http://www.domainsandhost.info/index.php en-US http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/domain-name-auction.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:31:47 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/domain-name-auction.php
With the development of the Internet, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) has emerged as the industry standard term which describes the delivery of automated news feeds over the web.

Jason Richards, global vice president, information services, Torex, commented: "Following our review of our digital assets, we've concluded that the domain name RSS, while having significant value in the marketplace, is not totally indicative of the Torex product, support and service offerings on a go-forward basis. Rather than maintaining this asset, we feel that it is better suited for a company in the media, publishing or entertainment sector where it should have stronger market appeal. Sedo is the ideal partner for us to announce its availability and oversee its sale."

Nora Nanayakkara, director of business development at Sedo, commented: "It's not often a name with such pertinence comes onto the market. As well as being short and memorable, the name has a widespread meaning. It's a fantastic opportunity for an online media company to acquire it and grow its readership."

With over 3,810,000,000 page results for "rss" in Google, businesses can use the name as a powerful asset to attract new customers, boost search engine rankings and grow online advertising revenues. Since being parked and monetised through Sedo, the name averages 20,000 unique views a month.

Rss.com is planned to go up for auction on www.greatdomains.com in October with a $750,000 USD reserve. Buyers can submit their interest either by contacting Sedo directly or by visiting www.sedo.co.uk and searching for the Internet domain name.

    
    Top 10 domain names sold by Sedo:

    1. Vodka.com (USD$3m)
    2. Chinese.com (USD$1.1m)
    3. Invest.com (USD$1.015m)
    4. Website.com (USD$750,000)
    5. Telecom.com (USD$700,000)
    6. Annuity.com (USD$600,000)
    7. Blue.com (USD$500,000)
    8. Villas.com (USD$478,000)
    9. Gibraltar.com (USD$ 360,000)
    10. Sport.co.uk (USD$265,000)
Tags - domain , auction ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Beware-of-Online-Brand-Scams-and-Frauds.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:20:40 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Beware-of-Online-Brand-Scams-and-Frauds.php
We can work more efficiently, conduct financial business, enjoy recreational reading, socialize and perform a host of other tasks -- all online -- much faster and more easily than ever before.

Yet, the Internet has also provided an almost unguarded playground to allow thieves and other criminals to develop and unleash sophisticated scams and frauds on unsuspecting users.

This conduct shows up in the almost unlimited amount of Internet scams and frauds active at any point, yet because of the nature of the Internet, it is almost impossible for a small business, consumer or e-commerce attorney to stay up-to-date. That's because the scammer's arsenal is almost without limitation. He or she may use a well-known brand or logo to lure users into an identity-theft trap. He or she may attempt to play off of a recent disaster in an effort to trick users into making a donation to a fraudulent entity disguised as a legitimate relief organization.

Regardless of the tactics or motives, businesses and consumers should always be mindful that scams and frauds can appear in almost any place on the Internet -- from e-mail to social networking sites.

While it is nearly impossible to address and identify all the scams and frauds that may be active at any one time, the list below provides an overview of some of the more common flimflams infecting the Internet.

E-commerce attorneys may learn from this article not only how to recognize these scams and frauds, but also be able to recognize the characteristics of one so that he or she will be better equipped to identify other scams and frauds today and tomorrow -- and be prepared to advise clients.

COMMON SCAMS AND FRAUDS INVOLVING BRANDS

By using a well-known brand in the scam or fraud, the scammer is able to take advantage of the good will and reputation a company has developed in that specific brand. With the amount of brand bombardment that occurs in marketing today, use of a brand for fraud makes the perfect bait.

Cybersquatting

This is the bad-faith registration and use of a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to another party's trademark. Bad faith, while not limited to a specific behavior, commonly is done with the intent to divert Internet traffic from the mark owner, offer the domain name back to the mark owner for a price higher than the registration cost or disrupt the mark owner's business -- or a combination of these rip-offs.

While use of the domain name may vary, many times it is used for phishing schemes or to resolve to Web content for competing goods and services, pornography, sponsored advertising links, counterfeit products or various assortments of packages of these.

