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What is the difference between public and private domain name registration?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:42:13 GMT

Per our registrar agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the contact and registrant information listed for your domain name must be made public. Using false information is a violation and can lead to the termination of your domain name registration.

We understand most people do not want their personal contact information (name, address, email address, and phone number) made public in the Whois database. That’s why we have offered Private Registration services through an affiliate company, Domains By Proxy® (DBP), since 2002.

When you purchase DBP Private Registration services, the Whois database lists DBP's name, mailing address, and phone number instead of your personal contact information.

DBP also creates a private unique email address for your domain name — you decide to have any arriving email forwarded, filtered for spam, or not forwarded at all.

Although DBP is listed as the registrant of your domain name on the Whois database, you retain FULL CONTROL over your domain name. You can:

Cancel, sell, or renew your domain name
Control the content for your website
Set the nameservers for your domain name
Update your underlying domain name contact information
Resolve any and all disputes involving your domain name

Private Registration provides a variety of benefits! It helps you:

Protect your identity
Stop domain name-related spam
Thwart harassers and stalkers
End data mining
Maintain personal and family privacy
Prevent your domain from being hijacked
Shield legitimate entrepreneurial business endeavors
Voice political and other First Amendment speech

DBP does not allow you to use its services for spamming, violating the law, or engaging in morally objectionable activities. Violating these policies will result in service cancellation.

Registering Domain Names

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:32:00 GMT

Registering a domain name builds your credibility on the Internet. Use domain names to support your business and assist in creating a dynamic online presence. Your domain name establishes your online identity and increases branding, marketing and communication opportunities. Register multiple domain names to:

Keep your competition from registering a domain name that draws customers away from you.
Promote the products and services you offer.
Drive more traffic to your website.
Enjoy more opportunities to market to — and be listed on — search engines.
Create distinct advertising strategies to reach different target markets.
Provide customers more ways to find you on the Internet.
Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page.
Protect your brand and online identity from unsavory parties.

To get started, check to see if the domain name you want is available. If available, register the domain name for a period of time you specify during the checkout process.

Checking a Domain Name's Availability

Go to our Home Page.
In the Domain Name Search field, enter the domain name you want to register, and then select the domain name extension from the list.
Click GO.

If the domain name you requested is already registered, we provide available alternatives. For example, you might be able to select a .info or .ws domain extension, rather than .com. Or you could register www.coolexample.info instead of www.coolexample.com.

If the domain name is available, follow the instructions to complete the checkout process. Be sure to include valid contact information for each contact. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the governing body for domain names, requires valid contact information (registrant, technical, billing, and administrative). If you enter false information, your domain name can be canceled.

Your contact information is public and accessible through the Whois database at most registrars. However, you can protect your privacy by registering your domain name with us using our private domain name registration services.

When you purchase a private domain name registration through our affiliate company, Domains By Proxy® (DBP), the Whois database lists DBP's name, postal address, and phone number — instead of your personal contact information. For more information about DBP, see What is the difference between public and private domain name registration?

What do I need to apply for a merchant account?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:33:00 GMT

Do you need to apply for a merchant account? Generally. you will need the following to apply for a merchant account:

The social security number, Driver's License Number, and contact information of the principals of your business.
The Bank Account and Routing Numbers of the Checking Account used for your business.
Information about your business, including a Tax ID or social security number, and location information.

Please note that additional information or the following requirements may have to be met to apply for a merchant account:

Your website must be published to the Internet ("live").
DBA ("doing business as" or business name) must be on your website.
List your products and prices on your website.
Provide your physical contact address on your website.
Provide your return/refund policy on your website.
Provide your shipping methods on your website.
Provide your privacy policy on your website.
Provide your customer service contact phone number on your website.
Your shopping cart must be working and secure (but not yet processing orders).

Additional requirements may be needed as determined by the merchant account provider, including a credit check and background check.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our technical support department:

By email
Our online Help Center
Or by phone: (480) 624-2500

Country code top-level domains: A great example for using .CO

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:15:00 GMT

This video from Overstock.com is a good example of for a business to use a .CO Country code top-level domains.

Understood around the world as an abbreviation for “Company,” “Corporation” and “Commerce”, .CO is easy to recognize, simple to remember and flexible to use. It offers international recognition in a fresh landscape where you can still choose the name you want, not just settle for what’s available.

