Subscribe
Network Solutions steals domain ideas; Confirmed!
January 8th, 2008 by 
Jay Westerdal
I am confirming that Network Solutions steals domain ideas when people check domain availability on the Network Solutions website. They seem to have started the practice of stealing domain ideas on December 16th 2007 according to our Domain History database but I was just made aware of this practice today. I am appalled at the concept of taking people’s domain ideas and registering it before the consumer has the ability to manually register the domain.
It is a deplorable action that Network Solution would announce potential domain names to the entire world. If a customer chooses not to register the domain name with Network Solution they are forced to wait 4 days for Network Solutions to delete the domain name in the Free Add Grace period. After the four day hostage period the consumer is free from the hostage situation and can register the domain somewhere else. However Network Solutions has now exposed those domains to Domain Tasters that will snipe those domain up milliseconds after Network Solutions deletes them. By registering the domain Network Solutions is exposing the domain in the DNS and every computer in the world now knows about the domain. These domains are now easy fodder for scammers and it is mind blowing that Network Solutions would expose their customers queries to the world in this manner.
Domain has never been registered before:
Network Solutions is now the best friend of Domain Snipers and Spys. I tested the system by going to Network Solutions and looking up the availability of Neiman Marcus Verizon.com. Sure enough the domain was available to be registered, however when I check the whois it now said it was taken by Network Solutions. I was not able to register the domain at GoDaddy.
Network Solutions says it is available:
Network Solutions sets up a website on the domain:
The domain is now registered to Network Solutions, LLC
Network Solutions really screwed up on this one. The exposer of their customers was put before corporate profit on this one. If you use Network Solutions to check if a domain is available they will literally register the domain without your knowledge and hold it hostage for 4 days with a price tag of $34.99.
This easily makes Network Solutions the worst Registrar in the world. I hope that they cease this activity immediately as this has given them the worst black eye and makes the entire industry look bad. They actually think they are doing customers favors with this little dirty trick. These guys are clueless!
« Newer Post Older Post »
Posted in Domain Spying, Domain Tasting, Network Solutions |
188 Comments »
January 8th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I’m a bit confused. This is how I interpret your post:
1. Try to register Neimanmarcusverizon.com
on Netsol.
is parked with a $35 sale price from Netsol.
2. Didn’t purchase right away.
3. Netsol itself soon after your session expired purchased Neimanmarcusverizon.com
4. Neimanmarcusverizon.com
Did I read it right?
UPDATE BY JAY: That is correct.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Holy smokes. This is crazy.
I just did swimmingisreallyfun.com
and surely enough it was registered just as you say.
Are they in cahoots with Icann/Verisign/etc or what?
January 8th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Yep, this is all over the Domainosphere and spreading fast.
A Network Solutions employee left a response to my article here:
http://www.dotsauce.com/2008/01/08/networksolutions-scandal-hijacking-domain-searches/
Stating that “Network Solutions is not front running. ‘Front Runners’ are people who register domain names known to have been searched, for the purpose of monetizing them and then selling them at inflated prices”
I am not buying it.
January 8th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
fuck the bastards in ICANN who made this policy of 5 day grace period for registrars. I already complained to them and posted on the blog too about this long back regarding the same situation with ultrarpm.com
and metapridict.com
ICANN board is fucky and foolish, they dont know anything, are they blind? We are posting this kind of problems from long back and no one responding on this issue
I personally lost many names and from the day one i am complaining about this
January 8th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Just searched for fukinnsi.com
and .net at NetSol and BANG! the .com was registered for the 5-day grace period. The .net was still free, though.
What a crap company!
They use reserveddomainname.com
as the name server, this was registered in October 2007, so they were planning for this for some months. There are about 2000 “reserved domains” right now.
For me, this is a clear abuse of the 5-day grace period.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:25 am
This has to be illegal in some way…its creative theft.
My guess Network Solutions wont get much business soon. I’m telling everyone to stay clear of them.
Heck what am I saying “I never used them anyway” hahaha
Thanks for the headsup Jay.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:17 am
It’s time for a class action suit.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:18 am
I wonder if Network Solutions tactics follow them with their participation in the auctions at Namejet?
January 9th, 2008 at 2:41 am
http://networksolutionscansuckmyballs.com/
January 9th, 2008 at 4:05 am
does netsol have resellers that this Front running would apply to as well?
I am appalled- but not surprised.
