Seen in my trip around the blogosphere this morning, a tactic being used by NetSol that could well get its customers banned by Google. Are you affected?

Take a look at the article linked above. In short, NetSol are using tactics to find wildcard subdomains for any domain that is using their DNS service, to find any subdomains that do not already have an explicit DNS entry.

These “unclaimed” subdomains appear to be resolving to a Network Solutions page with text links, including “Poker Tournaments” and “Texas Holdem Games.”

Why should you care? There are a couple of reasons, expertly outlined in the above article. These include:

  1. The impression given that your site has shifted its focus to an industry associated with SPAM.
  2. That NetSol is profiting from your Domain Name – if you haven’t set up the links, then they must have and you can bet they haven’t done it for free!
  3. Most concerningly, This is exactly the kind of thing that can get you banned from Google.

It’s an interesting point, the registrar I use “parks” new domains on their name servers, which uses PPC advertising. They get the revenue for it, not me. I object to that, but it appears to be an accepted practice. Admittedly, there are costs associated with parking a domain until the owner is ready to use it, so I wear that with as much grace as possible and just make sure I get my act into gear to have my domain active ASAP. I wouldn’t be very happy at all for someone to highjack my live domain.

So how to avoid it? If you are using NetSol as your registrar, make sure you’re domain name is using your hosting providers Name Services, not NetSols. If you’re considering a Domain Name, don’t use NetSol at all. Finally, vote with your feet – when your domain name comes up for registration, use a different registrar.

About the Author Charly Leetham

Charly Leetham has worked for over 20 years in the IT industry, specifically in the area of data communications and local area networking. Charly is a qualifed "tech", holding an Associate Diploma in Electronics Engineering. Her experience with Personal Computers ranges from building computers to providing 2nd level user support. Charly also holds a Masters of Business Admin (MBA), specialising in Internet Marketing. Visit her site at ArvoreenTreasures.com

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