New internet domain names prompt govt meet

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:50:34 GMT

New internet domain names prompt govt meet | From an article published by Business Standard on Friday, July 5th, 2011

The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) decision to expand gTLD names on the internet to include almost any name (even .anything), is foxing both users and registers. It has also raised fears of online trademark violations and cybersquatting. ICANN is scheduled to start the first phase of receiving applications for the domain names from mid-January 2012 and the process would continue till mid-April.

Domain names are divided into two segments—generic top level domains (gTLDs) and country code top level domains (ccTLDs). The gTLD segment accounts for domain names like .com, .net, .org, and .info, while ccTLDs are country specific like .in (India), .de (Germany) and .uk (UK).

ICANN’s decision to expand domain names means domains like .shop, .burgers, .lipstick, .mumbai, and .delhi may be a reality soon. Users are already interested in owning the .mumbai domain name. “We did come across such a request from an individual. But individuals cannot apply for geo-specific domain names. Hence, the request was rejected,” said Govind, senior director, Department of Information Technology (DIT) and chief executive, National Internet Exchange of India (Nixi).

To frame a strategy to resolve any confusion over the issue, DIT, along with the Centre for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC), Nixi, ICANN and VeriSign, would meet on Wednesday. IT secretaries of all states would attend the meeting, which would also include mayors of major cities, Union government officials, key industry leaders and associations, registrars and linguists.

“The main agenda of the meet is to create awareness among the industry and users. This would change the way people find information on the web and also how business is done on the internet. From an India perspective, we plan to create awareness about this change and inform people of what is happening. We would also write to various IT secretaries and municipal corporations,” said Govind.

Domain names are host names that identify internet protocol (IP) resources such as websites. Currently, there are 22 top domain names, including .com, .net and .org. For India, which has just two million domain names, many feel this could be a big opportunity. The ratio of domain names registered to the number of internet users in India currently stands at 1:45, while it is 1:5 in countries like the US.

From 6,000 in 2005, the .in domain has come a long way. It would complete around one million registrations by August. India has also received ICANN’s approval for seven internationalised domain names (IDN). IDNs are domain names represented by local language characters. The seven Indian languages that have received approval are Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, Bangla, Punjabi, Tamil, and Gujarati. According to Mahesh Kulkarni of CDAC, the aim is to have IDNs for all the 22 official languages of the country.

Rahul Kulkarni of CDAC believes governments and municipal bodies across the globe would need to be closely involved in the process. “Geography-specific domains are very crucial. Besides the application fee of $200,000 and $25,000, annual fee is certainly not a deterrent for any government or for that matter, the Indian government and other local bodies,” he said.

The low penetration of domain names in India is opening opportunities for registrars as well (these are companies that delegate domain names and are accredited by the ICANN). “We believe over a period of time, even in India, the domain name penetration would rise, since the number of people with internet access is also expected to rise. We think India represents a $100-million (Rs 450 crore) market opportunity and is growing at 25 per cent annually,” Shashank Mehrotra, director (strategy and business development), Directi.

Manish Dalal, vice-president, Asia Pacific, VeriSign, says, “India has 30 million small- and medium-sized enterprises and only two million domain names. Having a presence on the web can enhance a firm’s business opportunity. We have seen the change in the business prospects of a business because of a dedicated domain and web presence.” For Rs 2,000, an individual can get a domain name and a website.

While there is a fear that opening of the internet may increase the number of cybersquatters, not everyone agrees. “One, all geo-specific domain names would need the approval of the government (country) or the municipal body concerned. Two, in case of trade marks, they would have the first right of refusal. In the sunrise period, these companies would be preferred over other individuals. If an individual wants a brand name, they need to validate their credentials,” said Govind.

What are zone files and zone records?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:27:00 GMT

Zone files organize the zone records for domain names and subdomains in a DNS server. Every domain name and subdomain has a zone file, and each zone file contains zone records. These files, editable in any plain text editor, hold the DNS information linking domain names and subdomains to IP addresses. Zone files usually contain several different zone records.

NOTE: Although domain names might have subdomains, the zone files for subdomains are not considered sub-zone. All zone files are separate entities and do not have a hierarchical structure.

The most common records contained in a zone file are start of authority (SOA), nameserver, mail exchanger, host, and CNAME. These are described below.