The targeted domain names go well beyond just those that are identical to the brand. For example, suppose my hypothetical company is named PeirceBev and I sell sports drinks. Some of the variations on my brand that are likely to be sought after by cybersquatters may include:

• Plurals and hyphens (peircebevs, peircebeving, peircebev);

• Business designations (peircebevcorp, peircebevinc, peircebevco, peircebevllc);

• Product designations and characteristics (peircebevdrink, peirce bevpop, peircebevcola, peircebevorange, peircebevsoda, peirce- bevthirst, peircebevdiet);

• Geographic designations (peirce bevamerica, peircebeveurope, peircebev123, peircebevphilly, peircebevjersey, peircebevusa);

• Typosquatting and phonetics (peircebevcom, wwwpeircebev, pearsebev);

• Negatives and positives (peircebevsucks, peircebevstinks, peircebevlawsuits, peircebevlawyers, peircebevproblems, ihatepeircebev, ilovepeircebev); and

• Other variations (mypeircebev, ourpeircebev, drink-apeircebev, peircebevforum, peircebevchat, peircebevblog, peircebevgroup, peircebevdiscussion, peircebevmeeting, peircebevclub, peircebev1).

Fraudulent Domain Name Transfers

In this scenario, a scammer attempts to trick a domain-name owner into transferring its domain name to the scammer. While the technique may vary, a common approach is to send a deceptive e-mail notice to the domain-name owner with the hope that the owner will approve the fraudulent transfer request.

A close variation on this scam is what is called "domain-name slamming." It is the process in which a competing registrar or other domain-name registration entity sends out an official looking "renewal notification" notice to a domain-name owner. The sender's hope is that the domain-name owner will believe that the notice is official (perhaps coming from the owner's registrar or a governmental agency), respond as requested in the notice and, as a result, have its domain names unknowingly transferred to the sender's maintenance system.

Domain Name Tasting

Here, a domain name is registered for the purpose of judging its value, especially in connection with click-through advertising revenue, during the five-day add-grace period for domain-name registration. If the domain name does not "perform" well during the five-day period, it is often returned for a refund. Many times, the domain names being registered through this practice consist of common misspellings (typosquatting) of brand names and marks.

Domain Name Kiting

In this scheme, the domain name taster engages in a pattern of registering, dropping before the end of the add-grace period and re-registering the same domain name with the intent of never having to pay the registration fee.

Domain Name Spying

This is when a person views or spies on another party's domain name searches to see what domain names are being considered for registration. The purpose is that if the domain names are not registered immediately, the spy will register them, believing that they may have some current or future value. Thereafter, the spy may "taste" and use them for click-through revenue or attempt to auction them.

Domain Name and Keyword Availability Scam

This involves an entity sending a brand owner an e-mail and "informing" the owner that some other third party is about to register a number of domain names and Internet keywords containing the brand owner's mark(s). The brand owner then has the opportunity to block the registrations by having the domain names and keywords registered with the sending entity. The sender hopes, of course, that the brand owner will be concerned enough over the "potential" registrations to authorize the sender to prevent or block the registrations -- which is nothing more than the sender obtaining the brand owner's registration business through deception.

Phishing

Many people have seen this and been amply warned about it, yet it seems ubiquitous. An entity sends out an e-mail or pop-up message falsely claiming to be from a legitimate business or organization, perhaps even one that is familiar to the recipient, such as a bank, ISP or government agency. The purpose of the phishing attack is to trick the recipient into revealing personally identifiable information, access codes or other financial information. The e-mail or message may look very official and include the legitimate company's trademarks and logos. The sending entity's e-mail address (spoofed e-mail) may look as if it came from the legitimate company by incorporating the legitimate company's mark as part of the address. The message may include a link where the URL looks nearly identical to that of the legitimate company's URL. If the link is clicked, it may take the recipient to a Web site that looks nearly identical to the legitimate company's Web site. It is likely that at this site, the scam sender will attempt to collect information from the victim. (For more on personal data protection, see "It Came from the State Legislature: As Federal Data-Protection Legislation Stalls, States Fill the Gap Congress Has Left," in the March edition of E-Commerce Law & Strategy.

A "vishing" scam is a variation on phishing where the scam e-mail states that some account (credit card, bank, eBay, PayPal, for example) has been suspended and that the recipient must act quickly to resolve the issue. Again, the goal of the sender is to gain access to sensitive information like account passwords and credit-card numbers. For example, it was reported recently that vishing e-mails were sent out seeking Google Calendar login information from recipients.

