Stupidity Exposed!

I tried to look up the owner of a domain this morning so I could notify them that their server had been hacked.  The standard tool for this is command-line WHOIS.  The registrar for the domain turned out to be ‘names4ever.com’, but when the utility tried to contact ‘whois.names4ever.com’, the connection repeatedly failed (indicating the WHOIS server was apparently down).  Taking it to the next logical step, I went to the registrar’s web site to try their web-based WHOIS, which gave me an incomplete WHOIS output (it didn’t have the contact names and/or email addresses).  I then attempted to contact the company directly to let them know their WHOIS server was down so they could fix it.  It turns out that ‘names4ever.com’ is owned by ‘Aplus.net’.  Their web site has a “Live Chat” feature, so I fired it up.  The people manning this Live Chat are rather clueless and clearly unable to read a simple question.  I started the chat with a question “Who do I report that your WHOIS server is broken to?”  Here’s the entire dialog I had with them (some names changed to protect the innocent):

Chat initiated with Aplus Live Technical Support on November 23, 2009 @ 9:00AM

You are now chatting with Julia

Julia: Hello, thank you for contacting Technical Support. Please wait one moment while I retrieve your account information.

John Q User: Why do you start off by assuming I have an account?? I don’t have an account with you.

Julia: Please specify your domain name

John Q User: names4ever.com

Julia: John please elaborate your issue. The names4ever.com like a Abacus America are Aplus.net Registrar identities

John Q User: What do you mean “…like a Abacus…”??

John Q User: Who do I report that your WHOIS server isn’t working to??

Julia: Can you specify your account number or domain name that is hosted with us?

Julia: I am trying to determined the issue with Registrar for your domain

John Q User: I am trying to retrieve the WHOIS information for the domain ‘GenericDomain.com‘.

Julia: One moment

<long delay>

John Q User: Yes???

Julia: The domain GenericDomain.com is set up with Registrar: ABACUS AMERICA. The full information is below.
Domain Name: GENERICDOMAIN.COM
Registrar: ABACUS AMERICA, INC. DBA NAMES4EVER
Whois Server: whois.names4ever.com
Referral URL: http://www.names4ever.com
Name Server: NS10.IXWEBHOSTING.COM
Name Server: NS9.IXWEBHOSTING.COM
Status: ok

Julia: Please elaborate your issue with domain GenericDomain.com

John Q User: I saw that. I need the owner’s email address.

John Q User: Plus, I need to report the problem with your WHOIS server – who do I report that to????

Julia: What is the issue with Whois server?

John Q User: It doesn’t work. When I issue the WHOIS command line utility, the connection with whois.names4ever.com fails.

John Q User: Don’t tell me to use the web site – that’s NOT the point.

Julia: Do you need transfer domain or set up new email address in Whois? Please elaborate

John Q User: Do you have anyone there who is NOT a moron???

John Q User: I need the email address of the domain owner!

Julia: Please hold on. I will return shortly

John Q User: ICANN regulations REQUIRE that the contact email address be maintained and made available by the domain’s registrar, which is ‘names4ever.com’.

<another long delay>

Terri H has joined the conversation.

Julia has left the conversation.

Terri H: hi

John Q User: Yes?

John Q User: Can you help me since Julia apparently couldn’t?

Terri H: sure, i’ll assist you. just a min while i check your domain

John Q User: IT’S NOT MY DOMAIN!!

Terri H: sorry

John Q User: Geez, you people are so single-minded!

Terri H: are you registered with aplus?

John Q User: Did you READ the previous dialog I had with Julia???

Terri H: yes i’m reading it now

<another long delay>

John Q User: The WHOIS server ‘whois.names4ever.com’ does not work. Who do I report that to so it can be fixed??? It’s not a hard question, is it??

Terri H: this account is with us, to update the whois, you can loginto your control pannel the url is :cp2.aplus.net

John Q User: Did I say ANYTHING ABOUT UPDATING THE WHOIS?!?!?!?

John Q User: No!

Terri H: enter your registration number which is AP3626928111

John Q User: You’re missing the point entirely!!

John Q User: Please read what I wrote!

John Q User: OK… I’ll type slowly…

John Q User: The WHOIS server ‘whois.names4ever.com’ does not work. Who do I report that to so it can be fixed??? It’s not a hard question, is it??

