If you are in the market for a domain name you should not have any problems at all finding what you need. Of course, you may have a great idea in mind just to find out that it is already taken, but most of the time you will be able to find an alternate name that will work just as well.

Domain name registration can be completed through a number of different online services. It is a relatively easy process that should not take up too much of your time. The first thing you need to do is a domain name search. This can be done by visiting any number of sites that offer domain name registration. When you are performing a domain name search you are trying to find out which names are available and which ones have already been taken by somebody else.

After completing a domain name search and finding something that suits your needs you will be able to proceed forward with the domain name registration process. This consists of verifying that the name you want is correct, and then purchasing the domain name. A domain name transfer is then made, and you will then have your very own domain name. You can then find a company that can host your domain name, and proceed to get your new web site up and running.

Domain name hosting companies are also available all over the internet. There are hundreds of sites that will be able to host your newly purchased domain name. In fact, many domain name hosting sites also offer you the ability to run your domain name search through them as well. This will allow you to be able to go through with the domain name registration at the same site that will be hosting your new name. This allows for you to cut back on a lot of headaches because you will be completing everything under the same company. They will then be able to quickly get you up and running.

While running a domain name search, be sure to keep in mind the message you will be trying to convey to your audience. Remember, this is the site that they will be visiting to purchase your products or services. You want to make sure that your domain name is appropriate for the type of site you will be running.

Also, when looking for a domain name hosting company be sure to do your research. Each company offers their own distinct advantages and disadvantages, and each company will offer a different level of service for a different cost.

Overall, domain name registration is not a very difficult task. In fact, it can be very enjoyable if you know exactly what you want.

Copyright © David E Nettey

David E Nettey is the webmaster of http://www.sourceneeds.com and http://www.LyecryNet.com For Internet Business Ideas and Opportunities visit his website http://www.Profits-Web.com

The Federal Trade Commission realizes that the Whois Data Base information can be hidden from view for only $9.00 per year for domain name owners. Many scam website frauds can therefore hide for weeks until a court order is issued to turn over that information. This helps Spammers, Phishers and Identity Thieves pull scams.

But critics say that if people allow their listing then they get bombarded with Spam too. Spammers scour the Whois databases and collect email addresses to Spam us all with. So it is a Catch 22 in that the FTC needs to get to these Spammers websites and find out who-is-who, but privacy people say they are not happy with the Federal Trade Commissions request and cite that the FTC has been unable to stop Spam anyway.

Therefore why is the FTC violating privacy rights, when they are suppose to stop Spam, which has gone up some 3000% since the Federal Trade Commission started to attempt to go after all the Spammers?

Meanwhile, now there is a legal battle brewing and the FTC is looking rather incompetent these days as they had two-lap tops stolen in Scottsdale AZ with 110 personal identification information on of employees? Ouch? So is the FTC on its last leg these days or what? Dah? Talk about incompetence? Consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; www.WorldThinkTank.net/

The Federal Trade Commission is upset that the Whosis Data Base lock-outs for only $9.00 per year when websites renew their domain names is hurting their ability to track down criminals. The Federal Trade Commission claims it has used the Whois database to catch, convict and stop spammers, phishers and spyware culprits.

Unfortunately the Federal Trade Commission has also doctored up sworn declarations, lied in their own declarations under oath and filed these bogus cases with malice and misrepresentation in Federal Courts. (We have legal proof of that statement).

Nevertheless, the Federal Trade Commission contends that it needs this information to protect consumers? Although some say that the FTC has never protected consumers only put out public relations pieces that it has. In fact spam has went up since the FTC started going after spammers.

Recently in Federal Trade Commission stated in a ICANN conference in Morocco [yah, must be nice traveling on the taxpayers money!] that if they did not have use of the database they would not be able to catch spammers of Internet Fraudsters. Some people so distrust the Federal Trade Commission they actually have said that the FTC is the fraudulent group and the reason for the Spammers. Consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; www.WorldThinkTank.net/

As if things can get any worse for the Federal Trade Commission these days now ICAAN wants to restrict the Whois Domain Name Data Base and the FTC says this will make it very hard to catch Internet Scams and Investigate Spammers. It is too bad really that the Federal Trade Commission is so utterly incompetent and has so failed in its mission to stop SPAM.

