Top level domain explosion could wreak MAYHEM on NET

“Indeed, depending on the browser and operating system used, a
handful of sites are already accessible by typing nothing more than
the TLD into the address bar. Using Mozilla Firefox on Mac or
Ubuntu computers, it’s possible to reach ac merely by pointing the
browser to “ac” (minus the quotes). The same is true for io and tm.
Google Chrome on OS X and Ubuntu will also access these sites with
a little coaxing.

“Using a Windows XP SP3 computer, The Register was unable to
reach any of the three sites above. But according to researcher and
software developer Marsh Ray, a home PC of his that ran Windows
Vista connected just fine, and to make matters more dire, the lack
of a dot in the address fooled the operating system into placing
the site in the “Local Intranet Zone,” which Windows reserves for
trusted internal addresses that don’t require the same security
defenses as external ones.”

Complete
Story