Registrar with best security for valuable domains

[JED]

Hi,

I'm wondering which registrar in your experience is the safest to keep your most valuable domains at.
I mean in terms of which registrar has most security to avoid your account getting hijacked and your domains stolen, for example registrar with the best track record in not getting hacked and clients losing the least amount of domains at. Comparing registrars like: godaddy, moniker, fabulous, dynadot, networksolutions, enom etc...

I made a quick question regarding this in another thread with a different subject and got an excellent answer from Actnow, I've quoted him below:

Originally Posted by actnow

Many of the major registrars are somewhat secure.

Higher the value of the domain, more chance it could be hijacked.

There are 3 major ways hijackers could gain control of your registrar acct and then your domains.

1. keystroke/spyware. Getting access to your email acct and/or registrar acct.
2. using the same data (acct name & password) at many of your accts.
(registrars, forums, email accts, etc.)
3. Social engineering. Talking there way into your acct.

The most secure would be Moniker. Fab. also offers a special* service to prevent a domain from being transferred out.
*Fab. or others can give you more details.

What you don't want to do is keep a "very valuable" domain in some of the registrars that are also in the auction business. (Netsol, Enom, etc.)
Yes, Moniker is in the auction business. But, I haven't heard any horror stories about
Moniker putting a domain into auction because the whois was not correct.

Or, set up your own private registrar.
However, there are a few things you have to be careful about.

That is a quick overview.
The topic deserves its own discussion thread.

I thought I should post it here since it was such a good answer and I wanted to ask Actnow a further question without hijacking his other thread completely
Actnow, you mentioned some things I should be careful about, what are those things?

Thanks very much!

Sincerely,
JED

[John Mauriello]

Moniker is still the only Registrar I know that can make the statement that "We have never lost a domain name due to theft." There are several reasons why Moniker.com is able to make the claim . While I cannot give out specifics there are several layers of protection against hijackers which are continually improved to stay steps in front of the hijackers.Moniker protects the most valuable domains on the internet so it is necessary to have more security as Moniker gets more hijacking attempts then others.



Regards,
John Mauriello
jmauriello@moniker.com
954-861-3536
800-688-6311 Ext. 3536
FAX: 954-984-0209
ICQ: 341620056 AIM: monikermaurie
MSN: jmauriello@gmail.com

[JED]

Thanks John, I appreciate your reply. So far I've only submitted domains to auction with Moniker, but your statements are really impressive and I will consider transferring some of my valuable domains to Moniker for higher safety.

Are there any other views of which is the most secure registrar(s)?

Thanks again.
Sincerely,
JED

[draggar]

One of the best things you can do for protecting your domains is to NOT use a free email service as the registrar's contact. I have GMail as my WhoIs contact but I use an unpublished email address from a domain that I do not use as the registrar's contact. The password is also quite complicated. This way, I have control over the emails (not someone else) and it would be difficult for someone to hijack this email address and set up forwarding (like people have with GMail and other free email services).

As for registrars themselves, I've never experience a stole domain (knock on wood) but I do have one or two higher-level domains that I keep with Moniker due to their reputation. They won't just give a domain away or lock it for any reason due to a UDRP / WIPO / C&D - they'll wait for the registrant (domain owner) or a court ruling before they do anything. Most of the other registrars will freeze the domain and block the site (some will even park it with their own service (coughcoughGoDaddycoughcough). Which it going to a parked page, even if it is out of your control, doesn't look good for you.

[JED]

Thanks for your comprehensive reply Draggar, really useful tips. This reinforces that I should move my more valuable domains to Moniker

Thanks again.
Sincerely,
JED

[sdsinc]

Originally Posted by draggar

Most of the other registrars will freeze the domain and block the site (some will even park it with their own service (coughcoughGoDaddycoughcough). Which it going to a parked page, even if it is out of your control, doesn't look good for you.

So much for due process

[maroulis]

fabulous for many reasons (aside AU jurisdiction) they have executive lock on the domain when you can define how it can be applied/lifted...

[sdsinc]

Thanks Steve.
Here is one reason why you should consider a non-US registrar for sensitive domains:
http://www.thedomains.com/2008/03/04...he-snowe-bill/

[JED]

Maroulis, thanks for your reply. I'm sorry to have to ask but how does an executive lock work? Could none at the registrar cancel the domain without me first removing the lock?

Sdsinc, thanks for the link. That's unpleasant news indeed!
Does anyone know if something like this could happen at Moniker as well? I know they haven't lost any domains, but have they cancelled any domains without allowing the client to transfer the domain instead?
I'm just wondering since I'm looking for a good home for my more valuable domains, and I'm currently leaning towards Moniker as the best choice.

