Domains: September 2008 Archives

Moniker has launched a new service to help domain holders protect their domains from hijacking and other issues.

Maxlock, which retails at $59.95 per domain per year is aimed at offering domain holder peace of mind, as very stringent security checks are used to validate account changes:

Unauthorized transfers - often times a result of shared accounts, employee errors, high-jacked email accounts, automated transfers or pushes by domain marketplace distribution networks - represent a significant risk to businesses and can cause substantial damage to business operations and revenue

MaxLock presents a robust and effective solution to this ongoing challenge in online business. Unlike a standard registrar lock, with MaxLock^TM, domain assets cannot be transferred or pushed to another account without a thorough off-line validation and account verification process performed by the Moniker security team.

Monte Cahn, head of Oversee's Aftermarket and Registrar Division, said the division will continue to emphasize development of products and services that give domain registrants, buyers and sellers the confidence to bring business to Oversee. "Safety for domain assets is critical, and MaxLock^TM is the best service available for anyone who wants iron-clad protection for their names," he said. "Over time, Oversee's companies will continue to make available the tools anyone involved in the industry needs to conduct business efficiently and safely."

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Jackie Liu's post on CircleID raises some very interesting questions, though whether or not any answers will be forthcoming or not is a totally different matter.

While a lot of ccTLDs are dropping their wholesale rates others are raising them (or have raised them).

The problem, as Liu points out, is that registrants aren't consulted about the price hikes or given any other options for their existing domains. End result. They either "bite the bullet" on the new pricing or simply let their domains expire.

Of course, if the price increase were only a matter of a couple of dollars it wouldn't be much of an issue. You could argue that a price increase might bring a better level of service of stability to registrants and registrars alike.

But what about price increases of several hundred percent?

Is that reasonable?

Liu has contacted ICANN about the situation, but I doubt that this will have much impact, as ICANN's role in relation to ccTLDs is very different compared to its role (and mandate) with respect to gTLDs. Of course I could be completely mistaken...