In the wake of this weeks story’s on domain theft we reached out to some of the registrars that offer “protection” or domain lock type programs to get details on their products.
Here is a list of some of the registrars and the extra level of protection they offer:
Fabulous.com offers two options customers can choose to enable to protect sensitive areas within their account, the Fabulous Security Key or Challenge/Response Security Questions. Both provide an additional layer of security across certain sections of the account including:
• Sales
• Transfers
• Name Servers
• Pushes
• Finance
If an account password happened to be compromised, having access to these specific functions would put your domains at risk of hijacking. By taking advantage of either the Fabulous Security Key or Challenge/Response Security Questions, modification of these areas can only take place once authentication with these devices is successful.
For over 8 years, Fabulous.com has allowed domain owners to apply an Executive Lock, which provides even greater protection on a domain level.
The Executive lock effectively freezes a domain’s registry settings, and can only be removed by Fabulous.com management after a special condition(s) specified by the client has been fulfilled. A domain name under Executive lock cannot be transferred, pushed, or have the Name Servers modified.
A domain name under Executive lock cannot:
Be transferred out to another Registrar
Be pushed to another Fabulous account
Have changes to its Nameserver settings
Have the Registrar-Lock status removed
Security Key
Fabulous Security Key
The Fabulous Security Key is an innovative USB device that provides additional levels of security to sensitive areas of your account.
With one touch, it sends a unique one time pass code, ensuring that these actions are only performed by the authorized holder of the Fabulous Security Key. The Fabulous Security Key is an additional authentication mechanism that is used in conjunction with your account password.
There are no costs associated with both E-lock and the Challenge/Response security.
However the Security Key is US$49.95.
Here is the info on Maxlock and we also have Portfolio Maxlock.
Maxlock protects from email spoofing and high jacking as well as multiple access account tampering.
MaxLock ensures that the most stringent security standards are applied prior to unlocking your domain asset. Domain asset security is vital in protecting your online revenue and brand reputation. Imagine the damage that you and your company would suffer if control of your domain was lost!
With Domain MaxLock™, you can protect your domain assets from:
Hijacked or stolen e-mail accounts
Risks associated with shared accounts
Identity theft of all types
How it works:
Provide a government I.D. number for verification of your identity.
Set-up custom security questions and answers, further safeguarding your domain assets.
Provide special verification instructions and artifacts to ensure that your unique business or ownership interests are protected.
When you request that your domains be unlocked, our security team works directly with you to verify all of the above off-line – further eliminating risks of doing business in an on-line world!
Maxlock is $19.99/per name
Portfolio Maxlock is $124.99 per account.
GoDADDY.com
GoDaddy.com offers two products:
The “Domain Transfer Validation Service.” (DVTS) is a free service but available only to those are Executive Account customers.
It prevents a domain name from being transferred out of the account, unless a unique identifying pass code is verbally provided.
These customers receive the attention of a personal account manager, with complete oversight of all domain registrations, transfers and renewals.
The second service is Go Daddy’s Deadbolt Transfer Protection, available to all Go Daddy customers.
With this security product, in order to cancel domain name service, users must show documented proof of identification, making the lock even more robust than a standard registrar lock.
You can find more information about it here.
Offers the VeriSign Identity Protection product in the form of NameSafe VIP.
To start your NameSafe VIP service you will first need to order a Verisign VIP credential.
Currently we offer two forms of credentials, one in a Key FOB design and the other in a credit card form factor.
Each credential attached to your account is charged annually for the service.
We currently allow only one credential per account.
If you already have a Verisign VIP credential, choose “Already Have One” and you will only be charged for the service.”
VeriSign:
Unlike the registrars above, VeriSign also offers a product which locks the domain at the registry level.
The VeriSign Registry Lock Service allows registrars to offer server-level protection for their registrants’ domain names.
VeriSign Registry Lock enables registrars via a secure authentication process, to set Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) server (registry) status codes on selected domain names to prevent malicious or inadvertent modifications, deletions, and transfers it also combats domain hijacking and help protects against accidental or unauthorized modifications or deletions for your customer’s domain names.