Pharming

This is when a site's traffic is redirected to a fake site, usually unknown to the user, with the common purpose of conducting a phishing scam or for other identity-theft purposes. These can be some of the most deceptive scams online because it may be difficult to know whether or not the site is legitimate, especially if the Domain Name System has been compromised in some manner. DNS is an application that translates domain names to IP addresses, which are then used in the scam.)

Employment Fraud Scams

An entity reviews job-posting sites and sends fraudulent messages to job-seekers, holding itself out as being affiliated with a legitimate company. The job-seeker then is scammed into revealing personally identifiable information as part of the application process, or is lured to a job unrelated to the legitimate company. The scam message will likely include many uses of the legitimate company's brands, including in the e-mail address. The scammer may also post a fraudulent job on a job-listing site with the same intent.

Auction Scam Issues

There are many different types of scams and frauds that occur in connection with auction sites, such as the sale of fake or counterfeit goods, theft of credit-card information and the use of phishing e-mails for fake auctions.

Bogus Humanitarian E-Mails and Sites

In these sting operations, fraudulent e-mails and sites are used in an effort to trick users into making donations to a fake entity masquerading as being related to a legitimate humanitarian organization. These types of scams usually increase in volume around well-publicized disasters and can cause great damage to a legitimate organization's efforts to get donations.

Misuse of Search Engine Keyword Purchasing

Certain search engines allow users to purchase terms, including the trademarks of others, as key words so that when such terms are searched for on the respective search engine, the user's advertisement and link will appear in a prominent position on the search-engine result page. Many times, the advertiser misuses a trademark or name in the text of the advertisement, or on the resulting site in an effort to create a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship or affiliation of the advertiser's goods or services, or both.

OTHER INTERNET CONCERNS, SCAMS AND FRAUDS

Economic Stimulus Payment Scams

According to the IRS, at least two new scams have surfaced:

1. Taxpayers receiving calls from individuals impersonating the IRS during which the caller asks the taxpayer for his or her Social Security and bank-account numbers to complete the payment; and

2. Taxpayers receiving e-mails appearing to come from the IRS that ask for bank-account information for direct deposit of the refunds.

'Nigerian' Money Offer (419) Scams

E-mails claiming to be from some wealthy business person or government official in which these phonies ask for assistance with getting money moved out of foreign accounts (perhaps because of some government conflict or a death), in exchange for the recipient keeping a large percentage.

Work at Home/Turn Computer Into a Money-Making Machine

The software required to do the "job" will often contain malware, spyware or spam-generating software about which the victim is unaware.

Money Mule Scam

Here, the victim takes a job in which he or she will be sent money that needs to be divvied up and resent to other parties (additional scammers). The victim is told to keep a portion of the money. After that, the victim finds out that the money came from an innocent third party who thought he or she was buying something from someone (scammer) on eBay. Now the innocent third party turns to the victim for his or her product. The result is that the scammers used the victim to launder stolen money from the innocent third party.

Fraudulent Grand Jury Summons

These messages look authentic and may contain references to the court, case and jurisdiction. The recipient is then directed to click on a link to download forms that usually contain malware or spyware.

Overpayment Scam

In this operation, the seller-victim has a product for sale. A potential buyer agrees to pay for more than the asking price to cover shipping and handling. Any difference is to be wired back to the buyer. Seller receives a check or money order, ships the product and wires back the difference. The problem, however, is that the buyer's check or money order turns out to be fake and the seller is responsible for the entire amount.

Reshipping Scam

It starts out as an employment scam. The victim is "hired" to receive goods and reship them overseas. The victim receives the goods, and does her job, yet the goods were likely purchased with stolen credit cards. The goods then are fenced overseas and the victim just unknowingly participated in the process.

TIPS FOR FIGHTING INTERNET SCAMS AND FRAUDS

While the scams and frauds mentioned in this article differ in style and appearance, many have similar traits, such as brand abuse or requests for personal information by e-mail. Recognizing the "smell" or the characteristics of a scam or fraud will help assist users identify them even before they are covered or reported on by the press or government.

