Sometime on February 26th, I noticed my ISP, Road Runner (Time Warner cable) started hijacking or intercepting bad DNS requests. In non-geek speak, it means when I typed in some web address that wasn’t registered, instead of seeing my browser’s default 404 page I saw this:
I’ve said in the past, when Kevin Ham did the same thing for any .cm address, that it was a brilliant idea from a business perspective. And, I think Road Runner / Time Warner cable is smart to do it with us here as well. It’s going to generate them some big bucks thanks to their partnership with Yahoo for the ads you’ll be clicking on. But, for some reason, I really hate their page. It honestly sucks.
So, I turned it off. I disabled it.
If you have the same issue and don’t like it, you can disable that setting too. Here’s how. Go to http://ww23.rr.com/prefs.php and choose “Disable” for the option labeled “Web Address Error Redirect Service: This preference allows you to opt in or out of Road Runner’s non-existing domain landing service.” Then click the “Save” button.
Voila. Done.
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Posted by ThePete on Feb 29, 2008 at 12:29pm
Thanks for this post, Nate!
You’re right–it’s a great strategy for making more money. However, I have issues with a company I’m already paying throwing ads in my face so they can make more money off of me. It’s like buying a movie ticket and then having to sit through 10 minutes of commercials you’ve seen on TV before you get to the trailers. Not as bad, but not dissimilar.
So, thanks for passing this tip on–I’ll be sure to reblog it, linking back here, of course. :)
Where did you find out about opting out?
Posted by nate on Feb 29, 2008 at 01:08pm
No problem Pete. I found out about it via my all knowing, always on connection to the wide world of intrawebs. Ok, so it was Slashdot.
Posted by Daniel Nicolas on Feb 29, 2008 at 01:14pm
I knew the more than double increased speeds (for both uploads and downloads) would have a catch!
It’s good that they’re letting people turn it off…but I doubt a majority of people will.
Posted by ThePete on Feb 29, 2008 at 01:25pm
Double increased speeds?? Daniel, I’m happy for you, but I’m experiencing slower downloads and even slower-than-usual uploads. :(
Posted by Brendan Picha on Mar 04, 2008 at 07:31am
I Googled ‘Road Runner 404′ specifically to find the answer you’ve just provided me with. Thank you! It is a smart move on Time Warner’s part but I can’t help but feel like they’re being slimy bastards at the same time. Disabled!
Posted by nate on Mar 04, 2008 at 09:14am
Brenda, thanks for letting me know how you found me. That’s really important for me to know. I see it’s important to you, being an SEO person also.
Glad I could be helpful. Cheers!
Posted by TW employee on Mar 12, 2008 at 06:18am
I work at TW and think it’s hugely annoying, though of course I understand why they’re (um, we’re) doing it. I’ve disabled it thanks to your tip and will be passing it along!
Posted by TW employee on Mar 12, 2008 at 06:24am
PS I also googled, using: “Road Runner can’t find website error.” Hooray for SEO!
Posted by Chris on Mar 21, 2008 at 01:17pm
It’s a fine model to get some additional revenue, but that page was coming up, very frequently, when I tried to go to perfectly valid websites. That page loaded for me when I tried to go to http://www.amazon.com and http://www.downloadsquad.com.
At that point, it goes from a reasonable way to display ads, to a potentially dishonest way to drive traffic and interrupt service. I’d hope it was just their DNS servers being flaky, but then I have to wonder why I’m giving them $50 of my money every month.