Start of Authority (SOA) — Required for every zone file, the SOA record contains caching information, the zone administrator’s email address, and the master name server for the zone. The SOA also contains a number incremented with each update. As this number updates, it triggers the DNS to reload the zone data.
Name Server (NS) — The NS record contains the name server information for the zone.
Mail Exchanger (MX) — The MX record provides the mail server information for that zone to deliver email to the correct location.
Host (A) — Uses the A record to map an IP address to a host name. This is the most common type of record on the Internet.
Canonical Name (CNAME) — A CNAME is an alias for a host. Using CNAMEs, you can have more than one DNS name for a host. CNAME records point back to the A record. When you change the IP address in your A record, all CNAME records for that domain name automatically follow the new IP address.
Text (TXT) — This is an informational record. Use it for additional information about a host or for technical information to servers.
Service Records (SRV) — SRV records are resource records used to identify computers hosting specific services.
AAAA — AAAA records store a 128-bit Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) address that does not fit the standard A record format. For example, 2007:0db6:85a3:0000:0000:6a2e:0371:7234 is a valid 128-bit/IPv6 address.

Managing a Domain Name's Forwarded Subdomains

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Tue, 10 May 2011 03:04:00 GMT

In the Domain Manager, you can add subdomains and forward them to URLs. You can also edit or delete forwarded subdomains.

Subdomains are extensions of your domain name that you can forward to URLs or point to IP addresses and directories in your hosting account. For example, if your domain name is coolexample.com, you can add subdomain.coolexample.com and point it to a specific website in a subdirectory of your hosting account.

You can add up to 90 subdomains per domain name. You can also add multiple levels of subdomains. For example, you can add another.subdomain.coolexample.com. Each subdomain can be up to 25 characters long.

The process to add, edit, or delete a subdomain varies depending upon how you use it. Use these instructions to work with subdomains that forward to URLs.

To use the DNS Manager to work with subdomains that point to IP addresses, see Managing a Domain Name's Subdomains.

To work with subdomains that resolve to directories in your hosting account, see Managing Your Hosting Account Subdomains.

What is Premium DNS?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:08:00 GMT

Premium DNS accounts offer a higher level of support and advanced features to add power, flexibility, and control to your DNS management:

Secondary DNS — Back up your DNS zones with a secondary nameserver so your domain names never go offline.
Fully Managed DNSSEC — Increase security by authenticating the origin of DNS data.
Vanity Nameservers — Customize your nameservers with hand-picked host names that map to our nameserver IP addresses.
Templates — Save time by applying zone file templates to the domain names in your Premium DNS Dashboard.
Reports — Crunch numbers with log tracking, mondo data retention, and reporting that's both flexible and customizable.
Admin Control — Delegate administrator privileges with ease.

What is the Whois database?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:43:00 GMT

The Whois database is a repository of information associated with registered domain names and is available online. Domain name information like creation and expiration dates, the registrar of record, and its various contacts (administrative, technical, etc.) is stored in the Whois database. When you register a domain name, we collect this information, per Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) regulations for domain name registrars. It's public information. The Whois information is available to anyone who does a Whois search for a particular domain name. All information entered in the Whois must be valid. If it is not, the domain name owner risks losing the registration.

For information on keeping your contact information private, see Adding Private Registration to Your Domain Names.

Do you have your .NET domain yet?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 06:20:00 GMT

One of the Internet's seven original Top Level Domains (TLD), .NET is the second-largest TLD in use today. Consider registering a .NET if:

Your favorite .COM has already been registered by someone else, but the .NET version of that name has not.
Your business has already registered a .COM and would like to protect its brand from cyber-squatters by registering the corresponding .NET.
Your company specializes in Internet infrastructure activities, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs)-.NET stands for NETwork.

.NETdomain registrations are currently over 13 million strong. Get .NET at http://tiny.cc/5w71h

Product Announcement: Contact Manager Is Being Retired

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:24:00 GMT

After careful consideration, we have decided to discontinue Contact Manager. While we will continue to support existing customers, we'll no longer be offering renewals or new sales of the Contact Manager application. Current customers who have this product should receive a message indicating how to back up their contacts and migrate from Contact Manager into other products. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

We've opted to refer our current Contact Manager customers to Express Email Marketing® as an alternative. This dynamic product offers a cost-effective way to send beautifully-designed email campaigns to a large number of recipients. Remember, we will still support current Contact Manager customers, we just won't register any new users. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

About the Page Rank Report

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 06:10:00 GMT

The Search Engine VisibilitySearch Engine Visibility Page Rank report lets you assess the importance and performance of your Web page as seen by top search engines Alexa and Google. Google's assessment of a Web page's overall importance is reflected in the so-called PageRank, which ranks the page on a scale from 0 to 10. The higher the number, the more important Google considers the page.

