EuroDNS News

ICANN 46: EuroDNS Précis Beijing

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:01:41 +0200

From April 6 to 11, 2013 the ICANN community held its quarterly meeting in Beijing, China. EuroDNS delegates were amongst the 2500 participants who attended this meeting; on their return they summarized the highlights of the event.

New gTLDs’ launch may not be postponed (but it might...)

Although ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé assured that the new gTLD program timeline would not be extended again, it is highly likely that it will, by a few months.

As reported in previous articles, following the request from law enforcement agencies from various countries to strengthen the terms under which entities are allowed to act as registrars, ICANN and the Registrar Stakeholder Group (RrSG) have been negotiating a thorough revision of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) terms.

While most of the police requests are reasonable and could be integrated into the RAA, two of them remain deeply problematic as they contravene numerous national laws on data privacy.

Data Privacy rights acknowledged in China

After 18 arduous months of discussion, ICANN has finally recognized the importance of data privacy rights. It is currently working on a mechanism which should allow registrars, such as EuroDNS which is established in a country where privacy is protected by law, to be exempt from the strengthened/illicit personal data retention and divulgation obligations the new version of the RAA would incorporate.

Additionally and presumably stemming from an overzealous quest for efficiency, ICANN also attempted to include a unilateral ‘right of amendment’ of the RAA for its sole benefit. Thus allowing it to override its bottom-up model and to modify the agreement without seeking the consensus of the stakeholders. This is clearly adverse to ICANN’s expected standards of behaviour where its website clearly states that it will, “listen to the views of all stakeholders when considering policy issues,” with a, “consensus driven approach to policy development.”

However, facing the outcry of the community and realizing that such a prerogative would be incompatible with its own standards, ICANN has drastically reworked this provision to ensure that all stakeholders be consulted beforehand and that this amendment right may only be used for “Substantial and Compelling Reasons Related to the Public Interest”.

Thanks to this acknowledgement, an ‘agreement in principle’ was reached between ICANN and the registrars during the Beijing meeting.

All-in-one

Although only in principle at this time, we still await the new wording for the RAA from ICANN. Provision of the amended agreement has now become vital for the whole new gTLD program to proceed; ICANN discretionarily decided last February that only registrars that have executed this, yet to be released agreement, would be allowed to offer domain name registrations under the new extensions.

This decision to limit registries distribution channel to registrars bound by the new RAA agreement, was quietly announced in ICANN’s recent publication of an amended version of the Registry Agreement. This latest version contains substantial modifications amongst which, the granting to ICANN of a unilateral amendment right of the Registry Agreement.

As for the RAA, ICANN is expected to rework this provision into a procedure that abides by the principles on which ICANN was built and functions.

ICANN’s CEO announced that a new version of both the RAA and RA would be published before the end of this week.

As per ICANN’s multi-stakeholder model that develops policy through a “bottom-up, consensus-driven process”, these documents will be put up for public comment for a 42 day period. Thus delaying their approval by the ICANN Board and therefore their coming into force; originally planned for the 20th of April.

Although this latest delay is unwelcomed by a great part of the community, it is of the utmost importance that these agreements, which are the cornerstone of the domain name industry, are not hastily finalized to the detriment of the registrants’ rights.

Expected consequences of the new RAA language

According to the latest version of the RAA published by ICANN and the presentation made in Beijing of the modifications to be included in the agreement, soon to be released; we trust that EuroDNS’ processes may, for the most part, already be in compliance with the new contractual obligations and that this shouldn’t put too strong a burden on EuroDNS’ customers.

EuroDNS will, as always, seek to implement these contractual obligations in its operational processes in a manner most convenient for its customers.

Nevertheless, it is already certain that due to the law enforcement agencies’ requests for enhanced verification of registrant’s details, the number of email validations sent by EuroDNS will greatly increase.Once these operational changes have been implemented, EuroDNS will publish an article detailing each of them and will update its help centre accordingly.

ICANN Contractual Compliance update

During this session lead by ICANN head of contractual compliance services Maguy Serad, the audience was informed that the complaint system which allows Internet users to file formal grievance against registrars and registries that assertedly violate their agreement with ICANN and/or report Whois inaccuracies, is currently being merged into a unified and more efficient system accessible at http://www.icann.org/en/resources/compliance/complaints.

