Bush Library Pays $35K for Domain Name Mistake

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»

Will it make surfing easier—or just more complicated?

(NEWSER) - In a matter of months, companies will have the chance to gobble up brand new domain name suffixes—and controversy is already boiling. In 2008, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers approved a plan to expand the selection of suffixes from the usual .com and .net to choices like .love and .sport, and soon it will call for applications for the suffixes. While some say it could make browsing more intuitive, others worry it’ll just mean confusion. And then there's the question of ownership, notes the Washington Post : Who will get to control suffixes like .abortion—those for or against abortion rights? More»