There are lots of domain hosting websites to choose from which makes it difficult to decide which one you will use for your personal website. However, there are quite a few domain registrars that take the lead over all the other domain registrars on the Internet. These domain websites also accept a variety of payments including PayPal, which is definitely convenient and safe.

Below is a list of some of the top domain registrars on the Internet today:

GoDaddy

This Company has been around for such a long time and own just about 30 percent of the market share. This website is reputable and trusted; it is a company that you know will do the right job and never scam you. During the first year of services, you will be charged around $11 a month. This amount seems quite affordable when you think of all that the domain registrars will do for you. They have handled over 34 million domain names in the past and present and will continue to handle more domain names in the future as more and more people build their own websites. GoDaddy offers so much more than just a domain name to the customers that they provide service to. GoDaddy also offers email accounts, web hosting, online security products and website builders. All of these important tools have been helping people do better in business which also enables them to have more success with their website and, in return, make more money with it as well.

Enom

Enom is a good website for domain hosting but it has a long way to go to catch up to GoDaddy in the market share. Enom only owns about 8 percent of the market share. Customers who use Enom will typically have to pay around $35 a month which is just too much to some people. This is the main reason why many people prefer other domain registrars that are much more affordable. That is not to say that Enom does not provide excellent service, because it surely does. Enom has handled only a little after 10 million domain names.

TuCows

The only way to get domain names from TuCows is by going to their affiliate sites. They only own about 6 percent of the market share. TuCows has handled close to 8 million domain names which is still a long way to go to even come close to catching up with GoDaddy. TuCows charges $15 a month for the first year of service. The cost of service is definitely cheaper than Enom but is still more expensive than GoDaddy. TuCows also sell other types of internet services on their website.

NetworkSolutions

NetworkSolutions offer domain service solutions like no other. They only have 5 percent of the market share and have handled over 6 million domain names. Much like Enom, they charge about $35 per month for the first year of service.

Schlund+Partner

Schlund are the leader of the most Europe domain registrar names. They currently own over 5 million of the Europe domain names. Their domain services are only for people with 1&1 internet which is why they only own about 4 percent of the market share. For the first year of services, you will be charged about $16 per month.

MelbourneIt

This site offers domain names in various spaces which includes com, org, biz, info and edu. As of right now, their market share is 3.5 percent. They’ve handled over 4 million domain names and charge $35 for service.

Wildwestdomains

Wildwestdomains only owns about 3 percent of the market share. They have handled over 3 million domain names. The website also offers wholesales during their first year to new customers who want to use their services.

Resellerclub

This website has some competitive prices which is why they are slowly gaining popularity. As of right now, they own 2.1 percent of the market. They have handled over 2.4 million domain names and offer wholesale prices for customers who are interested in signing up for several domain names with them.

Register

This website offers a support system that is quite amazing and is the best thing that they seem to have going for them. They only have 2 percent of the market share. They have handled 2.3 million domain names and charge nearly $35 for the first year of service.

Moniker

This website can help you choose the right name for your own website, even if it was already registered before. They also provide auctions on domains and a domain brokerage. They currently have 2.4 percent of the market share. They have handled almost 3 million domain names and charge $8 for the first year of service.

Conclusion

Bellow are the market share stats of the top domain registrars by Webhosting.info:

It can be hard choosing a domain registrar due to the expansive providers. However, these are just some of the domain hosts that are currently on the market. Amongst these ten different domain hosts, there are a bunch of other domain registrars as well.

Most people would probably advise you to go with GoDaddy because it has been around for such a long time and is also cheaper than all of the other websites. Affordability and dependability are two things that many people look for when they are putting their website in the hands of someone else. It is ultimately your decision as to which domain registrar you will go with. Just make sure that you make the right decision and choose one that will have a lot to offer you.