That’s the starting point for domain security, ultimately you would want a system that you could set up that contains offline verification and that you get these products set up in your account before someone else does.
To inquire about availability and pricing for the VeriSign Registry Lock Service please contact your registrar.
Have Your Own Registrar.
Another choice would be to start your own registrar where you control any changes and outflows from the registry. The option is only viable for domainers with a larger portfolio, however using one of the service providers like LogicBoxes.com, will take most of the work off of you.
So those are some of the products out there to protect your domains.
Make the calls get the info and find out which one works best for you.
Godaddy’s DTS – Transfer Lock System is TERRIBLE! There are many flaws with the system and is not user friendly. I would advise not to use this program.
My account with GD was hijacked, domains stolen, fraudulent charges made over $7500. GD tried to sell me their security products instead of quickly helping me recover my domains. TERRIBLE!
It took me almost 2 months to resolve problems, and during these difficult times I felt treated like shit by GD. I finally ended up moving all my domains from GD to fabulous.
I have decided to never have my domains at GD anymore.
I have no problems with Fabulous: they respond quickly to questions, treat us right, help us all the time, and BEST OF ALL Fabulous’s prices are always best for domainers.
Not that I know if ‘Prosper’ is a domain hijacker, we should
be careful when an unknown person says that a lock doesn’t work.
(Prosper – I’m not picking on you.)
Furthermore, anyone could impersonate a well known person (like Chris)
visiting this blog to guide us away from an effective program.
Is this a catch 22 situation when reading this article?
Meyer
I think you need to do your homework
These are a few registrars that offer special security measures.
You need to learn about them, see how they work, see what protections they have built in and see if they will still work under the worst case scenario as laid out by the Dr., which is what happens if someone has hacker into your email, and have every user Id and password you have on your computer.
I think we should all realize that there is a high probability that the bad guys are reading this as well.
what happened to the GoDaddy’s on sale story?
So far no sale.
You wouldn’t expect a $1 Billion dollar business to sell overnight
but GoDaddy hasn’t confirmed so far this rumor
Its not a Rumor
It was reported by the WSJ that an Wall Street investment company was hired to shop the business, its something they would have denied right away if it wasn’t true
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My opinion?
These registrars ought to provide solid security for FREE, but the onus also falls on the owner.
Answers to security questions should ONLY be available via calling from the phone number on account and based on a verbal code NOT shown on the owner’s account.
What the owner can do:
–Account emails and sign-in emails (Domainmonster) should be different from whois emails, and, therefore, invisible to the public. And never give out your account email to ANYONE, including friends and family, except one trusted loved one and instructions in a safe deposit box in the event of a worst case scenario. In other words, use your account email for nothing except account business. Block spam that does slip through and don’t answer it.
–Use a domain-based email. The freebie accounts are too easy to hack. Choose a term before the @ that is not easily guessed.
–NEVER use a catch-all email for an account email.
–Account ID should be intuitive ONLY to the owner.
–Use strong passwords.
–Exceptional virus protection. I’m amazed that people still use freebie programs which may not be up-to-date.
–Never answer queries directly from your whois email. Instead, forward them to a “safe” email, erase the whois headers to the original, and answer them from the safe email. Ignore appraisal requests and block.
–Sell through a broker that will not reveal your registrar account email to the buyer.
–For exceptional domains, bite the bullet and purchase the protection offered by the registrar. For high value domains, go through a broker with a solid reputation.
We’re still in the Wild West of the internet.
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Bottom Line….
Take preventive measures but if your domains have major value the simply,
DON’T TRUST…
any system and.or anybody but YOURSELF.
VISUALLY, check that there secure online and off ….
EVERY single day without fail!
Moniker’s Portfolio Maxlock is $124.99 per account. I assume this price is for one year, you need to renew it for $124.99 after 12 months, do you?
I believe the $125 is an annual fee
MS Domainer,
thanks for the list some great tips, some that I have yet to initiate, but will do so immediate.