Internet Domain Name

While some less than honorable folk will blanch at what I am about to offer, it must be said: there are a couple of things you can do with an Internet domain name. Well, yes, there are, obviously, more than a couple of things, but the two I focus on here are those that amateurs and innocents may want to check out.

First, of course, you can come up with your own internet domain name. That’s the part of the website address (the URL) that directly follows the www. and comes before the .com, .net, .org, etc.. You can go to an Internet domain name registry (which you would do eventually to register your site/address, anyway), and can type in names/ideas until you find that the name you entered is not taken…or is one you can “purchase” or lay claim to.

But next, you can use an domain search/registry site to investigate a company or person. You may be considering a major purchase online. You may thinking about doing a job or project for a virtual stranger. You may be in the throes of a conflict over website content theft (plagiarism) or dispute over a product or service that has left you somehow dissatisfied.

Whatever the case, here’s what you can do: start with a site called WhoIs.com (http://whois.com/). Type in the Internet domain name in question for you. (You do not need to type the www or the http part.) The search will reveal the name of the website owner; his or her address and phone number; when the site was first introduced to the net; and other data, such as ranking, whether or not the site is secure, and where (in what search and metasearch engines) the site is listed.

So, for example, if a company boasts it has been online and serving millions since 1852 (ahem), your WhoIs search will reveal the actual date it was established. If a potential telecommute “employer”, or client, goes by the name of Marsha in Montana and the site is owned and operated by a Cad named Cal in Kalamazoo, you might think twice about what other lies or information he/she will withhold…including payment.

I usually do a domain search at point one, once I read an ad for a writing gig…IF it includes a human/company name. One such ad was appealing, but only signed “Victoria.” I should have known better, but I signed on, began working projects, and was soon getting run-around treatment. The site was a “writers’ site and board”, but the company info was lacking.

They had posted an address, in the Empire State Building, and had posted 24-hour-a-day phone numbers. Neither phone number worked. They began ignoring my emails. Since I didn’t have a real domain name (the writers’ site was not listed in WhoIs), I had to get a bit more creative in my investigation.

I checked the return path of one of the original emails from the company, found a company web address, did a WhoIs search, and followed that up with Googling the MAN’s name (not Victoria’s it turns out)…and finding interesting, disturbing, but valuable information to track the guy.

It was my own stupidity that led me to accept a gig from an unknown or from one in disguise. I should have declined when I had no real website, no company name, address, phone number, and contact person. And I really should have balked and halted when combined with the above absences no BBB (Better Business Bureau) info was available. I learned and I have adjusted my protocol accordingly.

I have no tolerance for liars, individuals who use “we” language as a cover for a one-man snake oil sales show, or false fronts of any type. You shouldn’t either. Protect yourself and enjoy your investigation and possible revelation.