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Google Propping Up Typosquatting Biz?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the i-love-shopping-at-amezon.com dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Google is making oodles of cash placing ads on a vast sea of otherwise vacant Web sites that do little more than capitalize on misspelled domain name names, according to a story in today's Washington Post. From the story: 'Google Inc., which runs the largest ad network on the Internet, is making millions of dollars a year by filling otherwise unused Web sites with ads. In many instances, these ad-filled pages appear when users mistype an Internet address, such as BistBuy.com. This new form of advertising is turning into a booming business that some say is cluttering the Internet and could be violating trademark rules.'"

2 of 279 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Are we calling it something else now? by RevDobbs · · Score: 5, Informative

    Cybersquatting is buying a real a domain with resell value; typosquatting is buying a domain that is spelled similar to a real domain and lapping up typo-induced hits.

  2. Re:OMGLOL!!!! bistbuy was slashdotted!!! by Raindance · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Post claims, "Google Inc., which runs the largest ad network on the Internet, is making millions of dollars a year by filling otherwise unused Web sites with ads. In many instances, these ad-filled pages appear when users mistype an Internet address, such as 'BistBuy.com.'"

    I also couldn't open bistbuy.com --

    Here's what searching whois for bistbuy.com gave me

    Whois Server Version 1.3

    Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
    with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net/
    for detailed information.

          Domain Name: BISTBUY.COM
          Registrar: DOMAINDOORMAN, LLC
          Whois Server: whois.domaindoorman.com
          Referral URL: http://www.domaindoorman.com/
          Name Server: NS1.12GF6.COM
          Name Server: NS2.12GF6.COM
          Name Server: NS3.12GF6.COM
          Status: REDEMPTIONPERIOD
          Updated Date: 29-apr-2006
          Creation Date: 22-nov-2005
          Expiration Date: 22-nov-2006

    Nothing appears to link bistbuy.com (if it ever was a valid destination) to Google.

    I'm not convinced yet that this story is a smear job, but very little of their story appears to check out.