Web pages that hold a PageRank of 7 or higher are likely to obtain high Google rankings for keywords. The Google PageRank is perhaps the single most important element in Google's complex ranking algorithm.

The Alexa Traffic Rank is based on three months of aggregated historical traffic data from millions of Alexa Toolbar users and is a combined measure of page views and users (reach).

What is the 'www' before my domain name?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 06:06:00 GMT

The www before your domain name is a subdomain, not part of the domain name itself. Therefore, if you set up your www CNAME record to point to your primary A record, your site will resolve both at www.coolexample.com and coolexample.com.

If you can reach your website by typing in your domain without the www but cannot reach it when you type the www, then your CNAME might be set up incorrectly.

How do domain names work?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:25:00 GMT

Registering a domain name does not automatically activate a website that displays when visitors enter your domain name into a Web browser. The domain name must have a hosted website that includes a numeric address, called an IP address, for visitors to access the website using your domain name.

Your domain name and its associated IP address are stored in a common database along with every other domain and associated IP address that are accessible via the Internet.

When visitors enter your domain name into a Web browser, the browser request uses your domain name to find the domain name's associated IP address and, therefore, the website. People use domain names instead of IP addresses because it is easier to remember a name rather than a series of numbers.

When you register a domain name, you do not have to host a website. See What do I do with my domain once it's been registered? for information on other uses for your new domain name.

For new .com and .net domain names and updates, allow up to eight hours for changes to become effective. Allow up to 48 hours for changes made to all other domain name extensions to become effective. This delay is because of the number of networks and agencies involved in the Internet structure. Delays apply to all domain names and registrars. Please allow for this delay when planning websites or configuring a domain name to work with your email.

Registering Domain Names

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 07:22:00 GMT

Keep your competition from registering a domain name that draws customers away from you.
Promote the products and services you offer.
Drive more traffic to your website.
Enjoy more opportunities to market to — and be listed on — search engines.
Create distinct advertising strategies to reach different target markets.
Provide customers more ways to find you on the Internet.
Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page.
Protect your brand and online identity from unsavory parties.

To get started, check to see if the domain name you want is available. If available, register the domain name for a period of time you specify during the checkout process.

Checking a Domain Name's Availability

Go to our Home Page .
In the Domain Name Search field, enter the domain name you want to register, and then select the domain name extension from the list.
Click SEARCH.

If the domain name you requested is taken, we provide available alternatives. For example, you might be able to select a .INFO or .WS domain extension, rather than .COM. Or you could register www.coolexample.info, instead of www.coolexample.com.

DBP also creates a private unique email address for your domain name — you decide to have incoming emails forwarded, filtered for spam, or not forwarded at all.

Although DBP is listed on the Whois database as the registrant of your domain name, you retain FULL CONTROL over your domain name. You can:

Cancel, sell or renew your domain name
Control the content for your website
Set the name servers for your domain name
Update your underlying domain name contact information
Resolve any and all disputes involving your domain name

A private registration provides a variety of benefits. It helps you:

Protect your identity
Stop domain name-related spam
Thwart harassers and stalkers
End data mining
Maintain personal and family privacy
Prevent your domain from being hijacked
Shield legitimate entrepreneurial business endeavors
Voice political and other First Amendment speech

DBP does not allow its services to be used for spamming, violating the law or engaging in morally objectionable activities. Violating these policies will result in the cancellation of service.

Get 10% off your next purchase...

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:50:00 GMT

Exclusive offer from My Domain Toolbox: Save 10% on orders $35 or more*. Find out more at: http://www.mydomaintoolbox.com/Specials.php

* Click on link to view limitations. Expires March 13, 2011.

What are blogs and podcasts?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:50:00 GMT

A web log (or "blog") is similar to an online journal. It is largely text-based, so it's easy to update and maintain-even if you have no experience running a Web site. Any type of information can be presented on a blog, from stories about a family vacation to in-depth commentary on world politics. In addition, most blogs allow visitors to post responses to blog articles or entries and leave feedback for the person running the site, known as a "blogger". Overall, a blog is a fast, easy and fun way to establish an online presence.

A podcast is a way to broadcast multimedia files - audio or video-over the Internet for playback on mobile devices (ex. MP3 players) and personal computers. Podcasting lets the podcaster create a broadcast about a subject of interest to him/her and their subscribers. Subscribers simply download the podcast and listen to it at their convenience.

