Do You Use Real Info for Domain Name Registration?

43 replies
Hi all.

I've read several posts on here about people having visitors to their sites finding their address/phone and sending them threatening letters/phone calls. These guys were selling products, so I'm assumes that the threats were coming from VERY dissatisfied customers.

While I'm sure that these occurrences are very rare, that fact that they even occur is something to bear in mind. This makes me ask, do you guys use your real info when you register a domain name, or do you use inaccurate info?

Thanks for your input.
#domain #info #real #registration
  • Profile picture of the author ArwenTaylor
    I use Whois protection. I work out of my home and the last thing I want is people showing up on my doorstep. Plus the protection cuts down on the spam since spammers harvest emails from the database.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarkJonesCBDoctor
    I could never recommend using inacurate information...but I can recommend using vague information and or nicknames/ and primarily the use of business names in replace of your name.

    Plus spammers do harvest so maybe its not such a bad idea..
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    I second that it is incorrect to use false information to register a domain. Having said that, you are right, it is often not wise to give everything away on the internet since there is always a threat of spam and/or personal attacks from dissatisfied customers. I'd probably do what MarkJonesCBDoctor has recommended... using a business name or a nickname/abbreviation so that I am not as easily traceable.
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  • Profile picture of the author 3D
    Banned
    You must use your real information as far as I know legally. You can lose your domain doiong the opposite.
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  • Profile picture of the author braincandy7
    Be honest and use real information but protect yourself with whois
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  • Profile picture of the author komplex
    Banned
    Yes, what are people going to do? Come to my house.. I use private only when it's free.. But unless you're doing spammy sites with illegal things, there's no reason to hide.. Also if I'm doing a shady business online or selling a ton of products that are iffy, I'd use private, but I stay away from things like that. Never had a reason to use them..
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by komplex View Post

      Yes, what are people going to do? Come to my house.
      There are threads in this forum giving details of incidents in which exactly that has happened.

      Originally Posted by komplex View Post

      But unless you're doing spammy sites with illegal things, there's no reason to hide.
      This is incorrect: there can be several other perfectly good, legitimate and valid reasons not to want one's ownership of a website to be public information (one of which is explained in the post immediately above this one).

      Originally Posted by komplex View Post

      Never had a reason to use them..
      Many other people do, and it doesn't mean they're spammers or scammers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Yeah i use my own information with my Domain Name Registration. But depending on your Web Hosting provider, you can easily disable the owner part of the domain if someone decided to do a WHOIS lookup on you. Plus if you wanted to get SSL on your site, some security companies like Comodo require your real name on your domain name registration, and they want to see all of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pyramid Linkers
    Whois protection is definitely worth the extra cost. Especially if you have multiple sites in unrelated niches and you want to protect your backlink profile.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    No ... don't use whois protection. My customers already know how to contact me and I certainly would want them to if there's something wrong. I do use it on a political blog I have because I don't want nutbags contacting me.
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    • Profile picture of the author NikkiBlue
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      No ... don't use whois protection. My customers already know how to contact me and I certainly would want them to if there's something wrong. I do use it on a political blog I have because I don't want nutbags contacting me.
      Exactly! There are alot of folks who will do even worse- they will post your personal information (from whois) online and use it to get more about you.
      Ive seen several Blogspot blogs created just to slander webmasters which included personal information, facebook pictures,Google maps, etc. Blogspot will do little about it.

      Another thing I didnt realize is that you can do whois lookups based on someone's email addresses and then figure out their backlink profile.

      My solution for those who have several domain names is to use a local mailbox service that will give you a real address instead of a PO Box. Its cheaper than paying for Whoisprotection is you have alot of domain names.
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      • Profile picture of the author Anthoni
        As a general rule I use WhoIS guard to protect the information BUT I put my contact information prominently on my websites.

        The only time I do not use WHOIS guard is when the site requires SSL because this is one of the requirements.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    I have never used whois protection in all the years I've been registering domain names. It's like putting a lock on your front door - it will keep innocent people out, but burglars almost always get in through the window. Using whois privacy will keep casual passers-by out, but anyone who has even a little internet savvy can get access to your real registration information.

    That being said, I do agree there are situations where it can be useful, as in the example Suzanne gave. It can filter out a lot of the noise.
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  • Profile picture of the author Edie47
    I've always used my real information as far as getting a domain name, but often use another name, email address, etc. for the site itself. Even have a FB and Twitter under the same assumed name. So far, I've not had a problem.

