Web Domain Owners

[annuin]

Whilst on our domain name registrar's page I noticed the following notice, which is applicable to anyone who owns a registered domain:

We are sending customers an email regarding a new ICANN-enforced domain name transfer policy, effective 11-12-04. It dictates that IF WE RECEIVE A TRANSFER REQUEST (and your domain names are not locked) we must honor the transfer, even if you do not confirm it. You can eliminate ANY chance of your domain names being transferred away without your permission by locking your domains.

Our registrar, godaddy.com, provides a way for us to lock the domain, which does the following according to their site:

Locking your domain prevents changes to contacts and name servers. It also prevents the domain name from being transferred to another registrar. You may lock or unlock your domain at any time by using this page.

Those of you who have domains registered elsewhere, you might want to see if your registrar has emailed you about this change, and whether or not they have a similar measure in place to disallow transferral of your domain without your verification. ICANN's measures are global, and not just limited to any one country or registrar.

Thanks again ICANN, assholes.

Comments

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Anything that doesn't require your confirmation to happen is a bad idea, generally speaking.

I'm guessing the only way this could be a good thing is if you've run into an unscrupulous registrar who won't let you transfer the domain to another one?

There has to be a better way to implement this, one that doesn't leave you wide open to be hijacked.

[trejkaz.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. They could make the timeout 4 weeks, and send the notice through all communication avenues (email, phone, AND in the post.)

4 weeks should be enough for even the postal version to get through, so if someone doesn't respond after that, they're probably dead anyway.

It would be a crapload better than just a few days.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Agreed. That would definitely be a lot better. It is also, afterall, your own responsibility to make sure your contact details are up to date.

[prez.livejournal.com]

Alternatively, they could put the fear of god into the registrars.

If someone complains that a registrar refused to transfer a domain after the transfer request has been properly confirmed, yank their right to register domains at all, and all existing domains registered through them get transferred to another registrar. It'd bring rogue registrars into line REAL quick, and would not leave the public open to such hijacking.

[trejkaz.livejournal.com]

This punishment is still only going half way. Shouldn't they also punish the ones submitting the fraudulent transfer requests? That's the main cause of grief here, after all.