I hope the backlash from domainers will forewarn other registrars and they keep their ‘noses clean’.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:20 am
I think this has been going on for longer than you think with maybe a little less sophistication and Network Solutions at that time selling the availability search results to a third party who would mine them for good ideas that had not yet been thought of.
I say this because something similar happened to me with the name peppermintsoap.com
a few years back. Nobody had thought to register it from the inception of the Internet but within a few days of my search when I went back for it it was gone.
Probably when domain values continued to soar NetSol figured, “Why share the profit?”
I can’t prove any of this but I had a real bad feeling at the time. And the name was not registered by a person but by “Name Administration Inc” out of the Cayman Islands of all places… hmmm!
Jim K
January 9th, 2008 at 4:27 am
This has been going on for many years. Go Daddy does it (at least they used to and they still deny they did it). I will *never again* check availability on their site – ever. DirectNIC / Intercosmos Media out of New Orleans used to hold the crown for this behavior. I can personally trace this back to at least mid 2005 but it probably happened even earlier than that. I’ve baited these people with absurd names and found them to be taken after suspiciously having name ideas “stolen” from me.
I am sure that there is more than one other person in this world that MIGHT think of the same domain name as I just checked and have a similar idea, etc. But, within a few days of me having that idea? Dozens and dozens of times? Even if the name is some absurd and ridiculous name? I think not.
The statistical mathematics on that must be pretty wild. I’d love to have those odds with choosing the lottery numbers. Fact is, this has been happening for many years. I first noticed it back in late spring of 2005 and I am sure its been happening prior to that. The question is, is it illegal? Can you have something stolen from you that you never had possession of? Are there some sort of intellectual property issues here? Probably. I am not an attorney.
I am also sure that the fine print at these registrars who offer WHOIS services states that they have the right to collect and aggregate search data. Google does. Yahoo does. Any smart marketing department would/should. But its the USE of that data which sets different companies apart from each other.
It sucks. I’ve had way too many ideas for names taken from me and end up in the hands of some front in Kenya or some guy in China or some, mysteriously, some private registration service thats also trying to sell that same name.
January 9th, 2008 at 6:13 am
Jay,
Since, you are 1 of the 7 members sitting on the Icann committee looking into domain tasting abuse, I compliment you on voicing your opinion on this abuse of trust.
Netsol has 2 members on that committee so they should be more sensitive to maintaining the trust and confidentiality of their customers. Now, that information is nicely packaged for any domain taster to use.
http://www.dailychanges.com/detail/?ns=RESERVEDDOMAINNAME.COM&date=2008-01-08&net=1832&changes=1838&act=n
I wonder what the investment company that owns Network Solutions think of this major blunder?
I’m sure they will eventually discontinue this practice since this negative publicity will not go away quickly.
And, Icann which does not like dealing with individual domain owner complaints will start directing their annoyance towards Network Solutions.
January 9th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Thanks for the heads up.
I recently searched 3 names on Estibot (that they priced in the $3000-$5000 range) that were available and within 2 minutes I was unable to register these names as they were now already registered. Has anyone else experienced this?
January 9th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Fraud-
In the Stock business frontrunning is a FEDERAL CRIME-
January 9th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I contributed with my part to the Internet history. I typed in verisignisabigscam.com
and networsolutionsisabigscam.com
+ a few other combinations on the same theme 
/Andreas
January 9th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Incredible, and a new low… how far can it go?
Nuno from CentralDomain.com
January 9th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I LOVE the villianous picture! Its priceless. Reminds me of the bad guys in “A Christmas Story” with “Little Ralphie”. Anyway, what’s bizzare is that this could work in NetSol’s favor slightly with registrants thinking that just by doing a search on “sudden trend” domains they’re knocking out competition from all the other registrars. So when comments are issued during superbowl season, or “ObamaGirl” or “Huckaburger” – by searching on NetSol a searcher has just excluded all competition from GoDaddy, eNom, NameCheap, Register.com
– etc. It seems like an Antitrust or Monopoly issue. The incentive to use the service is antithetical to a competitively priced market, but instead moreso on a manipulated fiat to use a registrar unwillingly – because you know others will be.
January 9th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I might add – this can be “protective” too when someone is racing to register a domain to protect themselves. Further than that, the people encountered at NetSol always seem reputable and knowledgable — I’m interested to see how this turns out. I’d add: If they lowered their price – this would be a clutch play for pulling a bunch of users over to them as the “protection” when racing to get domains can be a benefit! Also interesting to wonder what would happen if this was made the norm for all registrars? 5 days is too long regardless. 5 hours maybe…
January 9th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Could this be premeditated corporate spying…? perhaps a class action should be in order…
If these unscrupulous nitwits… have fraudulently lured you in so they can steal your IP… your idea…. hmmmmmmmmmm?
