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Neo-nazi website Daily Stormer briefly resurfaces with Russian domain (updated)
After being rejected by both GoDaddy and Google, neo-Nazi publication The Daily Stormer resurfaced today with a Russian domain extension. As Vox reports, Stormer's efforts to secure a Chinese hosting service (DailyStormer.wang) were cut short, so it turned to the Dark Web and then the mainstream internet. A Whois report states that the hosting company is CloudFlare and the IP location is in Arizona. But, the site isn't online as of publication time.
Google Apps bug exposed personal data of nearly 283,000 website owners
According to a cadre of Cisco security researchers (via Ars Technica), a Google Apps bug inadvertently caused nearly 283,000 WHOIS registration records -- which can include the domain owner's name, address and other contact information -- to be made public even though those owners expressly wanted that data to stay private. Erm, oops. If you were one of the people affected by this accidental dose of transparency, Google should have already contacted you, and the search giant also says that the issue that caused this whole mess has already been closed.
Microsoft buys Xbone.com
"Xbone," as an alternative moniker for the Xbox One, sprang from the depths of the internet's hive-mind with such immediacy that it may as well have been included in the console's announcement PR. In fact, the nickname has become so ubiquitous that Microsoft has gone ahead and purchased Xbone.com, according to whois records dug up by the sleuths at Fusible. We wouldn't say the URL is doing a tremendous amount of positive work for Microsoft, though. Navigating to Xbone.com redirects to a Bing search for the term "Xbone," where the very first entry listed under "Related Searches" is "Xbox One Terrible," as of press time. Whoops! There's not a whole lot else Microsoft could have done with the domain, however, as having it redirect to anything more official would be like signing off on the term's legitimacy. Under the circumstances, this seems like all the company can do to control the term's usage online. Well, besides the secret army of undercover employees that have infiltrated the fabric of your life; employees who covertly guide the path of your daily existence and ensure that only approved words enter your personal lexicon.
Take-Two stirs up the Kool-Aid, registers hungoverx.com
Take-Two, the publisher behind games including Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series and Irrational's BioShock franchise, registered the domain "hungoverx.com" on July 25. The domain is registered privately under the care of Network Solutions, but Whois shows Take-Two is pulling the strings. It's also under take2games.com domain servers, Fusible finds. There's no word on how this domain fits into Take-Two's franchises. Take-Two is gearing up for the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5 on September 17, and it recently trademarked "Bully" for gaming software, hinting at a possible revival of that 2006 PS2 title. Take-Two raised its outlook for fiscal year 2014 from $1.775 billion to $1.875 billion, earning net revenue of $142.7 million in Q1 and selling more than 4 million copies of BioShock Infinite to date.
EA registers 'Plants Vs Zombies Adventures' domains
EA recently registered domain names related to its undead botanical tower defense series with the name "Plants Vs. Zombies Adventures." Domain squatters lost out on registering PlantsVsZombiesAdventures.com, PlantsVsZombiesAdventure.com and pvZadVentures.com before EA got to it, as each URL was registered on March 6.As usual, domain names mean nothing without an actual game announcement to accompany them. Plants Vs. Zombies 2 was announced back in August 2012, with a late Spring 2013 release window. Whether the "2" is replaced with "Adventures" in the game's title remains to be seen.
Amazon grabs two more Kindle related domains, keeps gadget writers in work
Amazon is sending book-loving gadget fans into a frenzy with another round of domain name buys. It registered KindleScribe and KindleScribes.com to go along with the KindleAir and KindleSocialNetwork addresses it picked up earlier this month. All that's left to do is speculate wildly on what they could represent (Thin and light e-reader? Tablet-style touchscreen? Kindle that comes pre-loaded with the Social Network?) and hope the new devices come packing Jeff's newly patented mobile airbags.
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.
'KinectHalo.com' domain registered by Microsoft
As if the rumor of a remade Halo: Combat Evolved in the Halo: Reach engine weren't enough, now we've got a URL registered to Microsoft from back in June of 2010 for "KinectHalo.com." Gaming Reloaded spotted the site's Whois information, which pegs the unambiguous URL as one owned by Halo franchise owner Microsoft. While it's possible that Microsoft is currently hard at work on a Halo-based Kinect title, it's also possible that the publisher is just snapping up several "just in case" URLs before virtual squatters show up. That said, given the long-term beefing up of positions at 343 Industries (Microsoft's internal Halo studio), it's certain that something is in the works over there. Though Microsoft has yet to announce anything officially, we're hoping this whole "Kinect Halo" thing is little more than a memory if and when it does. [Image credit: 'LaughPong']
RIM takes control of blackpad.com, laughter takes control of our minds
A quick WHOIS confirms that RIM's taken control of blackpad.com -- yes, it's long been rumored as a potential name for the BlackBerry tablet, but we're certainly hoping Waterloo's just parking a domain name to keep squatters at bay, because, seriously, we just got over the iPad jokes, you know? P.S.- And might we see whatever this is at the RIM / AT&T event on Tuesday? Consider our interest piqued.
Terminal Tip: using whois
Whois or "Who is," is a way to query for contact information (or domain name ownership information) about the person or company in control of a site. If you want to know who runs a website, you don't have to look any further than your Mac and opening a Terminal window. All you have to do is open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/) and type in "whois" and space followed by a URL. For instance, the following command would give you the whois information for tuaw.com: whois tuaw.com. You can do this for almost any website; however, some domain names use some form of a hiding service from their registrar that allows them to hide their contact information. Be forewarned that you shouldn't use information like this to stalk people!Please note that if you have Terminal-itis, or are scared of the Terminal, you can use Apple's Network Utility in Mac OS X to do a whois query. Just open Network Utility.app (in the /Applications/Utilities/) and click the "whois" tab. From there you can enter a URL and do a query, all within a pretty "Aqua-licious" user interface.
