How Does Domain Name Hosting Work
To understand how domain name hosting works, it is essential to understand how a domain name actually works. When you enter a domain name into your internet browser, it sends a request to the Domain Name System.
The Domain Name System then looks up the name servers associated with that domain name. It communicates your request to the name servers, which then forward that request to the web server hosting the site. The web server then relays the information associated with that site back to the browser.
The name servers are managed by the domain web host, and the web server is managed by your website host. The domain name hosts responsibility is to register your domain name with the DNS and maintain the name servers so that your domain name remains active online.
Domain Privacy Hides Your Information From Competitors
Anyone who has a business or is thinking of starting one will likely do into the industry. Competitor research is a typical part of that process. Including your details in the WHOIS directory makes digging up information about your company that much easier for competitors.
If you own multiple websites especially, the WHOIS directory is an easy way for people to make the connection between them. If youd rather keep your brands separate in the eyes of competitors, or you simply dont want to make it easy for them to find out more about your company, domain privacy is worth it.
Domain Privacy + Protection Protects You From:
As an added benefit, Domain Privacy + Protection allows you to receive a text message anytime someone tries to make changes to your domain.
Don’t Miss: Do I Need A Domain To Have A Business Email
What If You Checkout But Want To Add Godaddy Full Domain Privacy Protection Later
No problem. If you already purchased the domain, you can simply go login and click on the my domains tab and then click add privacy next to your desired domain. I have done this for many of the domains that I own.
Some may decide not to add it at. For example, some people buy and sell domains for profit online. This practice is called domain flipping. There are many helpful domain flipping guides online that show beginners how to make money with it.
If your idea is to buy domains on Godaddy and flip them quickly on Godaddy auctions, Flippa.com, Sedo, etc, then you might bypass Domain Privacy. However, if you are buying a domain on which you plan to build a website on for the long haul, then getting Godaddy Domain Privacy Protection is definitely worth adding it if you already purchased it.
You Cant Use Fake Personal Information When Registering A Domain
When it comes to domain registration, you have to use your actual contact details for security purposes. The person or company listed as the registrant of the domain name will always be the legal owner from the standpoint of ICANN.
Using false contact information may lead to a legal dispute about who owns the domain name. Its essential to use legitimate contact information, especially for businesses it can affect customers trust and loyalty to your brand.
Read Also: How Do I Transfer Ownership Of A Domain Name
Add To An Existing Domain
If you remove privacy protection when you register a domain, dont worry, you can always change your mind and add it at a later date. However, if you have the option to apply privacy from the get-go, do so. If you dont apply privacy upfront, your information will be available to the public. There are tools available that allow people to find previously listed domain ownership data, transfer history, and historical sales records of a domain.
If you remove the protection that Namecheap offers, and your current domain is getting spammed, you should get domain privacy. Email and phone spam will be greatly reduced if you have privacy protection in place.
What Is A Whois Lookup
A Whois lookup is a way for people to search the public Whois database to find specific information about your domain name, such as the current registrant, registrant information and expiration date. When someone enters a domain name into a Whois directory search bar, a request is sent to the public Whois database of the domains registrar or registry and the stored record is displayed. Unfortunately, some people have devious intentions when attempting to gather this information and will use it in online attacks to create data breaches and gather more of your personal information.
Recommended Reading: How To Check Domain Email
Godaddy Has Been Inappropriate Just A Few Too Many Times
If the technical explanations arent enough to convince you, then the ethical reasons will surely make you want to avoid GoDaddy.
GoDaddy has notoriously published one of the in the history of the planet.
Furthermore, they have published advertisements that have been overtly sexual in many ways, with AdAge.com labelling their technique as brash, boobs-first advertising.
And to cap it all off, in 2011, GoDaddys CEO Bob Pearson posted a video online of him shooting an elephant. Thats right, you read correctly.
The footage so graphic, that Im not even going to link to it in this blog. Ridiculous behaviour.
You May Like: How Much To Purchase A Domain Name
List Of Privacy Protection Features For Websites
If you register your website for domain protection, you will get significant features to help your website stay secure and safe from unauthorized access. These features are necessary for a website domain that works effectively without any risks.
#1: Protection of domain registration information
As explained above, a domain names registration allows the public to view your personal information. By running a quick WHOIS domain name search, you can see anyones domains information. This could be used for not-good purposes.
However, the main feature of privacy protection is domain protection after private domain registration. Instead of your personal contact information, like first and last name, contact number, address, being available for the public to view, it becomes confidential and private.