I think every customer would join that action.
on the criminal side it could be viewed as conspiracy to run an organized criminal scheme…. RICO might take care of that.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:26 am
“I’d like to clarify what we are doing. In response to customer concerns about Domain Name Front Running (domains being registered by someone else just after they have conducted a domain name search), we have implemented a security measure to protect our customers. The measure will kick in when a customer searches for an available domain name at our website, but decides not to purchase the name immediately after conducting the search.
After the search ends, we will put the domain name on reserve. During this reservation period, the name is not active and we do not monetize the traffic on these domains. If a customer searches for the domain again during the next 4 days at networksolutions.com
, the domain will be available to register. If the domain name is not purchased within 4 days, it will be released back to the registry and will be generally available for registration.”
Links story
http://www.circleid.com/posts/81082_network_solutions_front_running/
January 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
If all registrars will start “reserve” searched names, can you imagine that? WTF. lol
January 9th, 2008 at 9:40 am
That’s what I was saying – if they ALL did it, it’d level the playing field, but be completely obnoxious when trying to find a domain about an emerging issue. HarryV – I’m certainly not corporate (if you saw the post I had just prior to my last one). The only domain I got from NetSol was because of a domain I won in a SnapNames auction. I switched it to Rebel b/c NetSol charges $12 for URL forwarding – a great racket! I guess I’m a NameCheap guy. They have great service as far as switching DNS and whatnot.
I don’t know what to think. Will registrants flock to them at least for searches to block out many other players? Are they blackballing themselves? Who knows.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:16 am
what’s exposer??
January 9th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I was always suspicious of these sort of searches. I once had quite a good idea for a patent-able invention and I kept it off Google for this very reason. Guess it’s good to be paranoid these days – last thing I want is my great new domain being poached by someone as the 4-day period ends…
http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=godaddyin4.png
January 9th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I just gulped at that thought. I hope the USPTO (Patent/Trademark) office doesn’t start doing this.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Hmmmmm,
The only thing that surprises me is that everyone seems surprised at the antics by NetSol.
I recently transferred some domains from NetSol to another registrar–it was purely a financial decision because when all is said and done, most registrars are guilty of questionnable business practices.
Expect other registrars to follow suit; once they figure out that after all the hollering and whining, NetSol will, in the end, get away with their front running activities.
It will be business as usual–that is, until the U.S. government gets its nose in .com business. Enough complaints and it will.
Ms Domainer
January 9th, 2008 at 11:04 am
The web’s most interesting stories on Wed 9th Jan 2008…
These are the web’s most talked about URLs on Wed 9th Jan 2008. The current winner is …..
January 9th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I’m not sure that I mind the ‘grace’ registration itself.
I do mind that they don’t ask you if you want them to temp-register it for you, and make sure that they have your contact info to hold it for you only.
That said, they should also explain the risk that a front-runner will search for names that have been ‘graced’ and will soon expire in order to hijack lots of sites. I’m betting that someone is already hijacking whois’d sites (it’s not clear from the comments if anyone has actually had domain hijacking from this). I think that it’s worth running a million fake whois’s just to kill off a few front-runners/hijackers.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I tested it out today with yellowsnowmen.com
… and within moments it was regged!
Many people are toying with NSI … ie. NetworkSolutionsRapesChildren.com
– it actually resolves!
And here’s another one … NetworkSolutionsSupportsTerrorists.com
– I can’t believe NSI would register that one too!
Surely one would think that NSI would be smart enough to filter out such obviously bogus, defamatory domains, but I guess not … idiots must work at NSI …
Umm, there’s another domain to check, NetworkSolutionsHiresIdiots.com
… as soon as I post this message I’m going to query the domain at NSI and time how long it takes …
Seriously, though one should be concerned that perhaps NSI (it’s not owned by VeriSign anymore; it’s a different company) is doing this out of sheer desperation … is NSI in deep financial trouble? … could a RegistryFly-like nightmare be in store for NSI registrants … time will tell.
Ron
January 9th, 2008 at 11:41 am
NetworkSolutionsHiresIdiots.com regged in less than 1 minute!
Idiots really do work at NSI! LOL!
Ron
January 9th, 2008 at 11:45 am
That’s cruel – and FUNNY!
January 9th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Bad, very bad.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I just checked f**knetworksolutionsha.com
and seconds later it was registered!
