Exit Strategies from the ‘Domain Name Funnies’
By: Ben Lucier on June 29th, 2010
Posted in: Humour
Tags: Domain Name Funnies, Humour
Comments:
0
Archive for: June, 2010
Holiday Hours for Canada Day, July 1
Thursday, July 1st is Canada Day and Tucows HQ here in Toronto will be operating on holiday hours.
The picture of Canada’s flag is courtesy of Ian Muttoo. Thanks for making your photo available under a Creative Commons license!
Here’s a list of departments along with any special holiday hours for Thursday July 1st, 2010:
| Department | Hours |
|---|---|
| Technical Support | Regular hours |
| Payments | Closed |
| Compliance | Closed |
We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday!
.CO Landrush Begins, GA is Next
By: James Koole on June 22nd, 2010
Posted in: Industry News, OpenSRS Services
Tags: .CO, Domains Service
Comments:
0
Yesterday was the first day of Landrush for the new .CO domain extension. Of course, as Adam Eisner, our Director of Domain Services, is fond of saying, there’s no rush in Landrush for .CO.
Now that’s not to say that people won’t be lining up to get their preferred .CO domain during the Landrush phase – demand for .CO domains has been quite strong. Rather, it’s a way of saying that Landrush orders aren’t approved on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, multiple Landrush orders for the same domain will result in the domain going to an auction in which all those who applied for the domain during the Landrush period are able to bid.
You can submit Landrush orders through OpenSRS and we’ll continue to accept them through the end of the Landrush period on July 13th, 2010.
General Availability is just around the corner
What will be a rush is General Availability (GA), which happens on July 20th, 2010. On that day, it’s a real free-for-all as registration officially opens to everyone at the regular price and whoever gets the application in first gets the domain. We’ll have more information about what we’re doing for General Availability shortly, but in the meantime, OpenSRS is already accepting pre-orders via the Reseller Web Interface (RWI) and the API.
As always, the .CO Launch Page is updated with all the information about the launch of .CO.
Upcoming SSL Root Updates to 2048-bit
By: James Koole on June 16th, 2010
Posted in: Industry News, OpenSRS Services
Tags:
Comments:
0
If you sell SSL through OpenSRS, or if you use or sell SSL products from any of our vendors – VeriSign, GeoTrust and Thawte – then you’ll want to take note of some changes coming up to the root certificates.
VeriSign, GeoTrust and Thawte are all in the midst of a transition from 1024-bit roots to new, more secure 2048-bit roots. This change is in line with industry best practices to ensure the highest level of security. Browser vendors are also starting to require the use of SHA-1 and 2048 keys. For example, Microsoft has stipulated requirements for all Certificates that require that all new Root Certificates must have a minimum be 2048-bit RSA keys and not use MD5 as the hashing algorithm.
As a result of this upgrade, there are some changes to how SSL certificates purchased through OpenSRS are ordered and installed. Please note: currently installed SSL certificates are not affected by the changes. However, new certificates along with renewals of existing certificates will required 2048-bit Certificate Signing Requests (CSRs) in the future, depending on the specific certificate brand and type.
The new 2048-bit root updates will go live on the following dates:
- Thawte (except SGC SuperCerts) – June 27, 2010
- GeoTrust – July 22, 2010
- VeriSign – October, 2010
- Thawte SGC SuperCerts only – October, 2010
2048-bit CSRs Please
OpenSRS will begin requiring 2048-bit CSRs at the same time as the root updates occur. You may already submit 2048-bit CSRs for all products. In fact, Extended Validation (EV) certificates already required 2048-bit CSRs. If you submit an SSL order with a 1024-bit CSR after the root updates take place on the dates listed above, the order will fail.
Installation Changes Required
Additionally, the SSL certificate installation process will change for all Thawte (excluding: SGC SuperCerts and Web Server with EV Certificates) and GeoTrust certificates (excluding True BusinessID with EV) issued after the go live dates listed above. Users will be required to install an intermediate Certification Authority Certificate in line with industry best practices. The excluded products listed already require the installation of this intermediate certificate.
More Information
For the latest information about the 2048-bit root changes, you may wish to view the Support Advisories issued by each brand:
Announcing the first ever OpenSRS Quarterly Report!
Have you found yourself wondering how your own own performance indicators measure up against other OpenSRS resellers? Key performance metrics like renewal rates by quarter, new registrations and transfers in and out have long been providing valuable insight to service providers like yours.
With more than 10,000 domain resellers in over 100 countries, from small Web designers to giant Web hosts, we think we have a unique perspective into the data and trends behind the domain name business.
The OpenSRS Quarterly report is our first attempt at providing you, our reseller, with data you can use to benchmark your own performance and make informed decisions. We’ve analyzed the data across our entire base to provide you with valuable insight. You’ll even find fun facts like percentage of renewals that took place during the 40-day grace period. Some of these numbers might even surprise you.
We expect this report to be just the beginning of a conversation within your organization, with your team and maybe even with other OpenSRS resellers about best practices and how we can work together to help you succeed.
If you’re an OpenSRS reseller, click here to request this report electronically.
Happy Selling!