In addition to recognition, the following recommendations may also be useful in combating scams and frauds on the Internet:

• Check applicable Internet, trademark, deceptive-practice, fraud and related laws for legal options. For example, Section 1125(d) of the Lanham Act (Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act) and The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy provide legal options specific to cybersquatting;

• Visit government Web sites such as those of the FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission, IRS and Federal Trade Commission for information on the latest frauds and scams;

• Use foreign counsel when needed if an international element is present;

• Keep clients educated on scams and frauds that target the company's brands;

• Encourage clients to report fraudulent activities involving the company's brands;

• Keep security software up-to-date;

• Police company brands on the Internet for misuse and abuse, including, but not limited to, domain names, Web content, search engine-sponsored advertisements, auctions and chat rooms;

• Form a response team to handle scams and frauds that attack the company -- IT, management, privacy and legal;

• Explore Web site take-down options when appropriate if the content is being used to perpetuate the scam or fraud;

• Be mindful of issues that may arise in social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, or in virtual world sites such as Second Life;

• Contact local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies when needed.
Tags - fraud,scam ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Go-Daddy-Files-Patent-for-Domain-Tool.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:44:36 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Go-Daddy-Files-Patent-for-Domain-Tool.php
The patent, which lists Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons as the sole inventor of the system, was filed last year, but was not published until this month.

United States Patent Application 20080215716 describes a customer subscription-based service where domain transfer-out notices are automatically rejected. Customers are alerted by a notice that informs them that a transfer-out request was received and ignored. The service can be applied to private registrations.

The patent application for Domain Ownership Protection specifies aspects of Go Daddy's Deadbolt Transfer Protection service.

The service protects users from credit card expiration, failed billing, or outdated contact information, makes it impossible for most transfers to occur, and issues quarterly email updates to keep track of important domain information.

Domain Ownership Protection is part of the company's Protected Registration security offering service, which is priced at $24.99 per year and also includes expiration protection and whois privacy.

With domain theft continuing to become a significant issue, domain registrars are making greater efforts to protect domains.

Moniker (moniker.com) recently released MaxLock (moniker.com/maxlock/), a new service that requires users to provide a government ID number, set-up custom security questions answers, and provide special verification instructions.

These are all then verified offline by Moniker's security team before a domain name is transferred or pushed to another account.
Tags - domain-theft ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Japan-Domain-Market.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:03:48 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Japan-Domain-Market.php ............

Tags - japan , domain , market ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Bank-Names-Already-Cybersquatted.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:25:28 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Bank-Names-Already-Cybersquatted.php Tags - bank , domain , name ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Server-Room-DIY-In-House-Web-Server-Requirements.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:12:14 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Server-Room-DIY-In-House-Web-Server-Requirements.php
You will find the simplest of setups will likely not require much time to get running and will not cost a cent. Yet when reliability and supportability is a must, you'll probably need to make some purchases and invest a good amount of time. The following sections give you a rundown of the hardware and services required or recommended for hosting your own Web server.

Getting a Domain Name for Your Site
If you would like simplified access to your Web server, you'll need some sort of domain name. Without this type of address you could still bring up your Web site up by typing your Internet connection's IP address (for example, 24.210.157.123) into a Web browser. However, for a prettier and easier-to-remember address you can purchase a domain name of your own (for instance, yourname.com). Here are a few places you may consider when purchasing a domain name:

GoDaddy.com
Network Solutions
Yahoo! Small Business
Another option is to sign-up for a free domain name (e.g., yourname.getmyip.com), which we'll call a host name. You would actually be using a sub-domain of a third party's domain name. You can get this type of domain name from sites that offer dynamic IP address redirection services. You'll likely have to set up this type of service anyway if your Internet connection does not have a permanent or static IP address. Residential and lower priced small-business connections typically don't. A few sites that offer this service, including:

DynDNS
NoIP.com
FreeDNS
High-Speed Internet Connection
It goes without saying that you'll need an always-on high-speed connection, like a DSL or cable connection. Take into account the following considerations when choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP):

Port 80: You should check if your ISP lets traffic through this port, since it's the default port used for Web servers. If you find port 80 isn't open, you can use the alternative Web port of 8080 if your domain registrar supports port-level forwarding.
ISP Terms: It's best to see if you can legally host a Web server from your Internet connection; more so if you have residential-class Internet service. Some ISPs may have terms in place that restrict residential accounts from hosting a Web server, which can use a great deal of bandwidth.
Upload Bandwidth: Keep in mind you want the highest upload bandwidth possible for your Internet connection. This upload speed for your connection will be the speed at which people can download files from your server. Even if you're using a residential-class connection that doesn't have a very high upload speed, it's usually enough for an average Web site.
Host Computer to Run the Server Software
You'll need a computer on which to install the server software. We'll call that the host computer. Although the host computer can be used for other day-to-day purposes, it's recommended to dedicate a computer to be the one hosting the server. When the host computer is shut down, logged off, or crashes, you and others on the Web will not be able to access the site.