While this logistical improvement is more than welcome, EuroDNS remains concerned that submission of a Whois inaccuracy report is not subject to any clear terms of use; particularly the fact that while registrants are contractually bound to prove that their details are accurate, the reporter, on the other hand, is not compelled to prove its assertions.

Regrettably, this critical unbalance is an open invitation for abuse by ill-intentioned parties.

Furthermore and in light of the above, the announcement that ICANN would reopen the bulk Whois inaccuracy report system - which allows Internet users to submit an unlimited number of complaints at once – within the next two months, adds to the urgency for an immediate implementation of safeguards by the ICANN compliance department.

GAC communiqué

During this meeting, ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee issued a communiqué in which it announced that it had reached full consensus to reject two applications based on their lack of community involvement and support (.africa and .gcc).

No support, no gTLD

On top of those two rejections the GAC is also requesting a delay so as to thoroughly analyse 14 other strings which may call for further consideration.

While the aforementioned advice was expected and in line with the GAC role in the framework of the new gTLD program, the government representatives also established a list of broad safeguards that they would like to see implemented into all new gTLDs terms of registration.

Advice is cheap

Although these safeguards were divided into six bullet points, they may be summarized into two categories.

The first one is the GAC advice for an improvement of the accuracy of Whois details, which as explained above, should already be accomplished by the provisions contained in the new RAA.

The second category pertains to the monitoring of domain names used by the registries. Presumably influenced by the example set by ccTLDs registries such as Switzerland’s, who drastically reduced illicit activities under their TLDs by actively monitoring registrations for abuse; the GAC is requesting that registries for new gTLDs be contractually compelled to do the same.

The honourable judge gTLD Registry

Albeit this second category of advice seems reasonable and even desirable, the wording in the communiqué appears rather too broad as it also includes the monitoring of activities that clearly falls under the jurisdiction of law courts and not under private players’.

Should the ICANN Board follow this advice, it would impose impossible regulations on registries such as determining between two or more parties which one has a prior right to a given domain name, judging the deceptive nature of a domain name use, etc.

And contrary to law courts that are not accountable for their decisions, registries would be, thus putting them at great risk.

Fortunately, the Chair of the ICANN Board, Steve Crocker intimated in the usual post ICANN interview, that the Board while preferring to always follow the GAC’s advice could also overrule them.

In addition to this advice, applicable to all new gTLDs, the GAC communiqué also provides a list of advice for a non-exhaustive list of strings the GAC considers linked to regulated and professional sectors. Although the national and international regulatory bodies to reach out to and the standards to abide by for some of the strings will be easily identifiable (such as .bank, .pharmacy, or .casino, etc.) others may prove more difficult (.earth, .eco, .wtf. etc.).

Closed in the public interest

Lastly, the GAC issued advice on the ‘closed generics’, applications for generic strings - terms on which no one may claim an exclusive right – to be operated in a closed manner and for the sole benefit of one entity (.blog, .cloud, .docs, etc.).

The government’s representatives advise that such (ab)use of the new gTLD program may only be allowed if the relevant applicants establish that the closed operation of a generic term serves the public interest.

As per the letter from September 2012 signed by EuroDNS and alerting the ICANN Board of the threat this practice would constitute to consumer choice, EuroDNS strongly supports this GAC advice.

Trademark Clearinghouse

During this session lead by Karen Lentz, ICANN Operations and Policy research Director, Deloitte and IBM, the companies contracted by ICANN to provide the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) services, explained that while the recording of trademarks was already open to trademark holders, several functions required for the launch of the new extensions were not yet implemented as they need to be more specifically defined by ICANN.

Although these functions are not required at this stage, Deloitte and IBM assured the audience that they would be ready before the launch of the new gTLDs.

As announced, eBrand Services, EuroDNS’ corporate arm has become one of the first TMCH agents to be accredited to record trademarks and is already providing this service to several IP professionals and its corporate customers via its TMCH-Genius innovative platform.

If you would like further information on eBrand TMCH-Genius, please do not hesitate to contact newgtlds@ebrandservices.com.

However, and despite eBrand Services efforts to simplify the use of this service, the inner complexity of the trademark registration system makes it difficult to use for the “occasional” trademark holder. Fully aware of this problem, EuroDNS is currently working on the implementation of a highly simplified version of the TMCH service on its platform; this version will allow customers who hold a trademark to record it for Sunrise registration in just a few clicks.

Domain name theft & buying stolen property

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:30:11 +0100

Never take your eye off the ball – this could happen to you. Having built a successful marketing strategy around your domain name and with an ever expanding customer base, everything is good in the world.

