Verisign could open up domain-tasting access-- netinchina.hk

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Domain name operator Verisign may be set to sell access to records of searches made on .com and .net root servers it runs.

Root servers allow domain names to function on the internet, with many domain queries hitting these servers as they locate a site or an email recipient.

Allowing customers access to root server data may provide further ground for domain-tasting, the practice which web companies looking for a top domain name may use to monitor traffic to an address before buying.

Domain-tasting is a practice that has grown as top monikers – high among them generic domain names – become hot property for their potential boost to e-retailers looking to make an impact on the internet.

Verisign's move is unlikely to change the fact that most companies search for the generic domain name of their choice and purchase it outright – with those in the grips of uncertainty able to function with or without root server access.

Frank Michlick, writing for DomainNameNews, asked: "Why would people pay for this data though, when they still have to generate lists of names on their own?

"After all, tasting domains is essentially free, due to the full refund of the registration fee if a domain is deleted within the first five days."

netinchina.hk is a domain service Technlogy limited company