I agree with Ron, they are idiots. Its time for some fun!!
January 9th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I’ve NEVER used NetSol, they always seemed like crooks to me. This simply confirms it.
I haven’t taken the time to fully understand the mechanisms and reasons behind domain tasting. I noticed a comment from DotSauce here and checked out his blog post on this topic of NetSol. He only uses Moniker for domain name lookups. I have used DomainTools lookup exclusively ever since the Firefox search plugin came out. However, I’ve noticed domain tasting happens on domains that I search for at DomainTools too.
So, I take it then that the issue is not with domain tasting itself, but with NetSol practicing it, correct?
January 9th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
2girls1netsol.com – check!
January 9th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Someone already updated the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Solutions
January 9th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I wonder if they could get sued for advertising their services on a domain they registered that contains trademarks of their competitors – Dotster, GoDaddy, and eNom.
http://www.dotstergodaddyenom.com
January 9th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
samstevensmedia: I don’t use Domaintools for domains I know are being tasted. For that I use Moniker whois. From my own records I know that the Domaintools service “reads” webpages, thus giving the domain in question traffic. If it has traffic, the taster is less likely to release it.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
It’s wonderful that you have presented the evidence to expose Network Solutions, but I cannot imagine that this could be mind blowing to you Jay. For the last decade Network Solutions has pulled every trick in the book, using every monopoly they could generate in order to screw the public. This has been their method of operation since day one.
I never had any bona fide evidence, but this has been present in one form or another for many years. Verisign, Network Solutions, etc. . . . Power is ALWAYS abused.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I just tried it to confirm the story and there it was. This should be reported to ICANN.
Best,
Lawk Salih
January 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
For those who speak of NSI being all so powerful – that was years ago … not so anymore.
VeriSign sold the “Network Solutions” name to an unrelated company a few years back as a condition of operating the .com / .net registry …
These days, Network Solutions has no more power than any other registrar…
Which leads some to believe that Network Solutions is probably in deep financial trouble to resort to such desperate, unpopular marketing tactics to retain what marketshare they still have left.
Ron
January 9th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Ahhh….
That makes me mad! I for the first time go to NetSol to register a domain, because I couldn’t find anyone else that registered .bz domains.
But I did notice that I checked web-designers.net
at NetSol, and it was available. But when I went anywhere else, it said it was taken.
Thing is, I just got with them 2 weeks ago! ahh… I wanna transfer my domain now, I need to call my hosting company to see if they can transfer the .bz domain I purchased at NetSol.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Its really true. fascinating…
Domain Name: networksolutionsisgay.com
Status: ok
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
January 9th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
We know that Oversee.Net
Holding companies like Chesterton Holdings and Jucco Holdings. Now that Moniker got bought by Oversee.Net
, I suppose that Moniker will no longer be safe place to query either.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Great name for netsol, enjoy!
NetworkSolutionsAreABunchOfCunts.com
January 9th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
NetSol Responds. See link below
http://www.domainnews.com/general/2008012125/network-solutions-responds-to-front-running-accusations/#more-2125
January 9th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
To HBaker, #39: Apparently I need to learn more about tasting, as I wasn’t aware that one can be in the know about WHICH domains are being tasted. And, I may be talking about something completely different from what NetSol is doing here–is this considered “tasting”?
I’ve looked up domains using DomainTools that would have been absolutely valueless to pretty much anyone other than me, found them available, then a day later found that they’d been registered. So, I’m unclear on exactly WHERE you can SAFELY lookups domains now! What makes Moniker’s lookup safer?
UPDATE BY JAY: DomainTools is a safe place to lookup domains. We NEVER sell or report those ideas to anyone, PERIOD.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Jay, regarding your reply in #48. THANKS!
It is VERY comforting to see you write that.
Regarding #47, “magsnow”, too bad that the comments are closed on that post. I’d love to give Jonathan a piece of my mind. But… he doesnt deserve to hear it.
Lets just sit back and watch that company sink.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
JAY said: DomainTools is a safe place to lookup domains. We NEVER sell or report those ideas to anyone, PERIOD.
I think I can vouch for that. In my monitoring account are several domain names that were unregistered when I checked them and I’ve never registered those yet. They might not be great but they ain’t too bad either. And they remain unregistered.
