This is a serious privacy issue. I have been warning people about this for years. Click on the URL provided for detailed information.

Verisign vendería los datos del ‘lookup’…

[Inglés] Verisign tiene previsto vender los datos de las consultas erróneas de dominios realizadas a través de la herramienta lookup (herramienta que resuelve el nombre de dominio a su correspondiente dirección IP y proporciona datos del dominio). …

[...] operator, was considering selling access to select DNS server lookup data. DomainNameNews first broke the story, saying that sources had indicated the company would provide "lookup traffic" [...]

This news sends shivers up my spine. I agree with Joe Baptista (first post), this is a serious privacy issue and it also gives these registrars a very unfair advantage over the little guys. I truly do believe that this industry should be regulated properly so as to avoid this type of renegade-like practice. “Tasters”, as they are called, are not putting in all of the hard work and time that certain individuals spend in order to find a good-quality domain name. The registrars should not give access of these names to anyone. All it does is encourage domainers to purchase a name on impulse, that he/she may otherwise have not purchased after a second look. It is often wiser to sleep on a name for a few days before buying it. Knowing that these “Tasters/Reggers” are out there unfairly encourages me to purchase on the spot. This is another scheme for these registrars to reap in the profits while others get stuck with a name that they didn’t really want.

Sergio Rodriguez
President, http://www.WebsiteDestination.com

I saw with interest your report on the possible move by VeriSign. However, until they themselves confirm or deny, this is a supposition. Therefore, I leave it to VeriSign to address the veracity (or lack thereof) of the news.

So until then, let’s instead look at the idea in general.

Who cares what Internet surfers are looking at? In fact, the data is extremely useful because it shows the lookups that failed – the situation where someone entered a domain name that does not exist. The information is available today from some Internet service providers, but root operators such as VeriSign have the best and fastest information by virtue of their control of the namespace data.

So if you know what lookups failed, you get a good idea of domains that can be registered so as to get more clicks (resulting in more “pay per click”) or a site that can be used for scams such as pharming and phishing – the tricks that are used to steal users’ identities.

This kind of massive domain tasting has other negative aspects. It is getting more and more difficult for legitimate users of domain names to find new names that convey meaning to Internet users. When computer programs are used to register millions of names per day, real people are left in the cold. Even worse, on occasion, names abandoned by legitimate users have been re-registered by unscrupulous users to take advantage of the original registrant’s good will.

This new service is not good for end-users. It puts the legitimate user at a disadvantage, and it wrests the economic power from the hands of many to the hands of a few already economically advantaged players. As a registry, PIR is critical of and would not support any scheme of this type.

Alexa Raad
CEO
Public Interest Registry (.org)
(www.pir.org)

[...] Verisign to Profit from Rootserver Data? [...]

[...] would be a step up the chain, since Verisign manages two of the 13 root name servers. more: Verisign to Profit from Rootserver Data? » Domain Name News Join DDboard.com Mailing List for Extra 20ddpoints Buy DDPoints From Admin D D B O A R D [...]

[...] worse, Verisign, one of the major root name server operators, has made noise about offering lookup data for sale. [...]

Ken, we have this information from attendees to two separate meetings where Verisign (amongst other things) described this service as something they intended to offer. They were presenting this as a service to be offered to accredited registrars.

[...] According to DomainNameNews, Verisign is considering selling access to the DNS root server logs to domain name registrars. [...]