Internet Group Eases Rules for New Domain Names

Today's the day, though the betting is nothing will happen

(NEWSER) - If the Internet today reverts back to speeds of the dial-up days, there might be an explanation: Last month, Anonymous threatened to go after its backbone, the Domain Name System, on March 31, reports the New York Times . It's probably a safe bet that nothing much will happen, but the people who guard against such things have spent the last several weeks shoring up the network—mainly by increasing the capacity of "root servers"—just in case. More»

Firm is responsible for delivering people to more than half of all websites

(NEWSER) - Hackers managed to break into the servers of a crucial web company responsible for delivering users to more than half the websites in the world. VeriSign doesn't believe the attackers infiltrated its Domain Name System network—which is responsible for directing traffic to .com, .net, and .gov addresses on the Internet—but it can't rule it out. The attacks occurred in 2010, but only came to light today, when Reuters spotted them in an October SEC filing. More»

Domain name possibilities to explode on Thursday

(NEWSER) - The Internet is getting a makeover. Starting Thursday, the web will make a big step in moving way beyond dot-com , dot-net, and the like. For the first time since 2000, ICANN, the administrator of Internet addresses, will begin taking applications for a huge range of new top-level domain names. Now, companies large and small are racing to cash in on the transition, the Wall Street Journal reports. They're ready to pay the $185,000 application fee to become "registry holders" and control the letters to the right of the dot. More»

Top honors went to Social.com, which sold for $2.6M

(NEWSER) - This year was a cheap one for buying domain names—relatively speaking. Sex.com sold for a wild $13 million last year, but 2011's top honors went to a domain name that cost the lucky buyer just $2.6 million. What was it? Social.com (which currently returns a "server not found" page). Business Insider used DN Journal's stats to present the top 15 biggies (excluding sales of domain names that also included other assets). The other big sellers:

1. DomainName.com: this thrilling name sold for a cool $1 million

First .xxx sites spring up despite porn purveyors' objections

(NEWSER) - The Internet's "red light district" has gone live, with the first sites using the .xxx domain name suffix making their debut. ICM Registry, the company tasked with running the new domain, says .xxx will only be available to the adult industry. For now, however, new sites like porn.xxx, sex.xxx, and xxx.xxx aren't offering anything too racy: They're being used to push sales of other .xxx domain names, the Telegraph notes. More»