Coming up with a good domain name in today’s web hosting industry can be a very difficult task. Simply coming up with a creative name is not enough to establish a successful domain anymore. First you have to make sure that name is available, and if it is, you have to secure all variations of that name to ensure complete ownership of the brand. If you leave any opportunities open, your competitors will take the first chance they get to capitalize on any of your mistakes.

The Nature of the Web Hosting Industry

One such mistake would be leaving an alternate extension of your domain name available. For example, if your domain name is – “theexampledomain.com” then you would want to purchase the .net and .org versions of this domain as well. If you do not then your competitor may purchase these extensions and take advantage of your advertising efforts. This is just one example of the nature of the web hosting industry, and how the smallest mistake can result in a substantial loss of power.

Domain Theft

As you can see by the previous example, the web hosting industry is nothing to fool around with, as it is a highly competitive business win which leverage is key. If you are a novice or intermediate webmaster, then you’re probably not the most technically inclined individual. This means you will need to rely upon your web hosting service to keep you safe, unless of course you are a certified internet security expert.

The problem with leaving your security in your web host’s hands is there are always loopholes that can be used to infiltrate your administrative account and subsequently result in the loss of ownership for your domain. If your competitor cannot beat you, they may just hire someone to steal your domain, or it could be stolen by a person that is looking to use your web server for nefarious activities. While these scenarios may sound unlikely, they actually occur on a regular basis.

Using Auto-Renew and Account Notifications to Secure Your Domain Ownership

One of the ways domains are stolen is by fraudulent renewal emails. Hackers sometimes send the victim an email in which they pose as the web hosting company and request money for the renewal of their domain. The victim then clicks on a link provided by the hacker and logs into a mockup of their hosting account, thus providing their domain login information to the hacker. At the same time, the victim makes a payment which will give the hacker some of their money, and even allow them to steal their bank account information.

With this attack the hacker has effectively stolen cash, bank account information, and the domain from the victim all in one foul swoop! Once the hacker has the login information of the domain they can log in to the hosting account and transfer ownership of the domain to themselves. To further cover their tracks they may transfer the domain several times to various individuals. The biggest problem with an event like this, is that it appears to be executed by the user, and many times it can be extremely difficult to prove that it was actually done by a hacker!

The best way to avoid this is to set your domain to automatically renew using your account information on file with your hosting account. This way you won’t have to worry about renewing your domain in a fraudulent email. You can also setup account notifications that will prevent any unwanted changes to your hosting account.

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