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06-17-2009, 08:39 PM #1Newbie
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NetSol: Private Regristration - not so private
Hi everybody,
this is the first time I have bought a domain and web hosting package and I am already slightly frustrated.
I paid the 9 bucks for "Private Registration" but if I run a whois on my domain, it shows my name nonetheless.
Not my address or phone number but my name... why is this? And how do I change it?
I actually can't believe that I would have to do anything more than click the box and pay for the service.
I'm not allowed to simply change my name to Admin or something like that, so what do I do here?
I already checked my account manager, the privacy setting is switched on.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
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06-17-2009, 09:21 PM #2Web Hosting Industry Expert
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My advice would be to not register domains through Network Solutions - Go with GoDaddy or NameCheap next time. NetSol is overpriced anyways.
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06-17-2009, 09:22 PM #3Web Hosting Evangelist
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I just briefly read over the privacy registration there. In a way, it seems like you did not read correctly, and on the end it is kind of slight of hand because most people assume "privacy" means all information.
This is in their privacy registration agreement:
Network Solutions' Private Registration provides customers with alternate contact information displayed in the public WHOIS database. A newly created e-mail address, postal address and phone number assigned to customers appear as the publicly-available contact information. This minimizes the amount of spam, junk mail, and telemarketing calls customers receive and protects against identity thieves and unauthorized attempts to transfer the domain name registration.
The other catch that you are in. Is that if you do ask for a refund, you are still stuck with your domain being there for x amount of days, so then all of your information would be displayed.
My advice, and if anyone else wishes to, please chime in:
Eat the $9.00.... wait out the time restriction that your domain can be transerred, transfer the domain to a registrar that give complete whois privacy and you gain the rest of your registration, plus 1 year to the gaining registrar that offers complete whois privacy, which should include your name as well.
I know it sucks for you, but your post is very important as far as other members gaining knowledge about who to avoid, especially if assumptions are made.
Again, not a criticism whatsoever on your part. You just made an assumption and hit the button without completely reading what it meant.Mike
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06-17-2009, 09:30 PM #4Web Hosting Master
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Transfer the domain to Name.com after 60 days. Privacy is free. Check out for a coupon code to reduce the price slightly.
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06-17-2009, 09:40 PM #5Web Hosting Master
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some "privacy" services only "hide" your postal and email addresses.
what is your issue about being shown as the owner of the the domain ?Rob Golding Astutium Ltd - UK based ICANN Accredited Domain Registrar - proud to accept BitCoins
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06-17-2009, 09:42 PM #6Web Hosting Master
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06-17-2009, 09:46 PM #7Temporarily Suspended
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I would not recommend GoDaddy.com their service is lousy and once they get a complaint from the US about your domain, they will drop the whois protection in a second.
Also there are plenty for free whois protection services out there, which do not belong to a specific registrar.
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06-17-2009, 09:48 PM #8Web Hosting Evangelist
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06-17-2009, 09:59 PM #9Newbie
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Yes, I probably should've done that. I don't want to go into the reasons why I chose NetSol, but I've heard a lot of bad stuff about Godaddy and NetSol both and I thought I had chosen the lesser evil. What I do need to know is how to get my name out of the whois. I know it's possible, I've seen the registrant just being credited as Administrator. And it's not like I didn't do any research at all. I just never read anything about NetSol's "Private Registration" not being private. So there must be a way for me the get my name out of there without getting in trouble.
I'm currently trying to change my administrative contact and technical contact in the whois. But that still leaves me as the registrant and therefore seems like an exercise in futility.
If anybody knows how to successfully do this, please help.
I only read their sales pitch:
"Privacy - Alternate contact information will be used to keep your personal information private"
and not the exact description of their service, that is hidden three clicks into seemingly irrelevant information about why privacy is important. Kinda ironic.
I'll do that if I don't manage get my name out of there by changing the contacts.
That's perfectly fine, a bruised ego is the least of my concerns at the moment. I just wish there was a more immediate solution for this problem.
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06-17-2009, 10:24 PM #10Newbie
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I just don't want my real name on the internet, that's why I paid for privacy.
I won't register with Godaddy. I've heard too many horror stories.
...
Free whois protection? I've googled for something like that but didn't find anything. Are there offers for third party whois protection that don't require me to move my domain? Doesn't have to be free either, I wouldn't mind having to pay extra for two months.
The thing is that I did compare hosts and NetSol's medium hosting package was pretty sweet since they've upgraded it. I'd actually prefer fixing the problem, if possible, over changing the host.
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06-17-2009, 10:31 PM #11Web Hosting Master
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06-17-2009, 10:55 PM #12Newbie
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I tried changing the admin contact but that didn't work because they just wanted another name. When I was looking for a suitable host I did a whois is lookup on a few message boards to see which host they used and one of them used NetSol and the name IS hidden. I just looked again, the only thing I can think of is that it's because it's registered as a company... should've looked better. Oh well, now it's too late.
