Hides Your Contact Details
Webmasters and investors who have been in the website game for a while remember when no registrars gave free privacy. If you didnt pay for it, the mass spam emails were sure to follow.
Hiding the contact details stops this, which also limits the phishing emails. This can be turned off for those selling domain names, but most other webmasters are better served by the privacy which also makes them harder to target.
Controls & Blocks Spam Messages
Without all the contact information right out there for spammers to scrape, its going to be harder to get your contact info and spam. This is a major benefit of domain protection: it saves you the headache of having to deal with all that junk.
This also limits phishing emails or other spam attempts to gain your passwords or control of your accounts via email.
Why Should You Keep Domain Registration Private
Domain registration requires personal information that should often be kept private. If you wouldnt post your name, address, and phone number on a billboard, you probably dont want it available to everyone on the internet.
One of the most common reasons for private domain registration is to avoid spam, identity theft, and harassment. Unfortunately, these days, having your contact details publicly available online puts you at risk of unwanted communication.
While the personal information provided isnt incredibly sensitive, it could still be used nefariously. For example, with your name, email address, and website information, someone could easily send emails from a fake account similar to yours and pretend to be you. They could use this to phish for account information of your users and compromise your sites security.
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Do I Really Need Domain Privacy
So, I hope you have got your answer, by the explanation given in this post.
Adding Domain Privacy + Protection from any company replace your information from the whois database, which is publicly visible to anyone on the internet.
Without Domain Privacy ProtectionWith Domain Privacy Protection
Registrant:
Domain Privacy Service FBO Registrant10 Corporate Drive, STE 300Burlington, Massachusetts 01803United State
Yes! you really need a domain privacy protection to protect your personal and sensitive information being stolen. Trust me choosing a domain privacy really pays itself by saving you from spammers.
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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To Keep Your Information Safe From Criminals
Domain privacy protection can also keep your information safe from criminals. If you are a victim of domestic violence or stalking, using a privacy service can help to keep your information hidden from your abuser. By keeping your information hidden, you can help to keep yourself and your family safe.
Whois Guard And Other Privacy Options When Buying Domain Names
On FaceBook I was asked whether domain privacy is worth it? As I answered the question I realized, maybe not everyone knows this is worthwhile to do and may not be for the reason you think!
This is one of those occasions you dont want to save a penny because it will cost you time and worse, money. What happens when you dont opt for privacy protection? Your email address, name, and mailing address are published on the WHOIS directory.
Here are the risks if you dont opt for privacy protection for your domain name.
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Basic Vs Full Domain Privacy & Protection
Basically, at checkout, GoDaddy presents you with this choice:
- Your domain comes with Basic Privacy Protection. Your personal data will be redacted in our WHOIS directory. But your domain will not be protected against accidental expiration & malicious transfers.
So, lets talk about WHOIS directory redaction. The WHOIS directory is just a list of who owns what website. GoDaddy actually already redacts most of your information with their free/ basic privacy protection. With the additional $10 Full Privacy & Protection offer, GoDaddy will redact your state/province of residence and your company or organization- if you list one. All your other information is already redacted with the free option including your name, address and phone number.
Next, lets discuss accidental expiration. What GoDaddy means when they talk about accidental expiration is that if your credit card is expired or for some reason the payment doesnt go through when its time to renew your domain, GoDaddy will provide a grace period for you to get your credit card updated and put your payment through again. I spoke to customer service and they said the grace period is 90 days. Personally, I dont feel that this is valuable because GoDaddy accepts PayPal, and if one payment method fails, PayPal will try the next payment method. I have 3 methods of payment on PayPal- one debit and two credit cards. If my PayPal fails, I have bigger problems that a lost domain! haha
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.
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Bluehost Domain Privacy Protection Conclusion
As you can see with this video above and this review, having BluehostDomain Privacy Protection for your domain is extremely important to protect your information online from hackers and spammers. I have been online for a very long time and have experienced the true benefits of having a protected Bluehost domain.
A few things that you should remember before your start to create your website today. To create a website, blog, or Ecommerce store, domain privacy is 100% optional. You can get started right now with Bluehost with it or you continue without it. In todays review I have simply tried to give you important things to think about that will make your life as a website owner much easier. But again, its your decision.
Remember, if you online to create 1 website today, then use their Basic web hosting plan. However, if you want more flexibility, resources and wiggle room, I recommend going with their Plus hosting. Whichever web hosting plan that you select today has a 30 day money back guarantee.
After reading this post about is Bluehost domain privacy protection worth it, what do you personally think? Did this review help you clear up any doubts regarding DP? Will you start buying your website domains with the Bluehost domain privacy? I would love to hear your comments or questions below..
How Much Does Domain Privacy Protection Protect Site Owners
An unprotected and public domain leaves all of the domains information, including the registrars personal and sensitive information, available to the public. Many people might not care that their deeply personal information is open to the public, but that is because they havent yet experienced its risks.
First of all, loose-on-the-internet information can lead anyone to send you spam and inappropriate messages and emails, which no one would appreciate. Secondly, your house address is visible to everyone, which means anyone can practically walk outside your door and contact you there. Third, your domains expiration and renewal date are also available for public view on an unprotected site, which your competitors and new entrants could use to steal your domain.
