Has it occurred to anyone else that the side effects of Verisign's wildcard record might have been very much reduced if the wildcard had only worked if the address being resolved actually started 'www.' ? Not that I ever want to see Verisign's abomination resurrected, of course... Ray -- Ray Bellis, MA(Oxon) - Technical Director community internet plc - ts.com Ltd Windsor House, 12 High Street, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 2PJ tel: +44 1865 856000 email: ray.bellis@community.net.uk fax: +44 1865 856001 web: http://www.community.net.uk/
In message <00f301c3972c$bf320f30$f603020a@RPBHP>, "Ray Bellis" writes:
Has it occurred to anyone else that the side effects of Verisign's wildcard record might have been very much reduced if the wildcard had only worked if the address being resolved actually started 'www.' ?
Not that I ever want to see Verisign's abomination resurrected, of course...
From the "Technical Adviser" column in today's Wall Street Journal:
So, what kind of tips do the tipsters give you? Here's a typical one: Before you type in a Web address in your browser, in nearly all cases you don't need the "www " part; you'll be taken where you want to go without it. In other words, "microsoft.com" is the same as "www.microsoft.com." --Steve Bellovin, http://www.research.att.com/~smb
From the "Technical Adviser" column in today's Wall Street Journal:
So, what kind of tips do the tipsters give you? Here's a typical one: Before you type in a Web address in your browser, in nearly all cases you don't need the "www " part; you'll be taken where you want to go without it. In other words, "microsoft.com" is the same as "www.microsoft.com."
Indeed, but most of the unwanted side effects didn't affect browsers, they were in other systems that performed DNS lookups. Browser intepration of URLs are up to the browser, and HTTP is precisely the application that Verisign is seeking to intercept. In any case, if a user asks for whatever.com and that doesn't exist, Verisign's "service" would have stopped the browser from trying to fall through to www.whatever.com. One way or another, Verisign are going to try and find a way to force their service on us. As far as I can see some of the worst side effects would be somewhat mitigated if that wildcard worked for www.*.com. regards, Ray -- Ray Bellis, MA(Oxon) - Technical Director community internet plc - ts.com Ltd Windsor House, 12 High Street, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 2PJ tel: +44 1865 856000 email: ray.bellis@community.net.uk fax: +44 1865 856001 web: http://www.community.net.uk/
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Ray Bellis -
Steven M. Bellovin