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As we reported last week, Microsoft took control of a number of No-IP domains in a bid to combat malware threats. Today, the domains were handed back to No-IP owners Vitalwerks Internet Solutions, LLC and Microsoft has issued an apology to those affected by any outage that stemmed from the initial seizures.
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In a post on the Official Microsoft Blog, the company explains that a settlement has been reached in the Microsoft Corporation v. Mutairi, et al matter. Having previously been accused of taking matters into its own hands, Microsoft concedes that Vitalwerks was not aware of any misuse of its domains.
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“Microsoft has reviewed the evidence provided by Vitalwerks and enters into the settlement confident that Vitalwerks was not knowingly involved with the subdomains used to support malware. Those spreading the malware abused Vitalwerks’ services.”
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Despite the fact the domains in question have now been placed back in the control of Vitalwerks, Microsoft apologizes for the disruption caused:
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Microsoft identified malware that had escaped Vitalwerks’ detection. Upon notification and review of the evidence, Vitalwerks took immediate corrective action allowing Microsoft to identify victims of this malware. The parties have agreed to permanently disable Vitalwerks subdomains used to control the malware.
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In the process of redirecting traffic to its servers for malware detection, Microsoft acknowledges that a number of Vitalwerks customers were impacted by service outages as a result of a technical error. Microsoft regrets any inconvenience these customers may have experienced.
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We are still waiting to hear back from Microsoft with an explanation about exactly why the company decided to get involved in the first place.
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