Related posts:

• November 26, 2008 – Finding a Domain for Your Business
• November 14, 2008 – Someone Registered My Domain – What Now?
• January 4, 2012 – Top Domain Registration Services
• July 18, 2011 – Domain Name Expansion Expected to Create Major Problems
• October 28, 2010 – The Difference Between Private and Business Domain Registrations
• July 28, 2010 – Knowing the Value of Your Domain
• June 18, 2010 – The Benefits of Buying an Existing Domain Name
• February 18, 2010 – The Cost of a Domain Name – Registering Your Domain
• October 23, 2009 – How to Incorporate a Domain into Your Blogger Account
• September 9, 2009 – Shielding Your Online Identity from Domain Name Thieves

Nonetheless there will always be someone that will really want to try to pick up that expired domain.  Maybe it’s their family name.  Maybe it’s the company name that goes back 100 years.  Whatever the reason, these customers will always be there.  If you’re one of them, then as long as you’re going to do this, you might as well know how to do it right.

“Expired” doesn’t exactly mean Expired

The first thing that you need to know is that there is a grace period that goes along with a domain name’s expiration date.  How long this grace period lasts is determined by the domain’s registrar, and can even be different for different top-level domains.  You will want to inquire with them specifically.  During this grace period the original owner of the domain name, and only the original owner, can re-register it at normal rates.

Once this period ends then there is usually a “redemption period”.  This amounts to about the same thing, except that the original owner must now pay a higher fee.  Again, though, no one else can touch it during this phase.

Even then there’s more

If the redemption period lapses, then one of two things happen.  First, the registrar can immediately open the domain name up for re-registration by anyone.  It is best if this does not happen.  Why?

Because the world wide web is packed with digital vultures ready to pounce on an available domain seconds after it re-enters the marketplace.  You will have virtually no chance of keeping up with these outfits.  Once they register them, then you’ll be looking at some exorbitant fee to make it yours.

This isn’t to say that if your domain goes on auction that you’ll be able to get it automatically, however, you will have a fighting chance.  Domain name harvesters are looking for profit, and profit is all but guaranteed if they can snatch up a domain name for a few bucks.  The higher the price goes, the less it’s worth, from an investment perspective, for them.  They’re making a bet, after all.  They don’t know for certain that anyone will want it.

Is it all worth it?

If you’re ready to deal with this hassle, then simply keep an eye on the registrar.  Find out from them whether or not the domain is going to go up for auction.  Then do like any good auction attendee: show up, and play it smart.  Remember what we said: there are nearly an infinite number of many domains.  Before shelling out a few hundred, or even thousands of dollars for your dream name, ask yourself whether you can get by with an alternative.  Quite a lot of web sites have discovered that they can.

Related posts:

• September 2, 2011 – Domain Names – Do You Still Need One
• July 18, 2011 – Domain Name Expansion Expected to Create Major Problems
• April 22, 2011 – Becoming a Domain Speculator with No Experience
• September 7, 2010 – How to Pick the Right Domain Name Extension
• May 20, 2010 – A Comparison of Domain Registrars and Web Hosts
• February 5, 2010 – How to Obtain a Memorable Domain Name
• September 18, 2009 – Acquiring the Domain You Want Through Back-Ordering
• July 14, 2009 – What Do You Get with a Cheap Domain Name?
• February 26, 2009 – Understanding Domain Name Transfers
• February 9, 2009 – Six Important Considerations for Domain Name Registration

To help ease you into the modern trends of web hosting, we’ve compiled a handy list of the most common terms in the business. We’ll do our best to explain them, but if you find yourself befuddled after we’ve done our best, don’t hesitate to hit up Google: There are plenty of more complex definitions out there, and we won’t blame you for skipping our more generalized information.

We’re ready if you are, Astronaut, so buckle up and get ready for blast-off! Here we go, Major Tom:

Domain Namee: A domain name is the exact URL title of the site you’re looking to host. For example, Google’s domain name is www.Google.com. There are two parts to the domain name, that being the name itself, as well as the .com address. This doesn’t have to be .com (There are lots of other options, including .us, .org, .edu, etc.) but you need both to have a domain name.

Nameserver: If a domain is your address on the Web, nameservers are the phonebooks. Once you’ve registered a domain name, it’s these server banks that log your registration and “agree” that you’ve locked down that space. This usually takes a while, but once it’s done, it’s like your domain has been etched into the pavement concrete of the World Wide Web.

