Domain Ownership

A fella that works here has just experienced an "aw shiite" with the website for his business. His web guy was a putz and must have gotten into dire straights and didn't keep up on the monthly's for the domain, and lost it. The domain was in his website guy's name. Somehow a preditorial business bought it up before he or his new web guy had a chance to. They held the domain hostage for $4G for something that he paid for once already.

I set my site up back in the day through Intuit, who sold the website business off to Homestead.
I doo all my own website work.

So, given his issues I looked up my domain and I am not listed as the owner, but worse in my eyes is that it is not in Homesteads' name either!
It is owned by Tucows, who I have never heard of.

I know that several of you are very versed in this industry, so tell me - am I to be worried?
What to doo?


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Your colleague can either fork over the $4K or pay an attorney to write an angry letter. There are laws against "cybersquatting".

Back in the late 90s, a father and son in Silicon Valley bought up a bunch of domains, including MSDW.com. The son, an avid mountain biker, used the domain to make a photo blog called "Mud Sweat's Downhill World". Morgan Stanley Dean Witter took legal action against them after they refused to sell MSDW.com for $10K and instead counteroffered at $75K.

Morgan Stanley Wins Fight Over Internet Domain Name - The New York Times

As for you, I'm not sure exactly what's going on with your domain, but you should be able to transfer your registration to a bigger, more well-known registrar in your name, e.g. Godaddy.com. Probably wouldn't hurt to contact your current registrar for help.

Tucows Domains - Tucows is my registrar. Can you help me?

I believe you can transfer your domains to a new registrar. I used DomainsPricedRight for my clients who I did websites for in the past. They were the best bang for the buck at the time and I never had problems with them. Today they are still offering reasonable registration @ $149 for 10 years and $5.99 per month economy hosting for Open Sore or Microsoft platforms. Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Bob

Ox said:

A fella that works here has just experienced an "aw shiite" with the website for his business. His web guy was a putz and must have gotten into dire straights and didn't keep up on the monthly's for the domain, and lost it. The domain was in his website guy's name. Somehow a preditorial business bought it up before he or his new web guy had a chance to. They held the domain hostage for $4G for something that he paid for once already.

I set my site up back in the day through Intuit, who sold the website business off to Homestead.
I doo all my own website work.

So, given his issues I looked up my domain and I am not listed as the owner, but worse in my eyes is that it is not in Homesteads' name either!
It is owned by Tucows, who I have never heard of.

I know that several of you are very versed in this industry, so tell me - am I to be worried?
What to doo?


-----------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Click to expand...

I use one.com for my website and pay $70 per year for my domain name.

I'm always informed well in advance when the next payment is due plus I've experienced once I get more than one reminder.

I've no idea how things work with "free" websites but, like you, I like what I have and do it myself as it's easy to update.

If your "fella" wants to keep the name on his website then instead of the at present used .whatever he can just find another. There are now many to choose from.

One.com Web hosting - Domain • Hosting • Email

Mine is F-M-S.DK but instead of .DK I had the choice of scores. Not only does the DK mean Denmark but it fits in with both my email (f-m-s.dk) and company name (FMS-DK).

Your "fella" would have to have a helluva good business on the side to even consider paying the "bribe".

I've found that by having the right "search words" in my website I get many hits. On average around 600 per day from all over the world. If they all bought Bill Gates would have a rival

Register your domain name yourself and use a separate host. One issue that can arise when you get a free domain name with your host is they own it, not you. You want to keep using it they gotta be your host.

Do these super cheap web hosts have super easy platforms to edit your website?

I talked to a voice at my provider, and he said that I doo own my domain, and that it is listed via the service provider, and if I changed some security settings it would show my name on a whois search.

Does that sound right?


Also - the voice said that tucows is their listing arm of their business.



C/B:

Yeah - easy enough and good enough for me.
Depends on what'cher lookin' for of course.

I don't figger that I am in the business of selling websites, or artsy fartsy schtuff - so mine doesn't need to be the best and most fancy thing that you can find anything except the info that you want....
Some of these sites are just WAY too full of BS, it seems to me like I am interviewing a politician sometimes.
You're sure to get a long winded, feel good - dog and pony show, but don't think that you'll ever find any actual info.
Not even direct contact info or location on many these days.

.. and with that - if I have a choice, I generally leave those sites and find something else if possible.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Tucows handles things for Homestead so seems normal.

I own two names Carbideengineering.com and Carbidedirect.com. Neither of which I use currently but one is live.
Carbidedirect I lost for a while when I did not renew and a scammer picked it up and tried to sell it back to me. I waited it out and grabbed it back.
My original long ago pointed all to me. The new one does not show me at all.
Processed differently and if you go do the ICANN WHOIS lookup the info is presented different.
You should be able to move your hosting to anywhere.

