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Google delays ranking all sites based on their mobile version to March 2021
Due to the coronavirus, webmasters have almost another full year to prepare themselves for Google's switch to mobile-first indexing.
Microsoft disrupts a botnet that infected 9 million computers
Today, Microsoft and partners from 35 countries took steps to disrupt a botnet behind the world's largest cybercrime network. The botnet, Necurs, has infected an estimated nine million computers worldwide, and it's one of the largest spam email networks, generating as many as 3.8 million spam emails in a two-month period.
Google will start ranking sites by their mobile version in September
Google will start indexing all websites by their mobile versions beginning in September. Google was already using mobile-first indexing for new domains, but this change will apply the phone-friendly indexing to all domains.
Most White House email domains could be vulnerable to phishing
We can likely all agree that governmental cyber security is an important issue. While the Attorney General has created a task force to deal with election hacking, there have been plenty of digital security fails in the past year. And the FCC doesn't seem to care too much about data privacy, either. Now, according to a report from security firm Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), more than 95 percent of the email domains managed by the Executive Office of the President (EOP) — including WhiteHouse.gov — could be used in a phishing attack due to lax security protocol.
UK citizens might lose .EU domains after Brexit
Europe has formally told UK businesses and individuals that it will revoke .EU domains held in the UK after Brexit unless a new deal is negotiated. "As of the [Brexit] withdrawal date, undertakings and organizations that are established in the UK but not in the EU ... will no longer be eligible to register .EU domain names," the European Commission wrote. Worse, it added that existing .EU domains might be cancelled immediately after Brexit with no possibility of appeal.
NYC's domain on record pace with over 56,000 accounts so far
The history of New York City's top-level domain is still quite young, having only launched in full last month. But, since then, .nyc has already managed to serve up more than 56,000 registrations, making it one of the fastest growing city domains ever -- above Berlin, London, Melbourne, Paris and Tokyo, to mention a few. A representative of .nyc told us there are over 5,000 accounts being registered every week; that's even higher than what the the likes of .london gets, which isn't limited to residents only, unlike The Big Apple's domain.
New York City residents can now get their own .nyc domain
NYC announced last year that its residents, including businesses and government entities, would be able to get a custom domain to match the place they call home -- something London has done as well. With the first two phases of the rollout now complete, which gave first dibs to city officials and trademark owners, it's finally time for the general availability of top-level domains for New York City. In order to qualify, you'll need to show proof that you live within one of the five boroughs (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, The Bronx and Queens). To make things easier, NYC teamed up with over 50 registrars, among which are GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Domain.com and Name.com, with prices per domain ranging anywhere from $25 to $50. They're on a first come, first served basis, however, so hurry if you're interested.
These domains are making me thirsty: .beer options arrive for suds sites
New top-level domains have been popping up on the regular for quite a while, and now there's an option for breweries and other suds-focused operations. Starting today, .beer is an option for those looking lock down a new web address thanks to registry outfit Minds + Machines. In fact, US-based Elysian Brewing Company and Bear Republic Brewing Company have already opted in. If you'll recall, .london, .nyc, .scot and many more options are already available as a part of ICANN's internet naming overhaul. Sadly, ilove.beer has been snatched up. [Photo credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images]
UK police threaten companies that sell domains to piracy sites
When a piracy site is targeted by authorities, the owner's usual trick is to move the website to another domain (and sometimes hosting provider) to re-establish access for users. The Pirate Bay is probably the biggest example of this, which has spent years avoiding internet blocks by leading police on a virtual game of Cat and Mouse. The City of London Police previously attempted to put a spanner in the works by hijacking ads to restrict their cash flow, but it's now turning its focus to the suppliers of those all-important internet addresses in its bid to limit piracy in the UK.
Google wants to sell you your next domain name
Right now, it's possible to buy a domain name using Google services. You can start the process on Google's own pages, process the transaction through Google Wallet and manage that domain through Google Apps -- but you didn't actually buy that domain from Google. That's about to change. Today the search giant announced that it's testing Google Domains, a registration service that will shift the company away from its dependence on companies like GoDaddy and eNom.
Take-Two registers '2K Golf Links' domains
EA's Tiger Woods series may have some competition. It would appear Take-Two is preparing to tee off with a golf series of its own, Internet sleuth supererogatory discovered. A pair of Take-Two domain registrations for "Links2KGolf.com" and "2KGolfLinks.com" were recently made through a third-party company called Network Solutions. Now Take-Two could be making a brand-new series or the publisher may have acquired the rights to the Links series from Microsoft – supererogatory thinks it's the latter. We've followed up with Take-Two and Microsoft for clarification and will update this post accordingly.
Report: Microsoft registers bundle of 'Halo Spartan Assault' domains
Microsoft, by way of private domain registrar service MarkMonitor, has registered a handful of domains related to the Halo universe, Fusible reports. The addresses, HaloSpartanAssault.com, Halo-SpartanAssault.net and similar other variants were all registered within the last few days, and while Microsoft's name is not explicitly attached to any of the related whois reports, the behemoth company has historically used MarkMonitor to claim sensitive URLs in the past. As of press time, the newly-registered domains do not resolve or redirect to any websites, Halo-themed or otherwise. If we had to guess, which we absolutely do not, we'd wager that Halo: Spartan Assault is the name of an Xbox One football game set in the Halo universe, running on the NFL Blitz 2000 Gold Edition engine.
