Is that a kind of illegal practice or what?

[Genialnames]

Some time the first thing I do to check if a Domain it is free it is to type it directly in the adress bar of the browser, (I bet many of you do the same) so, if the domain it is not free, I avoid to perform a whois lookup.
Well, often in the latest times it happen that instead to receive the classical error page, that is returned when such a domain doesn' t exist on the internet, I am redirected to various places,(it is like the thing I type in the adress bar is being captured along the way):sometime I was redirected to a page of a Domain registrar here in Europe(sorry forgot the name) many times I am redirected to the Network solution HOME PAGE (note that: it is not that the Domain name I type is registered, it is not)
sometime I've been redirected to a page of some ppc service but the name didn't match,
Other times I have been redirected to sites internal directories (these pages where a folder three is displayed) where the Domain name I typed was part of a name server (in such case I had an IP appearing in the adress bar)

Anyone have idea about what is going on ?
If I well remember there is a specification in Internet protocol for that (should be considerd an illegal practice to capture address typed by users in their own computer, since it could be used for illegal activities, like steal the data, and register the name before one can do it and then try to resell it to him and so on...) isn't?

Thanks for any contribution in order to help me to understand this issue.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Spyware.
Your ISP.
Your browser.

All could be redirecting your non resolving domains to their respective services. Verisign got a slap on the wrist for this a while back, but others still do it.

-Allan

 

[Genialnames]

my IP is ...well I have to look where to find it, sorry.
Browser Firefox 1.07

Thank you I didn't mind that.

but....heck Network solutions they use spyware ??? Is it legal practice?

 

[cache]

yes, I have the same thing. Sometimes I think it is yahoo, but I using IE, why not directed to msn?

 

[IAmAllanShore]

my IP is ...well I have to look where to find it, sorry.
?

ISP - Internet Service Provider
IP - Internet Protocol
I was speaking of ISP

Browser Firefox 1.07
?

Not the browser's fault itself (I don't think, at least... my firefox doesn't do that) but it could be an addon from the base.

but....heck Network solutions they use spyware ??? Is it legal practice?

They don't; but their affiliates might.

-Allan

 

[Genialnames]

I am looking if I have spyware on my pc but I have found nothing yet,
I wonder if this thing could be performed from outside my pc, I figured out that maybe it could be possible to have some robot or other things runnin or listening the web for some input that satisfy certain criterias and then automatically perform a redirection to a certain location: could be that technically possible?

 

[cache]

my pc now has winfixer virus, it is very very annoying, I could not remove it. Don't know if the winfixer will have any other damage.

 

[Ixix]

sounds like spyware

:td:

 

[betterdayz4]

give us an example of a domain you found that redirected you, and tell us where it redirected you to and we'll compare what happens to ourselves.

 

[Genialnames]

ok, check the last two I could retireve
opensourcetech.com > this is one open on a internal directory, an IP is displyed on the top bar and at the bottom you should notice that the name match with a nameserver (would be very pointless for a spyware to redirect people here.
also try opentech.com, this is one of those redireect to a networksolution page , you will notice that they say it is under constuction....but no mention to the name itself.
I found many others but I didn't sign them, I realized just yesterday that something odd was going on, and I am not completely shure yet.....

 

[nRnF]

Taking advantage (monetizingtraffic) of unused domain typeins is nothing really new, as it was discussed several times in the past.
Seems that RotServer A & Co. are going into the practical phase.

--- From MARCH 2005 ----
Seeking a new source of income, VeriSign is planning on redirecting (also at NYT) commonly mistyped, unregistered web site queries to their own "Site Finder" service. The web page will offer a search service and VeriSign will receive revenue from sponsored links provided by their search engine. NeuStar, the company who oversees the .biz and .us TLDs completed a trial on a similar concept in May.
---------------------------

 

[omnia]

opensourcetech.com - has been registered since 9 Apr 2005
opentech.com - has been registered since 31 Oct 1994
and both are still active domains.

These dont really fit the criteria of "not being registered domains" and some form of "browser hijacking" occurring.

 

[Genialnames]

sorry but I just mentioned the last two episodes that occourred to me and that I could remember, unlucky they are evidently the wong ones.

nRnF thanks, I didn't know of that:

-- From MARCH 2005 ----
Seeking a new source of income, VeriSign is planning on redirecting (also at NYT) commonly mistyped, unregistered web site queries to their own "Site Finder" service. The web page will offer a search service and VeriSign will receive revenue from sponsored links provided by their search engine. NeuStar, the company who oversees the .biz and .us TLDs completed a trial on a similar concept in May.
---------------------------

in other words it is possible (allowed and perfectly legal) to intercept a query from any user on the internet and and redirect it at own will?
I would be quite interested at this solution to redirect some heavy traffic on my side,is there somewhere some script to achieve that?

 

[nRnF]

...in other words it is possible (allowed and perfectly legal) to intercept a query from any user on the internet and and redirect it at own will?
I would be quite interested at this solution to redirect some heavy traffic on my side,is there somewhere some script to achieve that?

It would be possibel, and the script is real easy.
But you need to own one of the 15 root servers out there - DO YOU ?

 

[Genialnames]

so the trick is performed at such high level!