[NMLUG] OT - Link: Recall Verisign

[jim at jimrutt.com (Jim Rutt)]

hmmmm, some bogosity on that petition, especially with regard to SiteFinder

they say:

Documented abuses:
VeriSign's implementation of "SiteFinder" - a web address resolution 
service that accomplishes the following: ?Hijacks agreed-upon domain name 
resolution standards by directing non-existent Internet addresses to a 
VeriSign paid advertising page ?Illustrates the potential for compromised 
network security and the very real risk of a "single point of failure" for 
the Internet when VeriSign chooses to circumvent Internet standards 
?Effectively delivers a massive "captive audience" to VeriSign

reality:

Check the RFC, the DNS protocol provides for exactly such wild carding of 
top level domains.  Indeed, more than 10 country code domains have long 
included just such a a feature.

With regard to security, actually SiteFinder was likely a 
strongly  pro-security move - it forces people to get nonexistent domain 
records out of Sendmail configs ... a huge security hole.

As to "captive audience" it provides the only competition to Microsoft, who 
with 85% market share in browsers have been long doing the same damn 
thing.  Of course Microsoft can rather easily work around it in the next 
version of the browser if they are so inclined (as can, of course, any 
sysadmin with a trivial patch to BIND).  Having At least transient 
competition for Microsoft is always a good thing.

=jim rutt
(former CEO Network Solutions)





At 04:47 PM 4/12/2004 -0400, you wrote:

I remember back in days when Network Solutions was a wholly owned group
within SAIC they weren't bad to work with. After Verisign bought the
majority interest in Network Solutions, things have gone rapidly
downhill. Now unfortunately they seem obsessed with money more than
providing good service. I don't sign too many online petitions, but this
is different. Verisign needs to be stopped. Link is at:

http://www.recallverisign.com/

-dan


===================================
Jim Rutt
voice:  505-989-1115

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