It appears that they have a bunch of 23-year old investigators who operate above the law there. I have proof of this, so I can say it. Maybe this is why ICAAN cannot trust the Federal Trade Commission anymore, actually who can?

Even the Federal Trade Commission CANNOT trust the Federal Trade Commission as two laptops were stolen with personal Identification on them from a party or parking lot in Scottsdale AR, although they will not tell the public the whole or full truth on the issue.

Nevertheless 110 people had their financial information or personal identification stolen from there. So if the Federal Trade Commission cannot protect them selves, well then they sure as hell have no business in charge of protecting the American people from Identity Theft.

I think they owe many businesses, entrepreneurs and the American People an apology for their incompetence and without that who needs them anyway? What a disgusting organization indeed (in my opinion). Consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; www.WorldThinkTank.net/

Transferring a domain name can be as easy as signing up for a forum or as difficult as recreating the Mona Lisa. Here are some ways to make a transfer go smoother and some key points to remember on the domain name transfer process.

Before you go to your registrar’s home page or call any support number, take a step back and make sure you know what you want to do! I can’t stress this enough: if you are confused as to what you want to do, then you will probably confuse the customer service representative and that’s not good! We are going to assume that you want to take a domain name that’s registered with a certain registrar and move the domain name to another registrar. Please take note that the ONLY thing this accomplishes is that the domain name is now "leased" by a different company, that’s it! This has nothing to do with your website, your email, your DNS, or anything like that! The most common mistake is when someone’s webhost tells them to "transfer" the domain name to different servers. What they are talking about is something called DNS and that’s another article on its own. So if you’re still with me and want to change the registrar of record for the domain name, then please continue.

If you have gotten this far then you probably have another registrar in mind where you want to move the domain name to. That’s great! Many people ask which companies I recommend and from personal experience I would say use GoDaddy or Network Solutions. While the price difference is considerable, they both have different things to offer so it comes down to what you want and what you need.

The first thing that needs to be done for a domain name transfer is the transfer needs to be initiated. The only company that can initiate a domain name transfer is the gaining registrar (the company you want to move the domain to). No one else is able to do this, so either call up the new registrar, or go to their website to initiate the transfer. You will most likely need to set up an account if you don’t already have one which only takes a few minutes. Initiating the transfer is quite easy as most registrars have a very simple online process. While each registrar is different, the process is usually as simple as logging into your account, clicking on something that says "transfer domains", typing in the domain name, and clicking "ok".

Now the transfer is in motion! Here’s what happens behind the scenes to your domain name - it’s important to understand this so you know what’s going on at all times! The gaining registrar sends an email to the admin contact in the WHOIS database for this domain name. In that email, there is a link the admin needs to click on and actively accept the transfer of the domain name. If the admin contact fails to accept the transfer via this hyperlink, the gaining registrar will acknowledge this as rejecting the transfer. The time limit to accept this transfer request is usually around 7 days.

If the admin contact’s email address in the WHOIS record is not correct, then it needs to be updated before anything else. This process can sometimes take a while depending on the account information the registrar of record has in its database. This is a very good reason for initiating a transfer well before it’s due to expire.

Now, if the admin contact approves the transfer request, then the gaining registrar sends a notification to the registry for the domain TLD. The registry checks the status of the domain and tells the gaining registrar if it’s ok to continue or not. In order for a domain name to transfer, it has to be in an ACTIVE status. If the domain is locked, pending delete, in redemption, inactive - anything other than ACTIVE, it will not transfer. This is important to know because most people transfer a domain name when it’s about to expire or just after it expired. This isn’t good because most registrars will deactivate a domain name shortly after expiration which will automatically block transfer requests. And before you ask, yes, they have every right to do this and they do not have to reactivate your domain name for you until you pay them a renewal fee. So make sure you initiate a transfer early - I recommend at least 14 days in advance, but more if possible. The domain name also needs to be registered with a given registrar for at least 60 days. This means you cannot purchase a domain name and then transfer it to another registrar of record in less than 60 days. You also can’t transfer a domain name, and then transfer it again within 60 days.

