Everything Domain Name!

A domain name is a Web address, such as coolexample.com, that is linked to an IP address (which represents a physical point on the Internet). The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the governing body that coordinates links between IP addresses and domain names across the Internet, so you can find websites by entering domain names instead of IP addresses into your Web browser.

For example, think of an IP address as an address for a house or business, such as the White House. The address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is comparable to an IP address, and the name you know it as, the White House, is comparable to a domain name.

A domain name consists of a top-level and a second-level domain. A top-level domain (TLD), or domain extension, is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot (coolexample.com). The most common domain extensions are .COM, .NET, and .ORG. Some other popular domain extensions are .BIZ, .INFO, .NAME, and .WS. These common extensions have certain guidelines, but are usually available to any registrant, anywhere in the world.

There are also restricted top-level domains (rTLDs), like .AERO, .BIZ, .EDU, .MIL, .MUSEUM, .NAME, and .PRO that require registrants to represent a certain type of entity or to belong to a certain community. For example, the .NAME domain extension is reserved for individuals, while .EDU is reserved for educational entities.

Country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) are for websites and registrants of a particular geographic location, such as .BZ (Belize), .CA (Canada), .DK (Denmark), .EC (Ecuador), .IE (Republic of Ireland), .UK (United Kingdom), .US (United States), and .ZW (Zimbabwe).

The part of the domain name located to the left of the dot (coolexample.com) is called the second-level domain (SLD) name. The second-level domain name is the “readable” part of the address and refers to the organization or entity behind the Internet address. Second-level domain names must be unique on the Internet and registered with an ICANN-accredited registrar. As an ICANN-accredited registrar, you can register domain names through us.

Order Your Domain Name From PerformanceHost.net

What is a Second Level Domain (SLD)?

The second-level domain is the readable part of the domain name that is located immediately to the left of the dot. For example, the second-level domain in coolexample.com is “coolexample.” You define the second-level domain when you register most domains. However, there are some registries that restrict the second-level domain, such as .UK domains. Domains with this extension must include .CO. For example, coolexample.co.uk.

Second-level domains can be divided into further domain levels (for example, www.one.coolexample.com). These subdomains sometimes represent different computer servers within departments, but they can be created for any purpose. More than one second-level domain name can be used for the same IP address.

Nameservers are the Internet’s equivalent to phone books. A nameserver maintains a directory of domain names that match certain IP addresses (computers). The information from all the nameservers across the Internet is gathered in a central registry. This makes it possible for visitors to access your website using a familiar domain name, instead of having to remember a series of numbers. Nameservers on other networks can access information at the central registry up to 8 hours after registering .COM and .NET domains and up to 48 hours for all other domain extensions. This period is referred to as the propagation period. The nameservers you use depends on when you set up your hosting account.

Setting Nameservers for Your Domains

When registering your domain with us, we park your domain on our parked nameservers so a temporary page displays when visitors go to your website. After determining which hosting provider to use, you can change your domain’s nameservers to remove the parked page and activate your domain name. You can purchase a hosting account with us to use our nameservers, regardless of where you registered your domain. Update your nameservers according to one of the following:

• If you purchased your domain registration and hosting account with us, use our Default Hosted Nameservers.
• If you purchased your domain registration with us but are hosting your domain elsewhere, your hosting company should provide at least two nameservers for you to enter through our Domain Manager. Some hosting companies also provide an IP address for nameservers, but we do not require an IP address.
• If you purchased your domain registration with another registrar but are hosting your domain with us, point your domain to our nameservers. Check with your domain registrar for specific instructions on how to set your nameservers.
• Aliased domains use nameservers based on the date they were added to the hosting account.

After updating your nameservers, it takes about 4 to 8 hours for other networks to access information for .COM and .NET domains and about 24 to 48 hours for other networks to access information for all other domain extensions.

SSL Certificates help against Phishing and Pharming

Phishing and, recently, pharming pose constant threats to Internet users whose sensitive information is under siege by crackers and other cyber crooks. An SSL certificate from PerformanceHost.net can clip the wings of Internet criminals and help prevent Internet users from being victimized by phishing and pharming schemes when attempting to visit your Web site.

Phishing schemes – attempts to steal and exploit sensitive personal information – typically try to trick victims into accessing fraudulent sites that pose as legitimate, trusted entities, such as online businesses and banks. Because perpetrators of such attacks will be using and registering domains that resemble those of the spoofed sites, PerformanceHost.net, through its stringent fraud-prevention measures, will detect the schemes and deny certificate requests for suspicious domains.

More sophisticated than phishing, pharming revolves around the concept of hijacking an Internet Service provider’s (ISP) domain name server (DNS) entries. When a “pharmer” succeeds in such DNS “poisoning” every
computer using that ISP for Internet access is directed to the wrong site when the user types in a URL (e.g., www.ebay.com).

SSL certificate technology can help prevent pharming attacks, as well. In essence, a “pharmer” simply will not be able to obtain an SSL certificate from PerformanceHost.net, as he/she does not control the domain for which the certificate is requested.

By protecting your Web site with a PerformanceHost.net SSL certificate Internet users that attempt to access a site that poses as yours will be instantly alerted that there is a problem with the supposedly secure connection:

• No lock icon: Because CAs usually won’t issue a certificate to fraudulent phishing or pharming sites, such sites usually do not use SSL encryption. Internet users, therefore, are alerted by the absence of a padlock icon in their browser’s status bar.
• Name mismatch error: A pharming site could try to use a certificate issued by a CA for a domain owned by the attacker, but the user’s browser will warn the user that the visited URL does not match the certificate presented by the fake Web server.
• Untrusted CA: A pharming site might attempt to use a certificate issued by an untrusted CA. In this case, the user’s browser will generate the following warning: “the security certificate was issued by a company you have not chosen to trust.”

The alert Internet user will instantly abandon his/her activities/transactions when presented with such warnings. Thus, a PerformanceHost.net SSL certificate provides business owners and wary, savvy Internet users with an effective weapon against phishing, pharming and similar cyber swindles.