dslreports logo
 story category
Uncle Sam Seizes More Domains
DHS and ICE Shut Down More Sites
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) late last week conducted their largest domain seizure effort to date, shutting down more than 130 domains the government declared dedicated to online piracy and counterfeiting. The seizures come nearly a year after the government launched "Operation In Our Sites," over the last year taking down legitimate businesses in collateral damage several times. This latest round of seizures appears to be somewhat more focused, with the websites taken offline focusing primarily on selling counterfeit goods (17nflshop.com), instead of last time -- where websites directing users to freely available content were also taken offline.
view:
topics flat nest 

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Nice!

We can all sleep safe knowing that ICE is on top of seizing those evil domain names which want to kill us all!

/s

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Internet infested with sites devoted to criminality

As if more proof was needed, this seizure just shows how much of the internet is devoted to criminal enterprises. The solution isn't seizing these domains, as justified as that action is. The solution is tightening up the acquiring of domains in the 1st place. The process of applying for and obtaining domain names is a farce. Step 1 would be to REQUIRE all domain applications be done IN PERSON with proof of who you are and supplying a physical address.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Re: Internet infested with sites devoted to criminality

in person would never happen unless ICANN opened offices in every major and semi major city in the world.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
I was looking at the list of sites seized and it would seem this time it is obvious they are rip-off sites, most all of them with similar names to catch idiots and their money.
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

Chubbysumo

Member

Re: Internet infested with sites devoted to criminality

a fool and his money are soon parted, but really, with no due process done, and the servers still up and running, all those sites have to do is register a new domain name, and they are running again. Takes all of 5 minutes. Instead of poking the surface, they should actually go after the IP addresses(where the servers are), and shut them down permanently, but alas, that is too much work for todays ICE/DHS
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned) to FFH5

Member

to FFH5

Step 1 would be to REQUIRE all domain applications be done IN PERSON with proof of who you are and supplying a physical address.

Sorry but that shows how ignorant you are about how the internet works. Do you realize how IMPOSSIBLE that would be?

WHT
join:2010-03-26
Rosston, TX

WHT to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

Step 1 would be to REQUIRE all domain applications be done IN PERSON with proof of who you are and supplying a physical address.

Something like requiring proof of ability to work in the U.S. that has been so effective at reducing employment of undocumented aliens.

Oh...wait, it wasn't so effective.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Re: Internet infested with sites devoted to criminality

said by WHT:

said by FFH5:

Step 1 would be to REQUIRE all domain applications be done IN PERSON with proof of who you are and supplying a physical address.

Something like requiring proof of ability to work in the U.S. that has been so effective at reducing employment of undocumented aliens.

Oh...wait, it wasn't so effective.

dont forget how many fully legit and very large corporations do lots of business through a PO Box many times managed by a firm like UPS.

rrw1313
Premium Member
join:2001-03-05
Taylor, PA

1 edit

rrw1313

Premium Member

Re: Internet infested with sites devoted to criminality

The you have personal sites like thejones.net or johnsmith.com that people set up for their friends and family to use.
quote:
That gov't is best which governs least
Ironic your asking for the government to put more regulation on the internet.

vpoko
Premium Member
join:2003-07-03
Boston, MA

vpoko to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
Fine, we can all just use the IP address.
axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC

axus to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
I disagree. That gov't is best which governs least.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
you don't need a domain name to run a criminal enterprise on the internet.
Expand your moderator at work
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
servers could also be outside our boarders in which case ICE is powerless.

Or if they share a server with legit sites at a company like Godaddy you cant legally bring down a company's site just because their server is same as one with pirate sites.
nutcr0cker
join:2003-04-02
Chandler, AZ

nutcr0cker

Member

some sites are ok but other sites reminds us of the Gestapo

some sites are ok but other sites reminds us of the Gestapo of the 40's. Whats next close all the sites that the ruling party disagrees with in the name of patriotism