Here are some decision that must be made when setting up your host computer:

Windows or Linux: You'll need some sort of operating system (OS) on the host computer. We'll be discussing using both Windows and the Linux distribution Ubuntu in this tutorial. You want to choose the OS that supports the scripts or Web applications (if any) you'll be using on your Web site. For example, Windows exclusively supports ASP and .NET scripting languages and MS SQL, ODBC, and Access databases. Both Windows and Linux support features such as HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and FrontPage Extensions. Unless you'll be running Microsoft-specific applications, Linux is the best bet when it comes to running a Web server due to its reliability and low or no cost. Even if you're totally new to Linux, you'll probably be fine setting up Ubuntu for your host computer.
Network Adapter: You must have the host computer connected to the Internet, either via a direct connection to the Internet modem or to a network. In most cases, a network connection makes the most sense, in which case the host computer must have an Ethernet or wireless network adapter. An Ethernet cable connection is the best way to go since RF interference can cause problems with wireless connections and disrupt the availability of your Web server.
Firewall: Since you'll be opening up port 80 to the World, you must make sure you have a firewall running on the host computer at all times. This will help prevent unauthorized access and infections to your computer or network. If you're using Windows, you can use Windows Firewall; otherwise you can use a third-party firewall solution for either Windows or Ubuntu.
Updates: Remember to always keep the OS of your host computer up-to-date to ensure you're protected from the latest known security holes.
UPS for Backup Power
If you would like your Web server to be accessible during power outages at your office or home, look into getting an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) unit. You plug your host computer, network router, and Internet modem into the UPS. If the power goes out, the battery system in the UPS automatically kicks in, without interrupting your computer and devices, to offer power until the lights come back on or the battery runs out.

What's Next?
Now that we have covered the nuts and bolts of setting up your own Web server, the next installments will go more into the nitty gritty of being your own Web host. We'll go step-by-step through setting up the Apache and Microsoft IIS servers. We'll also cover configuring your router and computer to work with your server.
Tags - hosting , diy ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/MBA-Student-Beats-Chicago-City-To-Chicago2016.com-Domain-Name.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:54:35 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/MBA-Student-Beats-Chicago-City-To-Chicago2016.com-Domain-Name.php
Frayne registered in 2004 the domain name chicago2016.com. He was two years ahead before Chicago launched its bid to host the summer games in 2016. Over the past few years, Frayne got the rights to it together with 40 other online addresses that combine city names and years.

It includes tokyo2016.com. The Japanese capital city is a competitor of Chicago, along with Madrid and Rio de Janeiro for the host city bid to be selected by the International Olympic Committee on Oct. 2, 2009. On Sept. 4, Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, joined the race by filing a bid.

Patrick Sandusky, spokesman for Chicago 2016, told the Chicago Tribune, "We certainly see chicago2016.com as the logical default domain for our site, and we believe having someone else control it is misleading for people seeking information about Chicago's bid."

To settle the issue, the city filed a complaint with an international arbitration body, which is expected to come out with a decision soon. Frayne filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Chicago to stop the arbitration proceeding and protect his stake on the two domain names of chicago2016.com and tokyo2016.com.

Frayne said he launched the portal to be a venue for online discussion of Chicago's Olympic hosting bid. He will open a similar website for Tokyo. "This case represents an important battle for First Amendment rights and the use of the Internet as a forum to foster debate over a topic that deserves to be discussed... I'm not interested in selling, but in public discussion," the 29-year old student of Northwestern University stated in his lawsuit.
Tags - domain ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/SantaRosacom-Sells-for-75k-Sedo-Sells-de-Domain-for-118k.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:06:38 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/SantaRosacom-Sells-for-75k-Sedo-Sells-de-Domain-for-118k.php
Domain investor Chad Wright has a bit more money in his pocket to invest in real estate. As explained in Domain Name Wire’s story a couple weeks ago, Wright listed a handful of his good city and state domain names on eBay to raise money to buy distressed property.

