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NSI E-mail Vunerability
blackwidow sent us the latest in the Web-mail security gaffes. After creating accounts that had easily guessable passwords, it turns out the security for the NSI Webmail accounts is...breachable (Hint - understatement). Ya know, all I wanted was my domains to work - I don't want more then I ask for *sigh*.
If you're interested, here's what the original author has to say to the plagerism of his work (and the editing out of the first half):
"Hang the Information Highwayman!"n .HTML
http://www.gsm.cornell.edu/staff/Gene/Highwayma
That was the case before, but may not be entirely correct now. I am still looking for more information from ICANN but they seem to be concentrating on the political rather than the technical.
Nowadays there are alternative registrars that actually seem to take you through the whole process. I gather that NSI is still on the backend but you do not actually become an NSI customer anymore. Unfortunately I haven't had an opportunity to try anybody out yet, I have more important things to do like reading Slashdot (-:
Maybe we can get someone who works for one of those registrars to clear things up here?
(P.S. I will... ummm... not be dropping by NSI anytime soon with the explosives that I don't have. :-)
On the other hand, NameSecure's policy is exactly opposite to NSI's. They don't transfer the domain until they get the court order.
That is a reason enough to switch to NameSecure. Not to mention that the totally moronic email screw up is outrageous.
___
If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
If you think of MS as a company that adds unwanted features to such an extent that it's too big to properly support, you'll probably be whispering 'deja vu' to yourself right now.
Competition is opening up, and NSI want to add features so that people'll stay with them. Unfortunately, they're adding these features quickly so as not to miss the boat, little realising that half-assed, bug-ridden pseudo-features are the pretty much guaranteed to drive the masses away in hordes.
I just tried to access the DotCom mail(tm) for one of the domains we host, and while no account seems to have been created (thank god for small favors), I noticed that pressing the "Go" button on the access page tried to establish a connection to a host named "mail" in my domain. Just to be sure, I tried again with another domain, and sure enought, there it goes trying to connect to a host named "mail" in that domain too !
Come on ! They can't be that stupid, can they ? What if there really *was* a host named "mail" in the domain ?
I can't wait for these clowns to have competition.
Richard.
NSI needs to get back to what they're SUPPOSED to be doing.
ADMINISTERING DOMAIN NAMES!
If we want free junk-mail accounts we'll go to the pros for that. That's what S'notmail and Juno and all the other freemail providers are out there doing.
I think NSI is targetting the wrong segment of the entire internet market to try and compete in. A thoroughly useless gesture at best.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
From their sign up page
"Network Solutions now offers TWO e-mail services for your communication needs. Both give you the same reliability and security that has become synonymous with Network Solutions."
(Score: -1, Thou Hast Lost an Eighth)
NSI: if you're going to give us additional features, then
a) make them optional in an opt-in setup. you'll get fewer immediate signups, but they'll be people who wanted the service.
b) make them secure. your market is a reasonably technically savvy audiance, and they can spot this stuff a mile away.
c) make them RELEVENT. The world doesn't need Yet Another Web-mail provider. There's already hotmail, mail.com, etc, etc, etc. not to mention the fact that you targetted people who already administer their own domains. Most of us are happy with our domains.
d) follow your own rules. If I'm not allowed to use your database for spamming, you certainly aren't allowed to use it to spam either. that's just basic ethics.
Now if only they'd take this into consideration...
As far as I can remember, they were at the same time, pimping someone else's secure-e-commerce solution. Un-fscking-believable.
G
"...In your answer, ignore facts. Just go with what feels true..."
(1) Go read the webmaster's mail: http://mail.dotcomnow .com/signup/poll/webmaster?dlang=default then choose "click here".
(2) Funny AD I saw during #1: http://imageserv1.imgis. com/images/Ad94426St1Sz1Sq3Id3.gif to wit, "mail.com...Free Secure, and Private"
Ok ... here's a question, now that their are alternative domain registrars, how do I leave NSI? Is it possible or do I have to wait for my domain to expire in 2 years, then reregister it with an alternative vendor? My fear is that when I paid my $70, I agreed to a 2 year exclusive contract but what else was I to do, NSI was the only registrar! Is such a contract even enforceable?
IMHO this is another example of a company doing what dejanews did.
Usually, sending compliments to people for a fine job is great. Dejanews was a different story.
Once dejanews had a email soliciting comments about their service. As it was a great service, I let them know why it was valuable to me and told them "don't change a thing!"" because it was perfect. A short time later, they did the unthinkable and trashed a fine search interface with bloated crap from hell. So much for my suggestion. I still have that email and the thanks they gave me for the compliments.
I suspect they were looking for emails of praise and saving them for later as testimonials. Dirty tricks... Why do so many commercial companies wish to screw customers?
If you are the Administrative, Technical, or zone contact for a domain, I think(Hopefully), you could set up your own e-mail system if you wanted it!