March 08, 2005
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Snatching domain names
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43072 hit(s)
As I noted recently, my domain is set to expire this week, but I've initiated a transfer to a new registrar. The process is surprisingly slow (we're on Day 3), and as I said, I've been a little curious to see what happens if the expiration date comes and goes.
So, I was just browsing, as I do.[1] A link on Gunderloy's Daily Grind led me to a blog post and further references to articles on the interesting world of domain snatching. People are interested in all sorts of domain names that are already owned. But if the domain name expires, it's up for grabs.
And they do mean grabs. Ordinary mortals do not simply request an expired domain name, or at least not a good one. Instead, there are various services that use secret weasel techniques to try to grab the domain name the second it officially expires. For which they then charge the person who wanted to buy that domain name. Anyway, as I say, pretty interesting for, uh, those who are interested in such things.
I did find out that I probably have nothing to worry about w/r/t my domain name expiring soon -- to start with, there's a 40-day grace period in which I could renew, followed by a redemption period where I could buy back in, followed by a 5-day deletion period. (Jeez, if it takes 5 days to delete a domain name, no wonder it takes so much time to transfer one.) Even so, I hope the transfer goes through soon so that I don't have to worry about a break in service.
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