Microsoft files to claim Xboxone.com, .net from UK resident
It's difficult to register a domain without it quickly becoming a matter of public record, which may be why Microsoft has waited until now to try and secure ownership of Xboxone.com and Xboxone.net, according to Fusible. The megalithic company has filed a dispute (case #1501205) with the National Arbitration Forum – the company that resolves reports of domain squatting and trademark infringement in URLs, in order to gain control of the two address that have, until now, been controlled by an unnamed resident of the United Kingdom. In order for Microsoft to win its dispute, it'll need to prove to the NAF that the domains are identical and/or confusingly similar to a trademark that Microsoft owns, that this random person in the UK has no rights to the Xbox One trademark and that the domains in question were registered in bad faith.
Microsoft snags domains for 'Xbox Fusion'
Microsoft has registered numerous variants of XboxFusion.com (XboxFusion.biz, XboxFusion.de, XboxFusion.co.uk, etc), all of which currently redirect to the official English Xbox website. While the majority of the URLs were actually registered back in February, it was only very recently that their existence was uncovered by the sleuths at Fusible. Obviously, registering multiple domains for something no one has ever heard of – remarkably close to unveiling a new console – carries heavy implications, but let's not get too crazy here. "Xbox Fusion" is probably just a new flavor of Mountain Dew.
Riot games reclaims LeagueOfLegends.co domain from adult site
Riot Games has secured the LeagueOfLegends.co (no "m") website after filing a complaint earlier this year, saying that a domain squatter had grabbed the name and redirected it to a porn site. The case on the World Intellectual Property Organization website has been terminated, and the domain is currently listed as owned by Riot Games, the company behind the popular MOBA game of the same name.Those looking for illicit material on a League of Legends-related website will presumably have to go elsewhere. Like, for example, LeagueOfLegendsPorn.com, which is another (currently empty) domain that Riot has another standing complaint against. Because Riot does own the "League of Legends" trademark, that case will probably see a similar result soon. And now that Riot has secured the URLs we know about, are they going to tell us what Supremacy is anytime soon?
Activision sweeps up China-related Call of Duty domains
Activision has treated itself to 17 domain names, all related to Call of Duty and China; in Black Ops 2, set to drop in November, part of the storyline spans a future cold war between the United States and China. It may be that these domains are related to that facet, as the registrations include blackopschina.com, bochina.com and callofdutychina.com, Fusible reports.The other domains span from modernwarfarechina.com to heisexingdong.com, and include a few other Chinese phrases. This could be Activision protecting its brand, or it could even have something to do with Activision's online, free-to-play Call of Duty title in China. Activision secured the names, as it generally does, through brand-protection service MarkMonitor.
Smattering of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Vita domains registered by Sony
Hey, in case you didn't know, that Smash Bros.-esque PlayStation 3 game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, is very likely also heading to PlayStation Vita. How likely? Pretty freakin' likely, especially considering the recently discovered group of domain registrations from Sony Computer Entertainment of America tied to URLs like "PlaystationAllStarsVita.com," "PS-AllStarsVita.com," and "PSAllStarsBattleRoyaleVita.com."As with so many of these discoveries, Superannuation spotted the URLs – URLs that pretty clearly identify a Vita-based version of the brawler. We'll be saying this a lot this week, so get used to it: we've reached out to Sony for more info, but only got "we don't comment on rumor or speculation" in return. We expect more info next week during E3.
Netflix snags DVD.com domain, invests in the future of optical media
Looking for a shortcut to Netflix's home on the web? Try hitting up DVD.com -- it'll take you there, for now. The latest address to join the family of Netflix redirects actually brings you to a subdomain -- dvd.netflix.com -- suggesting that the company could once again be planning to split its streaming and physical media services, at least from an access perspective. A shareholder letter lists the company's U.S. DVD subscriptions at 11.17 million at the end of Q4, bringing in a total of $370 million in revenue, with a profit of $194 million. Compare this to domestic streaming, which represents $476 million in revenue with a mere $52 million profit, and it's clear that the DVD rental market is still quite strong. So what could this latest domain acquisition mean for snail mail subscribers? DVD-only customers may soon have a new site to call home, with focused content and perhaps an upsell opportunity or two. At the very least, it certainly can't hurt when it comes to SEO.
Google files trademark for 'Spot,' programming language to follow?
It looks as though our old pal in Mountain View might have its sights set on developing another programming language. Avid coders probably recall the company's Go offering that was announced last year. Now, Google is looking to stake its claim on the trademark for "Spot." Sorting through the USPTO mumbo jumbo, it's clear that the project centers on a coding language and its related computer programs. Also of note: the internet powerhouse gobbled up four case-related domains including spotlang.com, spotlanguage.net, spot-lang.com and spot-lang.net. For those looking to See Spot Run, perhaps you'll be able to sprint over to the aforementioned URLs in due time. [Photo credit: brionv]
Amazon snatches up Kindle related domains, Kindle Air rumors start circulating
Honestly, we're not sure what to make of all the rumors and leaks surrounding Amazon recently. It's safe to assume the company is working on a tablet, and we're long overdue for an update to E-Ink Kindle. But, a recent round of domain registrations has sent the interwebs into a tizzy with some suggesting a new product, dubbed the Kindle Air, is in the pipeline. Though Amazon's name doesn't appear anywhere in the registrant information for Kindleair.com, the name MarkMonitor does -- the firm Bezos and crew just used to register kindlesocialnetwork.com and kindlesocialnetworking.com. Now, companies pickup domains all the time just to protect their brand, and it seems a bit odd that Amazon would choose a moniker so similar to a particular sliver of aluminum and silicon out of Cupertino. Unfortunately, we'll just have to wait and see if an even lighter and thinner e-reader is on its way from the Seattle company.
