Oops.

Did you miss techbunny.com for a bit yesterday? So did I! Turns out time flies when you are blogging and I let the renewal of my domain slip away. Ouch.

Don’t know why I didn’t get an email reminder, but I was renewed pretty quickly and after a few hours everything was back to normal. But while I was logged into my domain registrars website (I use DotEasy) I figured I’d check out some of their domain management features.

First on the list is “Domain Lock”, which is an annual paid service that blocks requests to transfer the domain to another registrar or hosting company will automatically fail. This can be used to help prevent domain theft, hijacking or other fraudulent transfers of domain names. I usually pass on this service, because email confirmation and authcode requirements should make it pretty difficult for someone change domain registrars without notification.

In addition, if you are using a private registration service, transfer requests will likely fail. Private registration masks your personal information from WHOIS searches and the like. Private registration is sometime free depending on your hosting package, so I make sure to keep that on. The ones that allow you to keep official control of your domain name and just mask the information are the best. Seems worth it from an identity protection standpoint too.

Finally, check to see if your registrar offers automatic domain renewal. Obviously, every registrar would love to keep your business and automatic renewal is handy offering to make that happen. I turned it on for my domain after this week’s oversight and remember to mark my calendar so I won’t make this mistake again!