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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Protecting the open Internet may require defunding the ITU. Here?s how to do it.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/09/18/protecting-the-open-internet-may-require-defunding-the-itu-heres-how-to-do-it/>

Year Two by Fadi Chehad?
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/year-two/>

WHOIS Privacy Plan Draws Fire
<http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/09/whois-privacy-plan-draws-fire/>

Making Whois Info Universally Private Will Be Horrible For Domain Investors & A Big Money Lose For Registrars
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/17/making-whois-info-universally-private-will-be-horrible-for-domain-investors-a-big-money-lose-for-registrars/>

au/nz: 2013 Australia and New Zealand Internet Award Winners Announced
<http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-18092013/>

au/nz: Top Internet talent recognised at 2013 ANZIAs
<https://internetnz.net.nz/news/media-releases/2013/Top-Internet-talent-recognised-2013-ANZIAs>

Top Internet talent recognised at 2013 ANZIAs
<http://www.nbr.co.nz/node/146016>

Kim Dotcom's MEGA Won Australian Internet Award for Privacy
<http://news.softpedia.com/news/Kim-Dotcom-s-MEGA-Won-Australian-Internet-Award-for-Privacy-384006.shtml>

au: Crocker to keynote AIGF
<http://impactpub.com.au/micebtn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14837>

Trademark Notice for New gTLD Domain Registrants Must be Substantially Amended and Modified in Context of ICANN?s Trademark-Plus-Fifty Adoption by Philip Corwin
<http://internetcommerce.org/RPM_Requirements>

ICANN looking into string confusion confusion
<http://domainincite.com/14512-icann-looking-into-string-confusion-confusion>

Duplicate IPv4/IPv6 Sites Won?t Be Considered Duplicate Content: Cutts
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/17/duplicate-ipv4ipv6-sites/>


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GOVERNANCE
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Protecting the open Internet may require defunding the ITU. Here?s how to do it.
In the past week, two senior U.S. officials, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai and Republican Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.) were quoted as saying the United States should pull funding from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), at least as a last resort, if the U.N. telecommunications body persists in its attempts to regulate the Internet.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/09/18/protecting-the-open-internet-may-require-defunding-the-itu-heres-how-to-do-it/>

United States Expands Support for Multistakeholder Internet Governance
As part of the United States efforts to ensure a continued open, interoperable, and secure Internet through global, multistakeholder participation, the State Department?s Bureau of International Organization Affairs is providing $350,000 as a one-time contribution for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from its 2012 International Organizations and Programs (IO&P) budget. This funding goes to the trust fund for the IGF Secretariat based in Geneva for its operational expenses.
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/09/213799.htm>

Brazil moves to break from U.S.-centric Internet [AP]
Brazil plans to divorce itself from the U.S.-centric Internet over Washington's widespread online spying, a move that many experts fear will be a potentially dangerous first step toward fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by governments.
<http://www.pressherald.com/news/Brazil-looks-to-break-from-US-centric-Internet.html>
<http://www.kboi2.com/news/tech/Brazil-looks-to-break-from-US-centric-Internet-224135131.html>

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DOMAIN NAMES
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**********************
 - ICANN
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Year Two by Fadi Chehad?
Today marks the beginning of year 2 of the new ICANN season. On this day, a year ago, I took the official plunge into the ICANN ocean.
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/year-two/>

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President | European Commission, to Fadi Chehad? and Stephen Crocker
New gTLD Applications for .VIN and .WINE
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/kroes-to-chehade-crocker-12sep13-en>

Results of the GNSO Whois Privacy/Proxy Abuse Study by Mary Wong
I?m excited to share with you some preliminary findings from one of the GNSO Council?s Whois studies of interest to all of us in the ICANN community. This study ? one of several initiated by the GNSO Council to examine various aspects of the Whois system ? was commissioned to measure the hypothesis that: ?a significant percentage of the domain names used to conduct illegal or harmful Internet activities are registered via privacy or proxy services to obscure the perpetrator?s identity?.
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/results-of-the-gnso-whois-privacyproxy-abuse-study/>

Cross Community Working Groups: Encouraging Broad Recommendations While Respecting SO/AC Responsibilities by David Olive
Cross Community Working Groups (CCWGs) play an important role within the ICANN framework. We have seen over time, that the ICANN community has created such groups as a useful mechanism to organize activities across two or more ICANN communities.
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/cross-community-working-groups-encouraging-broad-recommendations-while-respecting-soac-responsibilities/>

