Term of the Day: typosquatting

[Keefe]

slang. Purchasing a domain name that is a variation on a popular domain name with the expectation that the site will get traffic off of the original sight because of a user's misspelling of the name. For example, registering the domain names webapedia.com or yahooo.com in the hopes that someone making a typo will get to that site unexpectedly.

[Uranium-235]

god knows the number of times that has happened to me. Is thier anyone going to make a law against this?

[Omega]

It's quite unlikely that any legislation will be made against this. First of all, it's quite difficult to make laws regulating the internet, because after all, it's world-wide. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with this either. If someone makes a typo, they deserve to go to a different site.

It's kind of the same thing as if Hanson Pears registered hp.com on the internet's dawn, and then Hewlett Packard would be screwed. Obviously thousands of people would visit Hanson Pear's site, aiming for Hewlett Packard, but oh well. If Hanson Pear was curteous, they could link to Hewlett Packard's site somewhere on their main page, but no obligation.

Also, it would be quite difficult to prove that someone registered yahooo.com solely for the purpose of "typosquatting."

[vee_ess]

and besides, many big corps register these misspelled domains and re-route. try yahooo.com; goes to a page suggesting that you mighta wanted yahoo.com just an example

[Uranium-235]

ditto with http://gooogle.com

[MIK3]

HAHA    There is even a site that has recently be registered and is comming soon www.yahoooo.com  I mean c'mon, you gotta be really slow to make that mistake, if wanting to go to yahoo.com.  lol

[Keefe]

It also happned to anandtech.com.... if you go to www.anantech.com you get some stupid ring company.  I have to admit it does work sicne i have been to this site a dozen or so times because of my mis-typing.