Sledgehead Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 My experience of domain registrars is limited and seeing as I'm thinking of registering another domain I wonder what experiences the folks here have, good or bad. Will be using it for simple mailbox purposes (which will hopefully not be scanned to buggery to provide an advertising revenue for the registrar or is that simply too much to ask for?). Do folks have experience of domain privacy services? Is it worth paying extra for? Does it keep the slammers and spammers at bay? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Unless things have changed a lot, there are many decent registrars, but also some to be avoided. I've used Gradwell since I first escaped the clutches of Notwork Solutions, the former monopoly registrar now owned by Verispam. Good service at a fair price. I don't use their mail services, but a good friend does, and is very satisfied with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 I found Bluehost - http://www.bluehost.com/- in the US to be very good. They operate a domain privacy service - meaning your name will be hidden if you so wish. Once it is set up your have a very easy to use control panel that allows you changes settings, privacy, etc. I was able to set up a variety of email addresses using their control panel and never had any problem with them being spammed. You pay a bit more - not much - for domain name privacy. Bear in mind this is domain name privacy as opposed to a secure domain. If you have a look around the web and twitter there are often discount voucher codes for signing up. Hostgator is also widely respected. Again, in the US. InMotion hosting is supposed to be good but I have not used it. http://www.wpbeginner.com/wordpress-hosting/ Just bear in mind that the US changed the law a few years back about domain name privacy. Some firms state that they will make you name private but if a law agency asks for it they will give it. Others claim that they will never give but... go figure :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Forgot to say, I llike the US hosts best because their Constitution seems to offer better safeguards than UK law - especially when it comes to cancelling a service. I had a UK hosting firm years ago and when I cancelled the feckers just kept on billing. They kept changing the rules about how and when you could cancel - there are literally hundreds of complaints about that particular ISP. Once they get your credit card details they keep billing you. I, like many, got all sorts of legal threats from them despite cancelling twice. In the end I had to send them recorded delivery letters and change my bank account details - even then, a year later, they tried to bill me again. It only stopped when I threatened them with court action. Because of this I would not use a UK ISP again. When I have cancelled Bluehost in the past it was as simple as a couple of clicks to close my account and ask them not to bill me any more. Apart from a few emails offering me discounts to return there was no harrassment from them. So I like the US ISPs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted May 9, 2015 Author Share Posted May 9, 2015 Cheers guys, thanks for the input. Will defo look into all of the above. Take your point about privacy TMT - don't expect Uncle Sam to be kept out but was kinda hoping that home address, email etc could be kept from whois skimmers. My understanding is that some registrars hand over such details to anyone who bothers to contact them. I guess the truth behind that is best discovered by attempting the same ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Cheers guys, thanks for the input. Will defo look into all of the above. Take your point about privacy TMT - don't expect Uncle Sam to be kept out but was kinda hoping that home address, email etc could be kept from whois skimmers. My understanding is that some registrars hand over such details to anyone who bothers to contact them. I guess the truth behind that is best discovered by attempting the same ... Yep, Bluehost offer that. Not sure about the others any more. I think Hostgator also offer it. Edit: Just make sure that you click the domain name privacy option - and pay a bit more - when you set up the account. No point in doing it after you have created the account as, well, by then it will already be too late and the domain name record will be immediately created and published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveinHope Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Gandi.net I've been using them since they very first started, no complaints. They stick up to their claim. Depends what you need though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepLurker Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Gandi.net I've been using them since they very first started, no complaints. They stick up to their claim. Depends what you need though. Another vote for Gandi here. Simple. Works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMark Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 If you're looking to get some domains registered perhaps with a view to building websites later to use with those domains and you just want basic email services in the meantime, maybe thrown in with the package or for a few quid then there are plenty of candidates. I've found Heart Internet to be trustworthy and reliable. My only advice is to avoid 123-Reg and Fasthosts. Their tech is based somewhere in Gloucestershire which floods in heavy rain. The DNS is not redundant, it is all hosted there. So when the data centre floods, as it did indeed last year, your domain will be offline regardless of where it is hosted. And that wasn't the first time it happened. It won't be the only company which doesn't have backup DNS hosted elsewhere but it is the only one I know of in the UK on a flood plain. Fasthosts has an absolutely horrific reputation for sharkish behaviour and charging practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Forgot to say, I llike the US hosts best because their Constitution seems to offer better safeguards than UK law - especially when it comes to cancelling a service. Doesn't work like that. If a US company wants to **** with you, they will. I don't know what in their constitution you're talking about, but in any case it won't protect you unless you're american AND can afford to fight them in the US courts - which might easily mean tens of millions of dollars. Leaving Notwork Solutions was a serious ordeal involving a lot of hassle and expense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEATH Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 A lot seem to change the auto renew setting from no to yes then charge you for those crap domains registered when pissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 My only advice is to avoid 123-Reg and Fasthosts. Their tech is based somewhere in Gloucestershire which floods in heavy rain. The DNS is not redundant, it is all hosted there......Fasthosts has an absolutely horrific reputation for sharkish behaviour and charging practices. Gem of a piece of info. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 ...unless you're american ... Leaving Notwork Solutions was a serious ordeal involving a lot of hassle and expense. kinda wondered whether you needed to be american to benefit from american consumer protection... makes sense - cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 A lot seem to change the auto renew setting from no to yes then charge you for those crap domains registered when pissed. Methinks Mr Death is talking here from personal experience. I think we'd all like to know what kind of domains he's been registering while under the influence: www.reaping.com? www.salmon-mousse.com? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habeas Domus Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Domain registration is pretty cheap these days, but I think you should avoid the very cheapest companies they usually spell trouble. I would add GoDaddy to the list of registrars with some rather questionable practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 I would add GoDaddy to the list of registrars with some rather questionable practices. Good grief. All the big names. Am I mistaken for imagining these self-same companies ought to have the most to lose from reputational impairment? Seems like "big six" disappointment is a worldwide phenomenon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheBlueCat Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Domain registration is pretty cheap these days, but I think you should avoid the very cheapest companies they usually spell trouble. I would add GoDaddy to the list of registrars with some rather questionable practices. I think GoDaddy have cleaned up their act in recent years. I've used them for a couple of things and it was fine - no dubious billing or anything. Having said that, I think there are better choices all the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveinHope Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Easily does not live up to it's name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Easily does not live up to it's name. So then it's ... not .... a 'Daddy' ... and ... he doesn't 'Go'? :-) the story behind the name - http://www.bobparsons.me/archive_article.php?entry_id=9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveinHope Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 So then it's ... not .... a 'Daddy' ... and ... he doesn't 'Go'? :-) the story behind the name - http://www.bobparsons.me/archive_article.php?entry_id=9 Was referring to the company 'Easily' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 GoDaddy went to IPO last year didn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I would never use Fasthosts again. It was a stressful period leaving them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMark Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I would never use Fasthosts again. It was a stressful period leaving them. There are so many people with that view. They're like another BT. Case in point - "£x monthly". It bills every 30 days. When challenged on this: "It's right. It's a lunar month." A quick Google during the conversation reveals that 1. There isn't a single definition of 'lunar month' and 2. None of them are exactly 30 days. That most would expect "per month" to mean "per calendar month" was rejected as an argument. That's the sort of thing Fasthosts do. Or, did. Maybe they're better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Was referring to the company 'Easily' Ah, my bad. And thanks for the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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