Domain registrar auto-enrolls customers into $1,850 security service

A software developer who willingly pays about $80 a year for the registration of two domains was unwillingly "opted in" to another charge of $1,850, and it seems he's not alone.

Brent Simmons received an e-mail from Network Solutions Chief Security Officer Geof Birchall stating that he was being automatically enrolled in a new security program called WebLock.

"To help recapture the costs of maintaining this extra level of security for your account, your credit card will be billed $1,850 for the first year of service on the date your program goes live," according to the e-mail, which Simmons posted on his blog. "After that you will be billed $1,350 on every subsequent year from that date. If you wish to opt out of this program you may do so by calling us...."

Full story: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/01/domain-registrar-auto-enrolls-customers-into-1850-security-service/

Wow just wow. I used to used network solitons like 10 years ago but this is so stupid I don't know what the hell they were thinking.

Maybe they thought people paying $40/yr for a domain didn't mind throwing money away?

never understood why Verisign bought them after Network Solutions stopped to be THE registrar. Ever since 1999, it has been a downward spiral, Verisign bought it in 2000, sold it in 2003. They were once a great name in the business, now some shady private equity scammers are trying to use the last remnants of Network Solutuion's former glory to pull off their last scams.

They must be taking lessons from GoDaddy.

Its all a huge scam. US congress so much needs to come down hard on this industry. It's a total mafia. Even the best of them like namecheap and hostgator are totally sketchy. Granted, part of the problem is that they themselves are dealing with criminals, but just clean it all up.

Criminal organization. After confiscating a few domains of mine, they were forced a lawyer point to return them.

Domain name transfer would be in order if I had a domain through them.

Thanks for posting this. They appear to have changed their mind on shafting their customers this particular way. From the referenced website:

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/01/domain-registrar-auto-enrolls-customers-into-1850-security-service/

"(UPDATE: Web.com now says the program will be opt-in rather than opt-out. According to Domain Name Wire, which said the e-mail went to Simmons and 48 other customers, Web.com COO Jason Teichman said, “Every one of those customers is getting a call. It’s not our intention to enroll anyone in a program they don’t want.” Web.com planned to roll the program out to 30,000 customers overall but started by notifying just a few dozen "so we can crawl our way into it," Teichman said.)"

and

UPDATE #2: We spoke with Web.com COO Jason Teichman and he gave us very much the same message the company had given to Domain Name Wire—that the e-mail was just a mistake and that the company never intended to automatically charge customers. Despite the fact that the e-mail specifically described the program as opt-out, Teichman said, "the program was never designed to be an opt-out program. That e-mail was poorly worded, but does not and has never reflected the intention of this program."