Web Designer Owned Google Argentina Domain for a Few Minutes, Bought It for Only $2.90
After the website was down for two hours in the country on Wednesday, a web designer was able to buy the domain name of Google Argentina for only almost $3.
In a statement by 30-year-old Nicolas Kurona, he said he bought the domain name of Google Argentina (google.com.ar) through the legal process of obtaining domain names.
The thirty-year-old web designer was still in shock as he talked to BBC, explaining how he never imagined that he was allowed by the Network Information Center Argentina (NIC) to purchase the domain.
Meanwhile, Google Argentina said in an interview that the domain was acquired by someone for a short period of time, but they were able to regain control of it quickly.
How a Web Designer Bought the Google Domain
According to Nicolas, he was at his desk working on a website design for one of his clients on Wednesday night before everything happened. He added that he started receiving messages on WhatsApp that Google went down.
After that, Nicolas tried to go to Google Argentina website through his browser, and it did not work. He then started thinking that something strange happened.
Nicolas decided to check the NIC website since they are responsible for the operation of the'.ar' code domains. He then searched for Google and found that the domain for Google Argentina was available for purchase.
While he thought that buying the domain would not work, Nicolas followed the normal steps of acquiring a domain. He was then shocked when he received an invoice in his email stating that he is already the owner of the website, The Mirror reported.
Nicolas' invoice from the NIC showed that he was able to acquire 'google.com.ar' for only 270 Argentine pesos or $2.90.
Still unable to process that he was then the owner of the Google domain, Nicolas typed in the website 'www.google.com.ar' on his browser and was dumbfounded when he saw his personal data. At 9:54 PM in Argentina on Wednesday, every person in the country who typed in the website, 'www.google.com.ar' are in theory directed to Nicolas.
In a statement, Nicolas said that he never had bad intentions. He simply tried to acquire it through the legal process as it was available o the NIC website, and he was allowed to. He also never thought that he would be a major news story.
Nicolas clarified what happened in a tweet.
What Happened to Google Argentina?
As of the moment, the reason why Nicolas was able to obtain the domain remains a mystery. There are theories stating that Google could have forgotten to renew their license to the domain name, but the tech giant stated that their domain for Google Argentina is still valid until July 2021.
Meanwhile, Nicolas stated that he was simply relieved that he did not get into trouble for what happened. He mentioned that NIC already took the Google Argentina domain back. However, his 270 pesos has not been refunded.
Nicolas also stated that Google did not reach out to him regarding what transpired in the few minutes that he owned their domain, PC Mag reported.
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