Anonymous or private domain name registration?

[ncpilot]

Does anyone use anonymous or private domain name registration?

Pro's and con's?

Any personal experiences where your public registration info has been used "against" you (spam, unsolicited crap, etc...)?

[Bushman]

I get crap via GoDaddy.com all the time.  Never have an issue with Dotster though.

[George Richardson]

Marc,

I use Network Solutions and have never had any problem. I have a business domain and a weather/hobby domain. Never had a problem but I'm an insurance sucker and one of their sharp salesmen sold me the anonymous thingie for "only" ... I bought, then thought, then questioned and dropped. I'm sure it prevents some problems but I haven't had any that coulda mightof shouldof been prevented.

What do they say?

FWIW and YMMV

George

[ncpilot]

...What do they say?

FWIW and YMMV

George

Yeah, and opinions are like a part of the human anatomy---everyone's got one! LOL...

But I value the opinions of this forum's members...

Don't you have a full street address listed when registering a domain? That's mostly the part I wouldn't want...

BTW, pertinent to another post I kinda hijacked under "where to point a webcam", you use "odd" ports for your cams, and they are blocked by the firewall here at work... can't see a thing...

One of my best pilot experiences was taking a trip to SML (W91) from RDU (when I lived in Durham)...

[racenet]

Marc,

I sell domain names and the like and I'll tell you straight up. Private registration isn't really worth it. If it makes you sleep better at night, then by all means go for it. Other then that, spend your money on something else.



Bob
Tao Domains
www.taodomains.com

[ncpilot]

Bob, who is Tao reselling for?

I'm searching for a registrar as we speak, and was about to do a forum search...

I've got the ICANN (VeriSign) list of primary registrars up on my screen... I kinda like the idea of going with a primary registrar, not a re-seller, but like private registration, don't know if it really matters?

Tao's $1.99 special for ordering a non-domain product looks like a Go Daddy promotion?

[Mark / Ohio]

I bought my domain name for $9.99 a year through Godaddy and for and extra $8.99 a year also the private registration to sleep better.   

I just don't like the idea of my personal information being quite that easy to look up.  But I know and so of course do the bad guys there are other places to find it anyway.

Godaddy did call me once and left a message saying they just wanted to make sure I got setup OK and to give them a call.  I was setup fine and never called them back for an additional sales pitch.  I unchecked all that I could as far as the privacy stuff goes during registration and I have not heard anything from since.

I went with E-Rice for Hosting.  I'm still getting off cheaper now then I did at Tripod.com with no domain name.   The only negative being I don't have as much online storage space.  On the other hand I really did not need all the extra space to begin with and it was not being used.

[racenet]

Marc,

I am a re-seller throuh Wildwest Domains, which is GoDaddy's re-seller division. Purchasing through a re-seller, you get the same security & benefits as going through GoDaddy directly. So, you get all the same things you'd get from them and also support the smaller re-seller.

I have been a re-seller for many, many years. It is one of the ways to support the NH Weather Data weather site. All profits from domain sales goes directly into supporting the weather site and its equipment.



Bob

[ncpilot]

I'm a bit perplexed about the business model. Tao is selling domains at $2 below Go Daddy's price, and on top of it, you are getting money back from Go Daddy for each domain you sell? I've read the actual ICANN cost to register is $6.75 (if I recall correctly), slim margins... I understand of course that volume is expected to make up for discounts...

Once registered through a re-seller, how does renewal work? Is it automatic through Go Daddy? Or does Tao have to submit a renewal?

My concern is that something important linked to my domain (like renewal?) might be affected if a re-seller shuts down...

And how can you resell the .org so much more cheaply?? $6 cheaper...

And finally, what do people think about registering the .com and .org and .net for a domain? (and .info maybe?). Doesn't cost that much more per year to own them all...

[racenet]

I'm a bit perplexed about the business model. Tao is selling domains at $2 below Go Daddy's price, and on top of it, you are getting money back from Go Daddy for each domain you sell? I've read the actual ICANN cost to register is $6.75 (if I recall correctly), slim margins... I understand of course that volume is expected to make up for discounts...

I can not discuss the business model. But yes, all sales are split between the re-seller & the main company (GoDaddy)

Once registered through a re-seller, how does renewal work? Is it automatic through Go Daddy? Or does Tao have to submit a renewal?

Yes, all renewals are through the dealer you purchased from, which in my case would be Tao Domains, which is just like any other business you deal with. If you wish to set up automatic renewals, you can, but it isn't required. It makes things much easier and makes sure you don't loose your domain name if you forget to renew. Renewal notices are sent out starting 90 days before expiration.

My concern is that something important linked to my domain (like renewal?) might be affected if a re-seller shuts down...

If a re-seller goes out of business, all registrations are picked up by the parent company, with no interruption in service. Also, re-sellers do not have access to credit card or other financial information stored for renewal purposes.

And how can you resell the .org so much more cheaply?? $6 cheaper...

Special buy rates. 

And finally, what do people think about registering the .com and .org and .net for a domain? (and .info maybe?). Doesn't cost that much more per year to own them all...

That is always a good idea, to protect your business identity. I wouldn't worry too much about it for a weather hobby site, but for a business, it is always a good idea. For example, The American Flag Store has all of its domains registered to protect its business identity.



Bob

[WeatherHost]

Namecheap works well and offers a domain name privacy masking service for a small annual fee.  Displays your WhoIs info out of LA.

Otherwise, use a PO Box and Cell Phone for your info.

[UniKyrn]

As a voice from the other side of the issue, if somebody ever needs to contact you about a problem involving your domain name, such as your web server having been hacked, you better have valid contact information in your registration.  If you don't want them knowing your real address, get a P.O. Box, but that phone number and email address better be able to reach you.

When I'm trying to report abuse and I run into a private registration, the domain name and IP range involved instantly become "block at firewall and forget".

[Mark / Ohio]

....When I'm trying to report abuse and I run into a private registration, the domain name and IP range involved instantly become "block at firewall and forget".

I take it private registration companies don't always get the information forwarded to the owner?  Or perhaps people commonly fudge or fail to update that information as well?

I would think the private registration companies would be quick to kill an account if they found the personal information did not match up.  Then again as long as they can collect their fee and there is no legal action against an account, maybe they do not follow up that close. 

In my Domains by Proxy account I selected the option "Filter for Spam and then forward remaining email".  (They also have all of my up to date personal contact information to notify me.)

[WeatherHost]

I take it private registration companies don't always get the information forwarded to the owner?  Or perhaps people commonly fudge or fail to update that information as well?

The one I use lists an email address that is encrypted but forwards messages to my email on the internal registration form.

[UniKyrn]

....When I'm trying to report abuse and I run into a private registration, the domain name and IP range involved instantly become "block at firewall and forget".

I take it private registration companies don't always get the information forwarded to the owner?  Or perhaps people commonly fudge or fail to update that information as well?

There have been so many problems with people using those anonymous services to hide that a lot of admins simply consider their use a sign that the network involved should be blocked.  It's not worth their time to try and educate either you, if they can even contact you, or your provider.

[HenryAZ]

My Whois information is public for hup.org.  The Registrant and Contact names are a generic "HUP Registrar", the email is a dedicated generic hup-ops@hup.org (which forwards to my normal email address), and the physical address is a PO Box.  I do receive an occasional email at the generic address, and an occasional letter in the PO Box.  What's important (to me) is that renewal (and other important) correspondence still comes to me directly.  I also maintain a few other important email addresses for the domain, such as abuse@hup.org, and postmaster@hup.org.