Microsoft drops case that severed DNS hosting for millions of No-IP nodes

Microsoft has formally settled legal differences with No-IP, the dynamic domain name host that was kneecapped by a botnet takedown that recently knocked out service to millions of legitimate hostnames.

As we reported, Microsoft surrendered the 23 No-IP domains last week. A bare-bones statement e-mailed to journalists Wednesday morning said the agreement settled a controversial lawsuit Microsoft filed in late June that allowed the software maker to confiscate 23 No-IP domain names before the service provider had an opportunity to oppose the maneuver in court. The malware families targeted in the latest takedown infected more than 7.4 million machines in the past year alone, Microsoft said.

A federal judge approved Microsoft's confidential ex parte motion arguing that the software maker was entitled to seize control of the addresses because No-IP owner Vitalwerks Internet Solutions failed to follow industry practices designed to prevent malware operators from abusing the service. In the course of a few hours, millions of connections from law-abiding users were severed. The statement read in part:

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