If Domain Tools was selling off that info I’d imagine several of them would be gone by now. I never checked them anywhere else as I feel that might expose them to some unscrupulous person. I’ve never worried about Domain Tools.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Even Network Solutions agrees: NetworkSolutionsSucksAGiantCock.com
January 9th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Scumbags! t’s just a desperate move for nsi to keep their market share. They were once the monopoly and they’re falling fast. With news like this domainers and resellers will never renew their domains with these scumbags. Shameless fleabags
January 10th, 2008 at 12:39 am
I fully trust Domain Tools as well–I never have had a problem with domains disappearing after checking DT.
Ms Domainer
January 10th, 2008 at 1:08 am
Hi, Appreciate coming to your site from digg and found this article very informative and took time to register comment. Most useful info for domain name protection prior to ownership.
1) Network Solutions should be out of business and owners banned from domain registration by http://www.icann.org. Damage done to people creating a site name is severe due to creative brainstorming time required. Hope I did not lose my domain name when I searched a year ago. Name of owners of Network Solutions should be posted for lifetime boycott.
2) All bloggers article on web design, programming, etc should be aware of this pitfall and name of scum owners publish for boycott.
3) Considering this practice been going on for such time make me wonder about http://www.icann.org and perks.
4) If u have to do a search, is that search site using https? Search site should not sell search inquires list. Promote these ideas.
5) What should a person who wants to register a domain do to avoid this pitfall when other companies aside from Network Solutions are doing same. My guess to register domain rather than doing search, high speed internet and pray connection does not die in middle of registration. Suggestion welcome like honest register.
6) More than apology is required from Network Solutions for damages done. Significant charity donations for open source projects, etc.
Tx again and I should have been aware of this pitfall a year ago.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Considering I check the availability of thousands of domains a day if this became the norm and you multiplied me by how ever many people there are like me out there you would then have one mess of a system. NetSol implying that this is protecting their customers is a complete joke. This is nothing but a customer retention tactic and a very bad one at that. Does anyone remember the days (many years ago) when they would show names available and allow you to pay for them when they really were not? And then instead of a refund you got a credit. It sounds like whoever was running the show then is back. They’ve also been warehousing names for many years as well. Which is suppose to be a breach of contract but I guess it doesn;t matter if you have folks on the board of ICANN. I’m sure we’ll see them pop up on their auction site now though. I guess it doesn’t really matter if they do lose their customer base since they have a multi-million dollar domain portfolio.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Sounds to me like Network Solutions is not telling the truth.
1)If they implemented this to protect searched names for the searchers, why can anyone register the name…if they use Network Solutions…it is not reserved for the searcher only.
2) Champ Mitchell (NetSol CEO)says they can implement some sort of opt out if you don’t want your search recorded but it would require registry cooperation. Wouldn’t it be easier and more genuine if they allowed searchers to “opt-in” to NetSol holding the name for them for up to 5 days? No cooperation needed.
3) Couldn’t they also just mention during the search that they need to “Act Now” so that that name is not registered before they make up their mind? A sense of urgency is a powerful sales tool.
4) They could also just offer a 4 day money back guarantee. (Will never happen!!!)
January 10th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Yup. Same thing happened to me on 01/07/2008. I checked a domain name on GoDaddy – it was available. I checked it a couple other places, including Network Solutions. Decided to register it with GoDaddy. Got an email back from GoDaddy that it was taken. I checked it via WhoIs and guess who had it for sale? Network Solutions.
Tony
January 10th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
TO JAY, re #48: Thanks for the clarification! I’m glad to know that I chose the right place to do domain research. Must’ve just been a coincidence.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Network solution no longer allows whois lookups from godaddy.
____________
Welcome to the Network Solutions Registrar WHOIS Server.
The IP address from which you have visited the Network Solutions Registrar WHOIS
database is contained within a list of IP addresses that may have failed
to abide by Network Solutions’ WHOIS policy. Failure to abide by this policy can
adversely impact our systems and servers, preventing the processing of
other WHOIS requests.
To see the Network Solutions WHOIS Policy, click on or copy and paste the following
URL into your browser:
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jhtml
If you feel that you have received this message in error, please contact us at:
whoisquery@networksolutions.com and include the following information:
Whois Query: networksolutionshiresidiots.com
YOUR IP address is 68.178.211.45
Date and Time of Query: Thu Jan 10 21:13:08 EST 2008
Reason Code: IE
Registry Status: ok
January 10th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
ActNow said:
“Netsol has 2 members on that committee so they should be more sensitive to maintaining the trust and confidentiality of their customers. Now, that information is nicely packaged for any domain taster to use.
