Entrusting the registration of a company's Web site and e-mail domains to the wrong person or organisation opens the door to a range of business risks.
This is according to Ant Brooks, GM of the Internet Service Providers Association of SA (ISPA). He argues that many small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners are not aware of the correct procedures to follow when registering a domain, including whose name the company's domain is registered in, or even what it means to register a domain.
Brooks refers to a case in which a partner within an SME business requested the Internet service provider (ISP) to give him complete control of the company's domain, following an internal dispute. This gave him the power to shut down all e-mail and Web traffic, essentially crippling the business pending the resolution of the dispute, he explains.
In some cases, continues Brooks, ISPs can ask for maintenance charges or apply unfair mark-ups on the domain fees. In other cases, complications arise when there is a dispute between a company and the party that has registered the domain name on its behalf.
"In other cases, the party that has hijacked the domain could take advantage of the company's brand by pointing the domain at their own Web site, selling competitive goods or services," he adds.
Double check
Brooks advises companies to approach a reputable ISP and ask it to register the domain on their behalf, with explicit instruction to have their names listed as the registrants, giving them custodianship, and mitigating the risks of it being held for ransom.
“When setting up your online presence it is imperative that the domain name be registered correctly; particularly the registrant should reflect the correct details,” explains Brooks. To query your domain's registration details, go to the domain administration homepage, and ensure the entry in 2a is accurate, he advises.
The domain name registration form can be found at http://www.coza.net.za/coza_reg.txt and for further information on how to register a domain, visit http://www.coza.net.za/regnew/filling.shtml.
South Africa has an established registry operator, UniForum SA, for the 'co.za' Internet domain name. UniForum, in consultation with the communications minister, has developed the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) for the resolution of domain name disputes. Details about ADR can be found online.
Share