[dns-operations] Nominum Enables Broadband Providers to Deliver New Subscriber Services with Vantio NXR

[David Ulevitch]

Bruce Campbell wrote:
> On Thu, 17 May 2007, Ken A wrote:
> 
>>> Software delivers responsible provider-controlled Web error redirection to
>>> enhance subscriber Internet experience and generate new revenue
>>>
>>> http://www.nominum.com/popupPressRelease.php?id=396
>> The press release says it only responds to web requests. What about a
>> dns request looks like a 'web' request? How can they determine this, and
>> not mistake an ftp or other request for a 'web' request?
> 
> m/^www\./i ?
> 
> As a serious comment, it could be acting as a web proxy, and when it find 
> a NXDOMAIN, issues a HTTP 301 to the web browser to go to the advertiser's 
> page.  Playing around with the ERR_* pages in squid will give you much the 
> same result.

That's not what it is.  It's a DNS server that hands back an IP for 
NXDOMAIN (and probably SERVFAIL).  It probably has some other "features" 
too, like being shoved down users throats with zero user-benefit.

Asking Nominum to innovate would be too much to ask.  They just joined 
(very late) to the group of BareFruit, PaxFire, Simplicita, et al. who 
make the ISP their customer at the expense of the end-user experience.

This wouldn't even be news if it wasn't so pathetic/funny:
http://www.isp-planet.com/equipment/2007/nominum_vantio_nxr.html


-David