Some people don't want the whois to show yourself and there is some advantage to this if you don't need spam.
Bob

OX
its best if you use a registrar company, for your domain names. I personally use networksolutions.com all the others suck and always have some gimick

then use a webhosting hosting service for your website That you your self can go in and make backs ups and such.
never use the a hosting service for your dotcom name, other wise like your buddy your f'd.

For example anyone can be a hosting service and I mean anyone all they have to do is have server room. I have my own server through my hosting service and run all my buddies forums on it (ones as big as this place if no bigger). If I wanted to be a DICK , I could say f you guys and shut it down, they loose there info, but they keep there domain name because its with network solutions or another domain name registrar.
another example is what if I died tomorrow there websites would be gone and they would have no access. but they would still have there .com name and could move that anywhere.

What I am getting at its important not to goto the cheap guys you make sure your doing it with someone who has Charactor or a real bussiness for this.your .com nam is the most important thing as informaion can always be found and re-inserted, a .com name cannot.

I use for my hosting alphaomegahosting. been dealing with them since Al Gore invented the internet, been running Vbulletin forums before there was the internet(pirate/Nerd Days. seen alot of hacks looking to make a quick buck in hosting , then after they figure its work or they can make money faster elsewhere(like a a bunch of gypsy's they shut down leaving there customers F'd

You never own a domain name, you only rent that entry from a registry. If you don't keep paying the registry, they can rent the name to anyone else, just like renting a hotel room. For reasons that I don't quite understand (work related, wife related and geek related), I seem to be hosting web and/or mail servers for 11 domains on the servers in my shed. The domains get paid for by direct debit as and when they need renewing, that way they don't accidentally expire (said he, hopefully)

Use WIX... my uncle has been a web guy and designer for many years and loves them. Great support, no nonsense.

Free Website Builder | Create a Free Website | Wix.com

tucows is oldie like eartlink,
from back in the dialup days

I have always had good luck with hostgator just my 2 cents

Ox said:

I talked to a voice at my provider, and he said that I doo own my domain, and that it is listed via the service provider, and if I changed some security settings it would show my name on a whois search.

Does that sound right?

Click to expand...

Yes. The domain registrar is providing WHOIS protection. ICANN rules require valid email/phone/address contact information in public WHOIS entries which leads to lots of junk mail and spam email and phone calls. Either for free for a few bucks a month most registrars will substitute their contact info for yours and forward you any legitimate contacts regarding your domain name, so that your contact info is not made public. It does not affect who owns the domain.

I host mine through google for $8 per year.

Ox, asking for and getting advice is good - except when all give different advice!

One thing I've learned over time is that "cheap" is rarely good - unless of course you were born lucky.

If you ever get arrested wait till the cop says "Anything you say will be taken down and used in evidence against you."
Then you say this. "I have nothing to say. I, on the other hand, find you very attractive, your honour, and am struggling to contain myself."
Then watch his face when he has to read that out in court.

Ox said:

I talked to a voice at my provider, and he said that I doo own my domain, and that it is listed via the service provider, and if I changed some security settings it would show my name on a whois search.

Does that sound right?

Click to expand...

Just do a whois and see

mine doesn't need to be the best and most fancy thing that you can find anything except the info that you want....

Click to expand...

EXACTLY ! Farking idjuts. When people tell me how "high-tech" will save us I want to scream. It's a bunch of non-functional worthless crap.

Some of these sites are just WAY too full of BS, it seems to me like I am interviewing a politician sometimes.
You're sure to get a long winded, feel good - dog and pony show, but don't think that you'll ever find any actual info.
Not even direct contact info or location on many these days.

Click to expand...

The web is 90% worthless garbage these days ...

if I have a choice, I generally leave those sites and find something else if possible.

Click to expand...

Same-same

One thing I have done a 180 on ... China does this differently. Originally I thought their system was some restrictive totalitarian hogwash : in order to register a domain name you have to prove some sort of connection to that name. And you have to have a business license. (That part could still stand changing). And your business name is connected upfront to the domain. And you have to verify this with some bureau in Beijing (it's free, takes a day or two). And you have to show the TCP license number that they give you on the front page.

Restrictive. Totalitarian.

But it sure cuts out many bullshit artists and scammers hiding behind an anonymous website. You can actually find out who is pretending to be what. Easily. And there are even roadblocks in place to try to avoid that kind of thing. And no domain-squatting. No extortion.

It's better than okay. There's a good chance that a Chinese site has an actual realworld entity behind it. And if there is a problem, you can track down the evil-doers.

Back in the olde dayes of the web this would have been obnoxious but today, when it's all just Home Shopping Channel, it's a better system.

EmanuelGoldstein said:

The web is 90% worthless garbage these days ...

Click to expand...

That can't possibly be correct - my understanding is that the web is over 90% porn.

It can't *all* be bad.

PDW