Network Solutions denies 'front-running'
January 8, 2008, 10:04 PM PST
Contrary to claims that emerged Wednesday, Network Solutions said it
isn't "front-running" the Internet address registration process, a
practice in which a company registers a potential domain immediately
after a prospective buyer searches to see if it's available. In fact,
the practice that triggered the accusation is an attempt to counteract
front-running, the company said.
Front-running can give a registration company an advantage over the
customer who wants to register the site--for example by preventing the
customer from registering it through a competing registrar or by
selling it to the customer at an inflated price.
The company faced criticism of front-running Tuesday, with discussions cropping up at Domain Name News,
Slashdot, and DomainState discussion boards.
"Network Solutions has instituted a four-day lock on all domain
names searched on their site. They are effectively using phishing
techniques to hijack or steal domain names and forcing domain name
registrants to register their names at Network Solutions. The standard
domain name registration fee at Network Solutions is
$34.99--significantly higher than the leading alternatives," complained
one commenter.
Although Network Solutions does temporarily register a site a
customer searched for, spokeswoman Susan Wade denied there's anything
nefarious afoot. "Network Solutions is not front-running," she said.
Network Solutions holds the domain for up to four days, during which
time a customer can register it only from Network Solutions and after
which it again becomes generally available if unregistered, Wade said.
But that feature, she said, is a "pre-emptive" measure to protect
customers--from front-runners.
That's because front-runners can tell when a customer has searched
for a domain at Network Solutions, for example because Network
Solutions then must check availability at other sites when a customer
searches, Wade said.
"This search data is captured at the various registries. We believe
there are registries and/or Internet service providers that may be
selling this data to front-runners. So, by holding domains searched on
Network Solutions, this pre-empts the search data being captured," she
said.
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Commentary: My experience after getting 4 locked by NetSol... it was supposed to be 4 days.. they unlocked it in 8hrs!!??! WTF!!?? I could have lost my domains!!
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