Domain Name Protection

Answer 1

In the world of eCommerce, high-value, attractive domain names are highly sought after and can be very expensive to obtain. Because domain names of so valuable, they are often times subject to theft and other disputes over ownership. Fortunately, there are ways in which owners can protect their domain name from scams, thefts, and others who may attempt to deprive rightful owner of a domain name's value.

Upon registering a domain name, it is important to register with a company that values security and implements effective measures to guard personal contact information and to serve as a gatekeeper between the registered domain and those who may attempt to compromise its security. It is also important to choose a registrar that has strict policies in place for whenever a registrant wants to make account changes or change domain name information. Oftentimes a hijacker will attempt to impersonate a registrant. Therefore, the stricter the registrar's requirements are for making changes, the more difficult it will be for a hacker to meet all the requirements and gain access to the account. Choosing a domain name that has REGISTRAR-LOCK enabled may also be beneficial. Once enabled, REGISTRAR-LOCK prevents unauthorized or accidental changes from being made to the domain name.

Looking for sites that have a seal of approval which indicates that they are hack proof can also be helpful in choosing a quality registrar. When evaluating seals of approval that are associated with a site's security level, it is important to research the company that issued the seal and to examine the seal very carefully to determine that it is authentic and that the seal was awarded by a reputable internet safety company. HackerSafe and HackerProof are two examples of companies that issue hack proof seals.

In addition to choosing the right registrar, there are practices which the domain name owner can take to increase security. Choosing a strong password can go far in greatly reducing the probability of a hacker gaining access. Passwords which are non-obvious, at least eight characters in length, and include a combination of letters and numbers are usually a good choice. Making regular password changes can increase security. Password storage is also important. Domain owners should avoid storing their password on their computer, and passwords should especially not be kept in an email. Furthermore, choosing a secure email address is also critical, as hackers are often able to access domain accounts through the owner's email. Owners may increase email security by avoiding accounts that are provided through free services and by setting up an account on their own domain instead.

Protecting a domain should be treated no differently than protecting other valuable assets. By enlisting the service of a quality registrar in addition to adopting practices which increase personal internet security, domain owners may greatly decrease the likelihood of having their domain name compromised or stolen.