GoDaddy Acquires More LL .com Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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12

GoDaddy LogoGoDaddy has acquired more two letter .com domain names.

I noticed a Whois change this morning on HU.com. The domain name moved from the Esqwire.com escrow account (the law firm of Ari Goldberger and Jason Schaeffer), and the domain name  is now registered to NameFind, the portfolio company owned by GoDaddy.

After doing a bit of searching, I noticed that HU.com had been used by Centralnic to sell third level domain names (such as Example.HU.com). When I did a subsequent search for the HU.com domain name, I saw the Domain Name Wire article about Centralnic’s decision to sunset some of its third level domain name offerings. The article mentioned 8 LL .com domain names that were included in this decision, so I did Whois searches on those 8 domain names.

Here is the current ownership information:

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SmartName Email to Rook Media Customers

Elliot Silver
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0

smartname-logoAs a Rook Media parking customer, I received an email from SmartName this morning letting me know how to access my SmartName account that was created on my behalf. I believe the account was created based on the domain names I have in my Rook Media parking account.

I thought I would share the email for those people who may have overlooked the email or perhaps not received it because they signed up with an email address that isn’t checked regularly.

Here’s the email I received this morning:

Welcome to SmartName

As you have already heard from our friends at RookMedia/DomainSponsor, you are moving to GoDaddy’s SmartName parking platform. We’d like to welcome you to SmartName!

You are one step closer to accessing the benefits of the world’s largest domain marketplace.

An account has already been created on your behalf.

In order to gain access to your account, please follow the instructions below.
1. You must first reset your password. Visit the SmartName login page and click on the “Forgot Your Username/Password” link.
2. Enter your RookMedia/DomainSponsor account email.
3. Look out for an email from SmartName with your new username and a link to reset your password.
4. Follow the prompts to reset your password.

Once you have successfully logged in, there are a few critical actions you must complete.
1. Accept the Terms of Service.
2. Setup your payment information. You can access and edit payment information by clicking on My Account.
3. Email you tax form to parkingsupport@smartname.com.

Thank you for using SmartName Parking for your domain monetization needs. If you have any questions about your SmartName account, please contact Parking Support

GoDaddy Did Not Acquire Rook Media

Elliot Silver
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8

Rook MediaRook Media emailed its customers this morning to announce a partnership with GoDaddy. The email, which I posted below, did not mention that the company was acquired by GoDaddy, but I could see how it may have been interpreted as an acquisition. After exchanging emails with GoDaddy’s Paul Nicks and Rook Media’s Ash Rahimi, I can confirm that this was not an acquisition.

The two emails that Rook Media sent to customers offer more information about the partnership and explain what is happening with the company going forward. The two emails Rook Media customers received this morning are published below:

Email One:

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GoDaddy’s Blake Irving on Fox Business

Elliot Silver
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4

GoDaddy reported its Q1 2017 quarterly earnings yesterday. This morning, company CEO Blake Irving was interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business. In the interview, Blake discussed the company’s most recent quarter, the company’s growth, and he also shared some information about the company’s main customers.

As of the time of publication, the company’s stock (GDDY) is trading at $38.72/share, which is down about 1.6% on the day. In the past year, the stock is trading higher by nearly 30%. The stock is just off of its all-time high.

For your convenience, I embedded the video of the interview:

Fabricator.com Subject of UDRP (Updated)

Elliot Silver
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4

A UDRP has been filed at the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) against the Fabricator.com domain name. The UDRP filing can be found on UDRPSearch.com, and it is case #1728625.

The current Whois record for Fabricator.com shows the owner is NameFind, a company that is owned by GoDaddy. Based on a historical Whois record from DomainTools, I believe this domain name was acquired in the major Marchex domain name portfolio acquisition. I am not sure when Marchex acquired this dictionary .com domain name.

At the time of publication, the Fabricator.com landing page has a generic search box with some popular keywords showing. I am not familiar with this type of PPC landing page, as it looks different than others I have seen in the NameFind portfolio. From my perspective, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with the business model of generating revenue from pay per click advertising on a keyword domain name. Fabricator.com is listed for sale on Afternic with a minimum opening offer of $32,500.

Screen Shot 2017-04-28 at 7.24.29 PM

Because the UDRP was filed at

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Phishing Email Alert: “GoDaddy invoice #”

Elliot Silver
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6

It looks like a  phishing email targeting people who own domain names at GoDaddy is making the rounds. This email was first  reported  on NamePros a week ago, and I also received the email over the weekend.

If people fall for a phishing email, they could have their domain names stolen and/or their GoDaddy-hosted websites compromised. Most domain registrars  recommend using  2 factor authentication on all domain registrar accounts to enhance security. Some registrars also offer  additional security features that can be implemented  (such as DTVS at GoDaddy) to protect accounts even further.

One thing readers need to keep in mind is that phishing attempts tend to evolve and change over time. The senders could easily change their targets and attempt to impersonate eNom, Tucows, Network Solutions, or any other domain registry or even a domain registry.

If in doubt about the validity of an email, it is always best to call a domain registrar to confirm the email is legitimate.

Here’s the content of the email with the embedded links removed for safety:

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