subject: Hide Your Domain And Lose Customers [print this page] Hide Your Domain And Lose Customers Hide Your Domain And Lose Customers
Who will you trust more? People and entities who tell or show you what their real location and identities are, or those who hide things? On the web, transparency is usually the best policy.I used to work in IT, now I'm a Judgment Broker. When I see a blocked (hidden) phone number, or a web site with a domain that hides their identity by using some "proxy" service, an email address starting with "info" or "sales", instead of an actual name, or a postal envelope with no return address, I am less likely to respond the way the sender or web site wanted me to respond.Most things in life are not binary. Reality is mostly within the gray areas. Sometimes people hide domain ownership so they will not get bothered, and will get some privacy - and those are noble goals. However many actions you take, in some way, will eventually cause a reaction from something or someone that affects you in some way.What does it mean to hide your domain ownership? It's if one uses a domain name proxy service, a privacy service, or some other way to hide their contact information. When your domain is hidden by proxy, typing "whois domain.com" in a search-based web site such as Google, or some other search web sites, will not show your actual name, address, email address, or phone number.There can be some very good reasons to hide your domain ownership information. For example, if you are selling something that could be illegal or might offend someone, cloaking your actual domain name ownership might make a lot of sense. Be aware that the government, a court, (and perhaps even a private investigator) can uncover your cloaking attempts, and find your real information.Others might hide their domain name ownership for privacy, or for other business reasons, but one should know the possible tradeoffs. Some people may not do business with you, and some will use more of your time, trying to find out, or asking you who you or your entity really are.When your domain name ownership is cloaked, you may be really sending a message that you may be hiding something. These days, why give people one less reason to trust what you are communicating or selling?"Whois" started as a method of finding servers and names on a computer or network. For most people, these days "Whois" means to look for domain name ownership information. These days, most "whois" companies you find on the web try to charge you to see the full details. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or Domain Name Registration provider might have a Whois service as a service on their web site.Even your email address host domain can cause people to not see or trust your email. Spam is one of the drawbacks of the first companies that gave away free email accounts to everyone. Such companies are, for example, live.com, netscape.com, and hotmail.com. Many such popular and free domains are used by spammers. Even if you are real, some spam software and servers, block live.com, and some even block hotmail.com domain-based email addresses.Most legitimate people and companies that hide their domain ownership with a proxy service, will tell you who they are, and their contact information is, if you ask. The ones that will not - maybe you should not be doing business with them?
