There are now 183 million domain names registered across all Top Level Domains (TLDs) which represents a three percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2008 and a twelve percent increase over the same quarter last year. This means that nearly 11.8 million new domain names were registered across all TLDs in the first quarter of 2009. While this reflects a 17 percent growth in new registrations over the fourth quarter of 2008, it is a 17 percent decline from the same quarter in the previous year. While domain names registered do not necessarily mean the equivalent number of Websites created, the numbers point to approximately 91 domain names registered per minute and if about 88 percent resolve to Websites, that would mean that roughly 80 new sites were created a minute or one a second.

Country Code Top Level Domain Names (ccTLDs) registered increased to 74.1 million, an 18 percent increase year over year and a four percent increase quarter over quarter. There were nearly...

Mother's Day is around the corner and millions of you will be sending flowers and gifts to your mothers and wives to the tune of $14.1 billion according to the National Retail Federation. As you scour the Web for sites to order flowers - at the last minute, of course - be sure you've hit the right sites and not potential phishing or spoofing sites. And what's one way to do that?

Look for the green address/URL bar as a visual cue that the site is protected by an Extended Validation SSL Certificate. The green bar signals that you've reached a site whose authenticity has been verified — and not a fraudulent, copycat Web page created by identity thieves to steal passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive personal data. You do need the latest versions of the leading Web browsers to see the green bar.

What You See In Internet Explorer:
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VeriSign is at Information Security Conference, RSA® Conference 2009, this week in San Francisco. If you are attending the Expo, check us out at booth #1332. Jugglers, uni-cyclists, and guys in straight-jackets are on-hand to entertain. And, you get a chance to win encrypted thumb drives, iTunes and Starbucks certificates, and T-shirts.

We've decided go green with no paper collateral this year. So, in case you are looking for our RSA related content and collateral, here is where you can find that: VeriSign.com/VeriSignGoesGreen.

If you are interested in attending the exhibits, please email event_passes@verisign.com. Schedule: Wednesday, April 22nd, 11:00a.m. - 6:00p.m. and Thursday, April 23rd, 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.

Here are some pics:
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Tax season is upon us and many of us are scrambling to meet the deadline for filing. And not surprisingly, more and more people are filing their taxes electronically. Approximately six out of every ten taxpayers filed online in 2008 and this number is expected to increase in 2009. There are many sites enabling taxpayers to file their taxes online for free. But how do you protect yourself from online fraud, scams, and phishing attacks?!

Here are some easy to follow tips:

1. Be skeptical of emails that feature Web links. Those links can be part
of a phishing...