Using Private Domain Registration

Question:  I am about to signup with justHost.com for web hosting, but was wondering is domain privacy worth it? justHost lists it as an extra $9.95 a year. Cant I just put bogus information for registering the domain name or should spend the extra money for domain privacy?

Answer:  Here’s some information about buying a domain name.

• Rule #1:  NEVER buy a domain name from a web hosting company as you’ll pay way too much.  ALWAYS buy your names from a trusted domain name registrar.
• Rule #2:  NEVER accept the free domain name offer from a web hosting company because you will NOT own the name, they will.  ALWAYS buy your names from a trusted domain name registrar where you have total control.
• Rule #3:  NEVER pay for domain name privacy protection.  ALWAYS get it free when you register your domain name.

Ok, so, is domain name privacy worth it?  HELL YES, IT’S WORTH IT!  Without it, you’re personal name, address, phone number and email address is exposed to the public for ANY one to see.  Spammers and telemarketers LOVE ignorant people who don’t use privacy protection because they can harvest your information.  It’s like a starter kit for spammers.  Don’t believe me?  Register a domain name with protection and wait a few weeks.  The spam and phone calls will come pouring in.

With privacy protection, your information is replaced with a proxy company’s information who acts on your behalf.  The seal of confidentiality will not be broken except when law enforcement or court order requests it.

NO, you cannot use a fake name.  It’s against ICANN regulations.

What About Transparency?

There’s a thing called transparency on the web. The general school of thought is that if you’ve got nothing to hide, you shouldn’t hide your domain ownership. I say hide it anyway. If you’re a business and you need/want people to know find your business, put that information on an About Us page or Contact Us form on your site, but do NOT make your personal information available via your domain name.

Domain Privacy Protection Prices

JustHost is crazy for charging $9.95 a year for privacy protection.

You can get cheap domain names and free privacy protection (WhoIs Guard) from NameCheap.  Yearly renewal of privacy protection is ONLY $2.88 a year.  Yea, you heard that right, only $2.88.  You can even get it cheaper if you buy a 5-pack of WhoIs Guard.

Here’s a comparison of GoDaddy vs NameCheap.  There’s a NameCheap coupon code on that page so you can get cheap domain names even cheaper.