agoga.com - am I missing something???

gingerbreadweb · 09-23-2006, 08:19 AM

Dunno if I'm just missing something here, but what exactly is the deal with agoga.com?

If you type in most domains with .cm on the end, you end up on a spammy search type page called agoga.com

This is strange, because if you type in something random like "www.gingerbreadfish.bum" you get a blank page, because it clearly doesn't exist. But if you type in "www.gingerbreadfish.cm" you end up on agoga.com

Curiously, on some domains like google.cm and microsoft.cm you get a slightly different page, but it also loads through agoga.com
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/240557-agoga-com-am-i-missing-something.html

I don't understand how agoga.com have done this! Is .cm a valid domain? And if so, how did they reserve them all, including google and microsoft?!

scrsteven · 09-23-2006, 09:32 AM

Yes .cm is a valid extension.
They set-up a catch-all for people typing in .cm..and put ads on every page...until they got in trouble for doing it and the isp's blocked .cm. So it may be your isp forwarding you on...

gingerbreadweb · 09-23-2006, 09:43 AM

Interesting stuff, so how did they do this catch-all thing for all the .cm domains? Are there other extensions that this has happened with? And surely companies like Google and Microsoft will be on their backs for using their names?!

Nitroshock · 09-23-2006, 09:45 AM

I'm going to shoot in the dark here but it looks like typo redirection at the highest level.

.cm is the country code extension for Cameroon, a republic in Africa. So, say you had control of an entire ccTLD. One that is very, very close to the most popular extension, .com. There are sure to be lots and lots of typos of the .com extension, leave out the "o" and you have .cm.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=240557
What better way to capitalize on this than to redirect every non-existant domain to your own search page? It's highly possible using DNS servers if you have control of a ccTLD.

My guess is that the .cm extension is setup this way. If the domain doesn't exist, they want that traffic. So they take it. Simple as that.
As a test, I just tried to visit several random domains in the .cm extension. They didn't exist, but I still hit the agoga.com page instead of "Server not found" or similar error.

Again, I'm just guessing but that's what it looks like from here.

-Nitro

ppx · 09-23-2006, 09:45 AM

Quote:

In August 2006, it was reported that the .cm registry had set up a wildcard DNS record, so that all unregistered domains in this top-level domain go to a parking page with paid search links. This was likely intended to take advantage of typographical errors by users attempting to reach .com web sites.

(Wikipedia)
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=240557

Cameroon registery probably deliberately has something to do with this.

gazzip · 09-23-2006, 10:00 AM

yeah thats a deliberate move, it was in the news a while ago, can't say I blame them

better than a blank page IMO

.

09-23-2006, 08:19 AM	THREAD STARTER #1 (permalink)
gingerbreadweb NamePros Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 173	agoga.com - am I missing something??? Dunno if I'm just missing something here, but what exactly is the deal with agoga.com? If you type in most domains with .cm on the end, you end up on a spammy search type page called agoga.com This is strange, because if you type in something random like "www.gingerbreadfish.bum" you get a blank page, because it clearly doesn't exist. But if you type in "www.gingerbreadfish.cm" you end up on agoga.com Curiously, on some domains like google.cm and microsoft.cm you get a slightly different page, but it also loads through agoga.com ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/240557-agoga-com-am-i-missing-something.html I don't understand how agoga.com have done this! Is .cm a valid domain? And if so, how did they reserve them all, including google and microsoft?! __________________ Web Design Blog \| Domain Name Price Comparison \| Expired Domain Search \| Mini Link \| Server Check

09-23-2006, 09:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
scrsteven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: FL Posts: 1,283	Yes .cm is a valid extension. They set-up a catch-all for people typing in .cm..and put ads on every page...until they got in trouble for doing it and the isp's blocked .cm. So it may be your isp forwarding you on... __________________ SKDomains.com Distance Learning

09-23-2006, 09:43 AM	THREAD STARTER #3 (permalink)
gingerbreadweb NamePros Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 173	Interesting stuff, so how did they do this catch-all thing for all the .cm domains? Are there other extensions that this has happened with? And surely companies like Google and Microsoft will be on their backs for using their names?! __________________ Web Design Blog \| Domain Name Price Comparison \| Expired Domain Search \| Mini Link \| Server Check

09-23-2006, 09:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
Nitroshock NamePros Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 503	I'm going to shoot in the dark here but it looks like typo redirection at the highest level. .cm is the country code extension for Cameroon, a republic in Africa. So, say you had control of an entire ccTLD. One that is very, very close to the most popular extension, .com. There are sure to be lots and lots of typos of the .com extension, leave out the "o" and you have .cm. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=240557 What better way to capitalize on this than to redirect every non-existant domain to your own search page? It's highly possible using DNS servers if you have control of a ccTLD. My guess is that the .cm extension is setup this way. If the domain doesn't exist, they want that traffic. So they take it. Simple as that. As a test, I just tried to visit several random domains in the .cm extension. They didn't exist, but I still hit the agoga.com page instead of "Server not found" or similar error. Again, I'm just guessing but that's what it looks like from here. -Nitro __________________ Bored? Play FREE Games

09-23-2006, 10:00 AM	#6 (permalink)
gazzip First Time Poster ! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: GB Posts: 6,881	yeah thats a deliberate move, it was in the news a while ago, can't say I blame them better than a blank page IMO .

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