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Hiwaay dbTech

Domain Registration Q & A

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is your Internet identity and unique online brand. Customers will remember and use this address to find your Web site, your products or your services. When you type in a domain name; for example: www.dbtech.net; into a Web browser or send e-mail to someone at dbtech.net, the Domain Name System (DNS) translates dbtech.net into the Internet Protocol (IP) numbers used by the Internet to locate destinations and connects you to dbtech.net.

It is also possible for a Domain Name to exist but not be connected to an actual machine. This is often done so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail address without having to establish a real Internet site.

What are the Roles of the Domain Contacts?

Registrar (or "Domain Name Registrar"): A business that is given permission to register domain names on behalf of anyone wishing to obtain one. Registrars must be accredited by ICANN, and are only given permission to registrar certain top level domains. Registrars collect fees, maintain record information, and manage registration, re-registration, and expiration of domains. dbtechnology, Inc is an Authorized (RSP) Registration Service Provider for the Registrar Tucows.

Registry: A database that contains information about every registered domain name. Different registries exist for different TLDs. When you register a domain name, all the information for that domain, including registrant, name, expiration, etc. is stored in the registry’s database.

Registrant: The individual or business who registers a domain name. The registrant is accountable for the fees and conditions specified by the registrar.

Administrative Contact: When registering a domain name, the administrative contact must be provided to the registrar when completing the registration form. The administrative contact is the individual who is responsible for acting as the primary contact. The administrative contact does not necessarily need to be able to manage the technical aspects of the domain.

Technical Contact: When you register a domain name you must specify a technical contact for that domain. This individual will be responsible for any technical issues regarding the domain name. The technical contact may be the same as the billing or administrative contact. A web hosting provider usually performs this role.

Billing Contact: When registering a domain name, the billing contact must be provided to the registrar when completing the registration form. The billing contact is responsible for receiving the bills and paying the registrar any fees.

Name Servers (or Domain Name Servers): A name server, or domain name server, maintains the cross-reference between domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. Name servers are used so that people don’t have to remember long numerical IP addresses.

What Characters Can Be Used in a Domain Name?
  • Letters
  • Numbers
  • Hyphens (they can't appear at the beginning or end of the domain name)

Using any combination of the above, you can have up to 67 characters in your domain name, including the extension (e.g., .com, .net, .org), but not including the www. or http://www.

Characters that are never permitted in a domain name include:

  • Spaces
  • Special characters, e.g. @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) ? "

An example of a valid 67 character domain name is: 67character-domain-names-are-available-services-at-dbtechnology.com

How many Domain Name Extensions are Available?

Here are the most frequently registered public extensions and their common usage, although any extension can be used for any purpose:

 Extension  Common Use  Cost/Year 
.com Commercial, but is commonly used for everything
 $20.00
.net Network, but is commonly used everything $20.00
.org Organization $20.00
.info Information $20.00
.biz Business $20.00
.us United States
 $20.00
.name Personal Web sites $20.00
.cc Cocos (Keeling) Islands $45.00
.tv Tuvalu, but often used for television $50.00

 

.EDU, .INT, .MIL and .GOV have restrictive conditions on who can register names in those domains (respectively, four-year degree granting institutions in North America, organizations that were established by international treaty, the USA military, and the USA federal government).

In addition, there are additional top-level domains .AERO: restricted registration to authentic members of the air transport community; COOP: cooperatives, cooperative service organizations and wholly owned subsidiaries of cooperatives are eligible; MUSEUM: created by and for the global museum community; and .PRO; reserved for the exclusive use of professionals who self-certify their eligibility, and, initially, .pro will offer registrations in three categories: .med.pro (for doctors), .law.pro (for lawyers), and .cpa.pro (for accountants).

How do I Find Out if a Domain Name is Available?

All of the authorized domain name registrars allow the public to conduct free domain name searches. All you have to do is enter the domain name you want into our Domain Lookup - if the name is taken, the Domain Lookup will list the current owner's name and contact information. If the name is available, you can register the name for yourself.

After I Decide on a Domain Name, What Next?

dbTechnology, Inc. offers Hosting Solutions for your business starting at $19.95 per month (excluding setup fees). We offers plans that are designed for small to medium-sized businesses. Whether you are just starting or need a secure, e-commerce site, we have a plan designed to help your business grow.

What is WHOIS Privacy?

WHOIS Privacy hides the Registrants' identity information in the public WHOIS database which is available for anybody to view on the Web. The benefit of having WHOIS Privacy is that it shields the Registrant's address, phone number and email address from spammers, identity thieves, scammers, telemarketers, etc. When this feature is added to your domain registration, the WHOIS contact information is masked.

When Does My Domain Name Expire?

