ICANN gives final verdict on VeriSign's domain search

Telecomworldwire, July 12, 2004

TELECOMWORLDWIRE-12 July 2004-ICANN gives final verdict on VeriSign's domain search(C)1994-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has claimed that Site Finder, VeriSign's redirecting service for '.net' and '.com' addresses, disturbed the function of the Internet and should not be turned on at all.

According to experts, the service can disturb anti-spam software, as it redirects users from non-existent URLs to the company's domain search page and doesn't give error messages. VeriSign can make a decision to redirect failed search attempts like that because the company controls the '.net' and '.com' servers, but the service has also been seen as a direct attempt to compete with Microsoft's MSN search service.

A report has however found that the service has not had any major effects on the function of the Internet although it allegedly breaks one of the basic rules of the architecture and also existing practice used to secure the function and stability of the Internet, reported the Finnish online IT news service digitoday.

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