    I do agree with Gene. If someone wants to find you bad enough, they will.
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  • Profile picture of the author tropvik
    Originally Posted by amarketing View Post

    Hi all.

    I've read several posts on here about people having visitors to their sites finding their address/phone and sending them threatening letters/phone calls. These guys were selling products, so I'm assumes that the threats were coming from VERY dissatisfied customers.

    While I'm sure that these occurrences are very rare, that fact that they even occur is something to bear in mind. This makes me ask, do you guys use your real info when you register a domain name, or do you use inaccurate info?

    Thanks for your input.
    Whois protection all the way bro... there's no reason why you just throw your info out there.

    Unfortunately there are some weird people out there.
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    • Profile picture of the author amarketing
      Thanks for all of the info, guys. Maybe it is better to use your real info and just do the "whois" protect thing.

      Although I'm not sure how they could tell if the phone or address you signed up with is yours or not, you might run the risk of losing the domain name if that is noticed. However, it stands to reason that you could change your phone or address and forget to update your domain name information, so maybe it's not a big deal.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
        Originally Posted by amarketing View Post

        However, it stands to reason that you could change your phone or address and forget to update your domain name information, so maybe it's not a big deal.
        It is a big deal, if you value your domain name. It's your responsibility to update your whois information if your details change.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Gordon
    I always use my real registration info when registering domains. Although, I do add who.is protection to secure my identity from unwanted people contacting me. Once I left my who.is information without protection and I had about 20 customers calling me asking me about my product. I was a total waste of time (30 minutes per customer just to get them to purchase a $17 product!) so from then on, I started protecting my who.is information.
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  • Profile picture of the author imsirigiri
    BFA sites - Use whois protection
    Official and professional blogs/site - Use personal information

    As simple as that.
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  • Profile picture of the author FutureMilyonair
    I use my real name and info
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    • Profile picture of the author TerryL
      Using a company name and address, if you have one, is a good alternative to WhoIs. Otherwise, WhoIs may be a good investment for many people. Whether you have anything to hide or not, and most people don't, it's a crazy world out there and you never know who is accessing your personal information and for what purpose. Identity thieves? Burglars? It doesn't have to be scammers or spammers. It could be anyone for any purpose. As a father of two young children, I've always thought it pays to be as protective as possible when it comes to making personal contact information public. If it's just you, it may not be that big of a deal to you, but when it comes to having children, your priorities change.

      I usually use my company information on my domain registrations.
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      • Profile picture of the author WikiWarrior
        Yes I use Whois protection on most of my domains. I think it's worth it to provide a level of protection against any would-be crazies, especially if you work from home. Another option is to get a virtual address like the ones offered by companies that provide virtual offices. You could just use it as a postbox/phone number/contact and that way if you ever move house you don't need to worry about updating anything, ever.
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        • Profile picture of the author Barefoot Warrior
          I'd go with the Whois Privacy option, it is fairly cheap, if I recall correctly Namecheap charge less than $3 a year for it and you get the first year free with new domains.

          I don't think it is anything to do with having something to hide, it is more protection of your private life (and family) if you don't have a business address.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ken Somerville
    As with most of the people I say Whois protection, but if you are an honest person and not a scam seller then you really don't have to worry. As for the spammers sending out email's you can set up a seperate account away from you friend and family account.

    Hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author halopm1
    I don't see anything wrong with adding whois protection to your domains. People can still contact you even with the whois protection. It just hides the actual info, but if say someone wants to email you, they can just use the hidden one, and it will get forwarded to your actual email address.

    Also, s Barefoot said above, if you use Namecheap, whois protection is actually a free addon for your first year with a new domain. So might as well use it.
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  • Profile picture of the author HairyPoppins
    Always be honest I'm sure it's against the rules not to be and you could loose the domain. With that said it's always a good idea to have security online. Too many scammers and nutbags around.
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    I have to say that I was unsure as to the legality or otherwise of providing false whois information.

    Certainly in ye olden days, people either didn't worry about their whois details being public, or just entered in any old details.

    Checking on Wikipedia, it has the following section on Law and Policy.

