DomainTools Blog

With the launch of .xxx domain names coming soon, I thought now would be a good time to address an important topic sometimes overlooked by domain buyers: how to avoid accidentally purchasing a domain that was once used for pornography.

Almost as long as the web has been around, companies have been selling content filtering software. Parents and network admins can use it to stop their kids, employees or users from accessing inappropriate web sites at work and at home, or in colleges, schools and libraries.

It can be quite difficult to get a domain name removed from one of these legacy block-lists, especially if the company that originally compiled it is no longer around.   You may find yourself cut off from some potential customers when purchasing a domain on a blocked list.

As a result, if you plan to invest in a domain name that was once used to host pornographic content, you may find that its resale value is not what you thought. The same can be said if you are interested in purchasing a domain for the value it has in adult traffic.   So it’s important to know what a domain has been used for before deciding whether to buy it and how much to offer.

As you can see from the small number of premium names already released by the .xxx registry, it’s sometimes not easy to tell whether a domain has hosted adult content just by looking at the domain name itself.

It should be obvious what you will find if you point your browser to casting.xxx or muscle.xxx, which were some of the first .xxx domains to be sold, but can you say the same about casting.com or muscle.com? They could be porn, or they could just as easily belong to a Hollywood casting agency or be used to sell dietary supplements and home gym equipment.

Common dictionary words sometimes have special meanings in the adult entertainment world that might not be obvious to somebody from outside that industry, which is why it’s important to do your research before making an offer.

Adult content publishers often trade under generic-sounding company names, so a simple historical Whois search might not be enough to alert you to the domain’s past usage.

That’s one of the reasons why DomainTools offers a comprehensive screenshot history with most Whois queries. Not only can you see who owned a domain name in the past, you can also very quickly check to see what it was used for.

Take the generic-sounding domain WebmasterAccess.com, for example. It could be used to host a forum for webmasters to exchange technical tips, it could be a web hosting company, or it could be used as a jobs site for designers and developers.

In fact, it’s owned by a large adult entertainment publisher and is used to promote a porn webmaster show. The site may be almost safe-for-work today, but the DomainTools screenshot history clearly shows that as recently as January this year it contained very adults-only imagery. It’s easy to see that just from the thumbnails in our archive, too – you don’t need to look at the full-sized capture if you don’t want to!

If that domain was for sale, and you were thinking about buying it to develop or resell, that’s important background info that you’d need to know.

If you’re a DomainTools customer, you already know the value of Whois for researching the history of domain names, but not everybody is as savvy.

A hoaxer this week managed to fool some of the world’s most respected news organizations into reporting that Internet Explorer users are “dumber” than users of other browsers, and it was a Whois search that eventually blew the story open.

Dozens of outlets – including CNN, the BBC and Forbes – fell for a story put out by a fake Canadian company called AptiQuant, which claimed to have proved scientifically that IE users have below-average IQs.

AptiQuant said in a press release that it had offered free online IQ tests to over 100,000 people and then correlated the scores with the browser used to take the test. IE users, it said, were found to have much lower IQ scores than everybody else.

The media rapidly picked up the meme and ran with it. Headlines such as “If You’re Reading This On Internet Explorer, You’re Probably Dumb” and “Dumb people use Internet Explorer, survey says” were among the hundreds around the world that AptiQuant’s news generated.

But the story was completely bogus, as a simple Whois search could have revealed in an instant.

After the initial wave of reports, readers started doing a bit of digging. Most of AptiQuant’s web site content, they discovered, had been copied and pasted from a French company called Central Test. Even the photographs of AptiQuant’s non-existent staff had been copied.

But here’s the kicker: Whois shows that the domain name aptiquant.com was only registered on July 14 this year. That’s in contrast to the web site itself, which had content claiming to date back to 2005.

A developer named Tarandeep Gill has now confessed to being behind the hoax. He said that he just wanted to highlight what a pain IE 6.0 can be to support when building web sites.

“We are really surprised that it took so long for people to figure it out, a mere Whois on the domain could have revealed it all,” Gill wrote.

To make things worse, some of the news sites now reporting the hoax have claimed that Gill lives in San Francisco, whereas he in fact lives near Vancouver, Canada – as the Whois record clearly shows!

