When Does Your Domain Expire? Who Is The Registrant? Where Is It Registered? What Is The Username & Password? How Do You Find Out? Why Should You Care?
A Sad Close Call:
While preparing this newsletter; as a result of our ongoing domain monitoring for hosted VSM Websites, we discovered that Hughston.com was due to expire that very day!
Some weeks earlier, email notification was sent to our contact at Hughston that their domain was very close to renewal. Apparently, the message was not received. We have worked with this gentleman for well over 5 years. He also happened to be the administrative contact on the domain. This domain is not under our registration services.
Sadly and unknown to us, our contact had suddenly passed away.
After 4 calls and 20 minutes on hold, I finally got through to their IT department and the ball was firmly put in their court. They had no idea the domain was expiring at midnight that day.
The domain was renewed just a few hours before it would have expired... Wow!
Thankfully, their registrar was one of the "good guys"; otherwise the site and email could easily have been down for weeks.
A Less Traumatic Renewal:
Just this week we received the following email from a VSM Client;
Hi Efinitytech,
I noticed while in the VSM tools that our domain expires 9-28-15. Is renewing this something that you handle, or do you need something from me? Can you let me know what the cost will be as well? Thanks!
We sent them their registrar information and they were able to renew the domain, even though their registrant email was invalid!
If they had not seen this information in VSM or if we had not discovered it in our routine Domain Expiration Review, another domain disaster would have been in the works.
To Avoid The Potential Sudden Loss Of Email And Website:
If you have not checked your domain(s) recently or are not sure with whom and to whom they are registered, or when they expire...
Perform the following lookup ASAP. You might be surprised at what you find.
- Go to: http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp
- Enter your domain, (without http/www.).
- Contact Us at support@efinitytech.com for help in resolving any question you may have about the results.
Finally; please use Efinitytech for your domain needs. We will not let your domain expire, unless that is what you want. Email support@efinitytech.com so we can help.
Featured Website - Garmire Iron Works
Please join us in congratulating James Rebar of Garmire Iron Works on the launch of his custom Ecommerce Website!
Custom Efinitytech Design
Custom Ecommerce
James reports;
"I have received dozens of requests from web searches based on the email tracking I can do. I know the site is gaining traction with my sales agency and I have been contacted by customers using the site.
Efinitytech's talented website developers have added a new layer of professionalism to our business."
See more of our portfolio at: www.efinitytech.com
Phishing... Spearfishing... Spam... Hacking
Now, we read about new attempts to fool you into giving away your money or access to your bank account. Spearfishing is a clever name for a new-ish tactic targeting those with regular online banking transactions.
According to Symantec:
"The Spear phisher can appear as an Email from a "Friend"
"The spear phisher thrives on familiarity. He knows your name, your email address, and at least a little about you. The salutation on the email message is likely to be personalized: "Hi Bob" instead of "Dear Sir." The email may make reference to a "mutual friend." Or to a recent online purchase you've made. Because the email seems to come from someone you know, you may be less vigilant and give them the information they ask for. And when it's a company you know asking for urgent action, you may be tempted to act before thinking."
Be Smart:
If a "friend" emails and asks for a password or other information, call or email (in a separate email) that friend to verify that they were really who contacted you. The same goes for banks and businesses. First of all, legitimate businesses won't email you asking for passwords or account numbers. If you think the email might be real, call the bank or business and ask. Or visit the official website. Most banks have an email address to which you can forward suspicious emails for verification.
And always remember: Don't give up too much personal information online, because you never know who might use it against you. Or how."
Just Today:
On this morning's News it was reported that sophisticated Hackers are buying phone numbers close to those of real companies and then sending Spam with those numbers. The unwary call those numbers to be sure they are real and instead of the real company, a hacker then asks you for your information live over the phone!
The lesson is to be vigilant.
SEO - SEM - Success
Trumark Athletics reports:
"I know that the # of website views and sales numbers for online orders appears off compared to the previous website; but what you cannot see is that we are getting high quality phone calls and closing most orders through a different channel than the website. For example, there was a person that abandoned a cart for a $1,300 order yesterday; but she called today to place the order. This is happening often. Our inquiries this year are not to clarify product details because the site is confusing; instead they contact us to ask valid questions or to obtain a quote. Our sales for August so far are better than anticipated.
Thank you,"
Contact us to see how Efinitytech can help your business.
