The Tunisia Internet Agency has approved the move to introduce its own IDN in arabic script. The تونس TLD has been given the green light by ICANN and will join other non-Latin scipt TLDs from another 13 countries who already offer domain names in their native languages. Recently we’ve seen other Arabic IDNs join the list, including that of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Tunisia will have to work hard to now put in place the technical infrastructure required, and its Internet Agency has chosen the AFNIC registry to manage the new TLD and ensure that Tunisia can start to enjoy the benefits of the internet more fully.

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Tunisia gets arabic IDN

After bankruptcy proceedings look to have been resolved, the sex.com domain is back up for auction by Escom. An agreement was reached between litigating parties by the Central California Bankruptcy Court such that Escom only needs to take the next steps to put it up for auction.

There was a final obstable in the sex.com auction proceedings with a last minute objection from investor Nothin’ But Net (owned by Mike Zapolin). But since then, Nothin’ But Net worked with creditors DOM Partners and Washington Technology Associates to resolve their objection.

We can only imagine that when sex.com does go to auction, it will sell for big bucks. At the last auction of sex.com back in 2006, the domain name apparently sold to Escom for $14 million and we can’t imagine that its value will have depreciated. Perhaps the world’s most valuable domain name, but certainly among the top five, it will be interesting to see in 2010 just what these kind of premium TLDs are worth. We originally bet on $20 million for sex.com and will wait and see!

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Sex.com up for auction finally

The internet has a new Internationalised Domain Name after the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority officially launched one of the Arab world’s first top level domain names. The TLD is .emarat and it’s expected to open up a whole world of the internet previously difficult to access for many Arab users.

The domain name was approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and it’s difficult to underestimate the effect of what an official Arab domain name, with websites in Arabic characters, will have on Arab speaking communities. President and CEO of ICANN, Rod Beckstrom said:

“Dot emarat will bring multiple benefits. It will help to foster innovation and creativity, and provide better branding opportunities for local companies. It will increase convenience and consumer choice, and generate educational opportunities. It will open up access to the internet to more Arabic speakers, who until now have been blocked by the need to use Latin script (and)… it will also help stimulate the pride that comes with expressing a nation’s cultural identity.”

Source | Anadubawi.com

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: New IDN: Emirates launches .emarat arabic domain

Traffic statistics firm HosterStats.com has released some interesting stats about TLD adoption. According to the company’s data, some 43.5% of .com domains are also registered on the .net TLD. Here are some other cool facts:

• 10.7% of .net domains are not registered on any other TLD.
• Some 70,205 names (0.54%) are registered on .net and .org only.
• 82% of TLDs are .coms.
• A whopping 35,521 domains are registered on 8 different TLDs, including .com, .asia, .info, .biz, and .tel.
• 2.5% of names are registered on the .com, .net, and .org extensions.

Continue reading: Almost half of domains cross-registered between .com and .net

Yesterday, the first Russian Internet domains with Cyrillic characters were launched. There has been talks about this move for quite some time. The preparation received both praise and concern. Now, ICANN has officially assigned the .рф (.rf, for “Russian Federation”) top-level domain to Russia.

What this means is that users in Russia will be able to register domains that end in .рф. It also opens the door for entrepreneurs and domainers to capitalize on the new Russian market. Presumably, there will be thousands of new high-priced domain names available in Russian. Other European countries that use cyrillic characters are expected to join in on the fun, and other languages will soon follow.

Latin had long dominated the domain market, while countries with non-Latin characters were largely excluded. Last week, Arabic characters were introduced into the domain pool, with countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates leading the charge. Supporters of the change believe the Internet will be more accessible to Russians and other non-Latin language countries. Opponents believe it will create separation barriers between the nations.

Source: CircleID
Photo: Flickr

Continue reading: ICANN Launches Russia's Cyrillic TLD

One of the most well-known Internet companies, Verisign is planning a major upgrade. After the upgrades, Verisign’s hardware will be capable of handling 4 quadrillion requests per day from computers trying to access .com and .net top-level domains (TLD) for which Verisign is responsible.

According to ken Silva, the Internet giant’s CTO, these upgrades are crucial to ensuring they can keep up with the rapidly increasing Internet traffic and the occasional spikes caused by malware, attacks, and malicious bots. In 2007, Verisign spent $100 million to increase their capacity until 2010. This next round of upgrades reflects the fast-growing nature of the Internet.

In addition to providing access to .com and .net domains, Verisign is also renown for selling SSL certificates. What is not clear from their announcement is what the upgrades will entail exactly and how long these latest upgrades will sustain the rapidly expanding cyber-universe.

