I currently own .co.uk; .com and .net domain names.

However, the domain register is saying I can only opt out of the whois search for .co.uk names.

There isn't the facility to opt out with .com and .net names. (I am based in UK).

They did say, however, I could enter their address information instead of mine, meaning their details will show up in the whois searches.

Surely this means they become the "owner" of the domain names I have purchased from them?

Isn't there another way of hiding ones personal address? (domain names are for personal use, not business)

Thanks

I currently own .co.uk; .com and .net domain names.

However, the domain register is saying I can only opt out of the whois search for .co.uk names.

There isn't the facility to opt out with .com and .net names. (I am based in UK).

They did say, however, I could enter their address information instead of mine, meaning their details will show up in the whois searches.

Surely this means they become the "owner" of the domain names I have purchased from them?

Isn't there another way of hiding ones personal address? (domain names are for personal use, not business)

Thanks


You can leave their information, but list yourself as the Registrant. That way, you retain ownership of the domain.

Cheers
Ray

Actually, you could change all the information to theirs and regarding ownership, it will still be your domain as you have the login information (i.e. user and pass). In addition, you may have documentation between you and the registrar.

I believe that's how all registrars offer this service.

Cheers
Ray

Thanks very much for the info Ray.

I wonder why the opt-out option is not a standard with domain registrars....?

I would not, ever, change the registrant or admin contact info into anybody else's name. All it would take would be for ICANN (as the ultimate authority) to tighten up on registrant changes, and all those whose domains are registered to Proxy companies would suddenly find themselves disowned. (Those who have been around long enough may remember that back in the old Internic days registrant changes required a certain amount of paperwork and could NOT be done by simply logging into an account and changing a record).

My advice would be...:

- Make absolutely sure you are down as registrant and admin contact

- Make sure the admin contact email address is an address of yours. It will get spammed sooner or later, so don't use your one and only precious main email address. Create a special dedicated email address which you can discard when it becomes spam-infested (either something at one of your domains, or something like a Sneakemail address)

- If you are concerned about having your home address in the Whois for all to see consider getting a PO Box. It's only a pound a week.

- If you are concerned about having your home phone number in the Whois get a free reroutable number from someone like Flextel

(Those who have been around long enough may remember that back in the old Internic days registrant changes required a certain amount of paperwork and could NOT be done by simply logging into an account and changing a record).


Yes, the present owner of the domain would be in serious trouble if ICANN changed rules about contact changes and reversed it to the way it used to be, i.e. paper fax verification and what not.

But, the whole point is that it's easier to do it now because you have the login information. If one is worried about losing ownership of the domain, just log back in and change the whois details back to the current details, i.e. remove the company's information.

Ray

They use to have mail in forms back in the day

What I have done is this:

Owner: My name
Address c/o the registrar company.
the email address is one of mine too.

So you are using the registrars information in a psuedo proxy fashion? Do they allow that in their TOS?

That was the only way I could figure out how to protect my private address.

I have a little forum I run as a hobby, and frankly I do not want my private address available for anyone to see on the internet.

I am going to contact them to see if this is ok, although they already gave me permission to use their address.

I could of course, just omit the "c/o", and put my name in as registered owner, as Ray suggested in post nr. 2 above.

Most registrars offer a "privacy" service that will hide the whois info to something generic. Ask your registrar if they offer this service.