VxJasonxV

It appears this was never for network discoverability, but stats instead, and a bad hostname was simply filled in:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/19852289#19852289

Perhaps for testing purposes? "What happens when the stats server isn't reachable?"

And then it got left that way, WHOOPS.

Long story short, this problem appears to have been resolved the same day it started, since it did not require a software update to fix, they just updated the web views for their store pages.

Is anyone still concretely still seeing the problem?

Legitimate ones? Hard to tell. Onlookers as a result of this coverage? Lots.

I don't really want to meaningfully count :).

As best as we can tell, this issue started in the late evening Sunday, registration occurred very early in the morning Monday, and was subsequently resolved later in the day:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/19852289#19852289

And it appears it was never about DNS resolution / network discoverability.

I didn't want to pay for an SSL certificate that would pass SSL validation (read: not StartCom, not CACert, and I will never ever support GoDaddy). Domain registration fees aren't going to break the bank, SSL is another story. Not to mention the whole 'proving who I am' and other identity checks any worthwhile SSL agency employs.

It looks like this was never a connectivity test, but some sort of outright statistics hostname error: https://discussions.apple.com/message/19852289#19852289

And it looks like the issue's already been fixed too (two posts down).

^ 100% correct.

Assuming that they don't just fix the problem (see my first-level comment), I do hope any response I see from them is tactful.

All of this grief over what may amount to missing a single dot? (bogus.apple.com)

STEVE JOBS IS ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE OVER THIS GOD AWFUL FAILURE ON TIM COOK'S PART!

I was very concerned that this could occur when I picked up the domain and started allowed traffic to it to succeed, but I haven't seen the massive social network outcry about problems... So I've put that concern to rest :).

As said elsewhere, I think the theory that they likely intended 'bogus.apple.com' is the best guess. Either way it was just a consideration that some developer and/or their code reviewer(s) overlooked.

It happens.

I resent that.

Hi everyone.

I registered bogusapple.com after a buddy of mine posted a screenshot of Little Snitch prompting iTunes' access to the domain. All credit for finding this snafu goes to gentmatt, and my bank account for allowing me the ability to frivolously buy a domain.

I don't believe that accessing this domain is built directly into the compiled code of apps, since (in my opinion) it did not happen close enough to a software update. I believe it is just some kind of a typo (bogus.apple.com?) for something used as part of the web page views that comprise the iTunes and the Mac App Store apps. I fully expect that this problem will quietly go away once they deploy new versions.

I picked up the domain just to see if any particularly exciting web requests were being made, and it's been fun to watch user agents, but as soon as Twitter, news sites, and forums got wind of it, it's pretty much impossible for me to discern any meaningful traffic anymore.

I suppose I could start filtering any requests with a referer, or ones not coming from *.apple.com. We'll see.

It's been a fun 13 hours.

Any questions?

A lot of folks are suggesting it was a typo, and they intended to use bogus.apple.com instead, which is very very likely.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that standard HTTP request information is being sent to the domain. So, IPs for the connection, User Agents of the software used to connect, and the request URL. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

I've seen a few iTunes UAs, both Windows and Mac, and since this news has made the rounds, the signal to noise ratio just went wayyyyyy down. (Go figure.)

I don't know exactly when it started, but I suspect Apple has used this domain for at least a few days now. Whether that's as far back as Mountain Lion's release, or as recently as iTunes 10.7.

Considering some of our active theories, it may have only started becoming used as a result of that Terms & Conditions snafu that occurred the other day.

Either way, the problem predates my registration of the domain, which was around 13 hours ago now. I registered bogusapple.com as a result of seeing use of the domain.