If A Domain Is Registered By An Ex
The most common issue we see is when employees register domains for an organization, then later leave. The domain often ends up marooned in an account no one has access to, and if the account login email no longer exists, no one can receive the account password reset emails, and no one will be alerted to any issues with domain renewal until the website or email stops working.
And heres the worst-case scenario: if the employee who registered the domain does so completely in their name , there is absolutely no proof that the organization has any right to the it.
These situations are tricky, and we require a lot of authentication and proof before we will allow anyone access to the domain. More likely, though, we tell these people to seek legal advice and/or work it out amongst themselves, or use the UDRP process because we are not in the position to decide who has the right to a domain name.
So if someone in your organization has been tasked with registering a domain name for the company, or a department, or a specific project, or whatever:
- ensure that the organizations name and contact information are on the account and on the domain registrant contacts, especially the registrant/owner one.
- ensure that the email address to access the account is one accessible by more than one person, e.g. , rather than
- make a list of organizational assets that includes domain names and their access details.
The Geek Way: Start With The Domain Name
First, always start from the beginning. Start with the domain. Do a whois to find out which name servers are being used with this domain.
You will see this in the results:
Name Server: NS.RACKSPACE.COMName Server: NS2.RACKSPACE.COM
There are 2 or more name servers listed usually as there is a primary server and secondary server. Very often, where you have your DNS is where you have other things like your website hosting and email, so this is a valuable clue.
I also have an article here about how to tell who is hosting your website and you might want to read that one as well.
Go For A Different Domain Name
There is always a chance that even with all the aforementioned steps, the owner will flat out refuse to sell their domain or name a price that is way outside your budget. In this case, you can consider a different domain name.
Do not forget to try your domain name with different TLDs . If the .com version of the domain is taken, maybe the .net will be available. Check out our article about the different types of domains if you wish to learn more.
Even if that is not the case, sit down and try to brainstorm other domain names. Who knows? Maybe you will come up with one that you like even more than your original idea.
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How To Find The Owner Of Your Ideal Domain
The right domain name enhances your visibility and promotes your brand, but that perfect name may belong to someone elseand locating that person can be the first step toward securing the domain for your own use. Checking ownership of a domain can help keep your own domain secure and up to date, as well. With the help of online search tools such as WHOIS and a little detective work, its possible to find any domains legal owneror to protect your own domains essential information.
Domain.com has the tools you need to continue building your business into a success.
Kristin Crabb
Content Marketing Strategist working in the digital marketing industry. Skilled in SEO-focused content creation, keyword research and competitive analysis, interactive content, web content optimization, and landing page creation.
Two: Check The Whois Directory
Every time someone registers a domain name, the domain registrar that processes the sale is required to collect basic contact information. In some cases, that information then gets submitted to the WHOIS directory, so that theres a record of who runs each website online.
The WHOIS directory is therefore our next stop for seeking out a domain name owner.
Put in the name of the domain youre looking for and scroll down to find all the data the WHOIS directory lists for it. In a few cases, that may contain the owners contact information. If so, you can skip the next step.
Even if not though, it will always include at least their domain registrar and domain expiration date. That lets you know if the domain will be coming up for renewal soon. If so, you may be able to snap it up for cheaper when it expires than if you buy it from them directly. But that only works if they dont renew, so youre taking a chance.
Either way, knowing the domain registrar enables you to take the next step.
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What Is The Difference Between Whois Lookup And A Domain Check
A domain check helps to identify whether or not a particular domain name is available to register. A Whois lookup gives you access to further limited information regarding a registered domain. Should your requested domain name still be available, you can use both the Whois service, as well as carrying out a domain check in order to easily register your desired domain name with IONOS. Furthermore, we recommend suitable domain alternatives in case a particular domain name is registered already. Regardless of whether you use our Whois lookup or domain check tools, our main goal is to offer you the best support possible on your way to your domain name of choice.
Contact The Domain Registrar
Sometimes the WHOIS lookup tools will only provide the information on the domains registrar and nothing on the registrant. In such cases, try to get in touch with the domain registrar and ask them who owns a domain name youre after.
You can also ask the specific registrar to forward the email that includes your offer and contact details to the owner of the domain on behalf of you. If their customer service is good, theyll be sure to put in the effort.
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Consider A New Domain Name
Theres a decent chance that even if you take all of these steps, the person that owns that domain now either wont want to sell, or will only accept a higher price than you can pay.
In that case, youre far from the first person to have to come up with an alternative to the first name you set your heart on. Consider different domain name extensionsif the .com is taken, the .net or .co may still be available. And brainstorm new domain name ideas. You may just come up with something you like even more than your original idea.
If A Domain Is Registered For A Partner
If you start a business, club, or organization with other people, similar principles apply. Things happen, businesses fail, and relationships can go south rather quickly. Its like a divorce, but with your business at stake.
If things get ugly and legal, assets can get frozen. And if we get conflicting information about an account or domain, we may be forced to block it until the issue is sorted out. That means no one can access the account or domain to take a website down or put it back up, to pay for a renewal, or any other function.
Sometimes we even find that people forget about domains once businesses fail, and their partners never receive expiry notifications because they were never on the account. There are all kinds of legal considerations, especially if a business is successful. So please, ensure that the domain and related accounts are not just in one persons name with singular access. Ensure that the account shows proof of more than one principle, or is focused on the organization, rather than one founders name, payment, and contact details.
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If A Domain Is Registered By Someone Who Dies
Another situation is when people die. Its going to happen to all of us, so theres no excuse not to be prepared. Digital legacies are becoming an increasingly important estate consideration, especially in this day and age of social media, cloud storage, etc.