Report From Dalian: ICANN at the World Economic Forum by Christopher Mondini
The World Economic Forum is a helpful partner in ICANN?s global stakeholder engagement efforts, convening leaders from business, government and civil society to address global issues. YC Kuek and I represented ICANN at last week?s ?Summer Davos? in Dalian China, participating in a number of sessions on ICT sector challenges. 
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/report-from-dalian-icann-at-the-world-economic-forum/>

Stefanos Tsimikalis, Attorney at Law | Tsimikalis Kalonarou, to Stephen Crocker and Cherine Chalaby
New gTLD Application for .AMAZON
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/tsimikalis-to-crocker-chalaby-13sep13-en>

Update Regarding Call for Volunteers to Evaluate Metrics Related to Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice
ICANN is revising its previous call for volunteers to clarify that:
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-17sep13-en.htm> 

WHOIS Privacy Plan Draws Fire
Internet regulators are pushing a controversial plan to restrict public access to WHOIS Web site registration records. Proponents of the proposal say it would improve the accuracy of WHOIS data and better protect the privacy of people who register domain names. Critics argue that such a shift would be unworkable and make it more difficult to combat phishers, spammers and scammers.
<http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/09/whois-privacy-plan-draws-fire/>

Neustar Releases New gTLDs and DNS Collision Analysis
ICANN?s risk assessment for proposed TLDs is flawed, and the delays it is causing are unnecessary, according to comments filed by information services and analytics company Neustar.
<http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/neustar-releases-new-gtlds-and-dns-collision-analysis>

Proposed changes to WHOIS system called 'extremely disquieting'
A working group for Internet regulators is under severe criticism for a proposal that would put an end to the openness of the current WHOIS system for domain name registration records.
<http://www.csoonline.com/article/739837/proposed-changes-to-whois-system-called-extremely-disquieting->
<http://www.infoworld.com/d/networking/proposed-changes-whois-system-called-extremely-disquieting-227019>
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/091713-proposed-changes-to-whois-system-273914.html>

Neustar Analysis Shows ICANN Study Overstates Risk of Harmful Domain-Name Collision by Jeff Neuman
As we blogged about recently, Neustar is committed to ensuring that the domain name system is secure and stable and has been operating TLDs for over a decade. Tuesday, Neustar submitted comments to ICANN in response to ICANN's proposal to delay the launch of hundreds of new gTLDs. ICANN's decision to delay the launch is based on a study it commissioned that measured the potential frequency of domain-name collision. more?
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130717_neustar_analysis_icann_overstates_risk_of_harmful_domain_collision/>

Neustar Analysis Shows ICANN Mitigation Plan Overstates Risk of Harmful Domain-Name Collision
Neustar, Inc. today filed comments with ICANN opposing its proposal to delay the launch of hundreds of new TLDs. Neustar stated that its evaluation of existing data demonstrates that the inclusion of numerous proposed TLDs in an ?uncalculated risk? category is unwarranted. The company believes that the risks can be calculated, and mitigated, and suggests a means for doing so.
<http://www.neustar.biz/about-us/news-room/press-releases/2013/neustar-analysis-shows-icann-mitigation-plan-overstates-risk-of-harmful-domain-name-collision>

Who Are the True Multi-Stakeholders in ICANN? by Donna Austin
During ICANN Durban, I attended the Country Code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO) 10 year anniversary celebrations. ICANN Chairman, Dr Steve Crocker, was on hand to congratulate the ccNSO on their 10 years and revered them as the "true multi-stakeholders in ICANN". Post Durban, I was reviewing notes and I came across a similar statement made during a ccNSO session that ccTLDs "represent the best functioning multi-stakeholder model" in the ICANN ecosystem. Is this entirely accurate?
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130917_who_are_the_true_multi_stakeholders_in_icann/>

20 domain registrars sign 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement
Two months after the first five domain registrars signed the new 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement with ICANN, only 15 more have signed on.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/17/20-domain-registrars-sign-2013-registrar-accreditation-agreement/>

Making Whois Info Universally Private Will Be Horrible For Domain Investors & A Big Money Lose For Registrars
An ICANN working group interim report to make Whois information generally unavailable to the general public is getting some coverage in non-domainer publications over the last couple of days
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/17/making-whois-info-universally-private-will-be-horrible-for-domain-investors-a-big-money-lose-for-registrars/>