If the domain name is in an ACTIVE state and has been registered for more than 60 days, the registry informs the gaining registrar that the transfer process will continue. The registry then informs the losing registrar that a transfer request has been made for the domain name.

This part can be tricky depending how your current registrar handles outbound transfer requests. ICANN states that the gaining registrar is the one who carries the burden of proof of authentication. This basically means the gaining registrar is responsible for contacting the correct person (admin contact) and getting their explicit approval for the domain name transfer. The losing registrar does not have this burden, and therefore is not bound to the same specific rules as the gaining registrar. The losing registrar may contact the admin contact, the registrant, an account contact - whoever they deem fit for a domain transfer approval.

The losing registrar has 5 days to respond to the registry. If the losing registrar does not respond to the registry in 5 days, then the registry automatically assume the transfer was approved by the losing registrar. This means that if the contact who received the losing registrar’s email took no action, deleted their email, or chose to ignore it, the transfer request would be considered approved from the losing registrar.

I’d like to point out the potential danger that can be caused here. There is potential for someone trying to take control or ownership of the domain name by initiating a transfer request. If they can somehow get the transfer request to this step, and the contact on record for the losing registrar does not receive the email or takes no action, the transfer will be automatically approved! For this reason, it is always recommend to be with a registrar who has some kind of "domain locking" or "domain protect" feature.

If the transfer is approved, then the losing registrar notifies the registry. The registry then moves the domain name from the losing registrar to the gaining registrar’s account. The registry then notifies the gaining registrar that the transfer has completed and the gaining registrar notifies the person on the account where the domain transfer was initiated.

Is this complicated? Well it certainly can be. However, it’s best to understand this because you’ll be surprised at how many customer service representatives don’t even know the details of this process. And the worst thing you can do is "take someones word for it" when it comes to your domain names! I hope this helped out a few people and remember: lock your domains, always make sure the contact information in both the WHOIS record and your registrar’s account is up to date!

Barry Davis has been in the domain name industry since 2000. He has contributed to the online community and now offers help for people in the domain industry at Domain Name Registration.

Have you ever transferred a domain name to another registrar and then noticed that you never received an extra year to your expiration date? Let me tell you what happened and what actions you can take!

The number one thing you need to realize in this situation is that the additional year is not controlled by the gaining registrar and it’s not controlled by the losing registrar. It’s controlled by the registry!

When a domain expires, the registry gives the losing registrar a grace periond in which they may renew the domain name. During this time, your domain is most likely in a registrar-hold status and can’t be transferred. So, you renew the domain name with your current registrar to get it in an active status again. This renewal extends the expiration date 1 year. So let’s say you expiration date is now in 2008. Then you initiate a transfer to another registrar. The transfer completes and the registry adds another year to your domain name. However, you look and see that it’s still expiring in 2008! What happened?

Well, when your domain is renewed and transferred during the registry’s grace period to the registrar, the registry actually REFUNDS the losing registrar the money for the renewal and takes the renewed year off the domain name. (That’s right folks, the losing registrar has received back the money they paid the registry for the renewal of the domain name.)Then after the registry moves the domain name to the new registrar, it adds a year to the domain name. So your domain was renewed to 2008, then the renewal was refunded to the losing registrar and the year goes back to 2007, then the domain is transferred and a year is added making it 2008 again.

Yet, you have paid for a renewal and paid for a transfer which adds a year! Can you get your money back? Good question! I wish the answer was as easy as you think. There are many registrars who will refund you the renewal fee you paid, but not without a fight. You are almost always going to have to speak with a supervisor, and if possible, talk to the corporate team who handles the "big" complaints. In the end, the registrar might say that you were not paying for the addition of a year, but you paid for the domain name to be set into an ACTIVE status again. It might be a lousy thing to do, but if they define a renewal as adding a year under X, Y, and Z circumstances, you don’t have much of a fight. Your best bet is to get to a higher ranking person in the support center, explain exactly what happened, how it happened, and explain that the registry actually refunded them for that renewal you paid for - all while keeping calm, then you are more likely to get your money back. Just make sure you call the losing registrar and not the gaining one!

