What
is a domain name?
A domain name is really just an alias for your
IP address. When you sign up to put a Web site on the Internet,
you are given an Internet Protocol Number, or address (IP
Address). All the computers on the Internet can retrieve your
site by pulling up this IP number. A domain name will allow
you to have a World Wide Web address like www.yourname.com
instead of having only a number such as 208.234.69.273.
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Who
owns the Domain Name I register?
You become the owner of the domain name after we register
it with Network Solutions or any other Domain Name Registrar.
YOU are the Administrative and Billing Contact. If anyone
tries to move the domain or change any information on the
form, they will contact you first. We are listed as the Technical
Contact on the domain.
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How
much does it cost to own a domain name?
Network Solutions (formally knowas as InterNIC)
will charge you $70 which will cover the first two years of
use of your domain name. Network Solutions will charge you
$35 per year each year thereafter. Network
Solutions is the governing authority of domain names in the
United States. They rule over .com, .net, .org, .edu,
.gov, and .us. You can visit Network Solutions
at http://www.networksolutions.com.
As of September 18, 1999, Network
Solutions requires payment at the time of registration which
iSun will collect and process on your behalf.
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How
long does it take for a new Domain Name to register or move?
Registering a domain name
can take anywhere from 3 days to 1 week, depending on the
work load at Network Solutions. Usually we see new domains
registered within 72 hours.
Transferring a domain is a little
more complicated, but takes about the same amount of time.
Let us know the domain name which is being modified, also
have all information ready before contacting your old service
provider. At this point we will graciously ask to have the
domain transferred and hope they'll proceed in a timely manner.
If you have a good relationship with your old provider, it
might help speed things up.
NOTE:
If the email address Network Solutions has on file for the
administrative contact is not valid, Network Solutions requires
a typed letter on your business letterhead to authorize the
transfer. We will advise you of this when we receive
our initial response from Network Solutions. This process
can take up to 2 weeks depending on Network Solutions workload. iSun
Media has no control over Network Solutions procedures or
timeframes.
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How
long does it take for the world to see a new domain name?
Once approved and registered with Network Solutions,
it can take upwards of 1 week to update around the globe.
So while you may be able to see it with your Web browser,
your next door neighbors might not because of the domain name
server the system uses. Most domain name servers are programmed
to get domain name updates only once a day at a predetermined
time.
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How
do I choose a domain name for my Web site?
You want to select a name that will be easy for your customers
or
potential customers to remember. The obvious choice would
be to use
your business name, such as www.theabc-company.com. But if
your
company is named The ABC Company, you might want to try
abbreviating the domain name for simplicity - such as www.abc.com.
If the name you would like has already been registered by
another
company, you will want to be creative and decide on a name
that is
associated with your company. For instance, if The ABC Company
sells letters, then you may want to try letters.com.
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What
characters may I use in my domain name?
Your domain name can be as long as 22 characters.
The domain must
consist only of letters, numbers and dashes(-). The www is
not part of
the actual domain name and is just a standard web prefix.
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What
if the domain name I want is already taken?
If the name you would like has already been registered by
another
company, you will want to be creative and decide on a name
that is
associated with your company. For instance, if The ABC Company
sells letters, then you may want to try letters.com.
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What
is Network Solutions?
Network Solutions (formally known as InterNIC)
is the agency which governs the registration of domain names
ending with .com, .net, .org, .edu, .mil, and .gov.
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How
many domain names may I have?
You can have as many as you want. You will
still be billed the $70
dollars per domain name from Network Solutions which covers
the first two years.
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What
extension can I have on the end of my Domain Name?
Network Soltions is the organization that handles
the registration and
administration of "generic," non-geographic domain
names.
Here is what's available now for top level domain names:
| COM |
is
for commercial, for-profit organizations |
| EDU |
is
for 4-year, degree granting institutions only |
| NET |
is
for network infrastructure machines and organizations
|
| ORG |
is
for miscellaneous usually non-profit organizations |
| INT |
is
for organizations established by
international treaties, or international databases |
| GOV |
s
for United States federal government agencies |
| MIL |
is
used by the US Military |
There are restrictions regarding these domains
which can be found at
Network
Solutions home page.
