In the past, if Network Solutions' customers did not select an authorization method when they first registered a domain, the authorization method defaulted to "Mail-From"--a term that indicates that if Network Solutions received an e-mail "from" one of the domain's authorized contacts requesting changes to the domain, the changes would automatically be put through. Other options for authorization include more secure methods such as password (Crypt-PW), and secure encryption (PGP).

Previously, a domain owner who had chosen the "Mail-From After Update" Guardian authentication method would only receive notification of the changes from Network Solutions after the changes had been put through. The changes that Network Solutions will be implimenting will mean that if a customer never chose a method of authorization, they will still default to "Mail-From," but that if Network Solutions receives an e-mail from one of the domain's authorized contacts requesting changes to the domain, Network Solutions will send an e-mail to one of those authorized contacts, and only upon receiving a reply from that contact authorizing the change, will the change be pushed through.

Changes to the authorization scheme are scheduled for July 8. Additional information about the changes can be found on the Guardian page of Network Solutions' Web site, as well as on their contact form FAQs.

Network Solutions has also indicated that they will continue to enhance security, with future plans including the use of parent VeriSign Inc.'s certificates for authentication.