http://www.dailychanges.com/detail/?ns=RESERVEDDOMAINNAME.COM&date=2008-01-08&net=1832&changes=1838&act=n”
I say: lmao at thesnifferguy.com
January 12th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Jay,
It appears that Network Solutions stopped registering Domain Names in response to WhoIs queries sometime late Friday evening January 11, 2008. I did a WhoIs query in NSI and the Domain is still available in according to do your WhoIs:
http://whois.domaintools.com/this-is-a-test-and-only-a-test-of-network-solutions.com
The report at dailychanges.com
shows a significant registration drop off for January 11, 2007 and no new registrations for January 12, 2007. At this point I don’t care what Network Solutions is doing, they are never to be trusted again. If you look at the WhoIs Domain Names registered by Network Solutions, many of which can’t be repeated in polite company, there was a LOT of SPAMING going on over the past few days.
I have already issued a request to everyone in my corporation not to go near Network Solutions and designated Domain Tools as the preferred Domain Name research tool. Would you please consider implementing a corporate registration policy where I can budget for a pool of employees with full access to your resources?
You should also realize that as a result of this wakeup call, the load levels on your WhoIs service is going to dramatically increase. I hope you are increasing your hardware and network capacity?
Mike
January 12th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Jay,
It looks like Network Solutions is back in the covert WhoIs Domain Name registration business. Based on the timestamp on my previous post and WhoIs record timestamp, and allowing for east and west cost time difference, there is a minimum time delay of two hours between the time I made the query and the time the Domain Name was registered.
http://whois.domaintools.com/this-is-a-test-and-only-a-test-of-network-solutions.com
Either Network Solutions is being SPAMED big time, was experiencing technical difficulties or both. When I tested two days ago they were registering Domains within seconds.
Would other BLOG readers please conduct their own timing tests?
Mike
January 12th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Jay,
I started a timing test at exactly 14:14:00 EST for this Domain:
http://whois.domaintools.com/this-domain-was-stolen-at-exactly-14-14-00est.com
Which is still not registered as of this post.
Mike
January 12th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Jay,
When I used the NSI Home Page “Find A Domain” Window the next Domain was registers within a minute.
http://whois.domaintools.com/this-domain-was-stolen-at-exactly-14-28-00est.com
I am still waiting on the first timing test. Previously I tested both ways and nothing was register two hours. NSI is changing something.
Mike
January 12th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
So far, it looks like only web site searches may be logged. I tested doing a basic “whois” lookup from my linux box, and after 4 hours, it is still not registered. I got worried when I checked the man page for the whois program and found that if it could not figure out what whois server to query, it defaulted to whois.networksolutions.com
. Scary if those type queries were getting registered too.
whois netsolisrippingpeopleoff.com
”
No match for “NETSOLISRIPPINGPEOPLEOFF.COM
Then again, maybe they stopped doing this…
January 12th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Network Solutions, LLC
Network Solutions LLC
13861 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 300
HERNDON, VA 20171
US
570-708-8788 fax: 703-668-5817
Record expires on 27-Apr-2016.
Record created on 27-Apr-1998.
Database last updated on 12-Jan-2008 04:00:46 EST.
They changed their contact information
Look at the above snapshot
January 12th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Sorry to post again but this is what the BBB has
BBB of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania
1411 K St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005-3404
BBB Reliability Report
May Not Be Reproduced for Commercial or Sales Purposes
Printer-friendly
Network Solutions LLC
13861 Sunrise Valley Drive
Herndon, VA 20171
Fairfax County
MAP
General Information
Original Business
Start Date March 1999
Business Started
Locally January 1979
Registration or
Incorporation Type of Entity Limited Liability Company (LLC)
State DE
Date October 2003
BBB File Opened April 01, 1999
Principal Contact Debra Modlesky
Complaint Contact Mr W G Champion Mitchell (CEO)
Other Contacts Mr. A. Statton Hammock Jr. (Senior Corporate Counsel)
Mr. Harold McGann (Director, Sales & Service)
BBB Member This company is a member
Type of Business Internet Services
Website http://www.networksolutions.com
dmodlesky@networksolutions.com
The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources.
BBB Membership
This company has been a member of this Better Business Bureau since November 2005. This means it supports the Bureau’s services to the public and meets our membership standards.
Program Participation
This company participates in BBB Online. This means the company has agreed to use special procedures including mediation and arbitration if necessary to resolve complaints.
Customer Experience
Based on BBB files, this company has a satisfactory record with the Bureau. Any complaints processed by the Bureau in its three-year reporting period have been resolved. The number and type of complaints are not unusual for a company in this industry.