Terri H: then your password. if you don;t have the password, i can e-mail it to you i have your e-mail address as: bernd@maxnet.co.nz

John Q User: Are you on the same page as me yet, or are you continuing to ignore what I type??

Terri H: i’m letting you know how to fix it

John Q User: You don’t even understand what is broken!!

John Q User: I didn’t say anything about updating a domain, did I??

Terri H: you don’t go into the names4 ever, you can fix it through your control pannel

John Q User: I’m not trying to FIX a domain!!!

Terri H: no your information you told me is incorrect right?

John Q User: Will you PLEASE LISTEN???

John Q User: Are you ready to listen?? Or should I ask for a supervisor??

Terri H: go ahead

Terri H: i’m listening

John Q User: The WHOIS server ‘whois.names4ever.com’ does not work. Who do I report that to so it can be fixed??? It’s not a hard question, is it??

John Q User: Do you understand the question?

<another long delay>

John Q User: Hello?????

John Q User: Do you understand the question?

Terri H: sure i can update that information for you what do you want me to change?

John Q User: If not, please tell me which part is confusing you?

John Q User: Where in my question does it say anything about changing something?

John Q User: The primary question is this: “Who do I report that to so it can be fixed???”

John Q User: The PREMISE of the question is this: “The WHOIS server ‘whois.names4ever.com’ does not work.”

John Q User: OK… I’d like this session to be escalated to a supervisor or manager since you clearly don’t have a clue what I’m asking about, PLEASE.

<another long delay>

John Q User: Hello? Are you getting me a supervisor?

Terri H: if names4ever does not work, (and its not at this time) you can access your information through your control pannel.

John Q User: I DON’T HAVE A CONTROL PANEL!!! I AM NOT AN APLUS CUSTOMER!!!!

John Q User: Geez, can’t you understand that?!?!

John Q User: I am trying to report a service that your company is COMPELLED to make available based on ICANN regulations and agreements that is NOT WORKING AT THIS TIME!!!

Terri H: everyone that is registered through names4ever has an aplus account.

John Q User: I AM NOT REGISTERED THROUGH names4ever!

John Q User: I am NOT YOUR CUSTOMER!!!!

Terri H: than why are you trying to access the names4ever site?

John Q User: I am a 3rd party…

John Q User: To let you know your WHOIS server is down!

John Q User: Wouldn’t you want someone to tell you if your web site was down??

John Q User: Well, this is similar!!!

John Q User: I don’t have to be your customer to want to tell you your system is broken so you can fix it, do I?

John Q User: Got it yet?? Or am I still wasting my time???

<another long delay>

John Q User: You ARE supposed to be the TECHNICAL SUPPORT people, aren’t you? With that designation, I assumed you have some TECHNICAL qualifications??? Am I assuming too much???

Terri H: i’m with domain services.

John Q User: Good, then you should understand what the WHOIS service is and why people who are NOT your customers might want to access that information?

John Q User: You do understand that there are reasons a 3rd party might want to contact the owner of a domain, don’t you?

John Q User: If not, what do you think the WHOIS database is for??

<another long delay>

John Q User: Hello?

Terri H: what do you want me do do for you sir? there are many domain lookups,

John Q User: WHO DO I REPORT THE
PROBLEM TO?

John Q User: The WHOIS server is broken.

John Q User: WHO DO I REPORT THAT TO??

John Q User: Give me an email address please.

Terri H: support@cs.aplus.net

John Q User: See, now was that so hard???

<another long delay>

John Q User: Never mind…

You be the judge… I’ve wasted enough time with these people!

Don’t you just hate it when you run across some person/company/government entity that thinks the rules just don’t apply to them?!?

Yesterday, I received a “Domain Name Expiration Notice” from the “Domain Renewal Group”.  It indicated that “As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification…” and asking me to renew one of my domains with them.  Thing is, THEY ARE NOT MY DOMAIN REGISTAR!  They never were (and they never will be!).  Here is a copy of the entire (sanitized) letter.

This skillfully crafted letter is written to lure domain owners away from their current registrar to renew their domain registration(s) with “Domain Renewal Group”.  With comments like “You must renew your domain name to retain exclusive rights to it on the Web” and vague threats like “Failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in the loss of your online identity making it difficult for your customers and friends to locate you on the Web”, it gives the recipient a false sense of urgency that prompts them to just send the letter-that-looks-like-a-bill to their Accounts Payable department.  While the statements are factual, they are just words intended to coerce the domain owner to act in haste.

