Whois Privacy

Whois Privacy Protects You

When registering a domain name, it is important to realize that, unless you opt-in to a whois privacy service, your personal contact information is freely available for anyone to see. Simply put, this means that anybody with an Internet connection can do a whois search (such as those freely available at sites like whois.net), type in your domain name, and receive your full name, email address, home address, and phone number. This potential uses of this information can be anything from annoying to disastrous.

Keep Your Personal Information Private

Take, for example, an incident that occurred in the Penny Arcade community back in 2005. Prominent anti-video game activist Jack Thompson made some very disparaging comments regarding the popular online web comic, Penny Arcade, and that comic’s fans were not happy. Thompson owned a domain name registered as his own name (jackthompson.com), and was not using a whois privacy service. Members of the Penny Arcade community used a whois search to find his personal information, and over the next several days, Thompson received hundreds of prank phone calls and email messages, personal threats, and other forms of harassment. In addition to that, delivery restaurants were contacted and many phony orders were sent to his home. All-in-all, it was a very stressful week for Thompson.

Privacy Please

Such a situation can happen to anybody who owns a domain name, so it is important to utilize whois privacy services when available. Some registrars automatically include the service as part of the registration fee, while others charge a small amount extra per year. Whatever the case, it is important to utilize the service to avoid harassment.

Don’t Be A Victim Of Identity Theft

In today’s world of rampant identity theft, it is more important than ever before to protect your personal information in any way possible. Use whois privacy, and save yourself a lot of grief.