It’s not just the media that could benefit from making Whois part of their standard research toolkit. Just as reporters were fooled by a hoaxer telling them what they wanted to hear, there are a lot of bad guys out there making “too good to be true” offers who have less frivolous intentions.

If you find yourself on a web site that looks a bit fishy, Whois should be your first port of call.

We just got back from the International Trademark Association (INTA) conference in San Francisco! It ran May 14-18 and we had a great time meeting a good number of the 8,500 attendees from 140 countries. Each day, had engaging conversations about the industry, DomainTools, and it was awesome to see customers come up and introduce themselves with “We use you guys all the time”. For us, it was also enriching to hear about specific anecdotes about how specific tools like Reverse Whois, Trademark Alert, Whois, etc. are being leveraged. Be sure to read our press release about our INTA attendance if you haven’t seen it yet.

Here is a picture of our booth and staff before the exhibition hall flood gates opened the first day.

In just a few weeks, we will be showcasing DomainTools once again – this time at SMX Advanced in Seattle, June 7-8. If any of you SEO and Analytics gurus are in town, be sure to stop by booth #23 to say hello! By the way, DomainTools is looking to add an SEO and Analytics Manager to our incredible team! If you are interested or know of anyone with this expertise, feel free to read the full job description here.

We are often asked why a known domain name was not returned in a Reverse WHOIS report. The answer: all WHOIS record formats vary according to the registry or registrar.

One of the easiest things to do first, if you know a domain name for a target registrant, is to look the domain name up with our WHOIS service.

The detailed WHOIS records we provide will show how the registrant’s name is presented as well as the email he or she currently uses. This should allow a user to know specifically what email address is associated to that registrant as well as how his or her name is listed. This is important to note because the name will either be presented as ‘John Doe’ or ‘Doe, John’. This can make a significant difference.

A helpful shortcut we provide on the DomainTools WHOIS record tab is the Domain Profile as show below. We provide direct links to the Reverse WHOIS for the registrant listed in the record as well as an additional link for the specific email addresses.

Both options will deliver a robust list of domains based on that specific information. However, it may be best to actually add and remove your search terms directly from the Reverse WHOIS interface to see what options work best for you. You will be provided the number of domains we find in our database matching your criteria. Users will note changes to the list by adding and removing terms.

A similar question users have for Reverse WHOIS reports relate to country code TLDs. Users often ask why certain ccTLDs were included and others were not.

Our reports are fairly accurate for  gTLDs including ‘.com’, ‘.org’, ‘.net’, ‘.us’, ‘.info’ and ‘.biz’.

The ccTLDs are a bit trickier. Many governing authorities have different policies for their WHOIS service. Some only provide a basic availability check or limited contact information. We are only able to obtain WHOIS data that is made public. We may not be aware of many domains in ccTLDs unless we’ve discovered them before.

One of the best ways to confirm if we have historical records for ccTLDs is to look it up via our WHOIS site and check the details in the Domain Profile. If there are records and matching registrant data, it’s likely you can find the domain in a WHOIS report list.

If you are unsure about the best way to begin your search or would like assistance please contact our Member Services team at memberservices@domaintools.com.

Elliot Silver, domain industry veteran, posted an good article yesterday about a notice of infringement that was sent to a domain registrant but not a domain owner – read the full article here. He brought up a good point about keeping Whois records accurate and a problems that can arise as a result.

DomainTools receives support tickets from customers with concerns similar to Elliot’s where the email address is accurate and they received a “Notice of Infringement” notification. Alternatively, we’ve noticed opposite situations happen to us where all the Whois business information is accurate but the contact email goes to a typo’d address. Either way, it is inaccurate Whois information and against ICANN policy as a domain owner.

We explain to customers that the proper  process for resolution is to submit an ICANN Whois complaint. You can do this through InterNIC, ICANN’s website for the public. To do this, visit the ICANN Whois Data Report Problem webpage here. As a result of the complaint, the domain owner is forced to provide accurate contact information if the individual wishes to keep the domain. If the domain owner provides that inaccurate contact information, you may use it to file a police report for fraud, serve him or her with a law suit, or take action using some other legal strategy. If the individual does not respond due to fear of reprisal, ICANN may disable the domain name.

