GOOGLE WINS 'TYPOSQUATTING' DISPUTE

Source: Businessweek

An Internet arbitrator has awarded Google Inc. the rights to several Web site addresses that relied on typographical errors to exploit the online search engine's popularity so computer viruses and other malicious software could be unleashed on unsuspecting visitors.

The National Arbitration Forum, a legal alternate to litigating in court, sided with a Google complaint alleging that Sergey Gridasov of St. Petersburg, Russia, had engaged in "typosquatting" by operating Web sites named googkle.com, ghoogle.com and gooigle.com.

F-Secure, a Finnish company specializing in identifying malware, identified googkle.com as a troublemaker in an advisory posted April 26 -- nearly three weeks before Mountain View-based Google filed its complaint.

Trying to piggyback on the popularity of a heavily trafficked Web site isn't new. For instance, the address Whitehouse.com used to display ads for pornography was a surprise for Web surfers looking for Whitehouse.gov, the president's official online channel. Whitehouse.com now operates as a private Web site that sells access to public records.

Google's brand ranks among the most trusted on the Internet and its Web site attracts more than 66 million unique monthly visitors, making it an inviting target for scheming opportunists.

Very good initiative by Google, which was not even thought by majors like MSFT, Oracle etc., Good Push Google!!. Expect some more products from your end.

Category:Google