Not long ago, a client called me about some domain names he had tried to register. He said that a few domains he had checked on several days earlier ago were no longer available, but had been available when he first checked on them. He thought it was odd that this had happened for several domains and wondered if it was just a coincidence.
I told him this was a real problem and that he was not just imagining things. Although I this had not ever happened to me, I did know about this problem.
I asked him how he was checking on the availability of the names and he had been on a website I had not heard of before, which supposedly let you search for available domains. I told him this website was likely logging the domains being searched for and were registering ones they thought might be valuable before the searcher could register them.
Back in October of 2007, the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee issued an advisory on Domain Name Front Running, a practice of registering a domain name that someone has checked on before the searcher can register it themselves.
This practice is usually done as part of a Domain Tasting operation. Domain Tasting involves testing to see whether or not a domain is valuable in terms of search engine traffic.
The advisory was issued mostly as a warning because hard evidence of it happening has been very hard to get. (I guess it’s hard to get anyone to admit to being sleazy).
In the rest of this article, I will give you some ways to avoid this problem…read on for the details.
How To Avoid Being A Victim
Register Quickly
This is really the only way to prevent someone from stealing a domain name idea from you.
If you find an available name you like, go ahead and register it. With 1 year registrations costing less than $10, in the grand scheme of things it’s really inexpensive.
If you decide within 5 days of registering a domain name that you really don’t want it, you can ask your registrar to cancel the domain name and get a refund. Most registrars should do this with no problem, though you are unlikely to get back a non-refundable ICANN registration fee ($0.20).
Don’t Check For Domain Names Using Your Browser
When you enter a non-registered domain name in your browser’s address bar, it usually comes back with an “Address Not Found” error. These errors are logged at your ISP and there is evidence that some ISPs are selling this information. The buyers use this data to possibly find valuable domain names to purchase.
Use A Reputable Domain Registrar
Personally I use GoDaddy and Moniker to register names. While I cannot say these two companies have never participated in domain front running, I have not had a domain registered from under me. I would still advise registering a name you like rather quickly just to be safe.
Using these techniques, you should be able to avoid being a victim of domain name front running.
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