DNS Domain Name Stealing
By Brian Ringland

DNS Defined

A funny thing happened on the way to getting the Two Minute Tickers domain name registered. We were almost beaten to our own domain name. As most of us know, even if we don't actually understand it, DNS is an acronym that stands for Domain Name System. We here at two minutes also came to realize that it stands for "Domain Name Stealing" or "Domain Name Selling". Here is how our particular situation unfolded.

We made the decision to start posting news content before deciding on a final name for the brand. We published as a blog with the two minute moniker and did NOT purchase our domain name at that time. We were too busy working out a reliable way to update multiple news feeds daily among other things to really worry to much about what the final name for the site would be.

That was a big mistake. You see, we grew to like our domain name. When it came time to sit down and come up with a relevant and purposeful name for our news website everyone agreed that the name we had was in fact the best choice after all. Anybody who has had to sit down in front of a computer monitor for hours on end trying to search out an available domain name will tell you; if you have a name already chosen go for that one first. What nobody tells you is that your name is already gone. Taken.

It seems there has been a rise in the number of domain name reseller websites on the net as of late. Here is how a few of them operate.

They sit at their computers for hours on end going through blog lists, blog directories, and blogging communities such as Blogspot and WordPress to name just two. The go over thousands of blogs looking at the name of the blog. For example, the reseller puts up a phony blog and invites other bloggers to join his blog. He looks at your blog name. Maybe the name of your blog is 'nameyourprice.blogspot.com'. He goes after the 'nameyourprice portion of your blogspot domain name. He does a search for it and if the domain is available he buys it in bulk with other domains he has "found" for next to nothing. You don't even know this has happened. All you know is that your blog has become very popular and you have decided to have your domain name registered so you can turn your successful blog into a successful website.

But wait. The name that was available when you published your blog is now gone. What is worse when you type the web address into the search bar you are taken to a page that informs you that the domain has been 'parked' but for a price you can have it. Someone has found your blog and looked at your blogs domain name and then purposefully searched it out and well.....taken it from you. I don't know how to say it any other way. Yes I fully agree the domain name should have been registered right away to protect ownership over it. But that still does not remove the 'greasy' feel to the whole practice.

Some websites offer a domain name search right on their page so you can check on the availability of any domain name. You search out a name on Monday evening and after making the decision to purchase it on Tuesday morning you find that it is now not available. You also find that it has been parked by a domain reseller. Look closely and do some digging at the site you did your search at and in some cases you'll find a direct link to the reselling company that now owns that name. As soon as you did your domain name search, your query was recorded and at predetermined times all of those recorded queries are purchased in bulk by the reseller. As I said earlier at this time there is nothing illegal about the practice. It just reeks.

So what do you do to beat the guys out there who will take your name rather than building their own list? Register your name now. If you are trying to come up with a name do NOT search each one out. Make a list of your possible choices rank them from best to least best. When you are ready to actually purchase the name then and only then, go to a trusted site such as 'whois' and start checking for availability. If you get the domain you want great! Just don't expect that to happen. There are a lot of domain resellers out there. As soon as you see an available name you can live with buy it. If you don't you can pretty much expect it to be bought up by somebody else. By the way, I just checked and 'beingafoolfornotbuying' was already parked by a reseller!

Authored by Brian Ringland 2010

http://www.twominuteticker.blogspot.com

http://www.youneedyourmail.com

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