Internet Domain Prospectors Try to Capitalize After Tragic Events

Less than 24 hours after the shootings at Northern Illinois University, "domain prospectors" went to work registering various Web site addresses they hoped to sell later for a profit.

Among the addresses snapped up just after the attacks were several sites using words in conjunction with NIU that could come up through Google or another search engine. One of them currently features several paid advertisements and a photograph of a black- jacketed coroner standing behind police tape.

Such sites can compete with or often be confused with sites endorsed by people actually involved with the university. NIU has a memorial page on its Web site at www.niu.edu/memorial. The page features photographs, biographies of the victims and links to support services for students and their families.

Because it's difficult to know who owns a Web site, authorities stress that official memorial pages like NIU's are the best place to make donations or other contributions. Although it's good to be cautious, simply visiting a Web site will typically not contribute materially to the site's owner, as long as visitors don't click on any paid advertisements that might be posted there.

Domain prospectors live anywhere in the world, and they often try to mask their identities. The sites usually attract so-called "placeholder ads" placed automatically by the hosting service before a domain is fully developed, though the ads don't generate revenue unless a user clicks on them.

Domain prospecting, and its more malicious and often illegal cousin "cybersquatting," have been around since the earliest days of the Internet. Initially, speculators began registering domain names that were likely to become valuable as the Web took off. Some early pioneers actually became very wealthy through this practice.

In 1999, Congress passed a law making it illegal to deliberately purchase domains that contain registered trademarks or proper names. But otherwise, anyone can register a domain for as little as $10, leaving plenty of room for profit.

After the school shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007, dozens of domain names were registered and subsequently auctioned off. A few of these domains became memorial sites, including bloodbathinvirginia.com, which became a home for an organization promoting gun control.

Arizona resident Warner Tavares registered a domain name related to the Virginia Tech killings on April 16, 2007, the same day of the attacks. Contacted for this story, Tavares acknowledged he originally hoped to profit from the purchase, but he said he soon regretted his decision.

"It all happens very fast, but that one definitely bothered me a little bit," he said. "I decided to let it expire. I mean, we're human, too."

Nonetheless, the domain name remains available for sale at a price of $1,300. The Web site contains a notice that a portion of the proceeds would go to the families of victims, but it doesn't specify how much.