One thing many webmasters often want to know is, whether or not their website needs domain privacy protection. A lot of famous hosts/registrars offer the service at a monthly or annual charge. It will usually cost you from $2.99 to $7.99 a year, anywhere. I will clarify what Domain Privacy Security is in this post and show you the pros and cons of using it. It is up to you, then, to determine whether or not you want it.
A data breach may have effects ranging from fairly harmless to potentially costly. Everywhere, you can already have multi-factor authentication turned on, use only strong passwords, and never click on a suspicious connexons.
Though, if you have ever registered a domain name, you may not be as free as you think.
You are expected to include contact details — your phone number, email address, and mailing address — when you register a domain as a website owner. By default, this information is not private and can be accessible to anyone, including spammers, advertisers, domain name hijackers, and identity thefts. That’s why we’re here to help you understand the precautions you should take.
What Is Domain Privacy Protection?
Once you register a domain name, your personal information will be stored in a database called WHOIS which is publicly accessible. Domain privacy protection is actually an ‘add-on’ feature you buy to shield your personal data and keep it away from the rest of the Globe.
If you choose not to buy Domain Privacy Protection, you are effectively opting to reveal your personal information to the public WHOIS database, so that everyone can see your contact information (assuming you are the domain registrant). It includes the email address, phone number, mailing address, name, and any other information requested by the domain registrant to legitimately register a domain name.
What is the WHOIS database?
The WHOIS database is one of the databases for keeping data about internet registrants. The Internet Consortium for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, accredits these repositories. ICANN is a non-profit association that manages and coordinates IP addresses (Internet Protocol) and Domain Name System (DNS) and ensures that each entity on the Internet has a unique identifier that computers around the world can access. This is why anyone who registers a domain name needs to supply an ICANN database with a valid identity.
Do I Need Domain Privacy Protection?
Publishing all details regarding your private domain registration on the Web will expose you to scammers, spammers, unsolicited emails, identity thieves, and domain hijackers. If your domain name is about to expire, fraudsters will contact you, and try to get your name. This can be difficult to get your domain name back up. Not to mention the cost to your business, if your website goes down.
Domain privacy protection provides a new level of protection to avoid hijacking of a domain. This can make a legal move slightly more difficult, but it avoids fraudulent or unintentional ones. This dramatically reduces email spam and frightens marketing calls. Only the spam will be sent to us instead of you, and then we’ll send you real and relevant emails.
It takes your website some time to build. It’s almost like getting a house built. And if it is not completely secured, then there is a slight risk that it will fall victim to a fraudulent transfer of the domain. What that means is that someone else, without your permission, may hack into your domain control panel and move your website to their name.
What does the GDPR say?
The GDPR is not limited to regulating personal data use and availability in the EU alone. Since the internet is a global network, any website which EU people may use anywhere in the world is subject to GDPR provisions. This includes Whois and other ICANN-certified domain and IP address registration databases.
The GDPR mandates that organizations processing personal data must anonymize that data in order to protect the privacy of data owners, and that data owners must give their permission for different uses of that data. This provision has set the stage for the GDPR-ICANN controversy over the public display of personal information in Whois databases without the full permission of the registrants.
ICANN has now adopted a regulation called the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Information after many legal challenges, which aims to satisfy the GDPR’s wide-ranging legislation while keeping some domain and IP registrant information still accessible to the public. Under this temporary regulation, certain technical information about a registered site itself, such as the registration date, domain expiry date, and the sponsoring registrar, can be accessed publicly, but the registrar’s personal information cannot be displayed without a formal request that data owners can decline.
Why can’t I use fake data to register?
You might be curious if there’s a way to register a fake-data domain. Why provide your domain registrar with your information, and get first classified on WHOIS?
The reality is you can only register a domain that contains authentic information. The information that you send is checked. Again, somewhat close to getting your assets registered with a governing body. In addition, authenticity is a must as a small business owner to win the audience’s trust and confidence right from the beginning. You can’t afford to face the viewers with a false expression.
So, what should I do?
It’s worth testing, if you already have domain privacy protection by calling customer service from your domain registrar or hosting provider. Most small businesses don’t even know if they do, because they usually hurry through the domain registration process, so, if you’re reading this, make sure you have the correct it out!
Investing in the protection of a domain name is a practical way of protecting both you and visitors to your website. Add domain privacy to a domain name already in use. If you have just reviewed the privacy of your domain and found that it is not covered, you can add that at any time. To buy it today contact your domain registrar or hosting company.
Getting protection of your domain’s privacy is simple, inexpensive, and can save you a lot of trouble.