4 of the domains hit their reserves on eBay, resulting in $34,000 in sales:

Oregon.net $11,300
Massachusetts.net $8,100
WestJordan.com $6,998
DesPlaines.com $7,800

Wright told me that he also sold SantaRosa.com for $75,000 after the auction. He also has a sale pending on another domain for $130,000.

Sedo had a big sale this week, selling suchmaschinenoptimierung.de for 84,000 EUR ($118,000 USD). It means “search engine optimization” in German.

Sedo also made some impressive .info domain sales, including strom.info for 21,000 EUR and tarife.info for 10,000 EUR.

Other notable Sedo sales this week include:

jojo.com 25,500 GreatDomains
nanosensor.com 12,000 EUR
doorway.com 10,700 GreatDomains
gantt.com 7,500
iremix.com 6,500 EUR
vector.de 22,500 EUR
gays.be 10,000 EUR
sunny.co.uk 9,000 GBP
seek.info 6,900 EUR
james.co.uk 6,500 GBP
Tags - domain , sedo , sale , sell ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Setting-up-your-own-blog-is-easier-than-you-think.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:03:59 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/Setting-up-your-own-blog-is-easier-than-you-think.php
But it’s hard! I don’t know how to use FTP! CHMOD?!?! php is confusing! what’s CSS?

These are all typical arguments I’ve heard from people in the past when arguing against setting up their own blog under their own URL on a server. We know that setting up a blog on Blogger or WordPress.com is easy, but it doesn’t match a blog under your own name, where you control every aspect.

Naturally it helps that you’re not afraid to try, and sometimes fail along the way, but anyone can do it.

URLs are easy to buy, easy to point

Buying a domain name for your blog is as easy as visiting a domain registrar and typing in the name you want. The hard part is finding a name that isn’t taken, but using sites like Domaintools.com can help there. Once registered, the only remotely scary bit is pointing your URL to your server. Many registrars will offer easy to follow instructions, but all you have to do is find the right option, and usually enter two things, something like ns1.yourhost.com and ns2.yourhost.com, and both will be provided by your host. Not the least bit scary. If you can type, you can do this!

If you’ve decided to buy hosting from your domain registrar (I’d never recommend that you do, but some do), you don’t usually have to point the domain either.

Blog setup is often a click or two away

In the old days, setting up your own blog meant ftping the code base for your blogging platform of choice to your server, playing with permission settings, editing config files, then if you were really lucky and got every step right, you’d have your own blog. The good news is that on most hosts today, you don’t have to do any of that. Wordpress is regularly offered as an install option in Plesk, cPanel and similar offerings, and installing WordPress usually involves a few clicks, and maybe typing in a password you’d like, and an email address for the account. Very, very simple.

If you’re concerned that your host might not offer this feature, check before signing up. Long gone are the days where hosts would kick you off for running a blog, today easy installation of blogs is a selling point.

Themes, FTP! Help!

At this point, everything as been really easy. You have your own domain, you have WordPress set up, and you’re able to post. But not many people will want to stick with the default WordPress theme. This is where FTP steps in, and it’s not as scary as you think.

Can you browse files using Explorer in Windows or Finder on a Mac? Can you move a file from one folder to another? If you can, you already have every skill required to upload a theme to your blog.

I recommend Filezilla for FTP, it’s available for Windows, Mac and Linux, and it comes with a killer price tag of $0, but there are others you can use. If you’re really keen, you can even use Windows itself, with Explorer supporting ftp addresses and logins.

The only things you’ll need: ftp details (usually ftp.mysite.com) username and password. With WordPress, you open the themes directory in wp-content (sometimes your WP install will be buried in httpdocs or user or similar folder). You download the theme, then you drag and drop the theme folder into the themes directory, and let it upload. If you’d rather not drag and drop, navigate to the folder using Filezilla, then click on upload once you’ve got the themes directory open on the right of screen. And that’s it. Might take a few minutes, but there’s nothing hard or scary there. Think of FTP and the folders/ files on your server in the same way you’d look at the same on your computer, and you’ll be fine.

Plugins

Like themes, plugins do need to be installed, in this case to the plugins folder in wp-content. There is usually instructions with the plugin, and there will be two possibilities: upload a file or upload the folder. Do as it says and they will be installed. To activate, go to plugins in the WordPress control panel, and click activate on your plugin of choice.