Tip: Before reporting inaccurate Whois information to the ICANN Whois Data Report Problem web page, be sure to double-check that the domain name indeed appears to be inaccurate by doing a lookup at the registrar on the Whois record or use DomainTools’ Whois.

ICANN requires registrars to offer domain registrants the ability to update their contact details. Each registrar has slightly different procedures for changing the information that appears on a Whois record. It generally involves accessing account information via the registrar’s website, or contacting a call center representative. Whois record changes may take a period of time (often in the vicinity of 24 hours) to take effect. After submitting your complaint, we suggest that you verify that action has been taken with updated information by checking the domain’s Whois record, of course allowing sufficient time in the complaint process for record changes to go into effect.

Buying and Selling Domains – Advice from the Experts
One of the workshop sessions on Day 2 of Domainfest featured a panel of experts who talked about the best tips and strategies for buying and selling domains. The panel included Michael Berkens, Larry Fischer, Tessa Holcomb, Jason Miner, and Kathy Nielsen. Whether you’re a domain investor, buyer or domains are part of your job description, the session was very informative.

Predictions for the Domain Market in 2011

Among the panel, the first prediction for the domain market in 2011 was that it will continue to grow with new players looking at domains for acquisition, monitization or brand building purposes. The second prediction was that the largest domain sale will likely happen this year, perhaps in the $20-$30 million dollar range.

Here are highlights of some of the best advice they had to share about buying and selling domains:

Selling Domains…

• Keep your Whois information accurate! Buyers are leveraging Whois, and by keeping your contact information accurate, you’ll help maximize your sales (There was a nice shout out to DomainTools.com when the panel spoke about Whois information and the best way to find it!). When buying a domain from someone you may not know or trust, make sure you protect yourself by researching the domain’s history. There are many websites that offer basic Whois lookup information, but DomainTools.com offers extensive historical information including Whois, IP Address (web hosting), Name Server, Registrar and Thumbnail History to help provide a complete view of a domain’s life cycle. Be sure to leverage DomainTools’ Whois for basic DNS checks.
• Provide a Ballpark Selling Price. If you want to sell your domain, the experts recommend starting with a buy it now price or at least start with some type of price point. This is more attractive for small and medium businesses in particular who are looking for a negotiation starting point and it also gives them a stronger sense of trust. If you simply have a ‘make an offer’ option, it may be more intimidating for those smaller and medium sized businesses to take the first step and approach you.
• Get your Domain in Front of Multiple Outlets. It’s strategic to extend your distribution points (again, make sure your Whois information is updated).
• For Larger Domain Sales, Go with an Escrow Company and Draw Up a Contract. These services protect both the buyer and seller. Escrow.com is an escrow company to look into, and you might also seek the guidance of a domain lawyer.
• Negotiating a Sale? It’s All About Speed to Market. As a seller, be sure to name your price, provide a link at the top of your domain’s page, and be quick to respond to parties of interest since many buyers are simultaneously looking into other opportunities.

Buying Domains…

• Do your Research and Investigate What’s Going On with Keywords and Extensions. It’s a must –  you need to nvestigate what is going on with other keywords and extensions to see if it might be worth your time and investment. Example: if you’re interested in purchasing a .co domain name, see how popular it is with a .net or .com extension to see what traffic it’s driving.
• To Buy or Not to Buy? Ultimately, choose a vertical or find domains you are interested in so you know facts and figures well. Also look at CPC (cost-per-click) trends and other domain sales numbers in your industry over the past year, and also trust your gut.
• There is a Strong International Buying Market. Kathy Nielsen of Sedo shared trending information: .de and .eu are some of the most popular ones to invest in.
• Diversify Your Portfolio. Like investing in stocks, it’s good to diversify your holdings. You can still register many good .co domains, and the buying market for .tv is also doing well (according to Sedo).
• Domain Brokerage Services: Good for Higher Priced Names. Constant feedback, goal to generate lots of interest among many parties bidding in name.
• Domain Investing Newbies Who are Looking to Get Started:Look at Name drops. Some registrars drop into certain places (example – some drop with snapnames.com so you’ll want to check there), others drop at certain times. If you want more guidance, work with an adviser or broker who can walk you through the process of name drops.
• Popular Categories for Buying and Selling Domains are in Health, Fitness, Finance and Gaming. Look at google traffic and SEO rankings.
• Heavily Consider the Brand Value of TLDs. Also, heavily consider the content (if it is built out) as this will impact the long term value.

