How Your Domain Gets Stolen Before You Register It

[yugu]

I am interested in a sexy domain name. But during a short period of about two weeks that I was preparing a site I was not in a hurry to register it, but I just periodically checked whether it is still free. I made this check on different domain registration services. And one day it was cybersquattered and offered me for redemption.
So, advise
1) use only reliable domain registrars like godaddy.com
2) register it immediately if it is available

If you have gotten a similar experience, share it here.

[manjifera]

humm better not to talk before creating any website with any untrusted friends and not to take suggestion about domain name!

[InternetG33k]

yeah that would be pretty funny if you ask a friend for an opinion and whoops the domains is registered 10 seconds later

[Dreamerr]

1) use only reliable domain registrars like godaddy.com
2) register it immediately if it is available


Good advice, I've heard this reported a few times from people searching at different registrars. Although people are suspicious I have yet to see any hard proof, I doubt if the big registrars would do this on purpose but maybe there is a leak in their system or even just the occasional un-ethical employee. The only safe way is to register it right away. Continually checking a name also increases your chances of someone grabbing it so check once and if available buy.

And stay away from Network Solutions, they register the name after a search so you have to buy it through them and not another registrar.

Finally, if the name has been taken DO NOT VISIT IT, do not respond to emails, they may just be 'tasting' it for a week and if there is no interest or traffic they may drop it.

[d35i9n]

I am interested in a sexy domain name. But during a short period of about two weeks that I was preparing a site I was not in a hurry to register it, but I just periodically checked whether it is still free. I made this check on different domain registration services. And one day it was cybersquattered and offered me for redemption.
So, advise
1) use only reliable domain registrars like godaddy.com
2) register it immediately if it is available

If you have gotten a similar experience, share it here.

some shaddy domain registrars commonly do the practice of registering query results and that is why it is best to stick with places like name.com,namecheap.com and sure i guess godaddy if you like using admin control that spams you when trying to do basic setup of your services.

my similar experience was with a friend planning on registering his birth name as a .com and was checking if it was registered and it wasn't but shortly after he checked it was taken

[Dave Zan]

While I understand the sentiment, I'd like to ask two questions:

1. You can only "own" a domain name if you registered and paid for it. So can
one steal what another never owned to begin with?

2. If a bookstore can't guarantee the last copy of a book you wanted will still
be there if you don't buy it on the spot for any reason, can a registrar ensure
the domain name will still remain available if you don't register it right away?

FYI, lots of people complained of the same thing happening with Go Daddy. It
is best to do what you said on number 2 which is to register it immediately.

Insisting on unrealistic expectations never help anyone.

[yugu]

So, as I see this is the common practice on some domain services to register domain for themselves some time later after you checked it for availability. So, as Dave Zan suggest it is no surprise, motherfuckers are everywhere around us.
By the way, I used goDaddy to register my domains because of price was the lowest I found after I applied coupons. But their interface is really too overwhelmed with spam offerings. Which domain registrar do you use?

[manjifera]

godaddy is good i am always taking domain in offer time like $.99 for .com n info domain :) godaddy is good one!

[domainbiz]

Its happened to me before too. I was furious! But now I am over it. I have learned my lesson not to check at different registers but to register it on the spot there and then.

[Anatoly]

register the domain immediately, because the searches are monitored.

it doesn't make sense to check multiple registrars anyway since they all check the same registry for the availability of that domain.

[FreddyBiatso]

I never check a domain availability in a registrar or even those website-checks, usually I type It in the URL bar, and then If It returns "Page Not Found" I try whois.


godaddy is good i am always taking domain in offer time like $.99 for .com n info domain :) godaddy is good one!

99c .com ? Where?

[jetsfan2008]

yeah that would be pretty funny if you ask a friend for an opinion and whoops the domains is registered 10 seconds later

That happened to two people I know. One by a friend who did it as a joke, the other by someone who did it and sold it to someone else

[briteday]

If you are serious about wanting a domain name, best to register it as soon as you have made the decision for buying. The market is very dynamic.

[Dreamerr]

I never check a domain availability in a registrar or even those website-checks, usually I type It in the URL bar, and then If It returns "Page Not Found" I try whois.

Checking in the address bar is a bad idea, if the domain is just being tasted your visit will show up as traffic and they may decide to keep the name instead of letting it drop after a few days. Even if it is parked it will show the owner there is interest in the name and they will want more $ for it.

