VeriSign unrepentant after Site Finder suspension

The company, which oversees the management of .com, .org and .net domain names, had been redirecting users that entered incorrect domain names - or in instances where websites could not be found - to the new service, provoking outrage over the knock-on effects, which include making it impossible for anti-spam software to identify non-existent sites.

Also, some of the listings on the Site Finder service were paid for, sparking fury over VeriSign's exploitation of its unique position as manager of the world's most popular top-level domain names for profit.

The service initially sparked a request from ICANN - which runs the domain name system - to withdraw the service, while several ISPs 'blackballed' it. IT specialists also began work immediately on developing a fix to prevent users from being redirected. However, VeriSign ignored the outrage, claiming instead that SiteFinder was a useful service for people who got lost on the web.

It said web users encounter a total of 20 million error messages every day, prompting it to launch the 'Did You Mean?' tool, which listed similar domain names and an accompanying search box to help users find appropriate sites.

Nonetheless, a formal demand from ICANN to suspend the service, which is itself responsible for awarding VeriSign the rights to manage major domain names, came late last week.

VeriSign decided to suspend Site Finder late on Friday while it "explores all of its options". The company claimed that the service had been "well received" by the millions of internet users that ended up lost on the web.

ICANN welcomed Friday's decision and is expected to discuss the initiative with VeriSign to see if a resolution can be reached.

VeriSign appears aggrieved at the fact that ICANN requested the suspension of Site Finder before any formal review had been undertaken, while ICANN believed that the service might "threaten the stability of the internet".

VeriSign will launch a media education campaign today, to brief journalists about the reasons behind Site Finder, in advance of an ICANN security advisory committee meeting where VeriSign's recent initiative will no doubt be high up on the agenda.

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