Technical Support: This one is a bit more explicit, but it might still need some clarification. Tech support is the organization you call when something within your server has gone wrong. The body you dial will be different depending on which operating system you’re using, but you’ll still have to ring these gurus, no matter who or where they are. Server tech support is no different than tech support for your credit card or computer: It’s just tailored specifically to your hosting experience.Some host companies offer professional US based technical support services.

Data Center: This is where the physical servers are actually stored. This is the building where all of your files are stored on a block of memory in a case. In essence, it’s the warehouse where your server is treated like a piece of cargo locked into a crate.

Related posts:

• September 2, 2011 – Domain Names – Do You Still Need One
• December 19, 2011 – Top 10 Domain Registrars
• September 30, 2011 – Picking up Expired Domains – Not Always Fun, but There’s a Way
• September 16, 2011 – Avoiding Domain Name Scams and Dead Ends
• September 9, 2011 – Hurricane Irene: Taking a Step Back
• September 6, 2011 – Understanding Colocation Hosting
• September 5, 2011 – Premium Domain Names: What Are They?
• September 2, 2011 – Pioneering Cloud and Colocation Facility Opens
• September 1, 2011 – Budget Web Hosting: Is It Worth the Buck?
• August 30, 2011 – Data Centers Still Running Following East Coast Earthquake

As of December 2009 more than 84 million .com domain names alone existed, meaning that those new to the game are finding all of the best words and phrases long since squeezed out.  The desire to find an work around this problem may seem tempting.  Here’s why, for the most part, you don’t want to fall for such tactics.

Beware of new formats

Now and then you’ll get some exciting piece of spam mail or other advertisement talking about the new top level domains that exist and how you need to register. “Register www.oh.yes right now before someone else does!”  The businessman in you may want to beat other people to the punch, but hold your horses.  This is almost always a mirage.

If the exciting solicitation is over a new top-level domain, know that the adoption of these is a slow, agonizing process that often takes years to extend over the web.  Even if the new top-level domain does exist, often its zones are not picked up by everyone, meaning that not everyone will see your site even if the domain is otherwise operational.

Even worse sometimes only alphanumerics and dashes (“-”) are allowed.  The reason this is worse than the top-level domain problem is that in addition to your domain not necessarily propagating, server software may not be setup to handle this new syntax, and with the potential security problems inherent to it no host would change this setting just for you.

Stay away from the reselling racket

You might instead get an offer to purchase a domain name.  These aren’t scams: they are domains which are valid, correctly registered, which work and which can be safely transferred to your name for operation.  That doesn’t, though, mean that it’s worth the price.  It’s now commonplace for domain names to be simple combinations of words and numbers that are easy and catchy to remember but which aren’t yet taken (example: westernsaturn.com).  Domains are cheap enough now that paying more for someone’s leftovers usually just isn’t worth it.

Don’t even think at this point about trying to get into this market, either.  As stated, most good names are taken, and there are tons of people fighting for the expired ones.

If it becomes obvious that some top-level domain is well supported, such as .CO, and is being used by the business world in a serious capacity, only then should you consider jumping in.  If not, there’s no reason not to stick with what works for everyone else, and just go with modernmachomanlyman.com (indeed, that’s available too).
If you have number of domains think of choosing multiple domain hosting and host unlimited domains on one account.

Related posts:

• December 23, 2008 – The In’s and Out’s of Domain Names
• December 19, 2011 – Top 10 Domain Registrars
• September 30, 2011 – Picking up Expired Domains – Not Always Fun, but There’s a Way
• September 27, 2011 – Common Web Hosting Terms And What They Mean
• September 5, 2011 – Premium Domain Names: What Are They?
• September 2, 2011 – Domain Names – Do You Still Need One
• September 1, 2011 – Budget Web Hosting: Is It Worth the Buck?
• August 30, 2011 – Additional Branding Woes in the Domain Name Game
• July 18, 2011 – Domain Name Expansion Expected to Create Major Problems
• June 10, 2011 – How to Prevent Domain Hijacking

Premium domain names are actually aftermarket entrants that satisfy a further set of characteristics. Simply put, these are the domain names that are up for grabs in the domain market, and have some history behind them. When a domain name owner fails to renew his/her domain subscription, the domain enters the aftermarket. Also, a domain name put to sale deliberately by the initial owner makes for an aftermarket domain name. And just in case these aftermarket domain names happen to have some additional features that attract the attention of the prospective buyers, these too qualify as premium domain names.