ICANN smacks Cheapies with the ban hammer
ICANN for only the second time has suspended an accredited registrar?s ability to sell domain names.
<http://domainincite.com/14486-icann-smacks-cheapies-with-the-ban-hammer>

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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au/nz: 2013 Australia and New Zealand Internet Award Winners Announced
The Australia and New Zealand Internet Awards (ANZIAs) recognise excellence in the use of the Internet by businesses, organisations and individuals. The fifth annual ANZIAs were presented last night at a gala presentation, held at Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington.
<http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-18092013/>

au/nz: Top Internet talent recognised at 2013 ANZIAs
The 2013 Australia and New Zealand Internet Awards (ANZIAs) were handed out last night at a ceremony at Te Papa in Wellington, New Zealand. The event featured New Zealand and Australia?s top Internet talent and creativity, celebrating the achievements of organisations, businesses and individuals that have made significant contributions to the development and use of the Internet in Australia and New Zealand.
<https://internetnz.net.nz/news/media-releases/2013/Top-Internet-talent-recognised-2013-ANZIAs>

Top Internet talent recognised at 2013 ANZIAs
The 2013 Australia and New Zealand Internet Awards (ANZIAs) were handed out last night at a ceremony at Te Papa in Wellington, New Zealand.
<http://www.nbr.co.nz/node/146016>

Kim Dotcom's MEGA Won Australian Internet Award for Privacy
The Australia and New Zealand Internet Awards (ANZIA) recently announced its winners and Dotcom?s Mega is on the list.
<http://news.softpedia.com/news/Kim-Dotcom-s-MEGA-Won-Australian-Internet-Award-for-Privacy-384006.shtml>

au: Crocker to keynote AIGF
Dr Stephen Crocker has been confirmed as keynote speaker at The Australian Internet Governance Forum.
<http://impactpub.com.au/micebtn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14837>

.FR Share Of French Domains Continues To Grow
The number of .fr domain names registered within France has grown by 10.7 percent in the period from 2007 to 2013 the latest Afnic report of the French Domain Name Industry, while registrations of .com and other TLDs have declined 5.4 and 5.3 percent respectively.
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/16/fr-continues-to-grow/>

Coming soon: phone numbers in .tel
Will companies defensively register their phone numbers? Telnic is to start selling long numeric .tel domain names for the first time, so we?re about to find out.
<http://domainincite.com/14507-coming-soon-phone-numbers-in-tel>

Nominet under fire for lack of transparency
Nominet has raised the ire of critics of its Direct.uk proposal for refusing to engage with them, including forcibly ejecting one of their number from a .uk policy meeting.
<http://domainincite.com/14490-nominet-under-fire-for-lack-of-transparency>

Seven reasons why .uk domains are a bad idea
The new .uk domains seem to be unstoppable, despite the many potential drawbacks for UK businesses and consumers.
<http://econsultancy.com/au/blog/63407-seven-reasons-why-uk-domains-are-a-bad-idea>

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 - NEW TLDS
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Trademark Notice for New gTLD Domain Registrants Must be Substantially Amended and Modified in Context of ICANN?s Trademark-Plus-Fifty Adoption by Philip Corwin
ICA has just submitted its comments to ICANN regarding Rights Protection Mechanism (RPM) Requirements at new gTLDs. Our comments focus on serious shortcomings in the current text of the Trademark Notice (TN) that will be generated by some attempted domain registrations. Once a prospective registrant receives a TN it completes the domain registration at its own risk, with an awareness that it may well be challenged in a URS, UDRP, or court action.
<http://internetcommerce.org/RPM_Requirements>

ICANN looking into string confusion confusion
ICANN is looking at ?consistency issues? in new gTLD String Confusion Objections, program manager Christine Willett said in an ICANN interview published last night.
<http://domainincite.com/14512-icann-looking-into-string-confusion-confusion>

Google signs first new gTLD contract
Google has signed its first Registry Agreement with ICANN, covering the new gTLD .???.
<http://domainincite.com/14517-google-signs-first-new-gtld-contract>

Interisle cashes in as new TLD hopefuls pay for more data
Interisle Consulting Group dropped a bombshell on new TLD name applicants when it submitted its 197 page report to ICANN about name collisions and new TLDs.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/16/interisle-cashes-in-as-new-tld-hopefuls-pay-for-more-data/>