To have a “Satisfactory Record” with the Bureau, a company must be in business for at least 12 months, properly and promptly address matters referred to it by the Bureau, and be free from an unusual volume or pattern of complaints and law enforcement action involving its marketplace conduct. In addition, the Bureau must have a clear understanding of the company’s business and no concerns about its industry.
Customer Complaint Data
Number of complaints processed by the BBB over the last 36 months: 140
Number of complaints processed by the BBB in the last 12 months: 61
Complaints Concerned:
Selling Practices (24 complaints)
23 Resolved
1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
Advertising Issues (4 complaints)
4 Resolved
Service Issues (67 complaints)
62 Resolved
5 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
Credit or Billing Disputes (14 complaints)
14 Resolved
Delivery Issues (7 complaints)
6 Resolved
1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
Refund Practices (15 complaints)
15 Resolved
Product Quality (4 complaints)
4 Resolved
Contract Disputes (3 complaints)
3 Resolved
Repair Issues (1 complaints)
1 Resolved
The company’s size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgement on the validity of complaints filed.
Additional File Information
According to information provded by the company, Network Solutions, Inc. had been a business unit of Verisign, Inc. In late, 2003, Network Solutions’ business assets were sold by VeriSign. The new company, Network Solutions, LLC operates the Network Solutions business.
Additional Information
This Business Operates under the Names Network Solutions
Network Solutions LLC
Addresses 13861 Sunrise Valley Drive, Herndon, VA 20171, Fairfax County MAP
Phones (570) 708-8451
(703) 668-4600
(570) 708-3077 (FAX)
January 13th, 2008 at 8:16 am
http://whois.domaintools.com/this-is-a-test-and-only-a-test-of-network-solutions.com
it is now registered to network solutions
January 13th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Yep i ran into this last week and already called NS about it.. ridiculous policy.. I was surprised to not see much outrage about this, glad to see the word is getting out. This practice is ridiculous, and I am never using netsol again.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Well, I take that back. Even doing a network query with whois will trigger a registration, it just might take longer. This lookup was NOT done on their site, but using whois against whois.networksolutions.com
:
/home$ whois netsolisrippingpeopleoff.com
Domain Name: NETSOLISRIPPINGPEOPLEOFF.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
The original lookup was done yesterday, and today the domain is registered. Of course, someone could have searched for this domain on Netsol’s web site…
January 13th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Your complaint has been submitted and has been assigned tracking number
09368-BC9F8-1142A-F91BD-44A0F-3EBA5-09
An email will arrive shortly confirming your complaint.
We suggest you print a copy of this page for your records
this is to rhe BBB
January 14th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Ahhh -
I GET IT – Network Solutions is keeping the Bad Guys from Stealing my Good Ideas by stealing them first and holding them hostage.
Where’s Elliot Spitzer when you need him – Oh he’s the guv now right?
Without a disclaimer I’d say this verges on fraud. Why fraud? They offered a service (free or not) with the intent to use the proceeds of the service for their profit without making the other party aware of this restriction.
As for the five day rule, I think that domain registars should simply escrow $5.00 with a 10% non-refundable transaction fee (going to fund ICANN or another Domain research entity) for every domain they want the rule to apply to. You don’t like $5.00, pick you number… That would bring a quick end to both the speculation and hostage taking.
I have always detested NETSOL’s arrogance and unreasonable fees, but this is a new low. If its not unlawful, its certainly unethical. As for the other Domain Registrar bottom feeders like GoDaddy – you always knew what they were. There’s no pretense there. Let the TidyBowl Man be your registar. Let’s all be thankful that the .xxx idea was canned. I’m not sure of the process that got that awarded to a bunch of speculators – but it was an AWFUL idea. Too much power in too few hands as usual.
Thanks Jay for this outing of a sanctimonious mob!
January 14th, 2008 at 7:04 am
One other thing -
as for ‘networksolutionsisgay’ – Let’s not go there please –
how about registering ‘bottomfeederregistarsLLC.com
’
Whoops – that’s registered by Network Solutions LLC – LOL
OK – I’ll stop now…
January 16th, 2008 at 8:48 am
NETWORKSOLUTIONSWILLSTEALYOURDOMAIN.COM
WOW. That didn’t even take 60 secs.
Here’s my fav:
“600,000 domain names are registered daily! Don’t delay; there’s no guarantee that a domain name you see today will still be here tomorrow!”
No Sh!t.