Thanks all!

Sincerely,
JED

[muris]

Originally Posted by draggar

(coughcoughGoDaddycoughcough)

lol

Back to the Subject:
Moniker, Fabulous (IMO)

[HonestOle]

www.EuphoricDomains.com is also good. They have deadbolt transfer options that means the domain is not just locked in the registrar, but also all the way in.

[actnow]

I believe in 2009 you will see more mid-size domainers moving into private registrars.

1. Set up their own from scratch which is complicated.
If you want to go that direction contact Stevan Lieberman.

2. Buy an established registrar (must be a clean shell.)
Get help to do it. Don't try to do it by yourself.

3. Lease a registrar long term.
But, you need a registrar management company to help you.


In the domain industry, all of the rules and patterns are changing and evolving.

What you don't want to do in 2009 - do what WE have done for the past couple years.

[raoul]

Originally Posted by actnow

I believe in 2009 you will see more mid-size domainers moving into private registrars.

1. Set up their own from scratch which is complicated.
If you want to go that direction contact Stevan Lieberman.

2. Buy an established registrar (must be a clean shell.)
Get help to do it. Don't try to do it by yourself.

3. Lease a registrar long term.
But, you need a registrar management company to help you.


In the domain industry, all of the rules and patterns are changing and evolving.

What you don't want to do in 2009 - do what WE have done for the past couple years.

Are you willing to go so far?


I have a complete project ready, too become the MOST secure registrar in the world, users would no longer need to worry about any security issues.

People that know a littlebit about trojans / virusus know that even best software cannot protect you. Its a cat mouse game, the hackers discovering vulnerabilities in various every-day using software. Windows, Office ofcource,but also products adobe, and many others. The producers and can only patch if AFTER the vulnerability is already abused/discoverd.

[actnow]

Originally Posted by raoul

Are you willing to go so far?

?????

[draggar]

Originally Posted by raoul

Are you willing to go so far?

Since we cannot get insurance for our domains I think forming your own registrar is the next best option Sure, for 99% of the domainers out there it wouldn't be worthwhile (how much is it to start your own registrar and how much is it per year?). Even if it is in the $xxx,xxx range there are still many domains out there that are worth far more than that and can still be at risk. Getting your own registrar might be a smal price to pay (and in the future will we see people offering free registrars for such domains?).

I have a complete project ready, too become the MOST secure registrar in the world, users would no longer need to worry about any security issues.

Good luck with that project but as you said (even though it was with anti-malware software, it still applies) it is a cat & mouse game - even your security might still be at risk.

[raoul]

Originally Posted by draggar

Good luck with that project but as you said (even though it was with anti-malware software, it still applies) it is a cat & mouse game - even your security might still be at risk.

Sure, everything can be hacked / reversed.

There exist commercional security protocolls (solutions) that gouverments/banks also use. There is NO hacker in the world that would touch such things, as they would be traced in no time, and put on the first plane to "guatamo bay" In the hacker scene, its known that ~5 people could break such security, but FOR SURE, they will not touch it. (this kind of hackers are also not the type of guys that hacking your godaddy accounts )

Reversing/hacking such things, would give the hacker much more access to things that are more value than www.s*x.com domain.

[denny007]

I know only one 100% safest registrar: your own accreditation.

[ohkus]

This may help you:

Pairnic - They have a lock that makes it so a domain can't be updated at all. It requires you to send in a form and two forms of ID to have it unlocked. Customer service is top notch and they are one of the oldest companies around. This is free.

Moniker - Maxlock - Haven't tried it, IMHO they should be offering this for $5.....$30/domain is ridiculous.

Fabulous - E-Lock - Same sort of deal as pairnic, require human interaction and requires to prove yourself. However with the way the australian government is acting lately I'd be worried here.

[denny007]

Pairnic - They have a lock that makes it so a domain can't be updated at all. It requires you to send in a form and two forms of ID to have it unlocked. Customer service is top notch and they are one of the oldest companies around. This is free.

Since their price is $19 per domain I would not say "free" but $11

[ohkus]

Originally Posted by denny007

Since their price is $19 per domain I would not say "free" but $11

No offense......but when have you had a customer service agent call you to verify your domain settings. A company's who CEO who emails you personally to implement your suggestions. A company who supports open source and open ideas......$19/yr is nothing if you have a domain worth a few thousand dollars.

I can call anytime and get knowledgable customer support and people who go above and beyond, people who don't follow a script, people who care about me as a customer......

Anyway, if you want to count that $11, it beats Moniker maxlock at $29/yr.