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Have you uncovered Santa’s Favorite Whois yet?

About SantasFavoriteWhois.com
Every year Santa has to check the files of millions upon millions of people to determine whether they have been naughty or nice. With such an enormous volume of data, and with such potentially dire consequences riding on each of those determinations, Santa uses only the best, most dependable research tools available.

One of Santa’s favorite tools is DomainTools’ Whois Lookup, which allows him to search historical data on who has been naughty or nice. DomainTools makes it quick and simple to identify email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, and additional records of all who Santa needs to research.

To find out more about Santa’s entire toolset, visit DomainTools.com.
Ho, Ho, Ho! Happy Holidays!

Many of the key issues in discussion at the ICANN meeting in Cartagena December 5-10 have been well reported on, such as new gTLD program or .XXX sTLD approval, since the conclusion of conference last week. If you have never attended an ICANN conference, or you only follow current news updates of the major undertakings, then you may not be aware of the prolific amount of sessions that take place during the week-long ICANN conference. Topics vary wildly from technical policy and protocols to budget and operational discussions.

The sessions surrounding Whois policy and evolution was a topic of interest that I follow. One session in particular went into great detail about ‘What is Whois” and the definition of this. The Whois term is used in casual conversation with the assumption by many that it is referring to domain name registration data. However, if you listen to the first 20 minutes of the transcript from the session, the lesson learned was that the definition of the term Whois truly depends on the audience.

As riveting as the 20-minute discussion was about determining how and when to use the term Whois, the crux of the matter discussed later in the session is that the 25+year old protocol dating back to ARPANET era is in desperate need of revision. The Whois protocol has had small updates over the years. And, as the Internet has advanced, the Whois service has not. This is very apparent in Internationalized Domain Names (IDN). The ability to support local languages or scripts on input and output in domain name information registration data must evolve with Internet. This requires the advancement of Whois.

At DomainTools, being the largest aggregator of domain name registration data, we pride ourselves in striving to have the most accurate, up-to-date information. We are very supportive to the advancement of WHOIS, and improving local language support in both WHOIS data and Domain Names (IDNs).

Make Your Whois Work for You

DomainTools is known for its depth of data on domain names, including the Whois record, hosting information, SEO stats, and registration details. All that data can be overwhelming, especially when only certain pieces of it may be important to you. Everyone has their own way of analyzing data on a domain, and it can be annoying and unproductive when you have to scroll down a page and search for the information you need.

The recent switch to tabs on our Whois page helped people discover data that would have been lost in a long list of stats in the old version. After the launch, we received quite a bit of feedback, both positive and negative, sharing with us that the ong list was indeed difficult to deal with, but now they had to click through multiple tabs to find what they wanted. We learned that each of them had their own personal list of what they wanted to see, and everything else was mostly noise.

We put our heads together and came up with a spiffy tool we’re calling “My Whois”. Our members can now create their own format of a domain record that contains only the information that’s important to them. That tab will then become the default when you load the Whois page so you can quickly repeat searches for other domains.

This powerful feature is available to all registered DomainTools members. Simply log into your account, create your own custom My Whois and start working more efficiently and effectively.

Upon initial launch, the section contains instructions on how to use the tool.

Do a Whois search, navigate to the section(s) of interest, roll over data sets initiating “Add to My Whois” option and select it to populate into your custom My Whois view.

For instance, if you like having the list of available general TLD’s visible at all times, after you log in to your account, click on the “Registration” tab, move your mouse over the new “General TLD” section, and click the green plus sign to add it to the My Whois tab. Now you’ll have it visible each time you load a domain (just like in the old days!).

Going forward, all searches will contain this data in the My Whois view. The Green Checkmark next to the data set depicts this.

Organize the data in importance to you. Roll over data sets in My Whois to initiate ‘Sort My Whois’ and move the data up and down in the record, setting it up to work best for you.

If you no longer need quick access to this data, though, it is easy to remove from My Whois. Again, roll over the data set initiating ‘Remove from My Whois’ to select and remove from your custom view.

A custom domain record is now set and is the default view of logged in members.   Similar to the example below of My Whois DomainTools.com data selected, members have complete control over what and how they want to see domain data. Create the view that works best for you.