    WHOIS has generated policy issues in the United States federal government. As noted above, WHOIS creates a privacy issue which is also tied to free speech and anonymous speech. However, WHOIS is an important tool for law enforcement officers investigating violations like spam and phishing to track down the holders of domain names. Law enforcement officers become frustrated when WHOIS records are filled with rubbish. As a result, law enforcement agencies have sought to make WHOIS records both open and verified:[12]
    • The Federal Trade Commission has testified about how inaccurate WHOIS records thwart their investigations.[13]
    • Congressional hearings have been conducted about the importance of WHOIS in 2006, 2002, and 2001.[14]
    • The Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions Act[15] "make it a violation of trademark and copyright law if a person knowingly provided, or caused to be provided, materially false contact information in making, maintaining, or renewing the registration of a domain name used in connection with the violation,"[16] where the latter "violation" refers to a prior violation of trademark or copyright law. The act does not make the submission of false WHOIS data illegal in itself, only if used to shield oneself from prosecution for crimes committed using that domain name.
    So my reading of the above (disclaimer, I am not a lawyer) is that you can legally enter any whois details you like.


    However, if you commit fraudulent activities via that domain and law enforcement officials attempt to find your contact details via the false/inaccurate whois record, that is deemed illegal (at least in the US)
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  • Profile picture of the author MatthewNeer
    I'm pretty transparent. I don't mind people knowing what I'm up to online. The whole world could find you through Facebook these days anyways if they really wanted to, lol.

    I don't see much of a problem with it other than spam, which doesnt really happen to me much anyways.
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  • Profile picture of the author webskipper
    I use my real info for all of my sites. I don't want to take any chance of getting in trouble since it's illegal. If I'm building an aff site where I a persona I create, then i use whois protection.
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  • Profile picture of the author andynathan
    I use my company information and address, because in the US you need to disclose who you are legally somewhere on the site. That being said, I put as little as needed on the site.
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    • Profile picture of the author amarketing
      Thanks for all of the replies and viewpoints, everyone!

      It sounds like it's best to not risk loosing the domain name, so just provide accurate information and pay the extra to keep it private.

      Thanks again, everyone!.
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  • Profile picture of the author richjr72
    If you work at home and don't want to people to know your real address.

    You got pretty much 2 choices, get a private registration or a post office box. A post office box is cheap, about $35 a year.
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  • Profile picture of the author sgoerger
    If you buy your names in 'bulk' on GoDaddy, you get free WhoIs protection. Bulk only means 5+ domains, so this is the way I like to buy them.
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    • Profile picture of the author NikkiBlue
      Originally Posted by sgoerger View Post

      If you buy your names in 'bulk' on GoDaddy, you get free WhoIs protection. Bulk only means 5+ domains, so this is the way I like to buy them.
      Oh wow! I didnt realize this! Its not offered with renewals but you can use it on transfers. I have a bunch of domains with a Goddady reseller that I can transfer instead of renewing.. I will try it this weekend.
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  • Profile picture of the author JeremiahSay
    Yes i do and I believe you should too & should also get a whois protection
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    • Profile picture of the author fin
      I always use Whois. I get it free with Namecheap anyway.

      If someone decided to check my Whois before they bought from me, I would think they were pretty stalkerish.

      Good to keep away weirdo's. There's a lot of them shooting around these days.
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  • Profile picture of the author amarketing
    Like another member said, A PO Box looks like another option. I've noticed that just about all big-time marketers with their own products use PO Boxes for their contact info, especially on their sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    I use a PO Box mainly for the sake of simplicity and organization, but it's important to realize that while PO Boxes are a very good deterrent, they do not prevent access to your physical location. Anyone can use the FOIA to get your real address on file with the post office.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anthony W
    If you register through Name Cheap, you'll get 1 year of WHOIS guard for free, which allows you to still get emails while protecting your real contact info.
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  • Profile picture of the author shabash_23
    If you are serious with your business then do not register with false information.
    Almost all registrars are providing one year WHOIS protection for free.
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  • Profile picture of the author chansgrose
    Originally Posted by amarketing View Post

    Hi all.

    I've read several posts on here about people having visitors to their sites finding their address/phone and sending them threatening letters/phone calls. These guys were selling products, so I'm assumes that the threats were coming from VERY dissatisfied customers.

    While I'm sure that these occurrences are very rare, that fact that they even occur is something to bear in mind. This makes me ask, do you guys use your real info when you register a domain name, or do you use inaccurate info?

    Thanks for your input.
    Yes I do, google actually looks at this, and I believe and other seo experts have believed this that google does not like whois privacy, because of the fact your "hiding" in a sense..
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  • Profile picture of the author MattVit
    Standard domain registrars/hosters like Dreamhost protect your Whois records... Free. Like it should be.
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