Network Solutions and Cybersquatting

"Domain Name Blackmail"

A very interesting claim about Network Solutions' business practices.

"It turns out that there is a new twist in cybersquatting, called “frontrunning.” Apparently, cybersquatters have worked out ways to see what domain names people are enquiring about on services like Network Solutions and GoDaddy. When they see that there is interest in a name they deem worthwhile, they will move in and snap it up before the person who originally searched for it can make up their minds."

"What Network Solutions claims it is doing is protecting people from the frontrunners: when someone searches for a domain name, they put a 4-day hold on it. The idea is that frontrunners would be foiled from snatching it up. That’s the claim, in any case."

The effect, according to the writer, of this practice is to force people to register through Network Solutions.

I'm not sure what to think about this: but until I know more, I'm not using Network Solutions for domain searches.