In many cases of death, the credit card on file will be canceled, the domain will expire, and the website will go offline. Done. In other cases, well be contacted by people trying to close accounts, but who have no access. If they can access the deceaseds email account, they can send a password reset and log in to close things down, but otherwise authentication can be difficult and upsetting. And if the domain is for a site or enterprise run by more than one person, if one of them dies, you end up in a partner ownership situation, as outlined above.
These situations are unfortunate and awkward for us, and we sympathize greatly with people trying to sort things out. But at the same time we cant abandon our security procedures for any situation. Fussing over password resets or providing identity documentation or other administrivia when youre dealing with grief is the last thing anyone wants to deal with. Be kind to those who will survive you.
Is The Domain Search Free
When logged in, one search request is counted for up to 10 emails found for a single domain in the Domain Search. For example, downloading 43 email addresses found for a domain will cost 5 search requests.
With a free account, you can use up to 25 searches/month. If you need more, please check the pricing for more informations.
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How To Update Your Whois Information
You should always keep your WHOIS information updated to comply with ICANN rules about domain ownership. That means providing accurate contact information through which you can receive correspondence from your domain registrars.
You can update the information about your domains easily on the Hostinger control panel. You only need to log into your hPanel account and update the Domains section.
How To Find Who Owns An Email Account
Sometimes an email address is so abstract, there’s no way to identify the person’s real name. Or, a person may have used bogus registration information when he signed up for the email account, which makes it difficult to trace a real identity. But there are ways to trace who owns an email account, from simply asking to conducting some online searches. And best of all, these techniques are free.
Send a message to the email address. The easiest, most direct way to find who owns an email account is to simply ask. Write a message to the email address, introduce yourself, and politely explain that you’d like to know the person’s name.
Run a free email search. Different online sites offer free email searches. For example, you can look up email addresses on MySpace, see what names are associated with it . Go to Myspace.com, click the “Find Friends” tab at the top of the screen, in the “Search By:” menu, select “Email”and enter the email address, then press the “Search” button. A results web page displays with links to MySpace sites where that email address appears. Click on each link and check the site for names associated with that email address.
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World’s Largest Domain Database
The WhoIs domain search database is a list of every single domain currently registered in the world. To find out who owns a particular domain name, all you have to do is type it into the search box above.
The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers requires all accredited registrars to publish the registrant’s contact information, domain creation and expiration dates and other information in the WhoIs listing as soon as a domain is registered.
Find The Information You Need In Whois Records
If the domain owner is interested in selling their domain, their contact information is typically available in the Whois records. However, youll sometimes find that the information youre looking for has been blocked by the domain provider for privacy reasons.
If the domain that youre interested in is being sold by someone who is looking for a willing buyer, the steps outlined above is the easiest way to start negotiating a purchase. But if the seller has hidden their contact information or is not interested in selling their domain, dont despair! There are workarounds for those who are interested in a domain that has already been registered.
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If All Else Fails: Talk To Your Website Host
If you still dont know who is hosting your email for your domain name or if you cant do whats listed above, talk to your website host. They should know or be able to help you figure out where the email portion of your domain name is being sent to.
It might be them or it might be at another place but they should be able to tell you.
The email host for a domain name can be on a different server than your website server . Sometimes hosting companies have to move things around to make them work better, so this happens from time to time.
If youre not sure who your website host is or server is, there are a few ways to find out:
- Check your credit card or bank statements who are you paying?
- Check with your website design company they might know.
- Check with your IT support department they should know.
Be creative and do some digging. The answers are out there. Dont give up but just figure the problem out.
Track Down A Domain Owner Who Uses Whois Privacy
Whois privacy shields a domain registrants contact information from public view. When private Whois is enabled on a domain name, it can be more challenging if not impossible to track down a domain name registrant to buy the domain name. There is no way to see who registered a domain name that has private Whois records short of litigation or a UDRP filing.
That being said, there are several ways I have had success tracking down domain registrants who utilize Whois privacy proxy services. Here are some of the tactics that can be used to learn who owns a domain name that is privately registered:
The GoDaddy registration service makes it simple to transfer a domain name to another GoDaddy customer. This process is useful if you have sold your domain name to a new owner or want a trusted partner to manage the domain. Once you initiate a transfer, the new owner has ten days to accept the domain. A transferred domain name belongs to the recipient as soon as they approve the move.
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Access the GoDaddy Account Manager . Enter your username and password, and log in.
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Locate the section marked âDomains,â and then click âLaunchâ to open the Domain Control Center.
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Select the box next to the specific domain that you want to transfer. Click âMoreâ on the options bar, and then click âChange Domain Ownership.â
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Protect yourself in the following ways:
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Public Whois Database Listing
If youâre comfortable with having your information available to the public and donât want the extra fee associated with private domain registration Network Solutions will submit a public listing to the WHOIS lookup database. This listing will include your name, address, phone number, email address and domain name expiration date. Your IP address and host name will also be listed.
The Function Of Godaddy Whois Lookup
This tool is used to help you explore the Whois database and access the registration and availability details of an individual domain. The GoDaddy Whois Lookup helps you in the following ways:
You are able to see who owns the domain, the current domain host, and their contact information. This is very useful especially when you want to buy a domain name.
If you want to find out if a domain name is available, type the name into the GoDaddy Whois search field. You will get instant results on whether the domain is available or not.
It is key to know when a domain expires before you buy it. As the date approaches, the owner may decide to sell it or let it expire. Either way, you will get the chance to be the new domain owner.
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The Domain I Want Has Already Been Registered What Now
Dont panic, all is not lost. If the domain you like is currently registered by someone else, you have the option to present an offer to the domain owner, without having to navigate to another page. Select Make offer and start negotiating!
Alternatively, if its free to be registered you can select Add to cart and make your purchase.
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