Domain Name Transfer Information

So you have a domain name. Now what do you do with it?

Well, the obvious is to get it hosted somewhere. But how do you get it "somewhere"? How does one move their domain from one place to another?

Determine where your domain name is currently hosted

Domain transfers are without a doubt one of the most confusing things to a domain name owner, especially if you've never done it before and you don't have a clue as to where to start. Unfortunately it's a fact and we can't make it easy for you. But we can try to ease it up a bit.

The first thing you need to do is determine where your domain name is currently hosted. To do this you must do a whois search. Go to one of the websites below:

http://betterwhois.com
http://allwhois.com
http://completewhois

For this example we will use http://betterwhois.com. Type your domain name in the text box provided.

The who is database gives info about the registrant: administrative contact the technical contact and the billing contact, including addresses phone numbers and email addresses. This is available to the public.

We want info about http://notreallyadomain.com for this example.

This is what you will see:

Domain names in the .com, .net, and .org domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net for detailed information.

Domain Name: http://NOTREALLYADOMAIN.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
Whois Server: http://whois.opensrs.net
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.tucows.com
Name Server: http://NS1.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET
Name Server: http://NS2.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET

Updated Date: 07-jan-2004
Creation Date: 08-mar-1997
Expiration Date: 08-mar-2006
The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .ORG, .EDU domains and
Registrars.

So, in breaking a whois search down:

Domain Name-The domainname you have inquired about

Registrar-The registrar the domain has been registered with

Whois Server-Who is database this info was pulled from

Referral URL-The URL of the Registrar -who you need to contact in order to change the domain from one name server to the other: either by physically talking to them or using control panel access.

Primary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on

Secondary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on Two nameservers are generally used: if the primary nameserver breaks then the secondary can take over the primary nameserver duties until the primary is fixed.

Updated Date-When the whois record was last updated

Creation Date: When the domainname was created

Expiration Date: When the domain name expires

This domain was registered thru an Opensrs registrar/reseller. Scan the who is database you will usually find the Registrar contact info. In this case the info was towards the bottom:

Registration Service Provider: http://Domainmonger.com, service@domainmonger.com
+1.425-821-8032 http://www.domainmonger.com

We would then go to http://www.domainmonger.com

Providing we have our userid and password we could login and change our nameserver info, contact info or any number of functions.

Once we have changed our name server info there is generally a propagation periodnas the internet as a whole updates with new dns information. For a new domain name, you can count on anywhere from 12 - 24 hours. For a domain name that is already in existance, and has already been moved, it can take anywhere from 12 - 72 hours. There is no definitive time, unfortunately.

There have been instances of propagation taking two weeks or more.

Here are some of the different Domain name registrars now available on the net.

Recommendations to keep your domain name maintenence hassle-free:

Never use your domain name as part of your email address on your contact email for your whois record. Use a web-based email like Yahoo or Hotmail. If you experience any kind of issue, you'll be emailed at your contact email, and if it's your domain name and it's broken, you're out of luck.

Use yourself as a technical contact on your whois record. Use a second email address as well. Hosting companies do go out of business, and this could hinder your access should you want to move the domain name.

Keep track of the email addresses you use as contacts, the userids and passwords. Keep track of your domain name - when you ordered it, when it expires. If you let the domain name expire, your website will not be accessible through the domain name. Keep track of any userids/passwords associated with domain name maintenence. For further information, visit http://flawebworks.com for web hosting or http://build-computer-systems.com/ for computer components.

Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First

Laptop computers are getting smaller and more advanced every day. Fortunately, prices have been coming down as well. While that is great news for consumers, it doesn’t change the fact that for most shoppers, a new laptop represents a large purchase – and most large purchases are made on a strict budget. Fortunately, it’s fairly simple to get the most bang for your buck while making sure that your new laptop has all the features that you need and doesn’t become quickly outdated. The key to buying a laptop on a budget is weighing needs versus wants in five main areas: size, screen, GPU, CPU, and RAM.

Size
For most shoppers laptop size is a matter of personal preference, but when buying a laptop on a budget, size can be a major deal-breaker because a specific size preference may not be in the budget – no matter which features you give up. The most economical laptops weigh in the 6- to 8-pound range. Laptops outside of this range are usually specifically designed to meet other criteria (like an ultra portable at 3 pounds, or a desktop replacement that rivals the power of a desktop), and thus they carry a premium. Stick to the mid-sized laptops, and your small budget will stretch that much further for the other components.

Screen
Screen size and laptop size are fairly dependent on each other, so if you stick to mid-sized laptops, there won’t be many options for the LCD screen. While that may not seem like great news, the 15-inch screen that comes on most mid-sized laptops is more than adequate for most uses; and if this is not sufficient, then for stationary usage it is usually possible to attach a standard desktop monitor to the laptop to increase your screen real estate. If you have a desktop already (as most people do), you probably have a very capable monitor already on your desk; make sure to confirm with your retailer that using a separate monitor is possible on the laptop that you have chosen.

GPU
The video card (or GPU – graphics processing unit) is the component that actually renders the images that appear on the screen. There are generally only two options for this component, but when buying a laptop on a budget you really only have one choice – shared video. Now certainly the other option, a dedicated video card, produces far better results under demanding conditions; but shared video, where the video card actually shares the RAM of the computer versus having its own, is perfectly fine for daily use and is certainly more affordable. It is important to note that a shared video card generally will not play current computer video games, so if that is important to you, it’s probably best to wait until you have more money; or instead use your laptop budget to buy a more affordable desktop that can handle playing a graphics-intensive game.

