Verisign keeps .com

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VeriSign gained control of the .com registry in 1999, when it was awarded a no-bid contract by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. VeriSign also has control over the .net TLD, having renewed its contract in 2005 after a round of competitive bidding. The relationship between ICANN and VeriSign has not been all wine and roses, however. In 2003, VeriSign implemented SiteFinder, a new "feature" that redirected users to a VeriSign search page when they mistyped a URL. ICANN told VeriSign to drop SiteFinder and then threatened the company with sanctions for violating its contract when it refused to comply. VeriSign eventually gave in, but later filed an antitrust lawsuit against ICANN over its order to deactivate SiteFinder. In October 2005, VeriSign and ICANN settled the lawsuit as part of the agreement approved last week.