What Features Are We Talking About?

• The name sticks. If you crave for a domain name because the name registers on the mind of the viewer or the listener, it might well be a premium domain name. These names are easily memorized and hence, there are greater chances that these would attract visits.
• The name explains. Let us take an example here. Assuming you have a website that advertises cruise packages to the Caribbean islands, and does so by reviewing the islands and beaches. How would you like to have a domain name such as CaribbeanBeaches.com? Sounds good, right? Some people anticipate the need of names such as these and register them before this need actually arrives. And when the golden moment arrives, they take bids on these premium domain names and sell them to the highest bidder.
• The name is short, sweet, crisp and made of high density keywords. This resembles the perfect feature set for your website’s name, and you get such names at a premium. Also, premium domain names are most often top level domains, i.e. they are succeeded by extensions such as .com, .org, .net etc.
• The name is old, and is fully loaded with traffic. Domain names with established presence on the Internet supplemented by substantial traffic make for premium domain names any day of the week. And you can be very sure that buying it would not be easy if the search engine rank also scores high.

If you are owning number of websites you should consider selecting the host company with multiple domain hosting option and keep your websites on the same account.

Related posts:

• July 18, 2011 – Domain Name Expansion Expected to Create Major Problems
• September 7, 2010 – How to Pick the Right Domain Name Extension
• February 18, 2010 – The Cost of a Domain Name – Registering Your Domain
• July 28, 2009 – How to Invest in a Domain Name
• July 14, 2009 – What Do You Get with a Cheap Domain Name?
• July 7, 2009 – Choosing a Keyword-rich Domain for Your PPC Campaign
• February 26, 2009 – Understanding Domain Name Transfers
• January 27, 2009 – How to Choose a Good Domain Name
• January 22, 2009 – What Makes a Good Domain?
• December 23, 2008 – The In’s and Out’s of Domain Names

The argument for “yes”

Thanks to the above phenomena, as well as the old monopolies on registration having long been broken, getting your own domain name is dirt cheap.  Thus, you do not always need to have a word that is found in your dictionary to be taken seriously. Get a good site going, and “Plebno.com” might be considered a brilliant, memorable name (and yes, it’s available). For instant domain name search and availability check visit pcnames.com.

A domain name is a name that will always be with you (assuming that you didn’t accidentally strike someone else’s copyright). Additionally, you can have every address associated with name@plebno.com, and you won’t be tied down to a single host.  Finally, there is a certain level of web site, mostly business-oriented, in which there is still a strong association between a domain name and a minimum level of professionalism.

The argument for “no”

If you are doing something simpler, then not only is most everyone on the web aware of all of the above problems with having your own name, but there are so many web hosts out there that can host a strong, well-done site under their own banner name that no one thinks any less of, for example mysite.blogspot.com, even if what you are hosting isn’t really a blog.

Also, there is the hassle of having your own domain.  The registration is often typically painless but, if you are trying to change the owner, or nameservers, or trying to do anything complicated at the registrar level, you could be starting at a labyrinth of emails, confirmations, credit cards, security questions, CAPTCHAs, and so forth.  If what you are running is a serious business that needs that kind of branding, then of course that is a small price to pay.  But if you are just running a hobby or educational site or even a small business site like, say, counseling, that’s just more fuss than you’re likely to want to have to deal with.

One last piece of advice. If you choose a domain name and then change your mind and let it go, you are not likely to get it back.  A harvester will snatch it right up.  But don’t worry.  If plebno.com gets taken, there’s always trozdoz.com (that’s available too).