CPU
The CPU is one area where you can really save some money! Don’t get caught up in the hype of the newest processor on the market; it’s easy to feel pressure to buy the latest and greatest technology so your laptop isn’t obsolete the day after purchase, but with the central processing unit, or CPU, you can safely go a few steps down from the current processor to save some major cash. You likely won’t even notice that you have made a compromise, and this will give you some money to put into other areas of the laptop.

RAM
The RAM, or random access memory, gives your laptop thinking power. If you have ever experienced delays when accessing programs, or annoying freezes when trying to do too many things at once, you have witnessed a computer begging for more RAM. Mid-range laptops often come with 256 MB of RAM. With this was once sufficient, 1 GB is now more suitable due to more advanced applications. But don’t worry – RAM is one area that you can usually upgrade later. If adding the RAM to your system during the shopping process doesn’t make economic sense, you might consider buying more RAM later either online or at a local box store – simply make your laptop purchase now, and save up to add more RAM later. Either way, adding more RAM will generally give you a better overall experience, and you won’t feel as if you bought a budget-conscious laptop after all.

The laptop-buying experience should be fun and exciting, but if you are buying on a budget, unless you shop carefully you could wind up feeling as if you bought an inferior, outdated product. It’s easy to avoid these feelings by simply making sure that you get the things that you really need, and avoiding some of the more expensive but nonessential ‘wants.’ Most importantly, take your time, do your research, and feel very comfortable with your final purchase. A budget-priced laptop can take you well into the future, without leaving you with an empty wallet! If you want to pick up some more idea about laptop, I recommend Laura Alter notebook forum, it is the largest laptop discussion site on the Internet.

Computer Security - Startling Facts

Working on the Internet provides Internet marketers with the opportunity to make a living in the comfort of their own home. Computer Security includes threats such as viruses, identity theft, spyware, adware to name but a few. The latest statistics show that at least over 900 new viruses are created each month which makes keeping track of them really quite difficult. This article would cover three (3) subtopics namely: The Internet, Spyware and Antivirus.

Internet

If you use your computer on the internet, you need (at minimum) anti virus software. The problem of computer security is the number one problem in todays networks and Internet engineering. As hackers use different means to crack the security systems it often happens to be impossible to resist and computer security system fail.

Computer Security on the internet is vital for home and business use as there are increasingly hostile environments when users surf the net. It is very important for users to be educated on the dangers they may face while on the internet. Your computer connected to the internet is similar to your house in many ways. Users search on the internet for free computer security software which they dump into their computers and hope for the best.

The Internet is a wonderful place. Anyone with an Internet connection can stay in touch with family and friends via email. Computer security is growing rapidly by the minute and the only one who has control over their files of information is the user. It is strongly suggested that users equip their pc with an armed fire wall for vital protection.

An advice is to use Microsoft Windows Update to keep your operating system and Internet Explorer patched. Other advice could be to only conduct Internet transactions that have secured processing. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer could be a target.

Although confidentiality, integrity and authenticity are the most important things when it comes to computer security in general, for everyday internet users, privacy is the most important one, because many people think that they have nothing to hide or the information they give doesn't seem sensitive when they register with an internet service/site.

Spyware

An avenue for Spyware to infect your machine is through popular Peer-to-Peer File Sharing software such as Kazaa. Extreme spyware like Rootkits and other advanced spyware have fundamentally changed the playing field in todays computer security.

While it may seem to be common sense, many of the most widely-spread attacks have involved spyware and email attachment worms. Often these packages come as “suites” including a firewall and Spyware scanner. They scan and destroy spyware as it’s found in the user’s computer.

Regardless of the type of spyware, it can slow your computer to a crawl and needs to be removed from your computer. Spyware occurs when certain websites run programs in the back ground of your computer while gleaning information from it. There is now a bill in the US Congress to make Spyware illegal.

Anti-spyware tools will greatly assist in protecting your privacy and restoring full computer functions that spyware may have taken over. In the internet world it is vital for users to have a good spyware scan (a recommended and reliable one can be found in the Author Resource Box below) and removal tool because of the multitude of different spyware, adware, Trojans and other malware constantly looking to attack your system. Spyware can slow down your computer, and would have to be removed.

There are tools available which include good free Spyware removal software among other security measures the user can take to protect the computer from malicious attack such as Viruses, Spyware and Adware. The recommended one is staed below. Spyware not only covertly runs in the background and steals personal information of the user it is a potential security threat of which the extent of the damage cannot be determined.

Antivirus

With all of the marketing commotion that surrounds viruses, you should already have antivirus software on all of your computers. Let me explain something, just because you have a antivirus software program on your computer you are not cured. Until recently could one install a firewall and an antivirus program and feel quite secure.

Protection services could commonly include the ability of an administrator to monitor activity throughout the system as well as potentially block hazardous material on the internet from being viewed by other users, the ability to manage automatic updates and what's more the ability to enquire about the status of antivirus software. These include firewall, spyware scanning software and antivirus software.

Everyone needs to have proper computer security measures in place to make sure they are consistently free from all these malicious software. Urgent action should be taken now. More info here.