Barry Davis has been in the domain name industry since 2000. He has contributed to the online community and now offers help for people in the domain industry at Domain Name Registration.

Your website’s domain name will become your internet "name" so it’s important that you give it some careful thought. A good domain name will help you get more visitors to your website, and better results from them.

The ideal domain name is something that is easy for people to remember. If you can make it short and to the point, while related to what your website offers, that’s the ideal situation.

Long, complicated domain names create too much chance of people misspelling it and ending up on the wrong site.

Your domain name should be relevant to what you offer on your website. If you’re selling swimming pool filters, something like poolfilters.com would be a good option - easy to remember and relevant.

Using your company name as your domain is not always the best option. If you want your offline customers to be able to find your website, it’s a good idea to use your company name.

If you’re looking for new customers on the internet, a domain that is more descriptive of what you offer will be a better choice.

After all, which would you be more likely to visit if you were looking for pool filters - poolfilters.com or abccompany.com?

Most short and simple domain names are already taken, so it can take some searching to find something suitable. Many people choose to use hyphens in their domain names.

This can make it difficult to verbalize your domain name. If you’re telling someone about your site or advertising it on the radio, you’d need to say "pool dash filters dot com". Again, it creates an opportunity for error that you probably should avoid.

Using numbers in your domain name can also make it easier to find a suitable domain, but don’t resort to "cute" names like poolfilters4you.com. In this case, you’ll again have problems trying to verbalize the domain. "Pool filters, the number 4, you (y-o-u) dot com" is a mouthful and just begging for mistakes to be made.

Use a Domain Registrar or Register Through Your Web Host?

Ideally, you should use a separate domain registrar and register your domain name yourself rather than doing it through your web hosting company.

Most web hosting plans include a free domain name, but domain registration is inexpensive and paying a little more to do it yourself can save you a lot of future hassle.

If you ever want to change web hosts and your domain is registered through your host, it can be a lot of work to get them to transfer it to the new host. Plus, some less-than-honest hosts will register the domain in their name instead of yours.

John Lenaghan writes about free web hosting services and other website hosting topics on the Hosting Report website. Find out more at http://www.hostingreport.org

Do you believe in angels?

Of course you do. We all have them. We just have troubles finding them. Sometimes, when we are in big trouble, they find us. Then we’re blessed.

There are a lot of angel episodes. The one I like best is the story of an elderly couple that got caught in a snowstorm. They could hardly see where to drive. Their car ran off the road and got stuck in a snowbank. They could not get out. The temperature was dropping, and they had little food to keep them alive.

They prayed.

And prayed some more.

Out of nowhere came a truck. They saw his lights, big and bright. The truck stopped and three guys got out, dressed only in tee shirts and slacks. They said they would help them. They LIFTED the elderly couple’s car out of the snowbank, put it down on the road, said they were only one mile from the Ajax Motel where they would find food and lodging. As soon as the couple was back on the road and saw the lights of the motel, the truck with the three guys in it sped up and vanished into the snowy night. They were never seen again.

How many times have you wanted to build a business on the Internet? How many times have you worked to build up a website, only to see you had no customers? How many times have you gotten lost along the way? Either the technology was too tough for you to understand, or else the website was positioned in such a way that it received no customers.

Here comes the Angel of the Internet.

There is one word that stands out above all others in describing the Internet. That word is INFORMATION.

95% of all affiliate marketers will "Spend More Money" then they will ever make.

Why? Because they have been misinformed.