Related posts:

• September 30, 2011 – Picking up Expired Domains – Not Always Fun, but There’s a Way
• September 27, 2011 – Common Web Hosting Terms And What They Mean
• April 22, 2011 – Becoming a Domain Speculator with No Experience
• September 7, 2010 – How to Pick the Right Domain Name Extension
• February 18, 2010 – The Cost of a Domain Name – Registering Your Domain
• July 14, 2009 – What Do You Get with a Cheap Domain Name?
• February 26, 2009 – Understanding Domain Name Transfers
• February 9, 2009 – Six Important Considerations for Domain Name Registration
• November 6, 2008 – How Much Should You Pay for a Domain Name?
• December 19, 2011 – Top 10 Domain Registrars

But then again, no matter how cheap it is, you’re still shelling out moolah, and there’s no money tree growing anywhere in the world. You must then want to know if you’re going to make the most out of every penny with budget web hosting.

It may be worth it because

• You can already run your website for, well, a few bucks.

Sure, business owners can stick with generic domains such as wordpress.com, posterous.com, or blogspot.com. They can also choose to build a fan page in Facebook or sell their wares in Multiply and eBay, but if they want to build credibility and are planning to be doing online marketing forever, they have to learn how to invest.
A domain is often viewed by search engines, which Internet users usually utilize to look for information as well as products and services, as a testament of your commitment, professionalism, relevance, and even to your legitimacy. That’s why domain-hosted sites rank better, especially in Google, than public-hosted ones.

• It’s so easy to set up.

One of the most common attributes of budget hosting options is they’re so convenient to set up. This is because they normally market them to first-time small and home-based business owners. A lot of them are actually very apprehensive to wet their feet into any more complicated than a blog, which is, of course, a full-blown website.
But how easy is easy? It’s not uncommon to across a budget web host you can set up in less than 30 minutes—that fast!

• You don’t end up spending more than you should.

Budget hosting packages have very limited bandwidth. Though it’s way smaller than those offered by these options’ relatives, you really don’t need much when you’re starting out. You cannot consume a lot of storage or even bandwidth during the early days of your website, unless you’re going to pepper the pages with plenty of photos and videos. (This is not highly recommended, though, as these types of files can definitely slow down the loading times of your web pages.)

• You aren’t really short changed with other services and features.

Unless you’ve chosen your web hosting company so badly, you don’t end up getting crappy customer service just because you decide to go for a budget web host. You may even find many of them offering free domain, server monitoring, multiple domain hosting, SSL technology, and even a money-back guarantee up to 3 months.

• They can provide scalability.

This simply means you can expand your website with great ease. You’ll discover that the more you spend time online and sell your products and services, the more your website grows. You add a few more pages, a number of videos and audio, a Contact Us page and other content-specific web pages, as well as a shopping cart.
Not all budget hosting packages have a lot of room for hundreds to thousands of pages, but a number allow you to host several domains, including international ones.
But it’s not the most perfect setup either . . .

• You can expect to share your bandwidth with not just one but several other websites.

If you’re opting for budget web hosting, then you should be very much aware that you’re not going to have any dedicated server. You’ll share one with several others. That would have been fine—if these sites don’t eat up majority of the space and bandwidth. Worse, these may be sites that gain a lot of traffic, which may mean plenty of downtimes for you.

• You may be dealing with an incompetent reseller.

A common reason why there are so many web hosting packages online is the growth of resellers in the industry. In order to generate more income and expand their market, big-time hosting firms offer some of their web hosting products to resellers, who, in turn, sell them to small or home-based business owners. Resellers do manage their clients’ accounts, but they don’t own the equipment themselves.
It becomes a huge hassle and headache for you once these pieces of equipment start to bog down. There are not a lot of things they can do for you, except perhaps to offer you advice once the fix has already been done. But that’s not the worse. The worst thing is your reseller doesn’t do anything at all on your behalf. They don’t pressure the main web hosting company or they don’t inform you of the real problems. They may not even answer your call.

• Their scalability has limits.

Again, they’re budget web hosting packages. As mentioned, thousands of web pages may be close to impossible since you’ll be sharing your space to several other website owners, who may also have a gazillion pages.
But how do you make it worth the buck?
We do believe that a budget web hosting package is an excellent investment, mainly for small and home-based business owners. Their needs are pretty basic, so there’s no need to spend $10 for almost the same features.
But that doesn’t mean all budget web hosting companies are great. They are not created equal. Some of them should be out of business ASAP. So you don’t end up wasting your money, choose those that

• Are reliable

Their uptimes are around 97 to 99 percent. Otherwise, you’re bound to lose a lot of potential clients or customers for your business. It’s not enough they offer contact details. They should be accessible.

