Why Domain Name Theft Matters to You

On occasion, I blog about security issues and phishing attempts that I spot or that are reported by domain name registrars. For instance, yesterday I wrote about Namecheap’s urgent warning, a week ago I wrote about a Register.com phishing email, and a while back I wrote about a GoDaddy phishing email. Security is important for all, and I think it is especially important for those whose valuable assets are online.

I think that most domain name owners believe their accounts are secure and are probably immune from theft. Most domain investors wisely take extra precautions with their domain names, securing their email accounts and domain registrar accounts with 2 factor authentication  and other security functionality. I also think this may be a false sense of security, and being overcautious is wise.

Even if you don’t

Namecheap Issues “Urgent Security Warning”

It’s Labor Day here in the US, so it’s not a great day for companies to share important news, but it is important that you see this Namecheap security warning, even if you do not use the company as your domain name registrar. This issue seems like it has the potential to impact domain investors as well as others who own domain names. It may also be impacting other accounts as well.

From a blog post on the Namecheap company blog, entitled “Urgent security warning that may affect all internet users,” the company stated:

Rightside Gets Two New Directors

According to a press release issued by Rightside this morning, the company has added two people to its Board of Directors. Diane Irvine, former Chief Executive Officer and President of Blue Nile is one new member of the board, and Shawn Colo, co-founder of Demand Media, has also been added to the company’s Board of Directors. You can read more background information about these people in the press release below.

Although I don’t believe these two people will be involved in day to day business decisions, these people seem like they are well qualified to help with the company’s management. Since it’s debut on the Nasdaq stock market as an independent company, Rightside stock has traded lower. As of the time of publication of this article, Rightside stock (symbol: NAME) is trading at $11.92. The 52 week high is $17.00 and the low is $11.11.

Here’s the entire press release with the news.

Richard Swerdlow Featured in Miami Herald

If you live in the Miami area, you might have seen an article in today’s Miami Herald discussing the successes of Internet entrepreneur, Richard Swerdlow. As you may know, Swerdlow is the founder and CEO of the company that owns and operates real estate websites on valuable keyword domain names, including Condos.com, Houses.com, Property.com, Properties.com and Location.com.

The article discusses how Swerdlow got involved in real estate and ultimately how his company has grown and thrived during the last few years. You should  certainly read the entire article when you have a chance, but here are a few excerpts from the article I found particularly interesting:

BW.com May Have Sold

Screen Shot 2014-08-19 at 11.52.10 AM

On August 6, the BW.com domain name was listed for sale on DNForum in the offers wanted section for domain names that have  four characters or less. On August 12, the person who started the thread edited it, and the only thing remaining in the original post is the word  “SOLD.”

Name.com Celebrates Rightside’s Going Public

As I wrote yesterday, Rightside had its first full day of public trading on the Nasdaq stock market on Monday under the NAME stock ticker. In celebration of this achievement, Name.com shared this funny video that I want to share with you.

Looks like everyone is happy about the company’s spin off. I agree with Ashley’s sentiment at the end of the video – the customer should always come first. The spinoff is a nice achievement but not an end point!