[MechPoint]

I saw this domain name I wanted but was to lazy to buy that day and decided to buy it the next day. Then the next thing I know, it's been registered already. ARGGH.

[Hoster1983]

And stay away from Network Solutions, they register the name after a search so you have to buy it through them and not another registrar.



Yes, true. This happened to me too. I checked availability of a domain on Network Solutions and the next day, it was taken. That domain had no interest to anyone outside my country, and I am sure that the number of people registering domains in Fiji Islands is negligible.

[icon225]

i used to work for a web hosting company and domain name provider there uk based i cant give the name but they are very well known in england, i know for a fact 100% there domain name register and whois script made a record of all domains which where searched for and a team who were trained to look for good domain names where set to check these daily to see if there was any good domains e.g good sounding 2-3 sometimes even 4 letter domain names or for example a type in domain name which was good and may have been worth money to be sold on, im talking about the domain names that people checked for, e.g customers like the guys on this forum. they also checked for high pagerank, high traffic domains to register and put pay-per-click ads and ads back to the hosting company with a domain name whois search, if there is any uk domain consumers they maybe even a chance of guessing which hosting provider does this and which one i was involved with a few years ago from the description of the holding pages they put up. as i am no longer part of the company i can say what i want about them and just not disclose names.

anyway just if you want a domain name and its available i would suggest just buying it right away :)

[jiggymehta]

yes..its always better to register a domain if you see that its available..there are quite a few ways by which someone might sniff your search results..i too had faced similar issues with my previous registrar..so I now have accounts with 3 different registrars..although I use ResellerClub for all such registrations as I have never faced similar issues with them..

[alexa_s]

I made this check on different domain registration services.

Not my subject at all, but this sounds to me like a way of increasing the risk factors: it must increase the number of people who get to see your searches?

[menj1980]

I always buy the domains I want on the spot, so I don't experience any "frustration" later on. Looks like this practice was the right thing to do.

[justinlorder]

1) use only reliable domain registrars like godaddy.com
2) register it immediately if it is available


I totally agree with you .
I find an excellent .me domain is available, I hesitate for a while and it is registered by others .I was so angry with myself .
The domain is at least worthy $3000 now .

[yugu]

So, to summarize a little our common practice.
1. Domain name registrars track your searches for domain availability and can register the domain you like for themselves or through a 3rd party if you are not too smart to buy it immediately.
2. You are not guaranteed against domain squatting when typing desirable address in browser navigation bar. These requests are monitored for traffic. And can potentially lead to name squatting. But I think this is mainly in cases the name misspelling traffic is really high.

Thus, one more time. Found some good name? Buy it without a portion of hesitation immediately.

[joko1065]

I believe your suspicion is true. I went to a registrar that is famous for free transfers... I spent 4 hours one day doing keyword research and finally tried to get the domains associated with the actual keywords. It was available.

about 5 domains, different topics. I went to drop my kids to school. came back and tried to follow through with the domains. ALL 5 domains were no longer available. this is the 2nd time this has happened. :mad:

The first time this happened. I had a serious issue back and forth for a vacuum cleaner domain. I wanted to purchase the .com and .net. I received the ok all the way through to the payment page and then the assholes said that the only extension left was the .info was available wtf???:confused:



I refused to let it go... I got 5 trouble tickets and to no avail.....I even got a clueless agent who tried to explain what ext. info stood for. I told her that I am not a noob nor even an intermediate marketer and could give her a lesson as well. she passed me on to another agent and finally they just gave me a credit....

FYI.....
buy the domain the very minute you see it is available. if not, just know you will NEVER EVER EVER BE ABLE TO GET IT.

[manjifera]

99c .com ? Where?

i don't know its working but i got one domain using code 99domain or 99domains at godaddy. that was valid for only one domain per account. chk if its working.

[yugu]

manjifera, yes, GoDaddy registers one .com domain for $.99 for one year after you apply the promotional coupon 99DOMAIN if it is your first experience with GoDaddy.

[yugu]

I think it is ok to name here megaclever registrars that steal your domains during registration.
I'll summarize then and create a kind of list of shame.

We already have NetworkSolutions.com in the list.

[Shadowplay]

This has happened to me before on a "respected" registrar so don't think you're safe searching anywhere for domains. If you see something you like, grab it immediately...or pray that they're just tasting and come back later to see if it's still there.

