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It's a sad fact of life but we have to protect what is ours or it may be stolen. We instinctively lock our cars and homes, valuables are secured in the safe. Most of us have a pretty good idea on what it takes regarding the protection of our physical property. But the security of our abstract valuables are a bit more difficult to guard. Abstract valuables such as credit card numbers are stolen every day. Over the years, extensive measures have been set in place to protect credit card numbers, especially when making online purchases. But as Internet activity increases, so does the opportunity for thieves to strike in new ways. And one of those ways recently happened to a California company with a popular web site. One morning, they tried to log on and it was gone. That's right. Someone had stolen their web site.

Network Solutions was the first and until recently the only company in charge of assigning domain names but that was changed in the interest of free enterprise and competition. Today, Network Solutions is one of about 90 such companies that have access to the Internic database of registered domain names. Web sites or more specifically, domain names can be valuable. For example, the domain name "Business.com" sold for seven and a half million dollars. And if your web site address has a catchy domain name, it might be palatable to someone else.

Evidently, someone out there really liked Solid Oak Software's "WhoAmI.com" and decided to steal it. According to its president, Brian Milburn, they had been offered large sums of money for the web site name over the years but had declined to sell. Milburn got his first tip off that something was wrong when he received an email from Network Solutions saying that his request for a change of contacts listed for his domain had been approved. The only reason Milburn even received that automated email notice of the change was because he was listed as the original administrative contact. Had it not been for that fact and Network Solutions' procedure, he would never have known his web site had been stolen until the new owners either shut it down or began to make changes. As far as it can be determined, the thieves had tricked Network Solutions by email "spoofing" which basically means they were able to disguise from where their email to Network Solutions originated and made it appear as though it had come from Solid Oak.

To make matters worse according to Milburn, Network Solutions initially asked solid Oak to fill out a "maze of automated forms which came back rejected." However, according to Michael Johnson, Network Solutions' director of business affairs office, the WhoAmI.com domain was restored to its rightful owner by the end of the week. Johnson also assured that new measures have been set in place to stave off future attempts to steal domain names.

Use some common sense. I'm not saying that everyone's web site is in imminent danger of being stolen. Chances are that if your personal web site is yourlastname.com, it probably isn't in high demand and it's more than likely safe from would-be hijackers. However, if your business depends on its web site, you may want to check into additional security measures that can further protect your domain name and associated information. You can read more about it on Network Solutions' web site at: www.networksolutions.com or call their customer service number at (703) 742-4777.