GoDaddy is ending the forwarding of existing GoDaddy shortened links. So, if you were (or are) using one of GoDaddy’s shortened links, then after June 4, 2022 the shortened links will no longer work. [Read more…]
Sedo Suspends Parking for Domains Under .RU and .BY
Sedo, the domain name parking and aftermarket place, has suspended trading and parking for domain names under .RU and .BY. In addition, they are currently unable to serve customers residing in Russia or Belarus, as well as corresponding bank accounts. The affected accounts will be temporarily deactivated. [Read more…]
Stolen Domain Name Patterns.com Returned to Owner
The stolen domain name Patterns.com has been returned to its owner. The domain name was stolen from Cosmic Patterns Software, Inc. via their Network Solutions domain name registrar account. The thief and hacker accessed the account and transferred the domain name to their BizCN registrar account. BizCN was uncooperative, and refused to return the domain name to its owner. Therefore, DNProtect, with the help of Daniel Prince, a domain name attorney, filed a UDRP domain name dispute. They were successful with the UDRP, and the domain name is being returned to it’s owner. [Read more…]
Namecheap Terminating Services to Russian Customers
In a Tweet today, Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall expressed his concern over the current situation occurring in Ukraine. As a result of current events, Namecheap is terminating services to Russian customers. They will also begin blocking internet traffic to their website, as well.
War is always a terrible thing, it’s even worse when many of our own team members are on the ground. Our company stands firmly against Russian aggression and war crimes being committed against the people of Ukraine. Insuring the safety of our colleagues is our number one priority
In an email message sent to affected customers, they said:
“Unfortunately, due to the Russian regime’s war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine, we will no longer be providing services to users registered in Russia. While we sympathize that this war may not affect your own views or opinion on the matter, the fact is, your authoritarian government is committing human rights abuses and engaging in war crimes so this is a policy decision we have made and will stand by.
If you hold any top-level domains with us, we ask that you transfer them to another provider by March 6, 2022.
Additionally, and with immediate effect, you will no longer be able to use Namecheap Hosting, EasyWP, and Private Email with a domain provided by another registrar in zones .ru, .xn--p1ai (??), .by, .xn--90ais (???), and .su. All websites will resolve to 403 Forbidden, however, you can contact us to assist you with your transfer to another provider.
Customer Support,
Namecheap”
Customers who are affected by this decision by Namecheap will need to transfer their domain names to another domain name registrar by March 6, 2022.
Namecheap Releases 2021’s Most Popular TLDs & Domain Registration Trends
The domain name registrar Namecheap has released its annual industry report. The 2021 ‘Domain Insights & Trends Report’ features domain registration data from 2020 and 2021. The data shows insight into global TLD registration trends for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, technology journalists, domain investors and web industry experts. [Read more…]
Winners of the 3rd Annual Public Interest Registry .ORG Impact Awards
Public Interest Registry (PIR), the organization behind the .ORG TLD (Top Level Domain), has announced the winners of the 3rd annual .ORG Impact Awards. The .ORG Impact Awards honor and celebrate mission-driven organizations and individuals working to make the world a better place. The award winners were announced as part of an online global event to celebrate and honor “Champions for Change.” [Read more…]
Minimizing the Risk of Having Your Domain Name Stolen
Recently, there has been an uptick in the number of domain names that are being stolen. I am not sure if it’s because of the worldwide pandemic and people are getting more desperate for money, or if domain name thieves are taking advantage of the changing digital and tech environment. COVID-19 is causing more of us to be online and conduct business online. But that also means that many don’t fully understand how to properly protect their digital assets, like domain names. This may be why we’re seeing more and more online scams, phishing, and online theft in general. [Read more…]
RightoftheDot Live Online Domain Auction February 25
RightOfTheDot.com is holding a live, online domain name auction on February 25, 2021. They’re broadcasting this live domain name auction starting at Noon on February 25, 2021 from College Station, Texas. Pre-Bidding on these domain names is now open, and will continue up until the live auction on the 25th of February. [Read more…]
23 Top Level Domains TLDs Up for Auction
UNR, the owner of some Top Level Domains (TLDs) has decided to auction off 23 TLDs to the highest bidder. There are 23 total, including some great endings such as .audio, .blackfriday, .christmas, and .help, and .link. These are not domain names, but the endings of domain names. [Read more…]
Domain Name Brokers Put FFF.com and HHH.com Domains Up for Sale
Two different repeating three-letter, .COM domain names, FFF.com and HHH.com, have been put up for sale by the domain name brokers Brannans.com. [Read more…]
