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| Protect your domain name or domain names |
Domain Name Protection
The data in the Registrant information section of a specific domain name record in the Whois database is a proof of ownership for that specific domain name. Dishonest individuals have been making attempts to alter this information with the intention of gaining control of certain domain names by exploiting bugs in the domain name registration system or hacking the Whois database. Some of these attempts were successful. These article deals with the measures you need to undertake to avoid this threat.
1. If your registrar provides password protection, use a strong password.
Nowadays, many registrars provide password protection when you need to alter registration information for your domain name, such as changing the name server information. A malevolent person could break this password and gain control over your domain name. To minimize the risk of such an event, you should use a strong password. A strong password should be a mixture of lower and uppercase alphanumeric symbols and should be at least eight characters long. A strong password should not contain any dictionary words. For example, “wKAKd54D” is a strong password; “good4you” is not a strong password.
2. Keep a complete control over you domain name
The people that are allowed to make changes to the ownership information of a domain name are the registrant, the administrative contact person and sometimes the technical contact person, if the administrative contact does not answer to a change request, for instance.
Check the Whois database to ensure that your name or the names of people you trust are listed as the registrant, the administrative and technical contact for your domain name. If the names of your registrar or your ISP are present in any of these fields, ask them to correct this information so that you are the only person that could change information about your domain name ownership.
3. If the registrar that you choose offers other safety mechanisms, do not disregard them.
Registrars provide different services. Check what your registrar provides as safety mechanisms for your domain name and use them. Some registrars can offer you to lock your domain name registration information, so that all e-mails asking for a change of this information are disregarded. This would require all changes to be made by an authorized individual who logs on to the registrar’s administrative interface and would protect you from attempts to falsify your e-mail address.
4. Do not disregard any e-mail that concerns the domain names you own.
Some registrars will routinely permit changes in the ownership of a domain name if you do not respond to a confirmation e-mail that they send you within a certain period of time. A person who wants to steal your domain name could initiate a transfer of your domain name falsifying your identity. If you receive an e-mail from your registrar asking for authorization of a domain name transfer and take no action or delete the e-mail without reading it, your registrar will assume you have confirmed the transfer and you will lose your domain name.
It is not a wise idea to announce publicly that you will be away from your computer for a longer period of time. Do not post messages that you are going on vacation in the discussion groups that you visit. In this case, you could provide a person who intends to steal your domain name just the right thing he needs to know. The domain name thief would be aware that you would not respond to e-mail confirming domain name transfer or other changes to your domain name registration information.
5. Inform your registrar immediately about any doubtful actions concerning your domain name.
If you see any unauthorized changes to your domain’s record on the Whois database, or get an unexpected e-mail concerning any modifications of your domain name information, immediately contact your registrar about this. Inform your registrar about the details and forward to them a copy of the suspicious information to assist them in tracking down and correcting the problem.
6. Print and save a hardcopy of your Whois record.
Whenever you register a domain name, print and save a copy of the Whois record for that name, together with any other registration documents provided by your registrar. Keep these documents in file, organized by date and you will have a written proof of your domain name ownership. This could also help you track which of your domain names will expire soon and need to be renewed.
7. Use a safe e-mail address when registering a domain name.
Nearly all procedures concerning a domain name can be performed through e-mail, so it is crucial that the e-mail address that you use when registering a domain name is safe and reliable. Never use an e-mail address on a free server for domain name registration purposes. These services are not particularly reliable. Your e-mail address can become inactive, if you do not use it for a certain period of time or the free service could close down unexpectedly. If this happens, you would be unable to stop attempts for transferring your domain name or modifying its registration information (see item 4).
You should not use your e-mail address at work, when registering a domain name, as well. You may quit your job and lose your e-mail address by the time when you need to renew your domain name. You could fail to renew your domain name and lose it for this reason.
To conclude: if you have hold over the e-mail address that you used when registering your domain name you have hold over your domain name, as well. If you lose access to this e-mail address, you will lose your domain name.
8. There are sites on the Internet that provide free domain name monitoring service. Find such a site and use it.
Some web sites provide free or paid domain name monitoring services. These sites will track any changes in your domain name records and will report them to you. This will allow you to inform your registrar in a timely manner about any suspicious activities and will help you prevent any attempts at stealing your domain name. Different sites provide from a free monitoring of a single domain to a fee-based tracking of changes to a large number of domains.
9. Keep a track of renewal dates for your domain names and renew the registration of expiring domains in a timely manner.
If you fail to renew the registration of your domain name within the period determined by your registrar, you can lose your domain name just as you can loose it to a malevolent hacker. You control a domain name as long as you pay the renewal fee regularly. If you allow your domain name to expire, it becomes available to the first person who wishes to buy it. If you carelessly lose your domain name in this manner, then the only way to get it back will be to purchase it from the current owner, usually for a lot of money.
Send the renewal fee for your domain names several days or weeks in advance of the expiration date, because payments can arrive late when your domain name is already taken by someone else. Write the renewal dates for your domain names in a place that easily reminds you when they are about to expire.
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