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Domain Tasting Not Just For Speculators
David Utter
Staff Writer
2008-01-25
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Criminal spammers using fast-flux and rockphish techniques to hide their machines from investigators also acquire and release thousands of domains in the five-day grace period allowed for domain registrations.
 | | Domain Tasting Not Just For Speculators |  |
Since mid-2005, security vendor McAfee claims the Add Grace Period allowed for refunding domain purchases has grown dramatically in its abuse. Though traditionally used by domain speculators to find potentially high-trafficked domains, criminals use the technique to keep an unending supply of essentially free domains available for their scams.
"People who use the fast-flux and rockphish techniques now use it in proportions that would be interesting to measure," said McAfee's Francois Paget.
An illustration of gross deletes of domain names at Verisign demonstrated the big change in domain tasting, which Paget said definitely ties in to criminal usage. The negligible number of deleted domains in March 2005 increased to nearly 60 million in March 2007.
"Undoubtedly hiding behind this multitude of names, there are blatantly criminal people that create and use random names, registered using more or less automated methods, to then be used a few days, or even a few hours, as temporary sites for selling products offered through spam campaigns or as mirror sites tied to phishing campaigns," said Paget.
View All Articles by David Utter
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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