349 AI agent skills point to example areas that anyone can redeem

Manifold Security shows that yoursite.com and your-domain.com, cited in 359,000 GitHub files, are now being used as redirects to scam sites.

Everyone knows example.com, reserved by IANA precisely to serve as a fictitious address in the documentation. Far fewer developers know that its improvised cousins, yoursite.com and your-domain.com, have no equivalent protection: they can be registered by anyone who comes along. Manifold Security researchers found them in about 359,000 files on GitHub, and especially in 349 AI agent skills.

The problem is not theoretical. By testing the two domains over twenty-four real browser sessions, the team observed hidden JavaScript redirects to fraudulent pages, served in particular on macOS. No line of code needed to change: it was the content at the other end of the link that switched, once the domain was acquired.

For an agent who follows his instructions to the letter, there is no nuance between a reserved area and a simple textual placeholder. The placeholder forgotten in documentation then becomes a distribution channel that can be used by third parties, without intrusion or compromise of deposit.