URL validation doesn't work any more

[Chung Leong]

In our application there's a form where the user types in a web
address. To make sure the URL is correct our PHP code does something
like:

if(fopen($url, "r")) {
/* saves the info */
}
else {
/* print out a error message */
}

This was working fine until recently. Now when an invalid domain name
(e.g. wwww.djsahjkfhf .com) is typed in, fopen() just freezes.

Does anyone know what's going on?

[Martin Lucas-Smith]

Re: URL validation doesn't work any more


[color=blue]
> This was working fine until recently. Now when an invalid domain name
> (e.g. wwww.djsahjkfhf .com) is typed in, fopen() just freezes.
>
> Does anyone know what's going on?[/color]

http://news.google.com/news?q=verisign

This has got a lot of sysadmins *really* angry. If your domain name is
with Verisign, move in protest.

http://news.com.com/2100-1032-5077530.html

Martin Lucas-Smith www.geog.cam.ac.uk/~mvl22

https://www.lucas-smith.co.uk

[Gordon Burditt]

Re: URL validation doesn't work any more

>In our application there's a form where the user types in a web[color=blue]
>address. To make sure the URL is correct our PHP code does something
>like:
>
>if(fopen($ur l, "r")) {
> /* saves the info */
>}
>else {
> /* print out a error message */
>}
>
>This was working fine until recently. Now when an invalid domain name
>(e.g. wwww.djsahjkfhf .com) is typed in, fopen() just freezes.
>
>Does anyone know what's going on?[/color]

Verisign is corrupting the DNS. They have a WILDCARD record for
*.com and *.net that point to their website. You can find an A record
for just about any stupid domain ending in .net or .com,
such as www.$&#(*&(%#.c om (Yes, even with wierd characters like
that, 'dig' comes back with an IP address, although you do have to
quote it for the shell).

There is considerable uproar over this, as it breaks stuff like
using DNS lookups on a mail sender's domain to filter SPAM.

There is a patch out for BIND, one of the more popular nameservers,
to fix this.

Gordon L. Burditt

[Stuart Millington]

Re: URL validation doesn't work any more

On 18 Sep 2003 12:18:40 -0700, chernyshevsky@h otmail.com (Chung Leong)
wrote:
[color=blue]
>In our application there's a form where the user types in a web
>address. To make sure the URL is correct our PHP code does something
>like:[/color]

VeriSlime have decided to break a _lot_ of things without any
warning, justification or authority. Rant/summary at
http://www.fuck-verisign.co.uk/ and there is an on-line petition to
ICANN (which may, or may not, do some good) at

http://www.petitiononline.com/icanndns/

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