For more than 14 years I’ve had a privilege of working in the Information Security industry, protecting various companies from fraud, damage to their reputation and their assets. A domain name is just another asset. So what steps can you take to protect it?
1. Turn on transfer / lock protection at your registrar. Companies such as Network Solutions call this “Domain Protect”, others such as Moniker calls it “Lock”. Both registrars automatically turn it on.
2. Turn on “auto-renew”. That way your domain name will automatically be registered when the expiry date comes around. Of course, don’t forget to have a valid credit card or automatic paypal agreement in place. If your credit card expires before your domain names, then your domains may expire as they have not been paid for (renewed).
3. Add your registrars domain name to your email whitelist or friends list. If your anti-spam software decides to go crazy and block half the universe, the only thing that might save you is your whitelist. In the event your registrar sends you a reminder email, then you should get it.
4. Use whois protection. When you register or renew a domain, buy the add-on privacy guard, shield or whatever your registrar calls it. The key here is to protect your personal information so as to make it difficult for someone to misuse it.
5. Change the default “whois protection”. Some whois privacy providers have the feature of changing the default email address contact every X number of days. This should be changed to “1″ as it may reduce the number of spam email messages you receive.
6. Register your domain names under different names and companies. While there are strict rules to follow in this regard, this particular method has one huge advantage. It makes it very difficult for a person to get an understanding of your domain name portfolio. In the event a thief compromises your account at a registry then its difficult for them to rely on whois data to find your other domains and where they are located.
7. Trademark your domain name in the USA and your country of residence. This may provide a level of protection from 3rd parties who feel they have a right to your domain. The first thing you should do in this instance, is to consult a reputable trademark attorney.
8. Use multiple domain name registrars. That way if a registrar collapses, then you won’t lose your entire domain name portfolio.
9. Use different user id’s and strong passwords (min 8 characters, alpha numeric with special characters) for each registrar. If you need something bullet-proof to manage your passwords then use Password Safe. It’s a must have tool. Use the automatic password generating feature.
10. When you receive an email saying that your domain name has expired, DONT CLICK ON THE LINK. Visit the registrar web site by typing the name into your web browser. This will help to avoid you becoming the latest victim of a phishing scam.
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