Source: Associated Press

Continue reading: Verisign to spend $300 million on tech upgrades

Many of the voices we have heard speaking out about the proposed .XXX top-level domains (TLD) are mostly from the tech community, the adult industry, and politicians with various agendas. Although I rarely use this blog for editorial purposes, I thought it might be helpful for people to consider the perspective of an educator who has worked in all primary and secondary school levels and will soon start working in higher education.

The benefits of having an entire TLD for adult sites is clear if you are in the adult industry, but what some may not have considered is that it can also have advantages for those trying to prevent children from accessing them. It also provides a definite advantage for tech security professionals who are often given the impossible task of trying to limit access.

Make no mistake, it will not solve all problems, and it is doubtful adult and pornographic sites will limit themselves exclusively to .XXX domains, but part of promoting themselves as legitimate businesses involves making a conscious effort to keep children away from their sites. This could work in favor of both sides of the argument if it is used to its full potential. ICANN is again considering it, and time will tell. But it is certainly worth a second thought.

Photo Source: Flickr

Continue reading: An educator's perspective on .XXX domains

Part of managing a server or even a single website is making sure the DNS is sound and in compliance with established networking and Internet standards. While you can evaluate each of your DNS entries manually, there are many services out there that make evaluation very easy.

One such service is called intoDNS, which is currently still listed as beta, but it functions very well. To use it, simply visit intodns.com and type your full domain name (excluding the “www”). Then, click “Report”. It will then scan your domain and report on a number of important issues: Domain Nameserver records, TLD parent check, CNAMEs, etc.

When your domain passes one of the tests, the service will give you a green circle with a check next to it. When there is an area of concern, you will receive a blue circle with an “i” in it. When you have an error, it will give you a red circle with an exclamation mark. All of the information is displayed in basic HTML so that you can easily print or save it.

Continue reading: DNS Evaluation with intoDNS

Yesterday evening, Chinese web portal IT168.com and a similar social networking site, 51.com, both went offline. This is not normal downtime, however. Rather, the registrar of the two .coms is claiming the names were “rendered unable to resolve” at the request of the Chinese government.

China has a long history of Internet censorship and has just recently started going after domains. Last month, it deleted some 775 adult domains.

The country’s government is able to take domains offline only when the registrar is located in China. The .com TLD itself is operated by an American company. I find it odd that even though a person from China can obtain the go-ahead from the American registry to register an available .com (an automatic process), the Chinese government can remove a registration, even though it has no right to interfere with the transaction whatsoever.

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Chinese government takes two popular domains offline

Usually if a domain you planned to register is taken, the .com version is the first to become unavailable. You have your heart set on that phrase, but don’t know what alternative extension to use out of the dozens of choices. Which should you pick?

I ran into this problem a few weeks ago when I wanted to register danielfoster.com, but found it was taken. The first alternate extensions that came to my mind were .net, .org, .info, .biz, and .us, and .name. In any circumstance, I would pick .net over all the others. I ended up doing this, but if my site could possible fall under the “goodwill” category, I would have opted for .org. If I had an American company, I may have settled for the .us ccTLD. In the UK, the .co.uk ccTLD would have been a no-brainer or in Germany, .de. Under no circumstances would I have registered a .biz or a .info.

The domain extension you register says a lot about your site. It appears in search engines, directories, and advertising– and is often the only part of your website people ever see. So make it good, really good.

Continue reading: If my .com is taken, what is the next-best extension?

DotAsia has announced that it will be ready to accept IDN registrations on the .asia TLD in the second half of 2010. Because of the diverse nature of Asia’s languages and the wide variety of characters each uses, .asia will benefit immensely from IDN technology.

Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia, stated:

Asia is one of the most important regions for IDN. Asia is already the largest Internet marketplace with over 700 million users online. However, that represents only 18.5% penetration. IDN will bring the Internet to the rest of the people in Asia who do not speak English.

The IDN launch will include a sunrise period to ensure trademark holders can get register their domains before cybersquatters. DotAsia says it will be the first TLD registry to apply with ICANN for the use of IDNs.

Photo | clix

Continue reading: .Asia to be IDN-ready by 2010

While economic activity in most industries is stagnant, the domain market continues to show growth. A report recently released by a large domain auction house shows a 15% increase in its sales.

Other auction sites don’t always report their growth, so it’s hard to tell if this increase has occurred across the board. Given that the registration base of most TLDs and ccTLDs is increasing, I think its fair to say that there has been universal growth in sales.

The average name sale price has jumped 37%, too– from £1,031.17 to £1,412. This heavy market growth is the result of increased speculation among investors.

Photo | svilen001

Continue reading: Domain sales up by 15%