Hundreds of new gTLD applicants still in GAC limbo
A little over five months after the Governmental Advisory Committee issued its controversial Beijing communique, demanding strict controls over hundreds of new gTLDs, ICANN has still not taken any action.
<http://domainincite.com/14474-hundreds-of-new-gtld-applicants-still-in-gac-limbo>

Efforts to heighten public awareness of gTLDs gear up
This week sees the launch of a month-long education campaign about new gTLDs. Coming hot on the heels of the television advertising promoting ?pre-reservations? to the general public, is the tipping point of wider awareness?
<http://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/daily/Detail.aspx?g=257171d3-977c-4fcc-874f-a412f9448ee1>

Europe continues to object to .wine gTLD
The European Union is continuing to fight the proposed .wine and .vin gTLDs, even after ICANN?s Governmental Advisory Committee formally withdrew its advice on the applications.
<http://domainincite.com/14478-europe-continues-to-object-to-wine-gtld>

Tencent is latest to challenge ICANN on new TLD objections
Chinese internet giant Tencent is the latest company to ask ICANN to reconsider a new TLD objection decision.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/17/tencent-is-latest-to-challenge-icann-on-new-tld-objections/>

Sour grapes over internet domain names [subscription]
The dot-com economy may have revolutionised world trade but Europe?s vineyards are engaged in a furious campaign to stop the internet from having a similar impact on their sector.
<http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/technology/article3871817.ece>

.CLUB offers solution to name collision risks
.CLUB Domains has come up with a simple workaround for its applied-for .club gTLD being categorized as risky by ICANN.
<http://domainincite.com/14501-club-offers-solution-to-name-collision-risks>

How much will good keyword domain names sell for in new TLDs?
Sales of premium domain names have been a revenue driver for TLD registries as they?ve launched new domains in recent years. Will this be the case with new TLDs that come out in the next year or two?
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/16/how-much-will-good-keyword-domain-names-will-sell-for-in-new-tlds/>

Verisign loses objection against Dish?s .DTV top level domain name
Verisign has lost a String Confusion Objection against Dish DBS over the string .DTV.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/18/verisign-loses-objection-against-dishs-dtv-top-level-domain-name/>

dotShabaka Diary ? Day 12, Welcome to ICANN
The twelfth installment of dotShabaka Registry?s journal, charting its progress towards becoming one of the first new gTLDs to go live, written by general manager Yasmin Omer.
<http://domainincite.com/14515-dotshabaka-diary-day-12-welcome-to-icann>

dotShabaka Diary ? Day 11, 2013 RAA issues
The eleventh installment of dotShabaka Registry?s journal, charting its progress towards becoming one of the first new gTLDs to go live, written by general manager Yasmin Omer.
<http://domainincite.com/14510-dotshabaka-diary-day-11-2013-raa-issues>

CentralNic business model will cause lots of new TLD confusion
Earlier this month CentralNic went public, largely on the promise that new TLDs can generate significant revenue for the registry services provider.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/17/centralnic-business-model-will-cause-lots-of-new-tld-confusion/>

WIth Over 2,500 Votes PC Advisor Poll On New gTLD?s Says 25% Of People Are Planning On Buying 1
Two weeks ago we told you that PCadvisor.co.uk opened up a poll on the new gTLD program
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/16/with-over-2500-votes-pc-advisor-poll-on-new-gtlds-says-25-of-people-are-planning-on-buying-1/>

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 - DNS SECURITY
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Domain Security Needs More Than Registry Locks
Today's networking infrastructure relies on the domain name system -- not only a company's public-facing Web servers and Internet appliances, but much of its private infrastructure as well.
<http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerability/domain-security-needs-more-than-registry/240160797>

4 Ways to Defend Against DDoS Attacks
Given that Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are becoming more frequent, it is a good time to review the basics and how you can fight back.
<http://www.cio.com/article/739890/4_Ways_to_Defend_Against_DDoS_Attacks>

Domain name Registry Lock by the numbers
Last month domain name registrar Melbourne IT was compromised, resulting in the hack of NYTimes.com?s nameserver record.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/16/domain-name-registry-lock/>

DNS Amplification Attacks: Out of Sight, Out of Mind? (Part 3) by Bruce Van Nice
Previous posts (Part 1 and Part 2) offer background on DNS amplification attacks being observed around the world. These attacks continue to evolve. Early attacks focused on authoritative servers using "ANY" queries for domains that were well known to offer good amplification. Response Rate Limiting (RRL) was developed to respond to these early attacks. RRL, as the name suggests, is deployed on authoritative servers to rate limit responses to target names.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130918_dns_amplification_attacks_out_of_sight_out_of_mind_part_3/>