[NameWrangler]

So, to summarize a little our common practice.
1. Domain name registrars track your searches for domain availability and can register the domain you like for themselves or through a 3rd party if you are not too smart to buy it immediately.


This is not a common practice for all registrars. It is unethical, and I would be willing to bet that doing so could compromise a registrar's ICANN accreditation.

Finally, if the name has been taken DO NOT VISIT IT, do not respond to emails, they may just be 'tasting' it for a week and if there is no interest or traffic they may drop it.

This doesn't happen anymore. In 2008 ICANN fixed it so domain that tasting ends up costing registrars lots of money, effectively making tasting names a significant financial loss.

I wanted to link a DotSauce article about the ICANN policy change, which also touches on the NetSol issue that was mentioned, but I can't post URLs yet. :(
You can find it if you go to DotSauce's Web site, and click on Archives. Click on ICANN in the list below, and it's the forth item down. The title is "Domain Tasting Goes Sour: ICANN Will No Longer Issue Registration Refunds."

[Hoster1983]

Guess what, my workmate registered a .com domain. It was quite a good name and it was surprising nobody has yet taken it up. Well, he registered the .com version of it since he just has the bare minimum in his paypal account. Today, he went to grab the .net and .org version of it and guess what...all domain extensions of it, apart from .mobi, are gone. Though it could not be classified as a premium name; it was a very nice, pronounceable name nevertheless.

The registrar was MadDogDomains.com

[yugu]

NameWrangler, though ICANN stopped domain tasting, registrars are still grabbing domains being checked whether they are available. So, this does not solve the problem.

Hoster1983, supplemental domains for a .com one can also be registered after you register it. And this registration can be done by any 3rd party, not just registrar you used.

[allout]

It wasn't actually stolen since you never owned it. However, I read something a couple of years ago about some hackers that could get into domain searches from many domain registration companies. I can not remember where I seen it but there were many people there who swore that their domains were swooped up shortly after they searched if they did not register it.

I am not sure if it was true but I have seen a few i searched grabbed shortly after I searched for them even on big name companies.

[payton08]

good advice here....This actually happened to me on yahoo.
I was searching for a domain, found one I liked and was available, 2 hrs later it was gone!

[Hoster1983]

Hoster1983, supplemental domains for a .com one can also be registered after you register it. And this registration can be done by any 3rd party, not just registrar you used.

Yeah, I guess so.

[markn26]

good advice here....This actually happened to me on yahoo.
I was searching for a domain, found one I liked and was available, 2 hrs later it was gone!

same here, and then the asshole put it up as a premium domain for $900. It wasnt even worth 1/16th of that much money, but it goes to show how this issue is very real.

[Dave Zan]

registrars are still grabbing domains being checked whether they are available.

Your post sounds as if all registrars are doing that. You might be interested to
know some of them have actually complained about it as well, since they too
have been negatively affected by this.

I've searched available domain names on Network Solutions' site the past two
weeks, and none of them have been registered by them soon after. Their ex-
CEO Champ Mitchell was once quoted in Infoworld they'll stop it if ICANN does
something about it, and it seems they've kept their word.

I invite you folks to go to their site, search for any available name, don't take
it, then post back here with results. Let people know what you find.

As NameWrangler said, ICANN recently enacted a measure to make tasting a
more costly venture. They released an initial report on their site that it's cut
down domain name deletions under their 120-hour Add/Grace Period by 80%
(of which AGP allows tasting), but it remains to be seen if that'll indeed solve
this problem.

Again, folks, just be ready to register the domain name on the spot. You are
needlessly frustrating yourself if you expect an available domain name to stay
that way by the time you get around to it, only to find it taken by then.

[bdprem.com]

You prefer godaddy.But,I have same problem on godaddy also!

[emitind]

This happened to me using whois.sc, however after being registered for a month it was then available again! Never understood that, but I grabbed it right away!

[yugu]

Dave Zan, thanks for info.
I tried some ugly domains with NetworkSolutions.com, like gflwilsvsfweasdf.com. Nobody pretends to grab them. Anyway, I can't say they are bad guys. I am with GoDaddy at the moment and feel myself comfortable.