The "average" Internet user…

 Can't create a webpage,  Is not sure how to use FTP or even what it does  Can barely type  Has no list of subscribers/customers  Not sure where to start to figure things out Let me put it another way...If the only way you know how to get people to your website is to use some of these worthless methods:  "Safelist" email services  Banner Exchanges  FFA (free-for-all) pages  Web Rings  Button Exchange programs  Search Engines Submissions  Website Rotators  Worst Of All Buying Email Leads

What do You get? A trickle of untargeted website traffic.

It’s worthless - But not hopeless.

We want to help change all of that right here, and now.

85% of all website traffic today comes from the search engines. The other 15% is split up between, email, print, radio, TV, word of mouth, and yes a small amount from the above list.

If your not using the power of the search engines to your advantage then you are losing out.

There is a lot of really good information on the net today to help you tap into this huge market.

How to target your market using keywords, choosing the right domain name, website creation, and let’s not forget the proper way to promote you website.

By taking the time to learn these few things, you can propel yourself into the top 5% of online earners.

Bob Carper is an accomplished engineer, consultant, writer, photographer, and webmaster. He has over fifty (50) years of vocational and consulting experience. He has served as an IT consultant to over 25 state and local governments, as well as numerous commercial accounts. He has authored books and magazine articles on railroading evolution, and presently is very active in a number of railroad historical societies.

Bob is an accomplished webmaster, and has most recently joined with Keith Derr in a new development called "HTML-Secrets." Bob Carper was born and raised in Rochester, NY and is a graduate engineer from the University of Illinois. He should have retired long ago …but the spirit of success just keeps on rolling along

Websites: http://www.html-secrets.net

The Internet has become the biggest business hub. Business entrepreneurs always aim to turn their web venture into profitable and successful ones. Suitable domain names can make their dream come true. If any business wants to thrive on the Internet, it has to have a distinctive domain name. A strong web presence has become mandatory for all businesses to create impression among their potential buyers. Appropriate domain names will help customers identify the businesses in a most convenient fashion.

Businesses intend to disseminate information about their products and service through their websites. So, the domain names must feature in the prominent search engine listings with better rankings. Some domain registration companies offer exquisite domain names for businesses with superb search engine rankings. If you are serious about making it big on the web, it’s advisable to go for those business domain names. Businesses of late are feeling the urgency to grab the best domain names to get the upper hand. None wants to give his or her rivals an undue advantage when it comes to expanding business on the Internet. Thanks to business domain names, your potential customers get to your business quickly. Not only that they will admire your business intelligence.

If you want to realize the full potential of a dominant medium like the Internet, you need to have the power of some outstanding business domain names. Those domain names will offer you exemplary mileage and exposure that you have looking for. Irrespective of the magnitude of your business, if you want to make your presence felt to a widespread audience, you need to have great business domain names. Opting for business domain names is the most professional way to interact with the prospective clients. This is the most viable way to promote one’s products and services to an international audience.

Domain Names For Sale provides detailed information on Domain Names For Sale, Business Domain Names For Sale, Cheap Domain Names For Sale, Top Level Domain Names For Sale and more. Domain Names For Sale is affiliated with Free Domain Name Searches.

There are only two occasions in a domainers lifetime when he cries.

# One is when he lands a super sale with 3 to 5 figures. ~For example when he sells his domain then there are tears of joy in his eyes.

# And other is when the domains get stuck in the portfolio and that $7 to $8 registration fees is also not recovered.

~Another example here is When the huge portfolio which had been build up with lots of investments starts getting expired because there is no money to renew the domains and wait for yet another year.

# But nowadays I am seeing other type of crimes which makes a domainer cry.

~Domains Thefts.
~Domains Bought with generated traffic. (When the domain is in his possession there is no traffic).
~Artificially inflated prices. (In Domain After Market and Auctions).
~Looking at others (This one is a classic. People buy lots and lots of similar domains if they hear that particular keyword sold for XXX.)

Photoshop and even MS-Paint can do wonders with the screenshots of the traffic.

So the moral of the story is to watch out for scams and pitfalls and learn from Mistakes that had been already made by others. There is no need to learn from the mistakes made by us.

Admin of http://www.hotappz.com