Google Loses Blogspot.In Domain Name
Google has lost ownership to one of their Blogspot domain names. Blogspot is the former name of the blogging service that allowed bloggers to create and post their own blog for free. Blogspot.com redirects to Blogger.com, where you can continue to create and post on your own blog. Blogspot.in is the India version of Blogspot, each Blogspot blog was redirected to the local version (typically a ccTLD). So, someone viewing a blogspot blog in India would be redirected to username.blogspot.in. [Read more…]
GoDaddy Sent Erroneous Credit Notices via Email
The domain name registrar GoDaddy sent emails to some current customers. The email, which was a legitimate email and not a phishing attempt, told the customer that they had a credit on their account. However, what is alarming is that the email being sent had the wrong amount. [Read more…]
Verisign’s DomainScope is Shutting Down
Verisign is shutting down their DomainScope service. They will continue operating the service until 1:00 PM Eastern Time on July 17, 2020. In a recent email to their current DomainScope customers and a notice posted on their site, Verisign explained that their product development teams will be focusing on developing new features and functionality for their NameStudio service instead. [Read more…]
Domain Name Influencers to Follow on Twitter
Updated March 9, 2020
A recent discussion about the best Domain Name industry Twitter accounts got me thinking–there are a lot more domain name influencers on Twitter than be put into one Tweet. Even though there are a lot of characters available in a Tweet now, I just cannot possibly put them all into one or two Tweets. When I originally posted this list of domain name influencers that you should follow on Twitter, it was a list of 35. Then, after a while, some of them actually deleted their Twitter accounts. So, this is an updated list.
After the initial list, I’ve listed a bunch of Twitter accounts that you should be following related to the domain name industry. [Read more…]
SEO Testing: TLD Bias in Search
As a search engine optimization (SEO) and domain name consultant, one of the questions I get asked most often about domain names is whether or not the domain name or TLD (Top Level Domain) matters. Will the domain name ending have an effect on SEO or search engine rankings. Are certain domain name endings preferred by the search engines over other domain name extensions? I decided to answer this question based on search engine optimization testing and not just based on my personal and professional experience. [Read more…]
Influencer Gets 14 Years in Federal Prison for Hijacking Domain Name
A social media influencer has been sentenced to 14 years in United States Federal prison for the attempted hijacking of a GoDaddy domain name. According to a United States DOJ press release, “Rossi Lorathio Adams II, age 27, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also known as “Polo,” received the prison term after an April 18, 2019, jury verdict finding him guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force, threats, and violence.” [Read more…]
Network Solutions Suffers Data Breach in 2019
Network Solutions, a Web.com company, along with Register.com, has suffered a data breach (they got hacked) in late August 2019. They did not discover this data breach until October 16, 2019. They’re just notifying customers on November 1, 2019 about the data breach. Shouldn’t they have contacted their customers to change their passwords shortly after they discovered it on October 16, 2019? [Read more…]
How Expired Domain Names Are Used for PBNs, Rebuilds, and Redirects
When someone (or a company, organization) doesn’t renew a domain name, the domain name goes through a drop process. First the domain name usually enters a period of time when the current owner can renew the domain name. It’s essentially put on hold. It then enters a period (a certain number of days) when it’s marked as pending delete, and then, at one particular date and time, it is released to anyone who wants to register that domain name. The domain expiration process goes something like this: [Read more…]
Network Solutions Won’t Let Go Of A Domain
Despite the fact that I transferred a domain name from Network Solutions to another registrar (GoDaddy), Network Solutions still wants me to renew the domain name and has it in my account. I literally transferred the domain name and moved it because technically it’s not my domain name (I bought it for a client). The client only used GoDaddy as their domain name registrar, so I had to move it away from Network Solutions. However, days later, the domain name is still in my Network Solutions Account. At this point, I am assuming that if I don’t do anything, Network Solutions will charge me for a domain name I don’t own, and a domain name that isn’t even at their registrar anymore. [Read more…]
KPMG Moves To Their Own .BRAND TLD
KPMG has moved to their own .BRAND TLD (Top Level Domain), the first of the big accounting firms to make the move. Previously they were using the domain name KPMG.com as their home page, and now if you go to KMPG.com in your web browser it will redirect you to their new domain, home.kpmg, which then redirects you to https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home.html. This move is yet another sign that the big worldwide brands are beginning to move on over to their own .BRAND TLD, ditching their .COM domain name. [Read more…]