Have you ever wondered what would happen if the company entrusted to hosting your website and all its data including customer databases stole some of that information for its own purposes? It is analogous to a fox guarding a hen house. Most web hosting companies are honest and would never even think of compromising your data security or stealing your customers' personal information, but as in all industries, there are a few shady operators out there

The best "cure" for this thankfully rare problem is prevention. You don't want to have to tell hundreds of customers that their personal information has been stolen by the very people responsible for maintaining the server that the information is on. When a customer gives you personal information such as their mailing address, email address and credit card number, they are placing a huge amount of trust in you.

Identity fraud is a serious crime that has ongoing consequences for victims. With a name, a credit card number and a social security number, a criminal can assume a false identity and set up bank accounts or even take out mortgages using that identity. Meanwhile, the real person whose identity has been stolen watches his or her bank balance and credit rating take a huge plunge before they are able to halt the damage.

It's is better if before you sign on for domain registration and web hosting that you check out that web hosting provider as thoroughly as you can. The first red flag should be a lack of contact information. Do they only give a P.O. Box, or do they give a street address too? Do they offer any way to get in touch than through email? If you have any suspicions about a company you are considering (and sometimes even if you don't), run their company name through a search engine and run the address through a search engine as well; It could be fictitious.

Be prepared to dig for more information if needed. Search for objective web hosting review sites and read several of them. The problem with this is that some hosting and domain registration companies pay forum posters to talk up their products. If you find a "review" site with nothing but glowing praise of the company, be suspicious. Pay more attention if you find a site full of harsh criticism of the web hosting provider, but keep in mind that these sites are sometimes created by the company's competitors.

Unethical practices are often brought up on discussion forums. You can search for forums that mention your prospective host company, and then search the forum itself for words like "scam," "unsatisfied customers," or "dishonest."

If the web hosting company is registered with the Better Business Bureau, it's a good sign. Don't put too much stock into "awards" their site claims to have won unless they are awarded by leading magazines (like PC Magazine or Wired).

Once you find a web hosting company that looks promising, print out and read every line of the Terms of Service. If you find something you don't understand, ask someone at that company and don't sign anything until you get a satisfying answer to your question. Do not sign with a company that puts in any kind of legal loophole that would allow them to access your customer's data files. It is illegal for them to do so and you should definitely not agree to such a thing.

Along with the Terms of Service, read the company's privacy policy very closely to find out what, if anything they do with your own personal data. What do they do with the data (such as a customer database) that you host on their server? If it is unclear, call them up and ask them: "Do you or would you sell customer data from my database to third parties?" You want an unequivocal "No."

As the owner of a web based business, you have a responsibility to live up to your own privacy policy and terms of service, so it is critical that the web hosting company that hosts your site is honest and won't compromise any of this data either. Most hosting companies are reputable and with some internet sleuthing you can usually find the ones that you should stay away from, so don't neglect to do this research before you choose a web hosting company.

posted by Marcus Lim at 4:21 PM 0 Comments

When running an online business, it is very important to put some consideration into the domain name that you use, since this is one of the first impressions that a potential customer will have of your company. The name that you choose should, first of all, be easy to spell and remember, because people are lazy and will give up and go elsewhere if they cannot remember it. By making it as short as possible, you can take away this worry, but it can be somewhat difficult to find a short domain name that can easily be associated with your company, regardless of where you go for web hosting.

The domain name does not necessarily have to include the company's name, but it should be representative of it in some way. For example, if you are operating a website that sells football apparel, your domain name should somehow reflect that by including something about the service you wish to provide for your customers. Obviously, you will want to include the word football in the name somewhere, but you will also find that many of the names that you want will have already been taken by someone. You might have to use a thesaurus to come to a final conclusion on what to use in this situation, or you could get some help with the domain registration process from your web hosting company. Many web hosting companies provide a domain registration service as well, which will allow you to take care of both of these problems at once.

If you are running an online business that does not specialize in one item in particular, you will have to come up with something clever that will let the visitor know that. For example, you might simply be using your website for your click bank account, which means that you will be selling a number of products that were developed by others. The best way to go about this scenario is to come up with a domain name that portrays the information that you are giving out. Since you will have to write articles on this type of website, you can come up with a name that lets the visitor know that you are providing free information on a number of products. Once again, your web hosting company might be able to help out with this type of domain registration because, at the very least, they can let to know which domain names are available.

