Visionworks: A couple of things to avoid with domain names

Visionworks is a leading US optical retailer with 700 stores across 40 states, operating from the domain name Visionworks.com. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, it offers eyewear, lenses, and optometric services. Acquired by VSP Global in 2019, Visionworks provides quality eye care and a broad selection of eyewear.

Using proper glasses is a necessity, particularly during long sessions of working with computers on a daily basis. Getting a new pair every couple of years ensures good vision and less eye strain, so I visited my favorite Visionworks location and had that done a few days ago.

I was expecting a quick turnaround but soon forgot about it. Then this text message arrived:

At this point, I realized that it was an update from Visionworks but could not help but identify several issues with this type of communication.

It’s best to avoid texts with links but the chances of clicking on a phishing text multiply when the following conditions are met:

• The company’s name or brand isn’t displayed at all
• The domain name does not match the brand (vworder vs. Visionworks)
• The TLD is more or less third tier (.care vs. .com)
• A subdomain is added to the path (c.vworder.care)

All of these conditions made me check out the domain’s WHOIS info instead of simply clicking on the link.

The domain vworder.care was registered in January 2024. The matching .com expired and dropped, after being used by a Czech registrant to do god knows what. Lastly, the Visionworks-owned domain vworder.care doesn’t resolve but also uses a third party provider—Algonomy.com—to convert short URLs into a trackable click.

As an added “bonus” Visionworks.com does not resolve either, all while www.Visionworks.com does.

I’m glad I did all this without wearing my glasses; your mileage might vary.

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