[Infowarrior] - NSI hijacking domains via whois queries

[Richard Forno]

Domain Registrar Network Solutions Front Running On Whois Searches

by Adam Strong in Categories: Featured

http://www.domainnamenews.com/featured/domain-registrar-network-solutions-fr
ont-running-on-whois-searches/1359

A story is developing regarding domain name registrar Network Solutions
front running domains. According to multiple sources on DomainState.com, it
appears that domains searched via NSI are being purchased by the registrar
thereby preventing a registrant from purchasing it at any other registrar
other than NSI. As an example, a random domain which DNN searches such as
HowDoesThisDomainTasteTaste.com can be seen in this whois search to now be
unavailable to register at other registrars but at NSI it can be purchased

The whois contact now says :

    Registrant: Make this info private
    This Domain is available at NetworkSolutions.com
    13681 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 300
    HERNDON, VA 20171
    US

The domains are likely being purchased and held in NSI ownership until the
potential registrant comes back to purchase the name through NSI. If the
purchase is not made at NSI within 5 days, NSI uses the same 5 day grace
period that domain tasting operations use and they delete the domain. Once a
search for a domain is conducted at NSI the domain name is registered and
only available to be purchased by a registrant at NSI. It is not clear if
NSI has increased prices on domains that have received multiple whois
searches and that they are front running.

NSI also apparently has no problem taking over control of trademark domains
using this practice as well. Searches for names such as microsoft-dell.com
and ibm-microsoft-dell.com all appear as registered now by NSI and only
available for purchase at NSI.

Front running domain names is a bold move by any registrar as it breaks a
certain level of trust that the general public places in using a whois
search. ICANN SSAC has conducted a ³study² on front running recently in
which they wrote ³ICANN¹s Registrar Accreditation Agreement and Registry
Agreements do not expressly prohibit registrars and registries from
monitoring and collecting WHOIS query of domain name availability query data
and either selling this information or using it directly,² Warehousing
domains in order to sell them to ³potentially interested parties² isn¹t
specifically forbidden in the registrar contract with ICANN but is addressed
in points 3.7.9 and 4.2.5 of the contract in which they leave room for new
rules or revisions to the contract. In a quick look search it appears that
other registries have addressed this issue. As an example, the SGNIC for
example has a contract that expressly addresses this issue.

  "it shall not engage in and shall prohibit bulk access to Registrant¹s
data, warehousing of or speculation in Domain Names, and shall implement any
policies SGNIC may from time to time prescribe to prohibit or restrict such
activities. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Registrar
shall not (i) submit any application for the registration, renewal,
transfer, modification or cancellation of a Domain Name registration or any
other request or transaction relating thereto purportedly on behalf of any
Person when it is not in fact so authorized, or on behalf of a non-existent
Person; (ii) accumulate or warehouse Domain Name registrations with which
Registrar or such Person has no reasonable connection, for the purpose of
removing them from availability for others, transferring them for immediate
or deferred direct or indirect gain or profit or for any other reason
whatsoever, nor shall it knowingly participate in any such undertaking."