Attack Resolution Time Biggest Concern for Network Security Pros: Report
The length of time taken to resolve attacks has become the biggest cybersecurity concern for network security professionals, according to a Computer and Enterprise Investigations Conference (CEIC) survey.
<http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/attack-resolution-time-biggest-concern-for-network-security-pros-report>

China-based hacking group behind hundreds of attacks on U.S. companies
A group of between 50 and 100 professional hackers operating out of China has been systematically targeting businesses, military and government agencies around the world since at least 2009, security vendor Symantec said in a report released on Tuesday.
<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242476/China_based_hacking_group_behind_hundreds_of_attacks_on_U.S._companies>
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/091713-china-based-hacking-group-behind-hundreds-273937.html>

Hacker group in China linked to big cyber attacks - Symantec
Researchers have discovered a group of highly sophisticated hackers operating for hire out of China, a U.S computer security company said on Tuesday, and it linked them to some of the best-known espionage attacks in recent years.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/09/17/cyber-attacks-china-idINDEE98G0CN20130917>

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Stolen domain name recovered through UDRP
Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center has recovered the domain name ThompsonIsland.org through a UDRP case.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/16/stolen-domain-name-recovered-through-udrp/>

Bergzeit GmbH Owner Of Bergzeit.de: Guilty Of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking
Bergzeit GmbH of Wooden Churches , Germany , represented by lawyers Riegger , Ludwigsburg, Germany has been found guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH) on the domain name Bergzeit.com by a one member WIPO panel.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/18/mountain-time-gmbh-owner-of-bergzeit-de-guilty-of-reverse-domain-name-hijacking/>

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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Matt Cutts: Will having a site available on both IPv4 and IPv6 cause a duplicate content issue?
As we are now closer than ever to switching to IPv6, could you please share some info on how Google will evaluate websites. One website being in IPv4, exactly the same one in IPv6 - isn't it
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNApwW2KdKQ>

Duplicate IPv4/IPv6 Sites Won?t Be Considered Duplicate Content: Cutts
Google?s Matt Cutts was recently asked as it is now closer than ever to switching to IPv6, how will Google evaluate websites where one website being in IPv4 and an exactly the same one in IPv6. Will these be considered duplicate content?
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/17/duplicate-ipv4ipv6-sites/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/duplicate-ipv4-ipv6-sites-won-t-be-considered-duplicate-content-cutts.html>

Matt Cutts States Sites on IPv4 & IPv6 Won?t Be Duplicate Content
In a new Google Webmaster Help YouTube video published today, Matt Cutt answers a question from a user regarding IPv4 and IPv6.
<http://www.searchenginejournal.com/matt-cutts-states-sites-ipv4-ipv6-wont-duplicate-content/70241/>

Google: No Duplicate Content Issues With IPv4, IPv6
Google released a new Webmaster Help video today discussing IPv4 and IPv6 with regards to possible duplicate content issues. To make a long story short, there are none.
<http://www.webpronews.com/google-no-duplicate-content-issues-with-ipv4-ipv6-2013-09>

Google?s Matt Cutts: Spammers Rarely Spam Using Multiple ccTLDs
In a recent video answer by Google?s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, Google said that spammers rarely use multiple or mass number of ccTLDs in an effort to spam.
<http://searchengineland.com/googles-matt-cutts-spammers-rarely-spam-using-multiple-cctlds-171874>

Pool of Viable IPv4 Addresses Smaller Than It Appears
On September 3, APNIC Scientist and Kalorama blog guest contributor, Geoff Huston, published a post explaining how and why some IPv4 addresses are more viable ? and therefore valuable ? than others. His piece, ?All IP Addresses Are Not The Same?, includes the results and analysis of several tests that Huston ran on IPv4 addresses and points out that even supposedly unused or ?free? IPv4 addresses can receive high levels of traffic.
<http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16034/ip-address-ipv4/>

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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Thought Convergence to launch domain name escrow service Agreed.com
Agreed.comThought Convergence, the company behind domain parking company TrafficZ and domain sales and parking platform Aftermarket.com, is getting ready to launch its own domain escrow service.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/17/thought-convergence-to-launch-online-escrow-service-agreed-com/>

