Domain name security

By way of another aside, here are some thoughts about this key asset, your domain name:

• Consider a private registration, meaning that your contact details are cloaked, which is sensible for individuals and many work-at-home types.

• Your domain should be locked to negate the threat of it being hijacked by a third party (which could happen if you don't request change notifications or miss an e-mail notifying you of a pending transfer).

• Toughen up your registrar account passphrase: long, camelCase, alpha-numeric, and including special characters.

• Ensure that you are sent renewal reminders to a working e-mail address.

• Keep contact details updated or your domain registration could be cancelled.

All these matters can be managed at your registrar account and you can learn more about domain security by reading ICANN's cannily named report, A Registrant's Guide to Protecting Domain Name Registration Accounts. In particular, that has a long list of questions to ask before trusting a...