Re: Register.com suffers further DOS attack

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ross Rader <ross () tucows com>
Date: April 3, 2009 1:03:04 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: "ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:    Register.com suffers further DOS attack

> I am as well surprised this hasn't been covered more.  This has  
> caused serious downtime to a number of medical ASP solutions that I  
> am aware of effecting operations at some of the East Coasts most  
> well recognized hospitals.
>
> Ultimately this issue shows how truly vulnerable the Internet is.   
> We were all sitting around waiting for a "worm" to cause trouble on  
> April 1st; this issue takes the cake.


Greetings David - (please feel free to share this with IP if you wish)

The Register.com outage doesn't show that the Internet is vulnerable -  
it shows how readily people put all their eggs in one basket. Domain  
sellers make it very easy for purchasers of Internet services to  
create central points of failure for themselves based on how these  
services are sold and used.

(obDisclaimer: I work for a registrar)

DNS resolution, Hosting and Domain Registration are all separate  
technical functions.

Register.com, and most other registrars, most commonly sell bundles of  
services and add-ons that will help their customers "light up" their  
domain registration with DNS and other Internet services. However,  
there is no requirement for these services are sold, or used in this  
matter. This is an artifact of the market, of convenience, and not one  
of technical necessity (or ICANN regulation).

Register.com is only a single point of failure if you let them be. It  
is trivial to use a registrar simply for registering names, using  
another provider to operate your DNS, a third for your website hosting  
and a fourth for your email services (or doing those last three  
yourself - which I admit is a fairly complex endeavor, probably more  
than what most folks are equipped to pick up themselves).

A thoroughly disintegrated Internet service strategy means that the  
failure of your registrar should only prevent you from updating your  
Whois record.

I'm a big believer that at the very least, domain owners should  
separate the operation of their technical hosting from their domain  
registration and resolution. At a minimum, this will help them  
minimize any issues they might have choosing a new provider for their  
hosting services if that provider turns out to be a dud, which in  
today's market, is all too common (a topic for another post, but it is  
difficult for a company to provide 'all-you-can-eat hosting" for $2.99/ 
yr and properly support those customers). At the very least, if your  
domain services are separate, you can find a new host quickly, re- 
upload your content and be back online in hours without having to  
figure out how to get your hold host provider to stop holding your  
domain name hostage.


best,


Ross Rader
General Manager, Hover
t. 416.538.5492

The Easiest Way To Buy and Use Your Domain Names
http://www.hover.com

Check out our blog at: http://stuff.hover.com
Hover on Twitter: http://about.hover.com/twitter

Check my availability at:
http://rossrader.com/available


..sent from my phone





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