What is Domain Name Hijacking?

The hijacking or theft of a currently registered domain name from its lawful owner is called Domain Name Hijacking. Since there is no need of moving any material from one place to another, it becomes that much easier for people. People hijack names for the traffic it generates or for the business that a high profile name can get.


You should do the following things to ensure that your domain name does not get hijacked:

1. Hide the details of the registered owner. As a result, it will be difficult for the hijacker to get the personal details of the owner. You can do this by putting "Private Domain Registration" on your registered name.

2. You can lock your registration. By doing this you ensure that the name needs to be unlocked by you first if any changes are to be made to it.

3. Set up strong passwords on your account when registering.


As per ICANN, when a name is registered, there is a 60 day period when it cannot be transferred to anybody else. So read all the emails regarding domain transfers carefully and make sure that you contact your registrar before taking any action. If you have not re-requested another transfer, then contact your registrar to make sure all the information that you provided is still accurate and not changed.


Remember your dates of renewal. Certain registrars like Ballistic Domains remind you of your renewal dates and offer automatic renewals for you. If you don't renew your domain name and it lapses or expires, then someone can transfer it to their name.


Register the name with a reputable registrar which can be contacted easily. If your registrar cannot be contacted easily, then it will be very difficult for you to regain the hijacked domain name.


Another thing that you need to be careful about is Domain Slamming. Domain Slamming is when the owner of a domain name gets confusing information either by mail, phone or fax regarding their registration renewal.


If you follow all of the guidelines above, your domain name registration will be quite safe, and it is very unlikely that your domain name will be hijacked.