After registering a new domain, the contact information of the site owner is put on display on the WHOIS database for the public, which means anyone with or without hidden agenda can just look up your website’s address and see your personal data – that includes personal numbers, address, website information, and yes, your full name.
This is especially risky for small business owners working using their personal address as base of operations – a place where privacy is important. To quickly extinguish the risk or see what personal data can be used against you, you can check the WHOIS database yourself. A domain privacy add-on is always available from domain name and/or hosting providers.
What is this “WHOIS?”
Pronounced “who is”, WHOIS is an online system that allows the public to see the name and contact information of a registered domain (website) name. Every time an entity registers a new domain, the registrar requires contact information, most of which is mandated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This information is uploaded in the Whois Database, which is available for anyone to view via Whois lookup tool like the one at Crazy Domains. All that’s needed is a website address to search for.
As stated earlier, you can protect your details from the public by acquiring a domain protection add-on. Registrars who offer this service do so for a small cost. After application, when someone looks up your details in the WHOIS database, only the registrar’s details will be shown instead of your own.
Consequently, this service safeguards your data from getting into the wrong hands, reducing junk mail or limiting the risk of having your identity stolen. This malicious use of personal information is widespread, and It can happen to anyone regardless of the size of organization.
Regrettably,most people think of it as just another “add-on” feature upsold by domain registrars. This is one that you should really consider even if you’re in the habit of automatically saying no to account upgrades. Without domain privacy, you could do more harmthan good to your site and your personal security.
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Do you need domain protection?
As stated above, WHOIS is a public database that lets anyone look up a domain’s owner and his other personal information. The details of all domain owners, big or small are considered public information. When you purchase a domain, your domain name’s registrar is required to report pieces of your information about for the public record.
If you don’t want your contact information readily available, purchasing privacy protection from your domain registrar through reliable providers like Crazy Domain makes perfect business and yes, personal sense.
In the end, domain privacy is not a requirement nor a necessity; if it’s not important to you whether people know your personal information, then it doesn’t matter. If your name is on your website with your address, there’s no point keeping domain name ownership secret. People will just assume that you’re the website owner.
Contact information available online for big businesses isn’t much of an issue. However, individuals and smaller businesses working from home will benefit best from having their sensitive information hidden. Without WHOIS Privacy, marketing spammers ad even identity thieves can use your information readily. You don’t want your inbox flooded with internet marketers, your phone buzzing through the day with sales calls, or getting surprised that your identity is used somewhere else.