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How Private Is Your Information In Whois
Since ICANN requires contact information be provided for every registered domain, anyone can access WHOIS to check the status of a domain and get the contact information provided in the database.
With private registration, there isnt a 100% guarantee of privacy because registrars have to follow the law and may be required to release the information under specific circumstances. Your personal information will, however, be hidden from general searches.
Its important to note that there are exceptions to the rules for certain domain extensions. The General Data Protection Regulation also requires masking entities in the EU. Here are some exempted domain extensions:
- .us Owners of a domain with the .us extension do not have the option to make their information private.
- .ca Canadian law automatically protects those using this extension, meaning domain registrants are not required to have their contact details publicized. This rule only applies to individuals, not corporations.
Choose a registrar that protects your identity
The fact that information in the WHOIS database is readily available to the public raises some valid concerns about protecting your privacy.
One of the best ways to protect your information is to register your domain through a registrar that offers the option to do so privately. This means the registrar will provide their name and information as the contact information that appears in the WHOIS database.
What Is Bluehost Domain Privacy Protection
Bluehost domain privacy protection is an additional addon offered by Bluehost which protects your personal information from being publicly available.
Before starting any website or business, first, you registered a domain name. This process takes your personal information and it will appear on the whois directory.
The privacy protection Bluehost protects your information from spammers, hackers, potential stalkers, and unauthorized access to your website.
When you register a domain name your personal information goes out to the whois directory as all domain names are regulated by ICANN, known as The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
Domain privacy and protection Bluehost protects all your personal information from the Whois directory so that you dont need to worry about it.
Now, I hope you understand how Bluehost domain privacy protection works.
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How Do I Enable Domain Privacy
Image credit: zendesk
Domain privacy is a service that helps protect your personal information from being published online. When you register a domain, your personal information is typically available to anyone who does a simple WHOIS search. Domain privacy replaces your personal information with the contact information for the privacy service, so your information is protected.
Why Theres A Need For Domain Name Privacy
Several different websites enable you to do a WHOIS lookup, including the official ICANN site. Its easy to understand why this directory exists having a central and public database of domain names and their owners can come in handy if theres ever a legal dispute over ownership.
More than that, however, is the accountability this system affords in cases of cybercrimes and copyright theft. Information acquired from the WHOIS database can be used to limit the malicious behavior of offenders across the internet.
Here are some of the most common ways people typically use information from the WHOIS directory:
- To buy a domain thats not currently available. Business owners sometimes find that the domain name that matches their unique brand has been taken. The WHOIS directory is one way to find the current owner of the domain and offer to buy it. This is particularly relevant if, for example, that person doesnt have a live website containing their contact details.
- For unsolicited marketing efforts. If you have a domain name, youre probably either looking to build a website or already have one. Therefore, you can expect to receive dozens of emails from marketers offering to help you build or redesign your website.
- For running scams. Aside from spam emails, its almost inevitable that youll receive emails from people whod like nothing more than to scam you out of your websites data or profits.
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Is It Worth Getting Domain Privacy
This can be a problem, especially for business owners, as most data breaches are financially motivated. Hence, domain privacy protection is one way to secure the personal data connected to your domain. Even though it adds a bit to your website hosting costs, the security value it offers is definitely worth the money.
Domain Name Privacy Helps To Stop Shady Behavior
Cybersquatters and online criminals may try to grab an attractive domain name from you if you have one. They do this because acquiring a high-value domain name is big business for such people.
How they do this?
What they often do is use your personal registration details from the Whois database to hijack your domain if you are not careful.
They can try to use your real email address for transferring your domain to their name.
Okay!
I guess you have got enough reasons now to understand that Domain Name Privacy is worth it.
So now the million-dollar question
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How To Make Your Domain Name Private
Usually, itâs good to get domain privacy protection when you buy your domain name. Go through your domain name registrar and tick the relevant checkbox during the buying process to get this protection.
Itâs a simple process and adds only a small additional fee per year.
For instance, hereâs how you can get domain privacy protection when you purchase your domain name via Nexcess.
1. Enter the domain name youâd like to purchase on the domain registrar page.
2. Verify the domain youâd like to register and add any additional domains you want on the next page.
3. At the bottom of the screen, under Add-ons > General, check the box next to Whois Privacy.
4. Click Add to Cart and complete the checkout process for your new domain name â with privacy protection included.
Is Private Domain Registration Worth It
A private registration domain is most certainly worth it if you wish to increase anonymity on the web and operate a website with an extra layer of security. Having the option of hiding your personal contact details will help you to concentrate on building your business without having to deal with mountains of spam email or other unsolicited contact. Online threats may also be reduced as hackers will not be able to access your personal details.
A private domain is also worth it if you currently use one of the supported TLDs which are: .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .mobi, .name, .cc, .tv, .mx, and .com.mx. If your website is already associated with one of these domains, then transferring to a private domain registration on renewal is simple. All you need to do is access the IONOS Control Panel and click the manage domains tab. From here you can follow the edit domain settings link and proceed to update your settings. Once you have selected the private option, please wait around 24 hours until WHOIS updates the information in its database.
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