Microsoft Tool To Help Users Avoid Typo Domains

blueZ3 writes "ZDnet is running a story on a new tool from Microsoft that aims to inform users when they reach 'typo domains'. Apparently, there's concern in Redmond that IE users are being exploited by companies running ad farms on typo domains. The tool uses an automated search routine to look for domains with particular types of typographical errors--transpositions, incorrect TLDs, missing letters--and then adds the domains to a database. The eventual goal (though this isn't clear from the article) seems to be something akin to Verisign's URL redirecting, where typo domains are blocked."

That sure is a good headline

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone who does that job is most definitely a tool.

first one up:

[Lxy]

"www.google.com"

Did you mean "search.msn.com"?

Oh, how awful!

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently, there's concern in Redmond that IE users are being exploited by companies running ad farms on typo domains.

How dare those other companies! Nobody's allowed to exploit Microsoft's users except Microsoft!

pron.com

[klenwell]

will typing pron.com send me to porn.com? or vice-versa?

Tom

Tough Calls

[wuffalicious]

Microsoft domain corrector has detected that you may have mis-typed your desination address.

You were trying to access, "whitehouse.gov".
Did you really mean, "whitehouse.com"?

Re:Misspelled domain data

[MyLongNickName]

The article isn't entirely clear whether the app reports back to MS your web surfing locations.

Yeah. Thank God, we can rely on Google to not do anything like that. Can you imagine what potential for misuse there would be if a company like Google recorded your web surfing habits?

I wish they have a funky paper clip that says:

[Anonymous Coward]

I wish they have a funky paper clip that pops up and says:

Hi there, I noticed you are about to visit a TLD web-site.
The address www.apple.com/macosx appears to be a misspelling of the address of a legitimate site http://www.microsoft.com/Genuine/.
Sites that use spelling variations of legitimate sites and companies may be used in "phishing" schemes to trick users into revealing their access accounts, credit card data, and other personal information.

• To learn more about online "phishing" click here

• If you understand the security implications of visiting potentially dangerous sites, and still wish to continue to www.apple.com/macosx, click here

• If you wish to be redirected to the original site http://www.microsoft.com/Genuine/ either click here or simply wait 5 seconds.

Where do you want to go today?

[nurb432]

We think you are trying to type in 'www.microsoft.com', please wait while we take you there.

"there's concern in Redmond..."

[FFFish]

"Apparently, there's concern in Redmond that IE users are being exploited by companies running ad farms on typo domains."

It occurs to me that the only people dumb enough to use MSIE these days are precisely those sorts of users who would be susceptible to the advertising on linkfarms.

I'm not sure whether to praise Microsoft for trying to protect the retards from themselves, or to curse them for defeating the net's version of Darwinian selection...