Weird sites, weird URLs, spam, Domain name renewals

[Dan Lester]

As others have pointed out, the URL that was asked about does indeed
go to a porn site.  If I posted the URL someone would be offended,
most likely, so I won't.  It clicked straight to it for me, so it may
have been new and not disseminated widely thru DNS the other day.

The bit about "thank you for the email containing porn" is an example
of one of the many schemes to get you to read the spam email, and also
to get it thru some spam filters.  Obviously, none of us are likely to
read something with a title like "get rich quick", but we may at least
briefly glance at one saying "thanks for getting in touch with me" or
"so glad to hear from you" or "Re: [some common topic]".  Of course
vast numbers of those are still the same old spam inviting you to see
"nude Japanese schoolgirls" (one that came under a heading like one of
those above a few minutes ago) or telling where to send the money so
someone can get rich (not you, of course).

And, speaking of spam and porn, last week I clicked on the university
website's link to Caldwell, Idaho (a nearby town) and discovered that
www.caldwellid.org went to a porn site.  It seems the Caldwell Chamber
of Commerce failed to renew their domain name (they claimed that they
moved both their snail and email addresses, so didn't get a notice).
Apparently I found it the first day the Russian porn company that
"stole the name". The university webmaster removed the link.  Two days
later it made the front page of the local paper (must have been a slow
news day, even in Idaho).  Since then the CCC has purchased and
established www.caldwellidaho.org, and it will tell you what you want
to know.  Apparently the pornmeisters think that by buying an existing
domain name they'll get enough traffic to make it worth spending the
few bucks to register it.  Imagine it might even work out for them.

cheers

dan

-- 
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan at RiverOfData.com
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com  www.postcard.org  www.gailndan.com