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Although the WHOIS public directory has an important role to play, it is often misused for purposes such as scams and identity theft. So while you may be painstakingly keeping your personal details protected everywhere else, you might be sabotaging those efforts by leaving your details exposed in the directory. Investing in domain name privacy is a practical way to protect both you and your websites visitors.
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Armed with 10+ years of experience in social , Ellice is DreamHost’s resident social media marketing expert. A native Angeleno, her passions include trivia, bunnies, bowling, and social justice for all.
What Is A Whois Lookup
As explained above, WHOIS is a public directory that holds all the records and personal information of all registered domains. Since it is a public directory, it can be seen and viewed by everyone in the world.
The WHOIS Lookup is a feature in the WHOIS directory that, if you type the websites name on, will reveal who owns and manages the domain name, including their names, contact information, address, etc., that they initially provided while registering for the domain.
Although the WHOIS lookup feature is an easy way to find relevant information on the Public WHOIS database, it can sometimes be used against you or harm you if your personal information is just a lookup away from literally everyone in the world.
For example, we search the domain registrant details for nike.com in the following screenshot.
Below, we can see who the domain registrar is, when the registration expires, and when it was last updated.
Scrolling further down, we can see the registrants name, which city theyre located in, and even access their phone number and email address.
Now, its not a big deal for a large company like Nike to make this information available publicly. However, if youre a small business owner, you need to be careful with the accessible information about your business, where its available, and why. And that is exactly why you need to hide domain information of your website from the publics eye.
Do I Need Domain Privacy Protection
When you purchase a domain name, there are several add-on features that you can choose to purchase along with your domain. Some features are useful to everyone while some may only be relevant only to a certain set of users. Many-a-time when we realize a service is an add-on we assume that it might not be worthwhile it is healthy to be wary of unnecessary up-sells, of course, but it is also a good practice to validate the need for a product that is easily available and may add value to you.
One add-on that for domain names is Domain Whois Privacy Protection. In this post, well see
What is Domain Privacy Protection?
All domain names have a WHOIS listing, that goes into a database of all the registered domains and all the registrant information such as address and contact details associated with a domain. This information on WHOIS is available to everyone over the Internet. Without Domain Privacy Protection, all your data is available to the public. Thus, Domain Privacy Protection is a service that hides all your contact information from the public on WHOIS listing.
Why is it Important?
Domain Privacy Protection has advantages irrespective of whether youre a Reseller or a Customer. Here are some reasons why you should opt for Domain Privacy:
To know more about the steps followed to enable domain privacy protection, read the full blog post on our blog.
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Domain Name Privacy Protects Whois Data
To register a domain, you must provide the domain registrar with basic contact information that includes your legal name, address, phone number, and an email address. This information confirms that you are the domain owner of record, and its entered into a public database called Whois, which answers the question who is responsible for this domain name or IP address?
The Whois database is one of several databases for holding internet registrant data. These databases are accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. ICANN is a nonprofit organization that maintains and coordinates IP addresses and the Domain Name System , and it makes sure that every entity on the internet has a unique identifier that can be accessed by computers everywhere in the world. That is why everyone who registers a domain name must provide legitimate identification to an ICANN database.
To enable Domain Privacy on any of your domains, simply log into your Bluehost control panel and click the Upgrades tab. Keep your personal information private!
Make Domain Name Security A Top Priority
These methods are more than enough to get you started on beefing up the security of your businesss domain name, thereby neutralising major threats which could end up costing your business a lot of money. Or even cause you to lose your business altogether.
If you have questions about other services EuroDNS provides to keep your domain name safe, get in touch with our Customer Support department. Theyll be glad to provide you with all the help and resources you need. And be sure to visit our blog where we regularly provide tips on how to best manage domain names and keep them safe.
Obaid Chawla is an innovation buff with a propensity for hard debate. He has a deep interest in how humans can push forward into the fourth Industrial Revolution, and he loves covering every single development that takes place!
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Whats The Advantages Of Buying Domain Id Protection
The advantages is your privacy. Many people do not like having their address and contact information publicly visible for security or privacy concerns and they are well warranted concerns. Even though companies are not supposed to, many companies worldwide use the WHOIS database to contact people for marketing purposes and the WHOIS database can be used to easily distribute spam.
Register Variations Of Your Domain Name
Register variances of your domain name online as scammers are often looking to register domain names similar to yours so they can imitate your brand. Through common hacking techniques like phishing or domain name typosquatting, hackers can use your domain to trick unsuspecting users into providing confidential details like banking information, putting your brands reputation at risk. Registering variations of your domain name limits opportunities for others to register those same variations and put your brands reputation at risk.
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My Domain Name Was Transferred Without My Authorization
Act immediately and contact your registrar. If you believe your domain name was transferred to a new registrar or registrant or if your account information was modified without your consent, immediately contact your registrar. Don’t delay! The sooner you contact your registrar, the better. If you wait, your domain name may be transferred again and again, further complicating the process and making it harder to retrieve your domain.