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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German Domain Investor/Developers Christoph Grueneberg & Thomas Mueller Acquire Sale.co.uk Domain to Expand the Business They Created at Sale.de
Many of our readers (on both sides of the Atlantic) are familiar with German domain investor/developer/entrepreneurs Christoph Grueneberg and Thomas Mueller.
<http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20130916.htm>

DomainNameSales Rolls Out New Services Designed to Turbocharge Sales - Beefed Up Brokerage Team and Buy It Now Option Among Improvements
DomainNameSales.com, the aftermarket domain sales platform founded by Frank Schilling, is continuing to add new services to a site that has been a disruptive force ever since it opened to the public last year (DomainNameSales itself has actually been in operation since 2001 but it was previously limited to servicing Frank's own portfolio).
<http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20130917.htm>

Top 125 Domains In Bankrupt Friend Finder?s Network: Cams.com; Amigos.com; Penthouse.com, BDSM.com
FriendFinder Network, Inc. which filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday has some great domain names within their network of company?s.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/18/top-125-domains-in-bankrupt-friend-finders-network-cams-com-amigos-com-penthouse-com-bdsm-com/>

Multi-Million Dollar Deal Leads This Week's Domain Sales Chart With Three 6-Figure Transactions Also on the Elite List
Maybe I should go away more often! I was on vacation last week, so the last sales column was two weeks ago. During that "quiet" time (from a reporting standpoint), the domain aftermarket was busy making noise including the year's biggest sale to date (and only the second 7-figure sale made public so far this year). There were also three six-figure sales and dozens more in the five-figure range.
<http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2013/20130918.htm>

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INTERNET USE
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Retailers Fight Exile From Gmail In-Boxes
Even in an age of Twitter posts and Instagram photos, e-mail is still the way marketers reach the hearts ? and wallets ? of consumers. And that is why retailers are up in arms about Google?s latest tweak to Gmail.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/16/technology/for-retailers-new-gmail-has-one-tab-too-many.html>

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SOCIAL MEDIA
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Most Influential Emotions on Social Networks Revealed
One well-known feature of social networks is that similar people tend to attract each other: birds of a feather flock together.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/view/519306/most-influential-emotions-on-social-networks-revealed/>

The Internet isn?t making us dumb. It?s making us angry.
There's a strain of thought that because of the way Internet culture has changed the way we work and play, we're now a different people, neurologically. We don't just behave differently because of the Internet; we think differently, too.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/09/16/the-internet-isnt-making-us-dumb-its-making-us-angry/>

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ONLINE TV, MUSIC & PIRACY
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Netflix studies piracy sites to decide what to buy
Netflix has revealed that it tracks piracy sites to help decide which TV series and films it should add to its online streaming service.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24108673>

Content Creators Use Piracy to Gauge Consumer Interest
You would think that Netflix, HBO and the like don?t think too highly of video piracy Web sites. After all, two of the biggest hits on Netflix ? Orange Is the New Black, a show about a women locked up in prison, and House of Cards, about a conniving politician ? are among the most pirated content online. HBO?s Game of Thrones was the most pirated show of 2012.
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/content-creators-use-piracy-to-gauge-consumer-interest/>

Online piracy of entertainment content keeps soaring
Despite the growth of Netflix, Amazon.com and other legal channels for watching entertainment online, the volume of pirated movies, TV shows, music, books and video games online continues to grow at a rapid pace.
<http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-piracy-bandwith-20130917,0,1550997.story>

NBCU-Backed Study: Online Piracy Continues to Rise Dramatically
With Capitol Hill lawmakers once again poised to scrutinize the state of online piracy, a new study commissioned by the entertainment industry shows a rapid increase in Internet infringement in recent years, to almost one-fourth of all bandwidth in North America, Europe and Asia.
<http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/piracy-continues-to-rise-dramatically-study-from-nbcu-concludes-1200614944/>

Philip Pullman: illegal downloading is 'moral squalor'
Illegal downloading is a kind of "moral squalor" and theft as much as reaching in to someone's pocket and stealing their wallet is theft, the author Philip Pullman will say this week.
<http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/15/philip-pullman-illegal-downloading-theft>

us: RIAA Wants Web Browsers to Block Pirate Sites, And More
Later today RIAA CEO Cary Sherman will outline his organization?s vision for increased cooperation between copyright holders and service providers. Sherman will seek agreements with user-generated content sites and promote a new understanding of the DMCA. File-hosting sites should be required to scan incoming links for piracy and search engines such as Google will be expected to do more, including fitting Chrome with systems to block infringing sites and divert users to official sources.
<http://torrentfreak.com/riaa-wants-web-browsers-to-block-pirate-sites-and-more-130918/>

us: Court Gives a Victory to Pandora Over Licensing Streaming Music
Pandora Media won a battle in its continuing war with the music industry over royalties when a federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which represents thousands of members, cannot prevent Pandora from licensing all the songs in its catalog.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/business/media/court-gives-a-victory-to-pandora-over-licensing-streaming-music.html>

