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There’s been a nasty bug prowling the ‘Net of late, and it works by using a site’s own Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices against it. Ars takes a look at the iFRAME injection campaign and the organization behind it. As Ars Technica points out:

The launchpad for these various malware campaigns is our old friend, the Russian Business Network. According to Danchev, earlier reports of the network’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Faced with dwindling functionality thanks to security policies that prevented traffic from reaching IP addresses associated with the RBN, the company divided itself, sought new service providers, and is back in business. Many of the codec downloads and false website fronts active in the above attacks trace directly back to RBN addresses.

Interesting view on this twist from a Ars’ forum discussion:

I was 18 when the Berlin wall fell. States colonized by the former USSR were freed and democracy was put in place. I hoped for a better future for Russia. Since then, they have turned authoritarian, abused nations around them, threatened the world with missiles that can penetrate defense systems, poisioned and shot dissidents, and allowed a large organized crime sector to operate.I know my response isn’t technical, nor even helpful, but I couldn’t help but express my sadness over all this. When you see a great threat removed, especially as a teenager, you hope for the best, but I guess we aren’t going to see much good news from Russia for a long time.

It is, indeed, sad that instead of business partnership some Russian companies are trying to establish themselves as a highway robbery corporations.

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After numerous confirmations of scam-like business practices, Network Solution is now looking into implementing a feature that will allow users to “lock” domain for 4 days, instead of doing this for them automatically. Ironically, this feature look just awfully familiar - just like “domain tasting”. With difference being that now anyone can lock the domain without even providing their contact info. Don’t even need to set up various fake registrars to grab and drop domains for tasting, just keep searching for it.

Another bad trick here is that since domain name would appear registered - there is a very good chance squatters may snipe it right the moment it will be released. And it is already very well known what it means. Some of my clients paid pretty large sums for their trademarked name - just to get it faster then through the lawsuit.

Interesting facts:

• In 2000 Network Solutions was purchased by Verisign for $21 billion.
• In 2007 they were purchased for $800 million.

My take? If you have domain names at Network Solutions - move them to someone not so dangerous. GoDaddy, Moniker or NameCheap (we use all three of them) look much better.

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So, after all this time it turns out to be true - someone DOES snitch domain names at the time of the search. Guess who that might be? Some anonymous hacker? Wrong! It’s one of the largest domain name registrar - Network Solutions. Multiple blogs and other sources confirm that NetSol preserves any .com name searched through their web site for at least 4 days “to protect customers from front-runners”.

What it looks like to me is that whenever any company feels too comfortable at the place it is bad things start to happen. But off with the generalizations. I have some clients who have some domains registered through Network Solutions. After a hit like that the company might do all kinds of crazy stuff, so I better have those domains secured at other registrars.

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