Domain Name Bug Worries Web Providers

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»

Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew domains, among others, will have support by 2010: ICANN

(NEWSER) - In the biggest change ever to the system, Web domains will soon be available in the native scripts of Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, and other non-Latin-based languages. A proposal expected to be approved this week means “Internationalized Domain Names” could be up and running as soon as mid-2010. China and Thailand currently offer support for domains in their languages with non-standard workarounds, ZDNet reports. More»

Helpful features make Microsoft's search engine more than a Google copy

(NEWSER) - It's easy to mock Bing as Microsoft's latest attempt to rip off a competitor. Bloggers, in fact, have christened the search engine "But It's Not Google." That’s actually true, writes David Pogue in the New York Times. "In many ways, Bing is better." Here's how:

• When you hover your mouse over a search result, Bing opens a pop-up window that displays the first few paragraphs. Saves time clicking on dead ends.

Security expert says DNS flaw could cause Internet-wide chaos

(NEWSER) - Security researcher Dan Kaminsky outlined what he calls the biggest Internet security hole since 1997 to a gathering of experts yesterday, and it's a lot worse than had been understood, Wired reports. “Every network is at risk,” Kaminsky said at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas. "That's what this flaw has shown." The bug, a hole in the Domain Name Service, has wider implications than anyone realized when word of it leaked last month, Kaminksy said. More»

Firms must guard against squatters

(NEWSER) - The decision of an internet oversight body to allow more domain names opens the playing field to cybersquatters—who register domain names in the hopes someone else will have to purchase them later, BusinessWeek reports. No more is it a matter of simply .com or .net: Squatters may now buy up countless addresses, forcing brand names to keep a much wider-ranging eye on the web. More»