Marc: Unless you have a static IP address which is registered to you or your firm (see, for example, http://whois.domaintools.com/66.116.74.45), then your personal information is fairly secure. Of course tracking cookies are a serious source of concern, but I presume from your posts that you are very security conscious and likely flush your system cookies and Flash cookies regularly. The most that would likely be gleaned from your whois queries is your IP address connected to the query. If your IP is dynamically assigned, then this lessens the possibility of tying your whois queries directly to you. I think that the fact that Gilroy (Garlic...YUM!) announces that it's starting a farmers market, and a few weeks later that obvious name is registered by a "Joey Pauline" who only apparently has a handful of other domains, should not come as a surprise, or suggest that whois queries are being sniffed. Rather, it suggests to me that Joey was "the early bird that caught the worm", here the obvious event name. Respectfully, Jonathan ____________________ Jonathan L. Kramer, Esq. Kramer Telecom Law Firm, P.C. 2001 S. Barrington Ave., Suite 306 Los Angeles, CA 90025-5379 USA Toll Free: +1 (855) CELL SITE Direct Tel: +1 (310) 405-7333 N.Y. Dir. Tel: +1 (718) 395-7500 Main Tel: +1 (310) 312-9900 Google Tel: +1 (714) WIRELESS Fax: +1 (310) 473-5900 www.CellSiteLawyer.com www.TelecomLawFirm.com www.CellularPCS.com -----Original Message----- From: NCSG-NCUC [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marc Perkel Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 7:57 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Domain Name Front Running What concerns me is how is it that other people have access to my whois queries? On 3/31/2011 6:48 PM, Nicolas Adam wrote: > Not so long ago, it was made on a vast scale at the speed of light, so > to speak, and freee for 5 days, hence the name: domain tasting. Highly > crooked and the symptom of a broken market. > > On 3/31/2011 9:43 PM, Marc Perkel wrote: >> I can't help but to believe that this is highly illegal. You look up >> a domain and the registrars steal your domain name. >> >> On 3/31/2011 6:37 PM, Nicolas Adam wrote: >>> I believe tasting was mostly done by registrars peeking in on their >>> own search engine. I could be wrong. >>> >>> On 3/31/2011 11:23 AM, Marc Perkel wrote: >>>> It looks like it has a name. There appears to be some mechanism >>>> where if I look up a non-existent domain that lookup is somehow >>>> exposed to people who then register the domain if I don't register >>>> it immediately. >>>> >>>> The town of Gilroy is starting a farmers market. A few weeks ago I >>>> looked up GilroyFarmersMarket.com and it was available. I come back >>>> two weeks later and it's taken. >>>> >>>> Who is tracking this? How do third parties know that I looked up >>>> that domain? >>> >