• Secure

The last thing you want to happen is for someone to steal all your website information and content, including your customers’.

• Are well reviewed

You can visit Geeks best Budget Hosting page to find out which budget hosting options come highly recommended by users.

Related posts:

• August 16, 2010 – Shared Hosting – How Much Can You Afford to Share?
• September 7, 2011 – Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting
• May 12, 2011 – Essential Shopping Cart Attributes
• January 16, 2011 – Web Hosting and its Types
• January 13, 2011 – A Sundry of Options for Web Hosting
• June 8, 2010 – Rules for Choosing a Great Domain Name
• May 6, 2010 – Managed Web Hosting For Novice Users
• April 30, 2010 – Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization
• April 15, 2010 – Domain Name Selection – A Business Changing Decision
• January 28, 2010 – The Power of Branding: What’s in a Name?

Deep Pockets Required

However, by catering to the new naming conventions, companies will be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars per application per domain name. Therefore, this could also become tremendously expensive.

ICANN’s Decision

In June 2011, ICANN decided that beginning in 2012, websites will no longer be limited only to the existing 22 endings like .com, .org and .net or the 250 country-specific domains like .ca and .fr. Instead, the organization will be permitting an unlimited number of extensions such as .books, .facebook, .coke and .car.

The agency claims that this decision will unleash the global human imagination, creating new opportunities for firms to greatly expand their online presence. Also, they stated that a demanding application mixed with high registration fees will filter out the abusers of the naming system.

Opposition to the Change

However, since that time, the advertising segment has opposed the move. In the United States, the Association of National Advertisers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau warned the amount of damage this change can cause on brand owners. United States advocacy groups have cooled down but the battle has shifted to Canadian companies. Reports state that only those firms with deep pockets will be able to defend their brands, take legal action and monitor new registrations.

Focusing on Generic Domain Names

While the cost and application are supposed to deter abuses, many individuals are positioning themselves to scoop up generic domain names like .beer and .chocolate. This could result in significant financial and legal battles not to mention major headaches for companies in those industries. Canadian companies could be hit hard since most are not large enough to take legal action and find protection.

Every day a new report is issued describing how unsatisfied entire industries are with the new naming conventions. Although the point of the change in extensions is a good idea, there are too many loose ends that could cause major problems for many online companies. This in turn could affect the global economy considerably.

Related posts:

• August 12, 2011 – ICANN Defends New Domain Name Procedure
• July 18, 2011 – Domain Name Expansion Expected to Create Major Problems
• November 26, 2008 – Finding a Domain for Your Business
• December 19, 2011 – Top 10 Domain Registrars
• September 30, 2011 – Picking up Expired Domains – Not Always Fun, but There’s a Way
• September 27, 2011 – Common Web Hosting Terms And What They Mean
• September 16, 2011 – Avoiding Domain Name Scams and Dead Ends
• September 5, 2011 – Premium Domain Names: What Are They?
• September 2, 2011 – Domain Names – Do You Still Need One
• September 1, 2011 – Budget Web Hosting: Is It Worth the Buck?

Current Preparations

A local Internet lawyer is already preparing to fight for one of his clients for .Philly. New York City officials have clearly indicated that .NYC is a civic asset and has already taken the necessary steps to preserve the domain name. Additionally, large companies are scooping up their domain name extensions such as .Microsoft, .Google and .Ford.

Application Process

Unfortunately, the rules enforced by ICANN will not stop at new entrants. Beginning January 2012, the application process will become official. However, ICANN is only expecting several hundred domain registrants to pay the $185,000 application fee. Unfortunately, qualified applicants will be able to create domain names based on any word.

Supporter Reaction

To supporters of the new extensions, this has been a long time coming. They are claiming that customers are looking for a way to capture their preferences. Therefore, businesses should not be restricted by the usual .com’s, .net’s and .org’s. Instead, they should be able to try .Music or .Food.