Trust the process. Act quickly to inform your registrar, but don’t panic! There are specific rules that govern the transfer of domains that are designed to protect you. A registrar may only initiate a transfer if it has obtained a completed Form of Authorization from either the registrant or the administrative contact for the domain. Ask your registrar to request a copy of the form used for authorizing the transfer. The registrar that the domain name was transferred to must be able to produce a copy of this documentation when it is requested. Failure to do so is grounds for reversal of a transfer in the event that a complaint is filed under the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy. If you’ve contacted your registrar and they are unable or unwilling to assist you, submit an Unauthorized Transfer Complaint with ICANN. We will review your situation to see if we can assist you in recovering your domain.
Gdpr And Other Protections Change The Environment
Recent high profile incidents of data hacking highlight the importance of hiding personal information from public access on the internet. Those incidents and other events that involve the misuse of sensitive personal data have led to the creation of a number of new data privacy regulations that aim to give internet users more control over personal data and how it can be used.
In the spring of 2018, the European Union implemented a sweeping set of data privacy regulations collectively called the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. This law has now become the primary means of protecting the personal data of EU citizens in online environments around the world, and companies and other entities that fail to comply can be subject to stiff fines and penalties. Within the EU, some countries, like Germany, have even stiffer laws.
The GDPR isnt limited to regulating the use and availability of personal data solely in the EU. Because the internet is a global network, any website that could be used by EU citizens anywhere in the world becomes subject to the provisions of the GDPR. This includes Whois and other ICANN certified databases for registering websites and IP addresses.
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Why Is Protecting My Godaddy Domain Important
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, requires us to gather contact information for the person or business registering a domain name, known as the registrant or domain holder. This info includes name, phone number, address and other details, which is reported to the domain registry and shown on the WHOIS directory. Keeping your domain contact info protected helps prevent unwanted spam calls and emails, and makes sure you’re in control of what information is publicly available. But it’s not just about keeping your personal information private, either. We aim to help you protect your domain and your entire online presence.
Should We Hide Whois Information
To ensure the safety and protection of personal data, many domain owners decide to keep their WHOIS information hidden. Some reasons include:
- Protecting your Identity
Anybody with an internet connection will be able to access your personal data, including your name, address, email address, and phone number. It makes sense to protect this information in order to avoid personal data abuse and identity theft.
- Hiding your Location
If you are running an eCommerce store from your home, you may experience customers appearing at your door or calling you at your private phone number. Whether they were unhappy by your products or they wanted to check out the brick and mortar store that actually doesnt exist, it is not a pleasant experience.
- Avoiding Unwanted Offers
Domain flippers use the WHOIS databases to pick on domain names they would be interested in buying. By keeping your contact information hidden, you can prevent persistent unwanted offers for your domain
- Avoiding Spammers
Similarly, spammers wont ask for consent to send you constant offers and promotions that are both annoying and unwanted. Spammers scrape data from the WHOIS database and fill inboxes with unsolicited email, and so by keeping your data hidden, you are minimizing the chance of spammers getting a hold of your contact information.
While not explicitly the focus of this article, a number of high profile court cases are ruling against ICANN, the organization behind WHOIS.
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It Prevents Domain Theft
Domain theft or hijacking is when someone changes your domains registration information without your permission. This is possible by accessing your email address and domain registrar account.
Hackers can use your domain to aid other cyber-attacks like malware installation. Moreover, theres a chance they might use it for phishing.
In other words, they might create web pages identical to the ones on your website, especially pages that collect sensitive customer data.
Losing control of your domain can lead to financial loss, regulatory and reputational damages.
The dummy email address will give hackers an extra obstacle by enabling domain privacy protection if they try to break into your account.
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Secure Your Login Page
Like we mentioned above, having a strong password is the first step to securing your login page.
But, you can elevate its security even further with a WordPress security plugin.
For example, youll be able to do things like:
- Add two-factor authentication for all users
- Limit the number of failed login attempts
- Block certain IP address from accessing your login page
Your login page can be especially vulnerable to brute force attacks and are one of the most common ways hackers will gain access to your site through login attemps. By hardening your login page youre making one of the most vulnerable aspects of your site nearly impenetrable.
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Do I Really Need Domain Privacy
Yes! you really need it, if you want to hide your information from displaying publicly. But if you purchase a domain and you want people to contact you then you might not need it.
If you are in the domain buying-selling business then you may want your information shown to the potential buyers.
Adding Domain Privacy + Protection from any company replaces your information from their own from the whois database, which is publicly visible to anyone on the internet.
| Without Domain Privacy Protection |
| United States8017659400 |
Yes! you really need domain privacy protection to protect your personal and sensitive information from being stolen. Trust me choosing domain privacy really pays itself by saving you from spammers.
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Protection Vs No Protection
Above is what it looks like if you have no protection. As you can clearly see, this shows all of your personal information. Can leave you wide open for spam, unsolicited marketing contacts, and even allow your domain name to get hijacked.
Above is what it looks like when you have protection. You can see that your domain name, address, email, phone number, etc. is all hidden behind a proxy. Typically, the words Domains by Proxy, Inc are the owner, which isnt your real information. Makes it a lot harder for people to reach out to you by looking through your information. You are paying to mask your identity.
Below are a couple of options that I have seen other webmasters use to get around using privacy protection.
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Reasons Why You Need Domain Privacy Protection
Reliable web hosting providers disclose how they use and store your details in their privacy policy, but thats not enough to protect your personal information.
Because of ICANN regulations, when registering a domain, your personal data must be made public by default that is the main reason why domain privacy is needed. Here are some other reasons why it may be necessary.