New.net is an alternate DNS root system which is enabled via NewDotNet, a DNS hijacker

DNS hijacking

DNS hijacking or DNS redirection is the practice of redirecting the resolution of Domain Name System names to other DNS servers. This is done for malicious purposes such as phishing; for self-serving purposes by Internet service providers to direct users' HTTP traffic via the ISP's own webservers...

 application, which is usually bundled with legitimate software. The top-level domains New.net provides include: .agent, .arts, .auction, .chat, .church, .club, .family, .free, .game, .golf, .inc, .law, .llc, .llp, .love, .ltd, .med, .mp3, .school, .scifi, .shop, .soc, .sport, .tech, and .video It formerly offered .travel

.travel

The domain name travel is a top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name suggests the intended and restricted use by travel agents, airlines, bed and breakfast operators, tourism bureaus, and others in the travel industry....

, .kids, and .xxx

.xxx

.xxx is a sponsored top-level domain intended as a voluntary option for pornographic sites on the Internet. The sponsoring organization is the International Foundation for Online Responsibility . The registry is operated by ICM Registry LLC. The ICANN Board voted to approve the sTLD on March 18,...

, which conflicted with TLDs proposed to ICANN or approved by it to be implemented by other registries. Alternate access to domains registered under New.net's alternative TLDs is provided by third level domains under the new.net domain name space (e.g., example.shop is really example.shop.new.net).

While the Internet is a heterogeneous network and the theory behind New.Net domains is reasonably sound, the reality is at best they will work for a small percentage of the Internet, at worst they will cause problems and redirect valid new.net traffic to a real (conflicting) website by the same name.

Adware

New.net distributes NewDotNet, an Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer

Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...

 plugin for Windows that enables the browser to access sites that use these unofficial domain names. It is considered as adware

Adware

Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer. These advertisements can be in the form of a pop-up. They may also be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during...

 and spyware

Spyware

Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's...

 by McAfee Site Advisor. Web of Trust has reports of malicious content on New.net. In a poll of readers of Icann Watch New.Net was considered The greatest threat to the security of the DNS as matched against other alternatives.

Several different versions of NewDotNet exist. Early versions installed themselves into the Windows directory as a DLL

Dynamic-link library

Dynamic-link library , or DLL, is Microsoft's implementation of the shared library concept in the Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems...

 named "newdotnet" followed by a version number, and had no uninstall option. More recent versions create a folder in "c:\Program Files". A version introduced in 2002 (since discontinued) included a pop-up advertising component.

The program functions by inserting itself into the Winsock

Winsock

In computing, the Windows Sockets API , which was later shortened to Winsock, is a technical specification that defines how Windows network software should access network services, especially TCP/IP. It defines a standard interface between a Windows TCP/IP client application and the underlying...

 system, which can in some situations disrupt network connectivity. A typical symptom for dial-up systems is that the user is able to dial out normally but cannot access the Internet. Nothing about an alternative DNS root

Alternative DNS root

The Internet uses the Domain Name System to associate the names of computers with their numeric IP addresses and with other information. The top level of the domain name hierarchy, the DNS root, contains the top-level domains that appear as the suffixes of all Internet domain names. The official...

 requires the installation of new software, but one possible explanation for using a browser plug in would be to avoid running public recursive resolvers. New.net also has instructions for setting up one's own recursive resolver to query new.net domains but they put these instructions in the ISP information section of their site.

Well-known and generally trusted anti-spyware programs like Ad-Aware

Ad-Aware

Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware and anti-virus program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes malware, spyware and adware on a user's computer...

 and Spybot

Spybot

Spybot can refer to:*Spybot worm, a group of malware*Spybot – Search & Destroy, an anti-spyware program...

 are usually effective at removing older versions of this software. More recent versions of NewDotNet can be uninstalled using the standard Windows "Add/Remove Programs" control panel or an uninstaller

Uninstaller

An uninstaller, also called a deinstaller, is a utility software designed to remove other software or parts of it from a computer. It is the opposite of an installer.-Components:...

 in "C:\Program Files\New.net". Manual removal, if performed incorrectly, can completely disrupt the computer's ability to access the internet. This can be fixed with an LSP Fix program.

Lawsuit

On 6 May 2003 New.net filed a federal lawsuit in the Central District Court of California against Lavasoft, distributor of Ad-Aware

Ad-Aware

Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware and anti-virus program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes malware, spyware and adware on a user's computer...

. Their claims against Lavasoft of false advertising, unfair competition, trade libel, and tortious interference were stricken and dismissed with prejudice the following year.

Legal controversy

NewDotNet has been implicated as the cause of a controversial 2007 criminal trial which received international media coverage. In State of Connecticut v. Julie Amero

State of Connecticut v. Julie Amero

State of Connecticut v. Julie Amero is a court case in the 2000s concerning Internet privacy and DNS hijacking...

, a substitute teacher was arrested after students in her 7th Grade class reported that they had seen pornographic

Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

 images on her computer screen. Amero said the computer would not stop sending pop-ups and that she did not know what to do with the computer.

Amero was convicted on four counts of risk of injury to a minor, or impairing the morals of a child, and faced up to 40 years in prison. The state Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, but Amero instead plead guilty to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct and had her Connecticut teaching credentials revoked. A subsequent forensic analysis revealed that the uncontrollable pornographic popups were promulgated by NewDotNet.

External links

• New.net homepage
• Factual information about NewDotNet software Backup from the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  
• Detailed criticism of New.net and its plugin Backup from the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...