Newsletter Archives

• Beware of Google’s .ZIP domain and password-embedded URLs

  Posted on May 29, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.22 • 2023-05-29

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The security community is up in arms, because Google this month started selling domain names with deceptive endings such as .zip and .mov.

  Even worse, some browsers are allowing usernames and passwords to be embedded into URLs. This means following a link can expose users to viruses without any explicit action (such as clicking “OK”).

  Internet-standards bodies years ago prohibited usernames and passwords in URLs — but hackers still do it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Domain names, Google, Internet, Newsletters, Security

• How to find out who owns that website you hate

  Posted on February 21, 2022 at 02:43 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Sometimes, you really want to look up the email address or phone number of whoever owns a particular website or domain name.

  Unfortunately, this is becoming more difficult as various “privacy” services attempt to hide this information from the global WhoIs system. Surprisingly often, these cloaking mechanisms fail to provide website owners with true security and actual privacy — while seriously frustrating the rest of us.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.08.0 (2022-02-21).

  Public Defender Domain names, Newsletters, Public Defender, WhoIs

• Getting the perfect domain name

  Posted on July 5, 2020 at 02:15 CDT by Jamie • Comment in the Forums

  THE BRAND

  Getting the perfect domain name

  

  By Will Fastie

  Visit a registrar, buy a domain name, and you’re done, right?

  Not quite. Those are the last steps.

  Before getting to that point, it’s important to understand what you are buying, whom you should buy it from, why domain-name registrars are important, what you need from a registrar, and — most important — what your brand will be. Your domain name will be with you for (hopefully) a long time, and giving the decision the time and thought it deserves can pay dividends into the future.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.26.0 (2020-07-06).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Internet, Small Business Computing AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Domain names

• What is your Web presence?

  Posted on June 22, 2020 at 01:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums
  

  WEB DEVELOPMENT

  By Will Fastie

  Nearly everyone who spends time on the Internet has some sort of Web presence.

  What do we mean by “presence?” Google your name or the name of your business. What’s the result? Nothing? Hundreds of references? That’s one crude measurement of Web presence or exposure, but there are many other forms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts, published works, forum postings, a personal or business website, and lots more.

  For businesses and professionals, the quality of Web exposure is far more important than the magnitude. To the extent possible, you want to be in control of how and where potential customers find you on the Internet.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.24.0 (2020-06-22).

  Web Development AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Business presence, Business websites, Domain names, Email