#2: Regular backups
One essential feature of privacy protection that we simply cannot underestimate is regular backups. In todays world, a good backup is everything. It is a reliable method to keep your websites data and information safe, critical because nothing is ever 100% secured.
Whether building your site from scratch or using management systems like WordPress, there are multiple ways to backup and safeguard files. And the best part, a lot of these features are free.
#3: SSL Certificate
Whenever you are passing information, its better to use SSL-protected links. If you are not doing that, it is possible that people could steal that information and use it for wrongdoings.
Don’t Miss: What Is The Most Popular Domain Extension
Prevent Strangers From Accessing Your Personal Data
You can use domain privacy protection to decrease the risk of data breaches. It lets you avoid handing over your personal data to the entire internet.
The Identity Theft Resource Center shares that data breaches affected 189.5 million people in 2021, leading to phishing attacks, spam calls, and identity theft.
How Can You Get Domain Privacy Protection
You can get domain privacy protection while registering your domain name. The domain registrar or hosting provider offers domain privacy protection with their domain names. This usually includes the add-on features.
If you are still confused then you must go through with reasons which make sense that why there is a need for Domain Privacy Protection?
Recommended Reading: How To Transfer Squarespace Domain To Godaddy
You May Like: How Can I Get An Email With My Domain Name
Is Domain Protection Necessary Godaddy
Adding domain protection for Godaddy is 100% optional and not require to have a Godaddy account. The main benefits is that your private information will not be be published on the web with the whois directory. This will stop you from receiving tons of spam, unsolicited phones calls and sales-related emails. People try to steal your info or sell you things that you dont need nor want.
Again, is it necessary to have the domain protection? This is a question that only you can answer. If you care about protecting your personal info, then the answer is yes. If you dont, then just leave it off.
I know that you just wanted to know is Godaddy full domain privacy protection worth it or not. However, I wanted to answer some questions that many entrepreneurs have about Godaddy. Is there another question that you would like to answered that was not covered today? If so, please drop it below in the comments area.
Enjoy Complete Domain Privacy Protection With Network Solutions
With a long history of safely registering business domain names, Network Solutions offers privacy domain registration to safeguard your personal information from spammers, telemarketers and bots.You can also benefit from our easy to use DIY web builders and trusted web hosting services.
Keep your data safe and secure with our complete selection of website and online services. Were always here to make your job easier.
You May Like: Which Is The Best Website To Buy A Domain Name
How Does It Work
Our chosen Whois privacy service provider Withheld for Privacy, hides your contact details and replaces them with anonymized information. This means youll stay safe from unsolicited phone calls, junk mail, and identity theft.Importantly, your contact information is not required by our privacy service provider, keeping it safe and secure with us.If someone were to look up your domain name, they will see anonymous domain registration information just like in the example below.
Unprotected
Can Everyone See My Information
If your website domain is not privacy protected, everyone can see your information. When you register your domain on the world wide web, it becomes a part of the global directory, called WHOIS, that makes your domains all registered information available to the public.
If you had integrated privacy protection when creating the website domain, your information would not be visible to everyone. However, if privacy is not protected, then your information is just a couple of clicks away from the rest of the world.
Also Check: How To Join A Domain Windows 10
Because You Can Prevent Data Scraping
If you noticed that soon after registering your domain name youve been receiving a ton of marketing emails and phone calls, you may have been a victim of data scraping: the process of gathering information from publicly available sources, and saving it onto a spreadsheet or local file to be used for various purposes.
Many third-party vendors engage in data scraping to obtain personal data from public databases such as WHOIS, so that they can sell the information to businesses and organizations for a profit. With your personal information, organizations and pushy marketers can flood you with unwanted phone calls, spam email, and even snail mail. Investing in domain name privacy is, however, a practical way to prevent data scraping.
While data scraping may leave you susceptible to unscrupulous marketers, thats not the worst that could happen. Having your information publicly available can also increase your risk of getting hacked, and having your identity stolen.
Furthermore, scammers whove obtained your information can send out emails under the guise of a legitimate company, to get you or your employees to open fake emails that can compromise your data. Such email phishing scams are common, and can affect even the most well-known organizations around the world. Essentially, domain privacy protection can help prevent your data from getting into the wrong hands.
What Godaddy Is Doing Wrong About Privacy Heres What It Should Do
Story by
Founder and CEO of Secure Privacy. Partner at Experticon. Published author and former management consultant. Founder and CEO of Secure Privacy. Partner at Experticon. Published author and former management consultant.
GoDaddy cares about your privacy. For this reason, we collect and use personal data only as it might be needed for us to deliver to you our world-class products, services, websites, and mobile applications.
