Those of us in the peace and love generation entered the technology revolution and gold rush with a bit of the haze still surrounding us. Early adapters that we were, we trusted those more tech-savvy among us when they said they’d purchase our domain name for us, register it, and it would be ours forever.
Over time, of course, our eyes were opened, mostly because of the hours spent fixing something that was only broken because of the need of some scurrilous fellow travelers to control the kingdom. We came to understand we do not own our domain names, they are leased. Safety controls prevented domain hijacking. Those who thought they had the keys were thrown from the castle into the moat (they returned in other forms, but that is a later story).
Today, that question, “you mean, I don’t OWN my domain” is again being asked by those who trusted the honest gatekeepers to take care of them.
Those of us in the peace and love generation entered the technology revolution and gold rush with a bit of the haze still surrounding us. Early adapters that we were, we trusted those more tech-savvy among us when they said they’d purchase our domain name for us, register it, and it would be ours forever.
Over time, of course, our eyes were opened, mostly because of the hours spent fixing something that was only broken because of the need of some scurrilous fellow travelers to control the kingdom. We came to understand we do not own our domain names, they are leased. Safety controls prevented domain hijacking. Those who thought they had the keys were thrown from the castle into the moat (they returned in other forms, but that is a later story).
Today, that question, “you mean, I don’t OWN my domain” is again being asked by those who trusted the honest gatekeepers to take care of them.
I’ve spent two working days this week working with a client whose domain name is up for renewal (the client needs to re-register the domain if he wishes to keep it). A few years ago, this client wanted to go it alone. Not one to quibble, I tried to divorce myself from any access to their domain. The process, for various reasons, failed. Now, no longer being in the same business, I am trying again to separate my name, identifying Internet numbers (NIC handle) and personal data from this client account. It may or may not work, so it is time to revisit this simple question:
Who Owns Your Domain Name?
First, be aware that you do not own any of your domain names. You lease them. If you don’t protect your lease and these pieces of intellectual property, you could lose them. It’s not easy to lose them (it used to be), but it is possible.
The basic process is you think of a domain name to represent you and your business. You check in the Whois (who is) database of some domain registry such as Network Solutions. You discover your name is available and you pay the registry to provide you with that name. You probably pay for a year as you don’t see why you should pay more.
PAY MORE!
Pay for at least 5 years, if not 10. Time passes quickly, more quickly than you’d like, especially if you are growing a business. Who has time to fuss with renewal every year? Besides, it’s cheaper the more years you register.
What does it mean to register a domain name?
When a domain name is registered, it is checked against the Internet domain name system (DNS). This is a directory of all the Internet domain names and corresponding computers, each of which has a unique address called an IP (Internet Protocol) address and which is actually a number.
How do I register a domain name?
As I said above, domain names can be registered through many different competing companies (“registrars”), with whom you contract. The registrar sets the terms for accepting your registration (including pricing and levels of privacy), as well as maintaining same.
The registrar asks you to provide various contact and technical information needed to fulfill their licensing agreement with ICANN. The registrar keeps records of the contact information and submits the technical information to a central directory known as the “registry.” This registry provides other computers on the Internet the information necessary to send you e-mail or to find your web site.
ICANN and Accredited Registrars
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is an internationally organized, non-profit corporation, responsible for Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name system management, and root server system management functions.
Originally, these services were carried out under U.S. Government contract by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and other entities. ICANN now performs the IANA function.
Currently, ICANN is the foremost example of collaboration (that is what this is all about, remember?) by the various constituents of the Internet community. These include businesses, organizations, governments and individuals, all of whom are involved in building and maintaining a stable, but growing, Internet.
ICANN is the organization accrediting registrars through an accreditation agreement.. This includes identifying and setting minimum registration standards. If you choose to use a non-accredited registrar, well, buyer beware.
Now What?
This may be a bit techy, but I’d guess you understood most or all of it. Now what to do with this information?
- Check that you or your company are either the account owner or at least are listed as administrative or technical contacts. If you are not listed, get listed, immediately, now, today, This is a process, and requires some attention, but it is not difficult. Among other things, you’ll have to have a unique login and password for each contact. Don’t share the master login and password. As the account holder, you have total access. Everyone else has limited access.
- Ensure you are the billing contact, not your web firm.
- When changing contractors or employees, change contact information and passwords to the registry.
- As with checking accounts, provide access to the domain registry with more than one reliable business partner or staff, just in case.
- If your domain is registered one place and your web site hosted at another, look at consolidating these accounts. It will likely save you money.
- Lock the domain to protect from unauthorized switching or hijacking by other domain registrars.
- Consider the “make this information private” option, especially if you are concerned about privacy. If you are a business, this information is already out there. It probably is if you are just an individual also. Be aware that choosing privacy may result in some difficulty in claiming your domain if a registrar decides to be ornery. Private registry gives the registrar more control.
If you’d like to read more about all this, there are plenty of resources you’ll find by using your favorite search engine. The bottom line is that your domain name is a major business asset. Protect it.
Gayley Knight is a guest blogger for Terametric. She is Founder/Principal of Business Her Way (a social media management company). Delighting in opening the technology world for your company, Gayley draws on her extensive network and personal business experience to simplify your online world. Showing you best social business practices and simple tech tools designed to increase your business visibility brings social media into perspective, saving you time and money. You can contact her directly at http://www.businessherway.net or via email at gayley [at] mothergeek [dot] com.
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