What you are basically attempting to do in this situation is brand your website, so that you can build up a constant stream of visitors. By branding, you will be able to create recognition within the industry, which will attract repeat business. It is simply amazing that you can run a legitimate business by simply finding a web hosting company and then going through the domain registration process, but that is exactly what the internet has done for the business world. Branding will give you the opportunity to create an identity for yourself online, which will go a long way in the grand scheme of things. Remember that you will likely be competing with large corporations, especially if you are selling products, so you will want to make yourself as visible as possible. Your domain name should probably be a phrase that search engines will recognize in this situation, as this could lead to you getting more search engine traffic in the end.

Your online business will be highly dependent on your web hosting and domain registration, so do not take this lightly at all. The name that you come up with will be the first impression that customers will have, which is what makes it so important to the online marketing process as a whole. While it might sound intimidating to have to deal with large companies online, the fact that you can build up your online presence so easily gives you a definite advantage over the offline world. As long as you can find a good web hosting company, you domain registration will be a breeze and you will be making money in no time at all. The only thing you will have to do is come up with a relevant domain name to get the ball rolling in this situation.

posted by Marcus Lim at 2:08 PM 0 Comments

Domain name hijackers, unfortunately, proliferate around us, whether in secluded rooms or in Internet cafes, even across the globe. They are all scheming to steal your domain names from your web hosting site. It is a good thing to know that there are ways to prevent losing your domain names in your domain registration.

Domain name hijacking is the phrase generally used to define the illegitimate acquisition of a domain name from its rightful owner by deception or fraud. Relative to this, here are the usual forms of domain hijacking:

1) Enactment of a posing registrant in dealing with a registrar (also known as "social engineering")

2) Registering an expired registered email address to acquire a new password and make way for a registrar or registrant transfer through the web hosting site

3) Registering an expired domain name, applied for an administrative contact or account email address, then deceiving the email address

4) Hacking or spyware

5) Counterfeiting of transfer authorizations and other account verification data

6) Stealing of data by a disgruntled employee or business partner

7) Incorporating new verification data and then falsely confirming the data to illegally gain account access via web hosting

8) Hijacking an email server to deceive the email to make it appear it came from the registered owner

Reasons for Hijacking Domain Names

One of the main reasons hijacking of domain names is resorted to is money. Domain names are generally expensive whether for an existing establishment, for reselling, or for the online traffic it might bring. Some would do it just for the fancy, the challenge or the negative reputation it might generate. But usually, hijackers infiltrate an account and gain control of domain names from web hosting sites to be able to sell it to other unknowing parties. Some do it for malicious intent.

It can be very hard to redeem a stolen domain name from a domain registration. Registrars are apprehensive in entertaining claims of domain name hijacking. Hijackers usually spirit away domain names and make it appear they have been auctioned off to third parties even though they have not. More often than not, you will only discover that your domain name has been stolen when you find out that it has been claimed by a third or fourth different registrant who alleges that the domain name has been acquired at a certain price.

Prevention Is The Best Solution

The best way in dealing with domain name hijacking is outright prevention. Hijackers know the different weaknesses in the domain registration system and they take advantage of this. The following can help in minimizing the occurrence of domain name hijacking:

1) Always keep definite contact information with your registrar or service provider. When stealing happens and the contact information is incorrect, the registrar encounters difficulty identifying who the rightful owner of the domain name is. Avoid providing false contact data or information.

2) Deal only with reputable registrars with your domains. There are virtually hundreds of registrars in web hosting sites to choose from and thousands of resellers. Complaints abound on lack of service and unresponsiveness by dishonest service providers. When your domain name is hijacked it would be very difficult to get anyone from listening to you. A key point is to look for a registrar that sends a transfer confirmation email before actually transferring a domain name.

3) Avoid expiration of your registered email address. As you know, your email address is the essential aspect in opening your domain names. Your registered or administrative contact email address can be used at many registrars in accessing the user names and passwords to many accounts. Under the Transfer Policy of ICANN, the regulating web hosting site, an acquiring registrar normally gets the needed transfer confirmation via email sent to the registered user or administrative contact email address on record for the domain name. An expired email address can be very prone to domain name hijacking.

4) Maintain secrecy in user names and passwords. Never divulge these valuable data to other persons to keep your account secure and safe from hijacking.

5) Make use of a Whois privacy service, because with this feature, your account will be more difficult to deceive and infiltrate.

6) Use locks for your domains available from your service provider.

7) Keep track and tabs of your account profile for any illegal changes. The sooner you get to know about a hijacking occurrence, the better your chances of having this resolved in your web hosting site.

posted by Marcus Lim at 3:32 PM 0 Comments