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What
do I have to do to register my domain name?
Network Solutions requires you to have an existing
email account through an Internet Service Provider. Also,
you need to have a server on which to place your domain name.
Always make sure that your domain name is available before
trying to register that name.
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What
is the procedure for registering a new domain name?
When an account is activated with a new domain
name, we will
automatically send the registration template to Network Solutions.
The information sent on the template is pulled directly from
the order form. Network Solutions typically completes the
registration within 24 hours, and propagation typically takes
about 72 hours. Non-U.S. domain names must be registered by
the end-user.
Let us know if you do not receive notification that a domain
name has
been either registered or transferred within two weeks. In
the meantime, refer all concerns to Network Solutions Registration
Services. You can reach them by calling (703) 742-4777 and
selecting option number 2 or you may write them at help@networksolutions.com.
Be sure to reference your NIC
ticket number when contacting either iSun Media or Network
Solutions.
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Whom
shall I contact regarding Network Solutions billing?
Questions regarding Network Solutions Invoicing
and Payment Procedures should be referred to Network Solutions
Registration Services. You can reach them by calling (703)742-4777
and selecting option number 1 or you may email them at
help@networksolutions.com.
Customers wishing to make payment by credit card may call
either
(888)771-3000 or (402)496-9788 (outside the U.S.).
To make payment via the web: http://www.networksolutions.com
NOTE: As
of September 18, 1999 Network Solutions will require payment
at the time of registration which iSun will collect and process
on your behalf..
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How
do I read the NIC whois record?
When you look at your NIC whois record, like
this sample:
Bob's Web Company. (BOBSWEB-DOM)
25 Main Street, Suite 230
New York, CA 110011
US
Domain Name: BOBSWEB.COM
Administrative Contact:
Smith, Bob (SB907) dexin@BOBSWEB.COM
212-555-1155 (FAX) 212-555-2000
Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Person, Tech (TP984) tech@i-sun.com
817-306-5378 (FAX) 817-232-3455
Record last updated on 06-Feb-99.
Record created on 28-Jul-99.
Database last updated on 29-May-99 04:55:39 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order (example):
| ns1.i-sun.com |
|
214.65.32.125 |
| ns2.i-sun.com |
|
214.65.32.135 |
The three character strings, BOBSWEB-DOM, SB907, and TP984
are
called NIC handles. They are basically key words used by Network
Solutions whois database search software for locating information
related to them quickly.
As for the two terms, Administrative Contact and Technical
Contact/Zone Contact, we will borrow NIC's own definitions
The administrative contact is the person who can speak on
behalf of the organization listed in Section 3. This person
should be able to answer non-technical questions about the
organization's plans for the name, and procedures for establishing
sub-domains, and should be able to represent the organization
regarding use of the name.
The technical contact is the person who tends to the technical
aspects
of maintaining the domain's name server, resolver software,
and
database files. This person keeps the name server running,
and interacts with technical people in other domains to solve
problems that affect the domain. The Internet Service Provider
often performs this role.
Nowadays, newer whois records always have a billing contact
too, which in most cases is the same as the administrative
contact, and is the one who is responsible to pay NIC for
the annual domain name maintenance fee (US $35).
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What
is a NIC handle?
Every entity registered with Network Solutions
has a NIC handle. You can use the same NIC handle as contacts
for several domains. This way, if you make a change to the
NIC handle (i.e., the e-mail address), all domains using that
NIC handle will be updated as well.
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What
about Trademarks?
You may have a trademarked name in your domain
name and Network Solutions will register it for you. But,
you might want to check if there is a company with that name
trademarked (™). Also, if a company does have that name
trademarked you could be taken to court and could loose that
name.
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Can
I change my domain name?
In order to change your domain name, you need
to submit an order for a new domain name. This can be done
by contacting your current sales representative at sales@i-sun.com.
Since this is a new domain name, Network Solutions fees still
apply.
