Author: Lucie Loos

Marketing & Communication Director - Nameshield group

Launch of the new gTLD .CONTACT

Domain name - new gTLD - .CONTACT
Image source: Tumisu via Pixabay

Launched by the Donuts registry, this .CONTACT extension is interesting, particularly for the contact pages of your websites.

This extension is also part of the TrueName program created by the Donuts registry: when registering a domain name in .CONTACT, Donuts will also protect the typographical alternatives of your brand by blocking them, thus preventing some phishing attempts through the registration by a third party of a typographically similar name (ex.: loulou.contact vs l0ulou.contact).

Reminder of the launch schedule

  • Sunrise [period reserved for trademark holders]: September 29, 2020 – November 28, 2020
  • Early Access Phase [open to all, prices are decreasing day by day]:

– Early Access Phase (EAP) Day 1: December 2/3

– Early Access Phase (EAP) Day 2: December 3/4

– Early Access Phase (EAP) Day 3: December 4/5

– Early Access Phase (EAP) Day 4: December 5/6

– Early Access Phase (EAP) Day 5-7: December 6/9

  • General Availability: from December 9, 2020

For any questions, your Nameshield consultant is at your disposal.

Discover the Cybervictime.net website, launched on the occasion of the Cybersecurity Month

Cybervictime.net website
Source : Cybervictime.net website

October is the month in Europe that celebrates cybersecurity. Every year, the aim of this operation is to make users aware of digital security issues, both on a personal and professional level.

Many players are mobilized on this occasion to alert on cyber risks and inform on existing protection measures.

It is in this context that the website cybervictime.net was launched!

This website is a digital manual of easy to implement solutions to protect your computer and your digital life.

You will find interesting tutorials about the security of:

  • your computer ;
  • your mobile phone;
  • your digital life and the protection of your personal data;
  • your online shopping.

Interpol warns of alarming rise in cyberattacks during COVID

Cyberattack - Covid 19
Image source : geralt via Pixabay

In a new study of August 2020, INTERPOL measured the impact of COVID-19 on cybercrime. The results reveal that while the primary targets of cyberattacks usually remain individuals and SMEs, these have significantly expanded to large organizations and governments during the COVID period, revealing a new underlying trend.

The fact that working from home was massively implemented has obviously increased vulnerabilities which cybercriminals have been able to exploit seeking to take advantage of the situation.

According to this study, between January and April 2020, 907,000 spam messages, 737 malware incidents and 48,000 malicious URLs, all related to COVID-19 were detected.

The most common cyberattacks during the COVID-19 period were as follows:

  • Phishing
  • Ransomware
  • DDoS
  • Data harvesting malware
  • Cybersquatting / fraudulent domain names
  • Fake news

In Europe, two-thirds of member countries report a major increase in the number of cybersquatted domain names containing the keywords COVID or CORONA and ransomware deployments on critical infrastructures.

Cloning of official government websites is increasing massively as cybercriminals seek to steal sensitive data that can be used in future attacks.

In this report, you will discover all the measures implemented by INTERPOL.

It is more crucial than ever to secure your domain names carrying critical services and to protect your infrastructures.

Our consultants are, of course, at your disposal to assist you on these points.

Booking.com, a generic term turning into a brand?

Booking.com - domain name
Image source: Julius_Silver via Pixabay

A trademark must be “distinctive”, which is why no one can register a generic term as a trademark.

However, a decision of the US Supreme Court on June 30, 2020 allows Booking.com to register its domain name as a trademark.

If for USPTO (U.S Patent and Trademark Office), “booking” is a generic term, and adding the .COM would amount to adding “Company” to a name, thus arguing that booking.com cannot be registered as a trademark, the Court decided otherwise.

Indeed, it considered that “.COM” could not be compared to “company” since the essential criterion would be the identification of consumers.

In particular, the online travel company presented consumers surveys indicating that 75% of consumers thought Booking.com was a brand.

Of course, this first argument, easily challenged by Judge Breyer, was not the one that hit the nail on the head in the final decision. Since a domain name can only belong to one holder, the risks of confusion that must be avoided by trademarks could not arise here, since no one else can use the name Booking.com.

Despite the registration of the booking.com trademark, the company will not be able to use it as a trademark right in disputes that could oppose it to other companies using the generic term “booking” in their trademark.

To read the full decision, click here.

Participate in the .eu Web Awards!

.eu Web Awards
Source: .eu Web Awards’ website

The .eu Web Awards is an online competition, launched in 2014 by EURID, the .eu registry, which rewards the best websites in the .eu, .ею or .ευ extensions, divided into 5 categories:

  • Leaders
  • Rising stars
  • Laurels
  • House of .eu
  • Better world

It is possible to apply until 05 August 2020 and the participation is free of charge: https://webawards.eurid.eu/

Once your candidature has been validated, it’s up to the public to vote! The 3 websites under each category that have won the most votes will then become finalists.

The big winners will be revealed at the Gala held in Brussels on 18 November 2020, where the 15 finalists will be invited.

The 5 winners will win the following prizes:

  • a two-month billboard advertising campaign in Brussels airport
  • a trophy, a customised video for communication support
  • the .eu Web Awards icon to use on their websites and social networks.

Do you own a website in .eu, .ею or .ευ? This contest can be a nice opportunity to liven up your social networks, generate additional traffic and win the prizes mentioned above.

Interested? Visit https://webawards.eurid.eu/ for more information.