Camaro
Question everything
Premium Member
join:2008-04-05
Westfield, MA

1 recommendation

Camaro

Premium Member

Re: some sites are ok but other sites reminds us of the Gestapo

Yes sir you hit that one on the head,people are bickering about this that the other thing and that anger needs to directed towards the people in charge.The way I look at it if they can censor (if people think otherwise then please crawl back into your hole) us then I want to censor them,I don't want to see any campaign adds and any crap like that, it gets so annoying every election season, and no changing the channel is not a solution for me. I wish I could censor all those adds.I am getting very nervous about this new trend most normal non geeks have no idea this is evening happening.If those assholes in d.c tried as hard to balance our economy as they do running around the web taking domains offline then maybe our current situation would be better.
axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC

axus

Member

same problem as SOPA, though different method

This is the United States government censoring free speech through extra-judicial methods. If I remember correctly, ICE compels the domain registrar to remove control from the original person registering it, without a courtroom hearing or even a chance to respond to allegations.

SOPA would have mandated ISPs to enforce a government blacklist of IP addresses. ICE is "regulating" domain name registrars only.

Silver_2000
Premium Member
join:2005-12-12
Carrollton, TX

Silver_2000

Premium Member

NFL

looks like NFL is putting pressure on someone

firephoto
Truth and reality matters
Premium Member
join:2003-03-18
Brewster, WA

firephoto

Premium Member

Finally safe from...

... IED Rolax watches triggered with Lphones that have been coordinated by those pirating kids that STOLE ubuntu with bittorrent.

milnoc
join:2001-03-05
Ottawa

milnoc

Member

Counterfeit merchandise sites

Nearly all of these sites deal with counterfeit merchandise.

Still, I don't like the idea of a US government agency imposing their beliefs on what's legal or not legal on the Internet against the rest of the world.

What's especially bad about these take-downs is that it simply won't work. All these companies need to do now is register new domain names on-line, change their IP addresses, and they're back in business within minutes.

Don't be surprised if we see the emergence of a Darknet style DNS system, where the offending site's original domain name is saved in a Darknet DNS that redirects you to a constantly changing randomized "legitimate" domain name that can easily be replaced following a take-down by US authorities.
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

Chubbysumo

Member

Re: Counterfeit merchandise sites

said by milnoc:

What's especially bad about these take-downs is that it simply won't work. All these companies need to do now is register new domain names on-line, change their IP addresses, and they're back in business within minutes.

They dont even need to change their IP addresses, since their servers were not raided, the DNS database was. They simply need to register a new website name(takes all of 5 minutes or less), and then they are up and running again. BTW, nearly all of the DNS registries that were siezed were counterfit goods, but most of the sites were back up and running in less than 30 minutes, since they had alternative names already set up to go. Someone needs to put a stop to this, and they need to actually raid the servers, not the DNS names. This is like poking a hornets nest. You just take the workers away, more come up. If you kill the queen, the hive dies. They are not dealing with the problem, only dealing with the DNS system because its much easier than dealing with raiding 130+ servers nationwide(if they are in the US to begin with).
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to milnoc

Premium Member

to milnoc
Well we are talking about a government operation here, you expect them to measure twice and cut once when doing their jobs?

Ha.

Domain Seizures are showy for the press and the IP owners while doing nothing to solve the problem. however it has the aura of problem solving and looks good without actually warming up the FBI raid-wagons and grabbing the servers. This also gets them around having to make sure the servers are not also hosting legit domains. take down some small business's website and you can face lawsuit because collateral damage is not acceptable. And really preservation of IP is never more important than a small business just because they share the same server at Godaddy.
40757180 (banned)
join:2009-11-01

40757180 (banned)

Member

Simple DNS Change

All that is needed is simple dns change and site is back up....it will never work.

sm5w2
Premium Member
join:2004-10-13
St Thomas, ON

sm5w2

Premium Member

What about this alternate DNS system?

Wasn't someone working on a distributed DNS system designed to circumvent these domain seizures? Is that system up and running and does it work for these domains?

Note that all of these seized domains are .com and .net.
old_wiz_60
join:2005-06-03
Bedford, MA

old_wiz_60

Member

This is how they start...

they take down domains based on businesses say-sos. However, it's an easy leap from this to businesses simply saying the legit competition is illegal so they can get rid of them.

And the government loves it since they now have a great precedent to take down sites that criticize the government.
countscabula
join:2010-03-09

countscabula

Member

Re: This is how they start...

very slippery slope. big govt chooses winners and losers. big business not so much better either