One last question, if I do the money back thing within in the first 30 days... are they going to somehow keep my domain? They are going to keep my domain,... aren't they?
And someone said I should only change the registrar but not the host? Is that even possible with NetSol? And how much is that going to cost me, and how do I initiate that? Also, which registrar is the most trustworthy in terms of privacy and general reliability? I'm not asking for the cheapest here, I'm asking for the best. Although it almost seems like I should be asking for the cheapest one since they are most likely to provide the best service. Joking aside, the relatively steep price from NetSol was actually one reason why I didn't hesitate much and only skimmed over the faq... I thought I was buying quality service.
Help please.Last edited by Daniel257; 06-17-2009 at 10:59 PM.
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06-17-2009, 11:30 PM #13Web Hosting Evangelist
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I would advise again. If you would like your information to be hidden, eat the $9.00 for privacy. Sure it may have your name, but unless your name is so unique at the moment, it is not that big of a deal for a 60 day wait.
You should be able to cancel privacy at anytime, but keep in mind you will not get that money back, as you agreed to their terms in the first place (I say that loosely as every company has it's own way of dealing with clients, so I could be very wrong).... and all of your information will be available from the time you registered, +60 days, + the time it takes to transfer.
One other thing, speak with someone at NetSol before cancelling anything, so that you fully understand what you are cancelling. There is a difference between cancelling services versus accounts, and since their wording already seems a little tricky, I would speak with someone and very clearly ask them questions so they understand your intentions.
The very best thing you can do is contact a person at NetSol and discuss your options.
Don't take our word in the forum for absolute truth, take it with knowledge and understanding when you are speaking with NetSol.
Speaking with them is the very best solution, and will answer more questions than we possibly can.
Hope this helps you!Mike
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06-18-2009, 12:29 AM #14Web Hosting Master
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06-18-2009, 01:15 AM #15Web Hosting Master
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Search for a US2 (stargate) reseller, whois privacy is free there too.
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06-18-2009, 05:36 AM #16Newbie
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I don't understand. Why would I want to cancel the privacy? As you said, those 9$ aren't refundable but they also aren't the issue. I can't switch privacy on and off in the account manager,... not sure if I could cancel anything beyond that even if I wanted to.
The wait time before I can transfer the domain to another registrar is 30 days btw, is the standard 60?
Yeah, I had hoped that I could cancel domain registration to get my name deleted from the database but all I can cancel is the hosting package. This really stinks, it's like once you give your info away they are not letting you just have it back. I wouldn't even mind paying extra if I could just get my name deleted/hidden right now.
I guess something like this doesn't exists but I'll ask again. Is there any company that offers independent whois privacy protection for domains that are already registered somewhere else, without them having to be the registrar?
Also, I googled a bit more and there are many websites that seem to have their name hidden by NetSol. Thise look like this then:
Registrar: Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
Status: CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID: *numbers* -NSIV
Registrant Name: *the forum name* or just something like *admin*
Does anybody know what this is?
Yeah, but talking to some dude in a call center can be a real pain. I'll give it a try and hope for the best later this day.
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06-19-2009, 12:33 AM #17Web Hosting Master
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Currently none that I know of. I'm actually working on my own kind of service, but I'm still trying to iron out its inherent legal issues.
Two main problems with that kind of service are: a) using the WHOIS privacy provider's name as the registrant indicates they're the "owner" of the domain name, and b) that provider might be held legally liable for their customer's actions. Certainly no one wants to pay for someone else's mess.
On the NetSol thing you found in Google, chances are some people changed the registrant and/or administrative contact name while using NetSol's private registration. No idea how many of them are real, but...they probably know what they're doing.
You could try what stub suggested or register an LLC or whatever and get a PO Box. Needless to say, there isn't necessarily an affordable "all-in-one" solution.
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06-19-2009, 03:56 AM #18Temporarily Suspended
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3rd party whois protection service:
http://privacyprotect.org/
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06-19-2009, 10:18 PM #19Web Hosting Master
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Use www.Name.com. Their privacy is free and it works (you receive the emails). There are many recommendations about Name.com. I haven't seen any bad reports about them. Don't refund your registration. They will keep the domains. After 60 days, transfer them to Name.com. You won't regret it. Yes you can still host them at NetSol. But I don't know why anyone would want to host their domains with a Domain Registrar. You should open a hosting account with a web host, like www.Hostgator.com. It'll be cheaper too.
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06-20-2009, 01:15 AM #20Web Hosting Master
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I was actually going to suggest that. But IIRC that's owned by the DirectI/PublicDomainRegistry folks, just as DomainsByProxy is owned by the Go Daddy Group.
I gather from the OP they want a WHOIS privacy provider that's totally independent from any registrar in any shape or form.