shall draft the necessary regulations and policy framework documents as required for implementation of a professional .om TLD administration."

The tender require Qinetics to provide a comprehensive consultancy service spanning areas of Administrative Policy Framework, Domain Name Policy Framework and Industry Model Framework. Among other things, Qinetics will advise TRA on the setup of the entity to manage '.om', registrar accreditation framework and domain name policies such as domain name eligibility and allocation policy, WHOIS policy, reserved names policy, complaints policy, domain life cycle policy and domain name dispute resolution policy.

"We are indeed honored to be selected by TRA for this consultancy. Our dedicated consultants within the RegistryASP team have years of practical experiences running ccTLD registry operations, registry systems and also registrar systems so we are intimately familiar with all aspects of domain name business. We are confident that we will be able to provide sound advices to TRA on the best domain name management framework for Oman."said TK Tan, CEO of Qinetics.

About TRA, Oman
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) was established in 2002, to liberalize and promote the telecommunications services in the Sultanate of Oman under the Telecommunications Act which was issued under the Royal Decree No. 30/2002. TRA is committed to develop the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate by regulating and maintaining the telecom services, promoting the interest of telecommunications services providers and beneficiaries, and ensuring that consumers receive world class standard quality telecommunications services, with range of choices within reasonable limits at affordable prices.  The Authority's policies and regulations is aimed at the development of infrastructure and the attraction of foreign investment into the sector to further promote the Sultanate's economy and increasing employment prospects for Omani citizens.
Website: http://www.tra.gov.om


About Qinetics Solutions Berhad
Qinetics, a regional company headquartered in Malaysia, focuses on Registry and Registrar service, consultancy and solution, software development and IT services. Qinetics is a MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) pioneer-status company in Malaysia for its merits in R&D. Qinetics' subsidiary, Web Commerce Communications Limited (WEBCC - www.webnic.cc) is the largest ICANN Accredited Registrar in South East Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan (source: Frost & Sullivan), serving over 400,000 domain names in over 40 domain name extensions. Qinetics has over 5 years of experience in the development of RegistryASP SRS (www.registryASP.com) - its flagship Shared Registry-Registrar System (SRS) solutions that powers country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) such as .hk (Hong Kong), .sg (Singapore), .cd (Democratic Republic of Congo) and .my (Malaysia).
Website: http://www.qinetics.net

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Major European Search Engine Network For Sale

Major European Search Engine Network For Sale

I've been contacted by the owner of a 12 year old major search engine that serves Europe and a number of other countries. The company has decided to sell, and from what I know of the web properties they own, this could be a great opportunity for some company to start or expand their presence into a number of countries. The sale may include several vertical search engines, the core search engine, several different technologies, and about 450 domains. This network of sites currently has traffic and income, but I can tell you as a SEO consultant that the traffic and revenue potential is by no means maxed out and I think the stats and documentation will clearly show that.

If such a search engine network is of interest, please contact webmaster1 at domainincubation.com and I will put you in contact with the owner.