The above is a direct quote from GoDaddys privacy policy, and a fair statement to make in terms of the use of your personal data. That is, until you register a domain with the company.
Wherever it is youre situated, GoDaddy asks for users to pay for privacy protection. With privacy being a fundamental right to us all, it seems distasteful that a large domain registrar would charge a fee for this.
With the recent introduction of GDPR and the upcoming CCPA law in California I wanted to take a deeper look at GoDaddys business practices regarding data privacy and protection.
Don’t Miss: How Much Does A Wix Domain Name Cost
Is Domain Privacy Protection Worth It
This might vary depending on whats fully offered. I would say for the majority of people domain privacy is worth paying for if it doesnt come with the domains youre buying.
Endless spam messages offering questionable SEO, dropshippers from overseas, or other spammy services are annoying to parse through. A good privacy protection policy can help take care of that.
If I want to build a website and put it up for sale, it will eventually end up at a marketplace. The active website built on a domain will have the contact information where I want any inquiries.
Having the name and personal contact information removed from the WhoIs is good for privacy and safety, and ideal for most online investors.
It Protects The Contact Details Of The Domain Registrant
The world has access to your domain registration information through the WHOIS database. So anyone can easily see your contact details, including hackers, scammers, and competitors.
If your website is hacked, your business will suffer, and customers data can get stolen as well. Youll lose the audiences trust and potential traffic. Plus, it may take some time to recover from reputational damage.
You will reduce the potential of experiencing the problems mentioned above if you use domain privacy protection.
Don’t Miss: How Do I Reserve A Domain Name
For All The Benefits You Get Its Cheap
Maybe none of these benefits would be worth it if they came with a hefty price tag, but you dont have to spend hundreds of dollars to increase privacy and reduce spam.
Domain privacy protection is very affordable, considering the benefits. At around $15 a year, you can keep yourself and your brand safer, while saving yourself the annoyance of more unnecessary contact attempts from spammers. Thats probably less than you spent the last time you went out to eat.
Why You Should Consider Implementing Domain Privacy
If you dont safeguard your domain information, your sensitive details could be at risk. You might face hacking, identity theft, spam calls and emails, or cyberattacks.
Often, domain privacy is the key to keeping your personal information secure. This kind of protection lets you:
- Conceal your identity
- Increase your website security
There is just one major downside to hiding your personal information. If someone wants to buy your domain, privacy protection can make it difficult for them to contact you. However, if youre not planning to sell your domain, this wont be an issue.
Additionally, certain Top Level Domains do not support domain protection. For instance, if your URL ends in .us, .uk, or .eu, you wont be able to get WHOIS privacy.
Read Also: How Do I See Who Owns A Domain Name
Godaddy Gives Too Little Control
GoDaddys server back end is difficult to use and limited in functionality.
Which basically means that as a developer, it takes me more time to complete tasks.
If I want to deliver results for my client, I need the flexibility and ease of use that an industry standard admin interface, like cPanel, provides.
Unfortunately, GoDaddy gives users a proprietary admin interface that is more interested in selling you more GoDaddy products than in giving you the tools you need.
Do I Need Domain Privacy Protection
When you register a new domain name, with most providers, one of the first options youll see during the checkout process is whether or not to select domain privacy protection as an add-on.
Youre already spending money on your domain and web hosting, so naturally before you agree to one more expense, you want to know for sure: is domain privacy worth it?
While the cost for domain privacy protection is fairly low , money is money and you dont want to pay for anything you dont need. When trying to decide if domain name privacy is necessary for you, heres a rundown of everything you need to know.
Also Check: How To Create An Email Account With My Own Domain
Domain Privacy Protection Means Less Spam
How many times a day do you get phone calls from unidentified numbers? How about emails selling products youd never dream of buying at allmuch less from a cold email? Spam is an unfortunate part of life.
Its bad enough without putting your email address and phone number out there where anyone can find it. Listing your contact information in the WHOIS database basically guarantees that youll see an uptick in spam calls and emails. It makes you an easy target.
And while there are certainly worse things in the world than spam, who wants to spend their time deleting spam emails or fielding robo-calls? Domain privacy protection may not keep you from dealing with any spam, but it means getting a lot less of it.
What About Free Ssl Certificates
There are a number of free SSL certificates out there. These are a good option for those with the technical skills to download and install one themselves.
You need a basic understanding of shell commands, as well as shell access to your hosting account.
There are help articles on the web for free SSLs, but no live customer support to lend a hand if you get stuck or have an issue. Read more about the differences between free and paid SSLs here.
You May Like: How Do You Register Your Domain Name