Network Solutions at It Again

Remeniscent of their previous tactics, Network Solutions has been engaging in a practice known as "front-running" domain names. When someone uses their whois service to look up a domain name (to see if it's available), Network Solutions immediately registers that domain name, making it inaccessible to those using a competing registrar to obtain the domain name.

Internet marketers (among others) are frustrated by this, as their search for "the perfect domain name" for their new product is stymied by Network Solutions squatting on their chosen names. But to add insult to injury, the reserved domain name is exposed to domain speculators, who are free to pounce on the domain within seconds of Network Solutions releasing the name back into the pool.

Network Solutions caused an uproar several years ago when they begn redirecting misspelled domain names to a search/advertising page on their network.

Update: it appears that Network Solutions has changed their tactics for whois searches, although they will still reserve the domain name if searched from their home page.