Realising that just registering their trademark domain names is not enough, Microsoft has recently registered a slew of domain names related to their products and services. Among the software giant's most recent acquisitions are MSWindowsNetExplorer.com, MicrosoftPatch.com and MyMSN.org.

Cybersquatting is a global problem of copyright infringement, as internet users register Domain Names which are identical or similar to trademarks for a variety of reasons. Some just post defamatory material about the company in question. Others intend to extort the rightful owner for large sums of money to get the Domain Name back. Hijacking traffic is another possible motivation, as is defrauding innocent internet users by creating "phishing" sites that look similar to secure login pages, in order to farm personal details. All of these practices could be a problem for Microsoft, whose multi-billion dollar empire includes email accounts, online shopping and other sensitive sites.