For the record, Domain Renewal Group is part of  the notorious “Domain Registry of America” (a.k.a. DROA).  Check out these search results to learn more about their antics over the years.  DROA has been using these deceptive letters for years, although they have been more careful to include a few lines stating that this is an offer to switch your domain registrar and this is not a bill.  And the back of the notice has so much fine print, it would give any lawyer a boner just seeing it!

Still, when an unsuspecting domain owner (person or small or large business) gets one of these notices, they don’t read every word – it looks like a bill, so they pay it.  This happened to my sister some years ago, and DROA was forced to transfer the domain registration back to our own registrar and refund her money!

I wonder why ICANN doesn’t seem to do anything about a domain registrar that has been using these deceptive practices for years?  I recognized the letter as a DROA scam the moment I saw it!

To top things off, DROA is using the WHOIS database as their own personal marketing list.  Here is (a sanitized copy of) my mailing address for the domain record:

Domain owner's address

Not only does DROA ignore that fact that my address includes the words “NO UNSOLICITED MAIL”, but ICANN has specific regulations that are supposed to prevent the use of WHOIS database records for marketing purposes!  It is so much more than obvious that DROA could not have gotten this domain’s ownership information anywhere else but the WHOIS database.

WHY DOES ICANN LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS CRAP?!?!?

P.S.  Did I mention how RIDICULOUS DROA’s PRICES ARE?!?  They want at least twice as much as any reputable domain registrar to simply register/renew domains.

In my “spare” time, I report phishing sites to the owner of the domain whose server has been hacked by phishers.  I usually email the admin and technical contacts for the domain to let them know the server for their domain has been compromised.

I ran across a domain whose technical contact email address was “dns@drw.net”.  I sent an email to that email address (as well as the other contacts for the domain) and received the following reply:

—– The following addresses had permanent fatal errors —–
<dns@drw.net>
(reason: 550 5.7.1 <dns@drw.net>… No such address here”)

—– Transcript of session follows —–
… while talking to canitscan1.hostserve.net.:
>>> DATA
<<< 550 5.7.1 <dns@drw.net>… No such address here”
550 5.1.1 <dns@drw.net>… User unknown
<<< 503 5.0.0 Need RCPT (recipient)

No big deal.  I run across this situation often enough.  I’ll just let the ISP (drw.net) know that their email address is broken and they’ll fix it, right??

I found their online support site and entered a “ticket” to let them know that the email address for the technical contact (on domains registered via their services) was not working so they could fix it.

10 days later (yes, I said TEN DAYS!), I get the following in an email from “info@drw.net”:

This message concerns your Ticket #150444. We have not received any response back from you in 240 hours, and would like to know if you consider this issue to be  resolved. If you have any further questions, simply respond to this Email.

Subject: Please fix this…
Department: Info
Priority: Low
Status: Open

Please note that the Ticket will automatically be closed within 48 hours if no response is received from you. The Ticket will not be closed in the case that you  send another reply.

DRW.net Customer Care

I checked the ticket online, and they didn’t do a thing!  I checked if the email address was fixed, and it wasn’t!

I posted a followup on the ticket system asking if this is how they fix things?  With no response, I decided to call them directly after a few hours and see why nothing had happened in 10 days??  I spoke with a “Customer Care” person who finally suggested he was going to move the ticket to the “billing” department since this was an “internal” issue (it’s their own email address, not one of their customer’s).

2 days later, someone finally picked up the ticket, ignored what I wrote, and responded with the following:

Hello,

This ticket does not list any client name or account. Please provide the domain name or client name in question so that we can assist you.

Thank you.

Best Regards,

Alicia
Customer Care Department

Hey, Alicia, did you even read my original ticket??  It sure doesn’t look it!

After suggesting that she re-read the original ticket, she basically dismissed the complaint telling me the following:

As this is an internal issue to our company, we will be closing this ticket without any further response.

She closed my ticket, and at this moment (some 6 or more hours later), the technical contact email address ‘dns@drw.net’ STILL DOES NOT WORK!

If you’re really bored and you’d like to see the entire ticket contents, I made a copy of it here:

http://www.stupidityexposed.com/hostserve.htm