WordPress today makes it a lot easier to add these plugins to your site, without having to touch any code. If the theme you have installed supports widgets (and many do) all you have to do is go to the widgets tab under design in WordPress, then simply add your plugins where you want them.

There are going to be times where the widget and/ or template doesn’t support widgets. If you just can’t cope with code, I’d recommend sticking to ones that do.

Conclusion

See, it’s not really that hard. There’s no massive learning curve required to run your own blog on your own URL where you have full control. We’ll tackle the coding side in a future post because it helps to know a little, but there is no reason today why you can’t set up your own blog. If you’re reading this, and can turn on a computer and open a file, you can do this.
Tags - domain , hosting , blog ]]> http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/right-domain.php domains and host <admin@yourname.com> Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:37:01 +0000 http://www.domainsandhost.info/post/right-domain.php
Well, you may have your work cut out for you, considering that more than 100 million domains have already been secured.

But that doesn't mean you should settle on just any old moniker for your site. Finding the right domain name takes time and a bit of creativity, say experts.

"There's the right domain out there for everyone," notes Joanne Henig of NY Design Group in Bohemia, which specializes in Web site development, search engine optimization and domain name registration. "You just have to open your mind and try different things."

To get started, try securing your company name first, she suggests. While the exact name may not be available, you might try different combinations of your name.

For instance, if BobsDryCleaning.com isn't available, you could try LongIslandDryCleaning.com or RonkonkomaDryCleaning.com, she says. Having a geographic location in the domain name can help customers find you through search engines, notes Henig, pointing to her own domain, nydesigngroup.com, as an example.

To help brainstorm, jot down about a half-dozen keywords or phrases that best describe your services or products, advises David Montalvo, director of business development for Active Web Group, a Hauppauge-based Internet marketing agency.

Then try different combinations of these words to see what's available, he says.

There is a variety of free search tools you can use to check domain availability, including DomainTools.com, Dotster.com/products/domains, Ajaxwhois.com and Domjax.com.

You can also search for pre-owned names at such sites as Afternic.com and Buy Domains.com, says Phillip Davis of Tungsten Branding, a Brevard, N.C.-based name-development and brand-strategy firm. But keep in mind that these pre-owned names can run in the hundreds to thousands of dollars, adds Davis.

It's less costly finding a domain that hasn't already been taken, he says. You can then claim it through a domain registration site like GoDaddy.com (for a list of registrars see

internic.net/alpha.html). It generally costs anywhere between $7 and $15 annually to register a domain, depending upon the site.

"You can register up to 10 years," says Clint Page of Dotster Inc., a Vancouver, Wash.-based Internet company that offers domain search tools and registration. It charges about $15 annually to register a domain.

It's best to stick to the .com version of a name, notes Page, only because that's what Web surfers typically search under by default. You could purchase the .net or .biz version of your domain name to lock it up from competitors, but it should redirect people to your .com site, he advises.

"You can buy multiple domain names and then monitor where the most traffic is coming from," says Page.

Maura Halligan of AdvantEdge Sales Training Inc. in Massapequa Park has found it helpful owning multiple domain names. In fact, she may secure up to 10 domain names by year end. Most of her domains incorporate either her company name or sales in the keywords, like her site advantedgesales.com.

"Keywords in your URL are your password to success," says Halligan, who worked with Active Web Group to secure her domain names and optimize her site.

Of course, you don't always have to have your industry in your name, says Davis. After all, the name Best Buy was built on a key attribute rather than a single product, he notes. Finally, before securing a domain, you should check if it's not already a trademark used by someone else, advises Aimee Kaplan of Collard & Roe Pc, a law firm in Roslyn. Not every domain name qualifies for trademark protection, she notes, and you may want to consult with a trademark attorney to see if your domain is eligible.

Just don't rush into anything.

"This is something you want to put some time and effort in," says Page of Dotster. "This is your brand identity."

DOMAIN TIPS

Avoid hyphens in a domain name. They're hard to remember.

Try different word combinations. Obvious picks may be unavailable, but consider a company name with endings like Group Inc., Solutions, Agency or Systems, says Phillip Davis of Tungsten Branding.

It's often wise to limit a domain name to 15 characters or fewer, says Joanne Henig of NY Design Group. An exception would be a distinctive memorable name, says Clint Page of Dotster.
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