Registrant: Make this info private
This Domain is available at NetworkSolutions.com
13681 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 300
HERNDON, VA 20171
US
Domain Name: NETWORKSOLUTIONSWILLSTEALYOURDOMAIN.COM
This Domain is Available
600,000 domain names are registered daily! Don’t delay; there’s no guarantee that a domain name you see today will still be here tomorrow!
Register it Now
Administrative Contact :
Network Solutions, LLC
domainsupport@networksolutions.com
13681 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 300
HERNDON, VA 20171
US
Phone: 1-888-642-9675
Fax: 571-434-4620
Technical Contact :
Network Solutions, LLC
domainsupport@networksolutions.com
13681 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 300
HERNDON, VA 20171
US
Phone: 1-888-642-9675
Fax: 571-434-4620
Record expires on 16-Jan-2009
Record created on 16-Jan-2008
Database last updated on 16-Jan-2008
Domain servers in listed order: Manage DNS
ns1.reserveddomainname.com
205.178.190.55
205.178.189.55
ns2.reserveddomainname.com
Show underlying registry data for this record
Current Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
IP Address: 205.178.189.133 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)
IP Location: US(UNITED STATES)-VIRGINIA-HERNDON
Lock Status: clientHold
DMOZ no listings
Y! Directory: see listings
Data as of: 14-Jun-2005
January 18th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I’ve heard that GoDaddy does this same thing. I won’t search there anymore because I think that practice is a bit underhanded. I’d rather use a generic registrar than one of the big guys–usually get similar prices and same DNS tools. This is the one I use now
February 11th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I am appalled that they can get away with this. It is horrible business and I will never ever do business with Network Solutions again and will make sure that I never ever recommend them again either.
February 11th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
P.S. Please let me know if there ends up being some legal action that can be taken, it just doesn’t seem like they can hold domains hostage just because you searched for them… oh and I did networksolutionsjustlostanothercustomer.com
.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Please contact me at julius7718atgmaildotcom if a class action is to be launched. Network Solutions should be driven out of business and those scumbags at the top should be banned from the industry for life.
Today I went ahead to register a domain name only to be told it had been taken by the thieves at Network Solutions! I inquired about its availability on netsol.com
last night and that’s how I got myself into this bloody mess. The more I read about the company’s defence, the more I feel what it is doing illegal, putting a lot of people’s hard work in jeopardy. The top scums at Network Solutions should have put up a big warning across the Web pages if they meant what they said in their defence. I won’t register the domain name at Netsol at the inflated price because this is a matter of principle. It is very likely that someone will notice the domain name because of Netsol’s evil act and register it ahead of me once it is released by netsol. But I’ll make sure Netsol pay a price for its evil behaviour.
February 14th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I have an update. I wrote a very unhappy email to network solutions, and to my surprise they wanted me to call them to discuss. I have to say they were very open to taking suggestions and they said that they would welcome all suggestions to make the process better. First they will unlock any domain if you call customer service and request it. I don’t think that is a solution, but at least all the people that have tried to look something up can get their domain back to register somewhere else. I suggested that they do it like ticketmaster and when you put in a domain name you have 5 Minutes to register it, or you can hold it for four days if you sign in, because I explained that currently their reasoning for holding a domain for people isn’t really protecting that person, it is only protecting people from not registering it outside of network solutions. Also I said that it would be nice of them to put a disclaimer before you search that it is going to hold for four days or you can call to have it unlocked. But they did unlock my domains and I just registered them with Dreamhost. I have to say I was impressed with their customer service and I highly suggest everyone from here give them a call and give your suggestions. Now we will see if they change some things.
March 4th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
to give them a call? this is not impressing me at all.
what if the person was outside the country? it is just ridiculous to make an international call for requesting the releasing of the domain and they would certainly know that the person did not intent to purchase from them. and nobody knows for sure the inner part of the so called ‘customer service’. not everyone will get the same experience with the same company.
oh yeah, they indeed changed some things, but look at their main searching page, they only put the small notice (still, almost went unnoticed) without any warning to the people (especially the innocent newcomers who never thought / heard such this thing yet). they indeed know how people read the page (from upper left to bottom, and they put the small notice at the right, far enough from the search button), trap the people this way, and this is what they have still been doing.
not to mention that they didn’t display the real price for registering the domain (the “do it yourself” and “do it for me” prices were misleading people),
the person would not realize the real price until he / she finished the searching to find out that he / she actually had to pay $34.99 or the domain name would be locked for such a time (who knows if it wouldn’t be taken by anyone else after the ‘release’?)
better out of Network Solutions way forever.