It has been found over the years that many small business owners don’t appreciate either the value of their domain name or the need to protect it. Just like in every other industry, the domain industry has its own scam artists, vandals, and thieves to keep domain owners on their toes. There a number of safeguards you can and should use right now to keep something from happening to your domain name in the future.
If you are not prepared, there are a number of common mistakes which can result in the permanent loss of your domain. The reasons for a domain loss could be because you did not renew your domain name on time or in extreme circumstances your site has been hacked or hijacked. The result – lost business.
Losing a domain name is unfortunately not a rare occurrence on the web. It is called drop catching. Drop catching is the practice of certain internet users waiting for prominent web addresses to expire so they can snatch them up and use the already established brand of the website to grow their own business or sell it to the highest bidder.
Your domain name is part and parcel of your business brand and thus the need to protect it as you would to your company name.
A business owner should engage the services of a reliable domain registrar. Perform a background check and get as many information on which would be the best provider to use. Go for a domain registrar that will not only assist you in setting up your domain name, but will also provide tips on how best to protect it.
Some domain registrars serve millions of clients from all over the world – making phone calls or sending faxes to their clients is impractical. Email is the most efficient way for them to communicate. It is through email that you will be notified when your domain name is about to expire. Think about registering your domain name for a longer period than the popular 1 year. 5 or 10 years would be great and still affordable.
There are three scenarios to be aware of when it comes to protecting a domain name:
1. Inadvertent domain expiration. The owner does not renew the name in time and it is snatched up by a domain speculator. This is often caused by failure to receive renewal notices because of out-of-date contact information.
2. Domain hijacking or theft. A domain hijacker effectively hijacks the domain by submitting a fraudulent registrar transfer request and tricking an unsophisticated domain owner or registrar into giving them control of the name.
3. Inaccurate contact information. The owner's name can be cancelled if his/her domain information is not accurate and he/she fails to respond to a registrar's inquiries within several days to a couple of weeks. In the past, this section was seldom enforced, however as of October 2003, ICANN is requiring all registrars to contact their customers on a yearly basis to verify domain information.
How to protect yourself domain name:
Keep track of your domain names' expiration dates and keep your contact information up to date. Most inadvertent domain expirations and many fraudulent transfers are due to out-of-date contact information. If you have more than one domain, consider consolidating your names with a registrar who offers domain portfolio management features. This will allow you to use one master account to see all of your domain names (and their expiration dates) at a glance, as well as make changes to all of your domains at once. Some registrars are now offering free options such as automatic expiration date tracking and auto-renewal as additional safeguards.
Be careful who is listed in your contact information. You or your organization should always be listed as the organization and administrative contact. When registering corporate domain names, make sure that the company name is listed as the owner of the domain. Do not allow an outside web designer or host to be listed as either the domain owner or administrative contact. If possible, the business owner or a senior executive should be listed as administrative contact since this person will be authorized to modify or change ownership of company domain names.
Be careful when using free email addresses. Many free email services will automatically suspend or delete your email account if you do not log in frequently enough. Once your email account is deleted, a domain hijacker can sign up for your same email address and use it to give permission to transfer your domains away from you. If possible, avoid using a free email address on your domain records.
Place a registrar lock on your domain. This will lock your domain record at the registry level and prevent it from being transferred, modified or deleted by a third party. This feature is very helpful in protecting your name against unauthorized transfers and hijacking. If your registrar does not offer this feature, consider transferring your domains to one who does. Since a registrar lock can also make it more difficult for you to transfer away from a registrar, you should look for a registrar that gives you the ability to automatically unlock your domain names at any time without having to call or email them.
Block your name from public view. This is an increasingly popular approach. Remember that by default, any internet user can see your contact details through free online tools. Your domain registrar can give you advice on what to do to protect yourself. Note that even though you want to hide your contact details from public view, you must ensure the contact information you provide to the registrar is up to date. Most important is your email address. That way, you will stay up to date on any information the domain registrar would like to communicate to you or to its customers in general.
Do not reply or click on any links in any domain related email correspondence you do not recognize. Also be careful not to reply to any official looking renewal notices you receive in the mail from companies you do not recognize. Domain hijackers and unscrupulous registrars have been known to submit mass amounts of transfers hoping that a small percentage of confused registrants will accidentally confirm the transfers. When in doubt, contact your original registrar to verify any suspicious messages.
Add your registrar's domain name to your spam filter's approved sender list. If you or your ISP are using a spam blocking service, you run the risk of not receiving domain renewal notices from your registrar if they are incorrectly categorized. You can prevent this from happening by adding your registrar to your list of approved senders. This will automatically bypass any filtering and ensure that all renewal notices make it straight to your inbox.
Renewing your domain name early and for a longer amount of time. If your domain name is critical to your business and is one you will want for years to come, consider renewing your domain registration in five year increments. This will avoid yearly registration hassles and prevent your domain from accidentally expiring.
Summary
There are a number of common mistakes which cause domains to expire, be hijacked or deleted. However, being aware of these mistakes and taking the proper precautions can greatly increase the security of your domain names. Most importantly, keep your domain information up to date and consider consolidating your names with a registrar that provides the tools you need to securely manage and protect your domain names.