Your domain name will expire on the same date that it was registered, corresponding with how many years you registered it.

Example: If you registered the name on November 14th 2003 for 1 year (12 months), your domain name will expire on November 14th, 2004.

How Do I Renew My Domain Name?

Your domain name needs to be renewed through the domain registry that it is registered through. If it was purchased through dbtechnology, Inc; you will receive either a notice in the mail or via email. It is your responsibility to notify us if your billing information has been changed. If you do not renew the name(s), it/they will be removed from the root zone file which will cause any Internet Services (email addresses, web site, etc...) associated with the name(s) below to stop working. The name(s) will be DELETED if not renewed. After a name is deleted, it may become available for registration by other parties.

If you are unsure of your registry or how to renew your domain name, please contact our Websales Customer Support Team at websales@dbtech.net.

I Let My Domain Expire, What Now?

In addition to mailed or emailed invoices, domain registration renewal reminder emails are sent to the email address that was used at the time the domain name was registered. These emails are always sent out, without exception, 5 days prior to expiry and -10 days after expiry. The only time you would not receive one of these renewal notices would be if you changed email addresses since the time your domain name was registered, and you never contacted dbTechnology, Inc to request that your Domain Name Account Information be updated. It is also very common that people are under the assumption that they were never sent any type of notice, when actually they HAD received the email(s) and had thrown it out thinking it was Spam.

The domain will begin working within 48 hours of its renewal. We put the domain back into the root immediately, the delay is caused by propagation out from the root.

The domain name can be renewed to original Registrant if renewed before it is 30 days expired. After 30 days it falls into what is called a 'Redemption Period'. If you have any questions on how to renew your domain name, please contact our Websales Customer Support Team at websales@dbtech.net.

How do I Renew My Domain During a Redemption Period?

The Redemption Period is a 30 day, Registry-imposed hold period for domains that occurs after dbTechnology, Inc has instructed the Registry that the domain should be dropped due to non-renewal. Domains will have reached the REDEMPTION PERIOD state if they have been EXPIRED for at least 40 days, were NOT renewed by the owner. Normally domains would be deleted at this point, but the REDEMPTION PERIOD provides the owner with one last chance to recover the domain before it’s dropped and potentially re-registered by a new owner. The Redemption Period provides a final opportunity for registrants to Renew a domain they did not intend to let expire. No matter who your domain name is registered with, you will encounter this fee and the fee can not be waived.

It is a new policy started by ICANN and the Registry Operator, Verisign, which can be seen here .

During the Redemption Period the Verisign Global Registry WHOIS will show the domain status as "REDEMPTIONPERIOD" or "PENDING DELETE RESTORABLE".

The Redemption process is costly, both in fees ($80USD) and in effort. Registrants should be discouraged from using the Redemption Period and encouraged to renew domains before expiry or during the grace period when a renewal can be conducted with the registry in real time and for no additional cost.

Domains are still deleted from our database at the 40-day mark, and if you are interested in getting this domain name back, here is what it will take:

  • Remit payment for the Domain Name for $80 (per domain) + a one year renewal at your normal renewal pricing ($20 per domain).
  • The domain can only be reverted back to the original Registrant (original whois information).
  • It will take approximately 2-3 business days to complete the entire process.

Of course, there is always the option of waiting out the entire grace period, which would be approximately 40 (Post Expiry Grace period) + 30 (Redemption Period) + 6 (Pending Delete period) = 75 days.

The best way to avoid encountering this fee is to stay on top of your domain name's renewal. Feel free to contact our Websales Customer Support Team at websales@dbtech.net if you have further questions.

How do I Transfer My Domain to dbTechnology?
Please refer to our Transfer Domain page.
I have received a bill from someone other than dbtechnology.

If you receive renewal notices by mail, be careful! Slamming is a term that was first used in the long distance telephone industry. In the long-distance business, slamming is the practice of changing your long-distance carrier without your consent. Recently, more domain registration service providers are resorting to the practice of sending notices by postal mail that look confusingly like a renewal notice or invoice.

Solicitations have come from the following firms, and will expand the list as more are noted:

  • Domain Registry of America
  • Liberty Names of America
  • Register.com
  • ICLS.net

You absolutely SHOULD NOT send any money to the above listed companies in order to renew your domain, as dbTechnology, Inc is your Domain Registry Provider. If you have already sent money, we suggest contacting your bank or credit card company regarding your options of having payment stopped or reversed. "Domain Registry of America" has just recently been investigated by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). A Court Order requires payment of consumers redress and prohibits future deceptive conduct.

If you have any questions or are in doubt about unsolicited email messages or US postal mail regarding your domain name, please do not hesitate to contact us at websales@dbtech.net or look it up yourself using our Domain Lookup.

02:20pm, 5/9/08
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