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ICANN and domain names

post #1 of 11
3/20/08 at 10:54am
Thread Starter 
I hope someone can help me with a question about ICANN.

I have a website set up 4 years ago with the domain name set-up via godaddy. A co-worker set it up for me since I didn't know how to go about setting up a website.

I got an e-mail from godaddy that says it wants me to click on the links in the mail to ICANN and confirm the name. I guess all the domain name providers are required to send this mail to all their customers about this ICANN thing.

My concern here is whether the godaddy message is phishing or real. Any insights is appreciated!

Thanks, Nelson
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post #2 of 11
3/20/08 at 11:03am

Re: ICANN and domain names

Not being familiar with godaddy other than knowing what it is, you can probably go right to godaddy.com and renew your domain name from there without clicking any link in the email, if you are any bit worried about the source. I'm sure it's godaddy's way of "pinging" active customers/members.

jay
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post #3 of 11
3/20/08 at 11:43am

Re: ICANN and domain names

Hi Nelson - I get an annual confirmation message from my registrar, this is likely legitimate. To be on the safe side, verify the URL that you are clicking on is not spoofed. For instance, when you however over the URL it should not direct you to any site outside of godaddy. I don't believe you will need to take any action if the whois date is up to date. Here is the message I get annually from my registrar.

Dear Valued Customer,

ICANN, the organization responsible for the stability of the Internet,
requires that each domain name registrant be given the opportunity to
correct any inaccurate contact data (WHOIS data) associated with a domain
name registration.

...

If any of the information above is inaccurate, you should correct it.
If all of the information above is accurate, you do not need to take any action.
Please remember that under the terms of your registration agreement,
the provision of false WHOIS information can be grounds for cancellation
of your domain name registration.
If you have any questions or comments regarding ICANN's policy, please contact
them directly at icann@icann.org.

Thank you for your attention.
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post #4 of 11
3/20/08 at 12:05pm
Thread Starter 

Re: ICANN and domain names

Thanks for the replies guys.

Alon, what you posted, while written differently, is pretty much what the godaddy email is saying. The WHOIS data thing was a new term for me! Doesn't soud like a real term!

Jay, I have gone directly to godaddy.com and they do have the ICANN button right on the top of their page so I can go there to do the confirmation of the domain name.

Well, this is more reassurring. I hope more comment who have other experiences, maybe even with godaddy!

I feel better now that ICANN is a real organization.
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post #5 of 11
3/20/08 at 12:28pm

Re: ICANN and domain names

WHOIS data tells you WHO IS the owner, and administrative, billing and technical contacts for the domain.

You can read up on ICAAN at their webssite ICAAN.org.
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post #6 of 11
3/20/08 at 3:16pm
Thread Starter 

Re: ICANN and domain names

Quote:
Originally Posted by nolesrule
WHOIS data tells you WHO IS the owner, and administrative, billing and technical contacts for the domain.

You can read up on ICAAN at their webssite ICAAN.org.

Thanks! WILLDO.
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post #7 of 11
3/20/08 at 3:29pm

Re: ICANN and domain names

It is definitely a good idea to go directly to the GoDaddy site and start the confirmation from there. You just click the ICANN button, enter the confirmation in the email and review the contact info. You can't just skip this, or they will continue to contact you and I expect they can take away the domain for violating the registration agreement.
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post #8 of 11
3/20/08 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 

Re: ICANN and domain names

Okay, I've done the confirmation. Thanks again for the help.

One thing I noticed is that my domain name expires next year, I guess either godaddy has a 5 year period I can have it, or this is standard practice for all domain names?
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post #9 of 11
3/21/08 at 12:52am

Re: ICANN and domain names

I've owned my own website for several years and purchased the domain via Go Daddy. I pay a little extra to have my personal information hidden via proxy. I have never received such an email and, to me, it reads like a phishing attempt. "Click here to confirm your bank account or it will be suspended..." type stuff.

My advice is if you ever receive that sort of email you should go directly the site in question and access it properly.

For more information on WHOIS check out Domain Tools: Whois Lookup and Domain Suggestions. Type in your URL or IP address and see what kind of information it pulls up.

-paul
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post #10 of 11
3/21/08 at 1:05pm

Re: ICANN and domain names

> My advice is if you ever receive that sort of email you should go directly the site in question and access it properly.

I agree. I have well over 100 domains & have never received any requests to "confirm" anything.

The only thing I've seen in regards to ICANN was their requirement to keep your contact info accurate- if it hadn't changed since you first got the domain there was no need to do anything.


> One thing I noticed is that my domain name expires next year, I guess either godaddy has a 5 year period I can have it, or this is standard practice for all domain names?

Most domains are registered for one year if you don't specify otherwise, but many registrars will let you pay for more years at a time if you want to.
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post #11 of 11
3/21/08 at 8:36pm
Thread Starter 

Re: ICANN and domain names

Chris-

Thanks. Making sure that the contact info was correct was the thing that I didn't realize what the email was about before I understood what ICANN was. So the original email from Go Daddy seemed like phishing to my uninformed status at the time. All they wanted me to do was go and confirm the contact and names are right. And I didn't use the links from the email just in case. I did it via the Go Daddy site.
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