What is Web-Based Email?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 05:30:00 GMT

Web-Based Email is an Internet-based email system that lets you send and receive email messages from a Web browser. All you need to use Web-Based Email is an Internet connection and a supported browser.

Supported Browsers for Web-Based Email
Here is a list of browsers that work with our Web-Based Email:

Windows Supported Browsers-

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and newer
Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and newer
Chrome 7

Mac Supported Browsers-

Mozilla Firefox 3.6 and newer
Safari 4.0 and newer
Chrome 7

What is DNS?

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:54:00 GMT

The Domain Name System (DNS) provides visitors access to websites using domain names rather than IP addresses.

How does DNS work?

DNS translates human-speak (domain names) into computer-speak (IP addresses). Domain names are text-based names used to identify a website or Internet location. IP addresses are strings of numbers used by every computer connected to the Internet to identify a website's location and communicate with other computers and Web servers.

DNS translates the text-based website or location identifier a visitor enters to the number-based IP address of the associated website or Internet location. For example, coolexample.com is a domain name. 208.109.80.196 is an IP address associated with coolexample.com. DNS translates the domain name coolexample.com to the IP address 208.109.80.196.

Using DNS, we can enter easily-remembered text-based domain names and reach machine-readable Internet addresses.

How does DNS know which IP address to use?

Each domain name stores its DNS information in a zone file. Large collections of zone files for different domain names are stored on nameservers. Domain names point to nameservers to locate their zone files — to do this, a domain name must point to the nameserver holding its specific zone file.

How do I know which nameserver to use?

When you register a domain name with us, we automatically park the domain name and set its nameserver to our parking servers. If you activate the domain name or make changes to your website's hosting, your hosting company provides the nameserver names or IP addresses where your domain name's zone file is located. Use this information to update your domain name settings at your registrar. Once you've updated your nameservers or IP address, allow 24 to 48 hours for the new information to propagate through the Internet, and then visitors can reach your website using your domain name.

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Quick Blogcast® Blog and Podcast in one!

My Domain Toolbox Blog — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 06:12:00 GMT

Get your voice on the Internet! Quick Blogcast is an easy way to get your thoughts and photos on the internet with little to no hassle. Make interacting with your customers easy and seamless with our preconfigured pages, all you need to do is fill in the content, add your pictures and start interacting with your customers, friends, and family!

With Quick Blogcast®, blogcasters receive an entire platform to add to their blogcast sites. This feature increases options for creating and delivering content. Quick Blogcast also offers an array of templates, enhanced editing abilities, and a comments section. Additionally, Quick Blogcast features an online audio and video player that displays your audio or video files within a post. Using this feature, visitors do not need to open a new player; it is contained within the online application.

Another advantage of blogcasting with Quick Blogcast is the ability to add sizable text entries to your blogcasts. Now, blogcasters can post full posts, pictures, links, and comments with podcasts.

Quick Blogcast includes several useful services that expand the functionality of your site. Services include RSS feeds, Photobucket®, YouTube®, and social bookmarking sites, such as del.icio.us®.

Here is a link to our Quick Blogcast Product Overview: http://tiny.cc/nhf90

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BLOG.MYDOMAINTOOLBOX.COM

What is the difference between public and private domain name registration?

Although DBP is listed as the registrant of your domain name on the Whois database, you retain FULL CONTROL over your domain name. You can:

Private Registration provides a variety of benefits! It helps you:

Registering Domain Names

Checking a Domain Name's Availability

What do I need to apply for a merchant account?

Country code top-level domains: A great example for using .CO

New internet domain names prompt govt meet

What are zone files and zone records?

Managing a Domain Name's Forwarded Subdomains

What is Premium DNS?

What is the Whois database?

Do you have your .NET domain yet?

Product Announcement: Contact Manager Is Being Retired

About the Page Rank Report

What is the 'www' before my domain name?

How do domain names work?

Registering Domain Names

Checking a Domain Name's Availability

Although DBP is listed on the Whois database as the registrant of your domain name, you retain FULL CONTROL over your domain name. You can:

A private registration provides a variety of benefits. It helps you:

Get 10% off your next purchase...

What are blogs and podcasts?

What is Web-Based Email?

Supported Browsers for Web-Based Email Here is a list of browsers that work with our Web-Based Email:

What is DNS?

How does DNS work?

How does DNS know which IP address to use?

How do I know which nameserver to use?

Quick Blogcast® Blog and Podcast in one!

Supported Browsers for Web-Based Email
Here is a list of browsers that work with our Web-Based Email: