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Verisign to Purchase Network Solutions

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the buy-out-ahoy dept.

thor writes, "According to CNBC, Verisign (VRSN) will purchase Network Solutions (NSOL) for approx. $21B ($531/share). Looks like the story of the day for a lot of people on and off of Wall Street. Network Solutions closed at $360 5/8 yesterday is trading up $100 in early hours trading. " I've also found the story on CNNfn. Why does this merger scare me?

3 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Verisign is a monopoly by DocJohn · · Score: 4

    Verisign is already a monopoly, with their recent acquisition of Thawte, the only real alternative for signed digital server certificates.

    Network Solutions is not an equal player in the domain registration business, since they are the maintainers of the database itself.

    Combine the two and you have a company which is responsible for keeping key pieces of the infrastructure of a great deal of the Internet running (DNS and SSL usefulness).

    That's the reason to be scared. Show me another company which comes close to this powerhouse; you can't, because one simply doesn't exist today.

  2. interesting possibilities by joshy · · Score: 5
    21 billion seems a bit much, but i suppose it's imaginary money anyway. i am a little disturbed by the way verisign has been gobbling companies up. presuambly they weant to become the premier trusted agency on the web. you register your domain and your keys with them and they serve as the authority on such matters. there is probably only one agency that could stop them: The United States Post Office.

    now think about it for a second. we've all heard about how the Post Office wants to make themselves relevant in the 21st century. why don't they become an offical key authenticator. they are already used to dealing with huge numbers of people and are recognized as a trusted authority with special legal rights. tampering with the mail is a federal offense. becoming a key signer is a much better way to stay relevant than by giving everyone an email address. and their trusted status would lend creedence to the internet way of doing business.

    --
    Prop me up beside the jukebox if I die.
    1. Re:interesting possibilities by ballestra · · Score: 5
      Forgive me, I know this is way off-topic, but I've been thinking alot about what the USPS could do to modernize.

      I think they should start a new service where citizens can register a coded numerical address for a small fee. Then you wouldn't need to give ANYONE your home address. You could just give them the number and the post office would be able to figure out how to deliver to your home. The great thing about this is that you could have more than one number, so you could give one to your friends and another to companies. When you start getting junk mail, you just cancel the number. This would be the biggest increase to personal privacy I can imagine, and I can't think of any reason why it couldn't be done today. USPS--are you listening?!