[d3monic]

I do www,who.is/domainnamehere.com to check if a domain is available. My domain I've been planning to purchase for about 6 months is still there, and I'm surprised :X

[ciscorp2]

With the use of a dash in your domain name you could most likely get what you wanted from the start.

[Hoster1983]

With the use of a dash in your domain name you could most likely get what you wanted from the start.

What? a domain with a dash and one without a dash are totally two different entity's. Could you explain a bit more :rolleyes:

[aalexa]

Godaddy is the best....So register ur domain name from godaddy.

[matessim]

namecheap ftw here.

[clefty]

I've heard those stories too. Once I had something happen that, looking back, is probably this same problem! Looked at a domain I liked, but wasn't ready to work on it right away so checked back a few weeks later and it was gone!

[Devilfish]

I have personally experienced this. Same situation, I have been thinking about creating a site and had a domain in mind although not 100% certain. Over about 7 days, I had been checking its availability as well as other domains and then when i was about to buy it, it was taken. I checked it out and it was parked. Very annoying!!!

[vernonjohn]

INDEED. I have experienced it many times independently from any registrar! But with ALL registrars alike!

"Intellectual Property Thief " is nothing new my friend.

It was (and still is) BIG Biz!
:cool:

[mmads]

When I bought my domain midmcihiganads I started the name "mmads" for forum. Then I realised it was a cool domain too. I checked and it was available. Next day was pay day and went to buy it and it was bought. There has to be a way people check and buy names that were searched for.

[moneyblogg.com]

If you think you're safe with most of the registrars, you're mistaken. And remember just because your domain wasn't taken before doesn't mean they won't do it. It was either not good enough or not what the registrar was looking for.

Search using iwhois.com (http://iwhois.com). All the extensions won't be displayed at once, but you also won't get your name stolen. I stopped searching at Godaddy a long time ago, but I still register domains there once I have found them. I used to search at Moniker until a domain magically got registered by their parent company 2 days after I searched for it. It was dropped about 5 days later.

I've moved on to Namecheap for multi extension searches. So far so good. If you want to be safe use iwhois. At least that's what I have been told by reliable sources at NPs. I have also used it with no problems.

[The Peoples SEO]

The best way to avoid this problem is to Register the domain right away. Im not sure that making a website before you register the domain is a good practice. Domain registration is fairly cheap and give's you at least a year to come up with content for your site. As far as shaddy registrars one thing to look for is that a registrar is already managing tons of domains and has a secure area when ever you are required to add any info :)

[FileDropperAccounts.com]

I am interested in a sexy domain name. But during a short period of about two weeks that I was preparing a site I was not in a hurry to register it, but I just periodically checked whether it is still free. I made this check on different domain registration services. And one day it was cybersquattered and offered me for redemption.
So, advise
1) use only reliable domain registrars like godaddy.com
2) register it immediately if it is available

If you have gotten a similar experience, share it here.The part in red is actually not good advice. See here (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?p=10380533#post10380533).

[johnson453]

Goddaddy is the best domain registrar on the net.

[jhbalaji]

Yeah i have experience in blogspot sub domains but not much in domains i have found that many domains are got registred and so i usefully think of seeing good dropped domains and used purchase it but in name.com is my registrar i think them are reliable i have searched some domains names and wait for the next day to buy i was astonished that no names searched by me are registred then finally think it's not safe to keep them unregistred for long time so after a hour of search i registred all my 7 domains...
In blogspot sub domains i have losted a domain by 1day... Thats it

[Sapphiro]

use only reliable domain registrars like godaddy.com

Godaddy does this themselves, the other time I have been doing the same thing as you, keep checking for availability of my domain (raphire.com), until 1 week later its registered by godaddy i think, and after 1 week it's released again so I bought it asap.

[zeekstern]

I am interested in a sexy domain name. But during a short period of about two weeks that I was preparing a site I was not in a hurry to register it, but I just periodically checked whether it is still free. I made this check on different domain registration services. And one day it was cybersquattered and offered me for redemption.
So, advise
1) use only reliable domain registrars like godaddy.com
2) register it immediately if it is available

If you have gotten a similar experience, share it here.

Yes, similar thing happened to me. Went to godaddy, typed in a short domain name, was available, then when I went to pay for it, POOF!! Couldn't get it.
This actually happened twice with them. I switched to namecheap and have never had a problem since then... This was several years ago, not that it makes any difference to me.