Recognition of Upcoming Challenges

Unfortunately, these same supporters recognize that the new rules will inevitably cause turf-battles and they are unsure how they will pan out. During the early years of the Internet, similar legal turf-wars were over the control of generic domain names with high value. The new laws will indefinitely change that aspect of domain names by depreciating the value of generic .com domain names as a result of the endless possibilities.

Critic’s Reaction

Critics of the new Internet law view this as creating duplication (from the past) and redundancy rather than implementing a value-added system. The only positive impact it will have on business is for those in the domain name registry industry.

It appears as if this change implemented by ICANN is going to cause more problems than its worth. At the same time this could improve company branding and increase online business. It is difficult to predict the outcome once the dust settles.

Related posts:

• July 7, 2009 – Choosing a Keyword-rich Domain for Your PPC Campaign
• February 26, 2009 – Understanding Domain Name Transfers
• January 27, 2009 – How to Choose a Good Domain Name
• January 22, 2009 – What Makes a Good Domain?
• November 26, 2008 – Finding a Domain for Your Business
• November 14, 2008 – Someone Registered My Domain – What Now?
• October 31, 2008 – Do You Really Need a .Com Domain?
• December 19, 2011 – Top 10 Domain Registrars
• September 30, 2011 – Picking up Expired Domains – Not Always Fun, but There’s a Way
• September 5, 2011 – Premium Domain Names: What Are They?

The process of hijacking a website really doesn’t require a lot of knowledge or even effort.  There are various methods hackers use to hijack domains such as launching Trojan viruses, illegitimately acquiring login information or utilizing software to hack into a web hosting account to reconfigure ownership information.  Once hackers gain access to the targeted web server’s control panel, the chaos and headaches begins for website owners.

While most domain hijacking attacks are illicit, large companies take advantage of their branding leverage citing copyright infringements.   By doing so allows more established companies to legally “hijack” specific domains.  Unfortunately, small companies simply don’t have the necessary resources to defend their domains when toppled by a larger company with the same resources readily available to combat legal battles.

Locking the Hijacking Tool Shed

The truth is hijacking of a domain doesn’t take an arsenal of tools to access an authorized account.  The two basic items needed to hijack a domain is the target domain’s registrar name and the administrative e-mail address for the target domain.  Upon accessing these two essential items, hackers can easily hijack a domain without the knowledge of the authorized owner.  Website owners often don’t realize that this information is available online for the public to view by visiting www.whois.com.  A simple search can reveal the imperative information needed to hijack a domain, however, it’s possible to thwart hacking attempt by opting for a private domain registration.

A private domain registration allows website owners to hide vital information such as personal details including name and administrative e-mail address.  So, when a potential hacker looks up the domain on WHOIS, the information is hidden from public view.  It’s strongly recommended that website owners take the proactive security measures and choose to hide such details to thwart hijacking attempts.

Additionally, website owners should always inquire about the respective registrar’s security policy.  Also, ask about domain locking options as most registrars provide the feature to prevent unauthorized security breaches.

An Ounce of Prevention

Perhaps the best way to protect a domain name from being hijacked, aside from the above suggestions, is to opt for a reliable and trust-worthy provider.  Remember that usually you get what you pay for, so if a proven legit provider costs a few dollars more, it’s worth the extra cost to protect your domain name from hijacking attempts.  The initial proactive security costs are a well-worth investment, especially when compared to trying to undo the chaos created by a successful hacking mission.

Related posts:

• September 30, 2011 – What the New User can Learn from the GoDaddy Account Hack
• November 11, 2010 – What is Reverse Domain Name Hijacking?
• August 12, 2009 – Reverse Domain Name Hijacking on the Rise
• December 23, 2008 – The In’s and Out’s of Domain Names
• December 19, 2011 – Top 10 Domain Registrars
• September 30, 2011 – Picking up Expired Domains – Not Always Fun, but There’s a Way
• September 27, 2011 – Common Web Hosting Terms And What They Mean
• September 23, 2011 – Keep Your Site Safe – Learn What Not to Do
• September 22, 2011 – How And When To Offer SSH Access To Your Customers
• September 21, 2011 – How To Deal With A Possible Intruder On Your Server