Previously, mistyped domain names would have resulted in a
simple error message. According to VeriSign, it introduced the
change to improve "the user web web-browsing experience".
It made the change by adding what are known as wildcard Domain
Name System records to unregistered domain names. This means that
every single .com and .net domain now has a re-direct code
automatically attached, so that if the domain is not being used
then a surfer transfers to Site Finder.
Network administrators were quick to attack the change. The
purpose, they say, is not to aid the misguided web user, but to
generate more advertising revenue from VeriSign's search engine
partners. But this is only one aspect of their complaint given that
others, including Microsoft, have done this before.
According to CNet News.com, VeriSign implemented the change
without consulting internet standards groups, which has caused
other problems.
Some anti-spam software depends upon a check against the sending
address. Previously, a non-existent address would result in an
error message, and the e-mail containing that address could
instantly be discarded as spam. Now most .com and .net addresses
will end in a web page, not an error message, which would block
this approach to spam control.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald today, VeriSign has
responded by promising to make "appropriate adjustments" to
accommodate spam controls.
CNet News.com also reports that the change has altered the way
that the internet works – or is expected to work by software
developers. VeriSign's unilateral alteration has therefore given
major headaches to network analysts and may even affect the way
search engines operate.
Software developers are fighting back. The developers of BIND
(Berkeley Internet Name Domain), software most often used to hold
the whole web address system together, have developed a patch which
will neutralise the VeriSign wildcards. It can be used by ISPs to
display an error message to their customers rather than being taken
to the Site Finder page.
