Website Willies - When a Bogus Dot-com Bombs your Business

WARNING – your website may be dangerous to your computer’s health! So said my computer screen when I checked out a “competitor’s” website, “39AndHolding.com.”

The site invokes a warning from Trend Micro, my Internet security company, as “confirmed that this website can transmit malicious software or has been involved in online scams or fraud.”

Yipes! Considering the Club 39’s parent site is just four letters away from that dangerous site – 39AndHoldingCLUB.com – I have right to be concerned. It’s common knowledge that when the GP (general public) performs a search, their search terms are not always accurate or even spelled correctly.

With this in mind, I decided to track down the people who claimed this website name long before I decided to unite those of us “of a certain age” around the world, with the 39 and Holding CLUB.

I generated a search for the site’s owner on Network Solutions’ WhoIs page and phoned them about the warning Trend Micro issued.

Kathy, NS’ rep, was very gracious and helpful. My computer security setting was a little higher than hers, so it generated a warning because the site is used as a “dumping ground” (my quote, not hers) for a list of links solely for advertising / affiliate purposes.

Unfortunately, this practice is common and often used when a domain name has been purchased as an investment to sell to the highest bidder. However, it is generally unmanaged and the links are frequently not monitored for malicious software or bogus phishing sites. So it IS a concern when your website is so closely associated.

There isn’t much that can be done, unless you have the funds to buy them out – I do not. Had it been a viable website, I would have sought to establish a rapport with them to cross-market our websites. Sigh. It is not to be.

So this is just a warning for you, when you’re setting up a new website and choosing a domain name, be aware of closely associated names and know what their websites hold. Forewarned is forearmed! Best of luck in finding the one you can actually network with.

Cheers to you!