Whois record

[Dave Zan]

Hi, just joined in. Encountered "incredible" difficulty logging in, but I'll get over it.

Good question re: whether to use a privacy service or not. I'd say it depends on
what your intent for the domain name is.

As some of you described, it makes sense if you don't want people causing you
any undue trouble. OTOH, if you're selling stuff you want people to be able to
verify you.

One reason I use a privacy service is it can potentially lessen the likelihood of my
domain name getting hijacked, especially if the would-be thief doesn't know
what's my actual email address in the first place.

[penguinmama]

How can someone hijack your domain just by knowing your contact info? I don't understand that.

And, if your home phone number isn't unlisted, you are findable online anyway, y'know, if someone has your first & last name and state.

[Dave Zan]

penguinmama Wrote:How can someone hijack your domain just by knowing your contact info? I don't understand that.

Here's how step by step:

1. Potential Thief (PT) does WHOIS lookup and sees my contact details,
especially my email address.

2. PT tries to compromise my email address...and succeeds.

3. PT uses registrar's password recovery options and retrieves my login.

4. PT logs in and changes the details to his.

The rest you can figure out.

I've seen this happen numerous times, having worked in the business for
a couple of years.

I have little to no problem of people finding out my contact details. I give
such when I can.

But I guess I'm "paranoid" enough to make sure what happened to others
won't happen to me.

[penguinmama]

So, really, the only thing that would help them hijack is the email -- which *most* companies have on their web site anyway... so I still don't see a good reason (hijackwise) for hiding my info.

[Dave Zan]

penguinmama Wrote:So, really, the only thing that would help them hijack is the email -- which *most* companies have on their web site anyway... so I still don't see a good reason (hijackwise) for hiding my info.

I'll give you my personal example.

On my blog I gave my email address as DaveZan AT DaveZan DOTcom. But
that's not my actual email address in my domain name's WHOIS records or
inside my actual domain account.

The one inside my account and in WHOIS forwards any and all emails to my
main one. Plus I double-check every once in a while since it only takes just a
few minutes.

There's actually another part that's especially being used popularly by many
registrars that helps enhance this security. But I'd rather not explain here, I
hope you understand.

Now some parties (especially big companies) can afford to list their email on
both their website and their domain name's WHOIS record, especially if they
invest in technical people who keep that email as secure as possible. But not
everyone can afford it, especially those just starting out.

I try to maintain a balance of convenience and security. But security is high
on my priority list.

Anyway, I'm not really trying to convince you. Just trying to explain the logic
behind my madness.

[hokeshel]

I m with Paula62. It depends on the site. Generally speaking, I prefer to keep personal information private. I go by my exhusband's last name for business and legal use and my current last name for personal use.

[Ladybecklyn]

I prefer to keep it private. As for the hijacking issue, I also, like Dave Zan have an email address that is not my actual email address. People see one but all the messages go to a different one. It is an email through my hosting where I get x# of email addresses.

[penguinmama]

Well, since we host our own email, we have a variety of email addresses, and can set up others on a whim, so that really isn't that big a deal here ;-)

[Hoosierhunter]

I go totally anonymous because I don't like being chased down by people wanting to sell me stuff. I'll go find services I want on my own, and it annoys me to be irritated by people wanting to bug me.

[echos]

I like being anonymous, but then again , I am pretty easy to find, if you look hard enough, Echos