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Study: U.S. mobile Web use has doubled since 2009
When your smartphone makes it so easy to connect to the Internet, why bother firing up a clunky desktop or laptop computer?
<http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/16/tech/mobile/phone-internet-usage/index.html>

Mobile Internet Use 2013
Overview: 63% of adult cell owners now use their phones to go online, a figure that has doubled since we first started tracking internet usage on cell phones in 2009. In addition, 34% of these cell internet users say that they mostly go online using their cell phone. That means that 21% of all adult cell owners now do most of their online browsing using their mobile phone?and not some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.
<http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Cell-Internet.aspx>

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SPAM
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How not to stop spammers
Spam Arrest is a company that sells an anti-spam service. They attempted to sue some spammers and, as has been widely reported, lost badly. This case emphasizes three points that litigious antispammers seem not to grasp:
<http://jl.ly/Email/spamarrest.html>

us: Firm That Sent 42 Million Texts Settles in Spam Case
The Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday that it had settled charges against a Florida company and its two top executives for sending more than 42 million unwanted and deceptive text messages to consumers.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/technology/firm-that-sent-42-million-texts-settles-in-spam-case.html>

Text Spammers Settle FTC Charges They Illegally Sent Consumers Bogus Offers for "Free" Gift Cards [news release]
An affiliate marketing company and its two principals have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges for allegedly sending out more than 42.5 million unwanted and deceptive text messages to consumers. The case is part of the FTC?s continuing crackdown on spam text messages and the settlement prohibits the defendants from sending unwanted texts to consumers, and from misleading consumers about whether they have won gifts or prizes and whether a product is ?free? or without cost or obligation.
<http://ftc.gov/opa/2013/09/rentbro.shtm>

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
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Terrorists prefer Gmail, former CIA director says
Former Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Administration Director Michael Hayden defended the PRISM program to an adult education class, saying that "Gmail is the preferred Internet service provider of terrorists worldwide."
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57603192-93/terrorists-prefer-gmail-former-cia-director-says/>

Telstra to supress malware on BigPond
Telstra will add DNS-based malware suppression to the BigPond network this October, becoming the first ISP in Australia to deploy the technology, the telco has announced.
<http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/526678/telstra_supress_malware_bigpond/>

au: Security upgrade won?t monitor customer internet use: Telstra
Telstra says new security technology it plans to roll out over its broadband networks will not monitor or filter customers? internet use.
<http://www.afr.com/p/technology/security_upgrade_won_monitor_customer_ywgTvKwE3hJtli27L2aBoM>

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PRIVACY & SURVEILLANCE
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NSA Monitors Financial World
The NSA monitors banks and credit card transactions -- sometimes in apparent violation of national laws and global regulations. The European SWIFT financial transaction network is being tapped on different levels, internal documents from the US spy agency show.
<http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/how-the-nsa-spies-on-international-bank-transactions-a-922430.html>

Extended Ruling by Secret Court Backs Collection of Phone Data
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday offered its most extensive public explanation for why it has allowed the government to keep records of all Americans? phone calls, releasing a previously classified opinion in which it said the program was constitutional and did not violate Americans? privacy rights.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/us/opinion-by-secret-court-calls-collection-of-phone-data-legal.html>

The Bigger Story Behind the Brazilian President?s White House Snub
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff?s decision to cancel her state visit to Washington?the White House?s only State Visit planned for this year?is probably the most dramatic diplomatic ramification of Edward Snowden?s NSA leaks so far. But it?s also worth keeping an eye on what the fallout of the story will mean for the future of the Internet in Latin America?s largest country and largest IT market.
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2013/09/18/snowden_fallout_brazilian_president_cancels_u_s_visit_over_spying_allegations.html>


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David Goldstein

email: david at goldsteinreport.com
web:  http://davidgoldstein.tel/
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phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9663 3430 - office/home

"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery