#1 2008-11-07 1:33 am

geordief

Member

Registered: 2008-01-29

Posts: 9

a dot at the end of dotcom

Got a seemingly legit email from a site closely connected to the subject of ny own site,
I clicked on their link (I copied and pasted) and came through to a dodgy dating site.
When I knocked of the full stop after the address I got the correct site.
I think sometimes decent websites do dodgy things.But has someone had the idea of misdirecting browsers to a website when a full stop is entered by mistake ? (or design- since the link came at the end of the email it was of course immediately before the full stop)
So this is what I saw
quote The website address is: http://www.their address.com. endquote
Ps when I tried a domain whois on the 2 versions of the site the one with the extra dot was rejected

Ax Slinger

Member

From: The North Coast

Registered: 2008-04-10

Posts: 184

Website

Re: a dot at the end of dotcom

Got a seemingly legit email from a site closely connected to the subject of ny own site,
I clicked on their link (I copied and pasted) and came through to a dodgy dating site.

Well, first off, if you get an email and you don't know who it is from, I suggest you just delete it and do nothing else with it. Don't copy or click on any links in it. That's a quick way to cause all kinds of problems.

If you want to check out an unfamiliar link out there are safe ways to do so, such as manually typing the address into a text file, then copy it and investigate it to see who it belongs to and where it comes from. I always check unfamiliar links out with LinkScanner and Network Tools before I try to open them.

But has someone had the idea of misdirecting browsers to a website when a full stop is entered by mistake ?

I don't know what you mean by "full stop" unless that is your description of what I call a "period" at the end of a sentence (.), but yeah, browsers do get redirected quite easily. Sometimes it's a simple HTML file on their site, which is basically harmless since it's just a redirection command. Other times computers and or browsers actually get hijacked or "infected", which is a lot harder to deal with.

That is something that has to be removed from your computer, which can be difficult to do at times. I suggest you read up on Phishing, Spyware, Malware, Adware, Viruses, Worms, Trojans, and any other damaging type of procedures or software people use that are out there lurking in the cyber shadows...

The bottom line is if I don't know the sender, I don't care what it's about, the email goes to the trash unopened and untouched.

---

I only like Spam if it is Deep Fried and served with Cheese.
But only once every six months or so.

geordief

Member

Registered: 2008-01-29

Posts: 9

Re: a dot at the end of dotcom

thanks for those tools.I will have a look into them.
Unfortunately I don't have the option of just deleting at first glance.
I get over 200 junk emails a day since my email address is very public .And since , buried in amongst them , are genuine enquiries for  accommodation that I have been unable to highlight in any filter (for example they may have omitted to fill in the subject field -this even happens with friends ).
So I do have to at least cursorily glance down the list with my practiced eye ,ignoring more or less all those that are actually blacklisted.
Some remain that I look at a little more closely -and to be sure I don't click on any link although I may copy and paste into the browser and this is what I did in this case.
Yes it is a period at the end of the URL I mean.
It is as if www.google.com.  led to an unrelated site from plain www.google.com
I have never seen that before and am a bit curious about it....

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,056

Re: a dot at the end of dotcom

I think that they rely on different HTML parsers either ignoring or stripping the . at the end of the domain, maybe to bypass surbl testing

geordief

Member

Registered: 2008-01-29

Posts: 9

Re: a dot at the end of dotcom

I understand (although it is a bit above my head)
But strangely the URL without the final period seems to be a legitimate ,if uninteresting site.
So I wonder if they are aware that someone has piggybacked on their URL .
Still as long as it doesn't become a habit it is just a curiosity and their problem not mine.

Ax Slinger

Member

From: The North Coast

Registered: 2008-04-10

Posts: 184

Website

Re: a dot at the end of dotcom

So I wonder if they are aware that someone has piggybacked on their URL .

That may be the case... But in my opinion, if you are running some sort of business that basically relies on unsolicited email, I would find a new line of work, or set up a website and use email forms instead an email address for contact.

---

I only like Spam if it is Deep Fried and served with Cheese.
But only once every six months or so.