Previously, mistyped domain names would have resulted in a simple error message. According to VeriSign, it introduced the change to improve "the user web web-browsing experience".
It made the change by adding what are known as wildcard Domain Name System records to unregistered domain names. This means that every single .com and .net domain now has a re-direct code automatically attached, so that if the domain is not being used then a surfer transfers to Site Finder.
Network administrators were quick to attack the change. The purpose, they say, is not to aid the misguided web user, but to generate more advertising revenue from VeriSign's search engine partners. But this is only one aspect of their complaint given that others, including Microsoft, have done this before.
According to CNet News.com, VeriSign implemented the change without consulting internet standards groups, which has caused other problems.
Some anti-spam software depends upon a check against the sending address. Previously, a non-existent address would result in an error message, and the e-mail containing that address could instantly be discarded as spam. Now most .com and .net addresses will end in a web page, not an error message, which would block this approach to spam control.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald today, VeriSign has responded by promising to make "appropriate adjustments" to accommodate spam controls.
CNet News.com also reports that the change has altered the way that the internet works – or is expected to work by software developers. VeriSign's unilateral alteration has therefore given major headaches to network analysts and may even affect the way search engines operate.
Software developers are fighting back. The developers of BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain), software most often used to hold the whole web address system together, have developed a patch which will neutralise the VeriSign wildcards. It can be used by ISPs to display an error message to their customers rather than being taken to the Site Finder page.