Privacy protected domain registration

Domain names -- the names of websites, like "google.com" or "mywot.com" -- must be registered to assign ownership of the domain name to the proper party and to make sure anyone trying to visit the website with that domain name will be able to find it. The registries for domain names set rules for their respective registrations. Some of the most commonly registered domains are those ending in .com, and the registry for those requires the registrant's name, address, and email address to be public.

That's helpful for contacting someone if there is some emergency affecting his website, but it also provides spammers a rich source of email addresses to harvest. In response, most registrars offer the option of privacy protection, or proxy domain registration.

In a privacy protected domain registration, the domain owner allows the proxy registration company to register the domain in its own name. Ideally, the registrant's rights are protected by the terms of the agreement with the proxy company. But when all is said and done, the registrant does NOT own his own domain name. The proxy registration company does.

Proxy registrations may be perfectly appropriate for noncommercial websites like family photo sharing sites or personal blogs. However, when sites that collect personal information on visitors are unwilling to reveal their own information in their domain registration, it casts doubt on how trustworthy they are. In addition, since no one would use a proxy registration for a highly valuable domain, it also casts doubt on whether the domain owner intends to be in business long enough to build brand recognition.

If you are a business that collects money, mails product and accepts returns, you have a mailing address. Use it in your domain registration. It just works out better in so many ways.