One fine day you receive an email from a registrar you may have never done business with, informing you that your domain name is in the process of being transferred to them and your confirmation is required. News to you; within minutes you receive a second email – the transfer has been accepted and is now complete. Very efficient; however, the transfer request and confirmation that the gaining registrar received did not originate from you. Sorry to say, you have been hacked, you can expect to see your domain name up for sale shortly, it is imperative that you contact both your current registrar and the new one immediately.

Large portfolio, single domain name – you are a target

Small or large business, domain investor or private individual; you are all vulnerable to this scam, but let us call it what it is; stealing. Do not assume that because your domain name is personal to you, i.e. myownname.com, you are safe – you are an easy target because the hacker already knows you want this particular domain name.

Following the theft of your domain name you may experience a lengthy legal battle involving hefty fees; your relationship with current and future customers may be jeopardized. Having taken over your domain name the thief has control of your website and emails because they have access to the DNS (domain name server). If you are lucky, customers will call to verify you are still in business, unfortunately there are those who will, on being faced with the wrong page, simply go elsewhere.

The meek shall inherit the earth… but only if they have a strong password

“Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anyone else use it, and get a new one every six months.”

Clifford Stoll – a cyberspace sleuth who exposed a ring of hackers that were stealing military secrets and selling them to the KGB.

Having a weak password for your email account is akin to leaving your front door open. Would you be surprised if your house was burgled? No. Once a thief has access to your emails they have virtual control of your life. A weak password is an invitation to a hacker, you are granting them control of your domain name; and they are now able to take over your registration records and transfer your domain name to another registrar.

It would be prudent to avoid using a free email account as the contact address for your domain registrations – generally, they are more prone to hacking attempts. Also, regularly check the filter settings on your email account (if your account allows this), if a hacker has accessed your account they can create filters for words such as ‘domain’, ‘DNS’, or your registrar’s name; these emails will then be redirected to the hackers email address and you will be unaware of their existence.

Pa33w0rd – the key or the lock?

Until one is hacked the importance of a strong password is not always appreciated, in 2012 the most popular passwords were: password, 123456, abc123, qwerty, letmein; the list goes on and although you may mock - it is a major concern. An effective password should be eight or more characters, containing symbols, numbers and capital letters. Do not use the same username and password combination for numerous sites; and, as Clifford Stoll advises, change it regularly.

If your email address is compromised a hacker is in control; most online providers will send a password reset message to your email account if a password recovery procedure is initiated, but your email account is now under the control of the hacker. After the hacker has reset the password, you no longer have access.

If your domain name is stolen and you are subsequently approached by the thief generously offering to sell it to you for a ‘very reasonable’ price, call your domain name registrar and report the incident immediately. Once you have informed them of the situation your first question should be, “why didn’t you contact me for confirmation?” Regrettably there are registrars that lack an effective verification process; there are also those without scruples and they may not try to recover your domain having successfully re-registered your name with the thief. If you are having doubts about your provider, leave; find a new registrar with an intelligent security procedure in place and sign up for it all.

EuroDNS provide high levels of security to protect customers and their property, if you have any questions regarding the security of your domain name(s), please do not hesitate to contact sales@eurodns.com; the company has a multilingual team of experts ready to help. Alternatively, if you feel you are under attack from a hacker and require assistance, the EuroDNS legal department can provide support, legalservices@eurodns.com.

In the meantime, please follow the advice below:

• Choose strong passwords for your email and registrar accounts, and change them frequently.

• In the Whois database, ensure your contact information is kept up to date.

• If the extension under which your domain name is registered offers it, subscribe to the Registry Lock service.

• Confirm your account details with your registrar and again, check your contact information is accurate and you are reachable.

• Keep records of everything so in the event that your domain name is hijacked, you are able to present a timeline and proof of ownership.

• Automate the renewal of your domain name(s). We all lead busy lives, we run out of milk, library books are overdue, and we forget to renew the registration of our domain name(s). Hackers look for names soon to expire, and pounce – it offers a quick financial return; important only to you, they will be confident that you will pay more than the market value for the return of your name(s).

And finally, do not ever, ever assume that this only happens to other people. Be vigilant at all times and if you feel vulnerable, or would like more information regarding security measures, please talk to EuroDNS.

Definition of password – a secret word or phrase that is used to gain admission; a string of characters that allows access to a computer, interface, or system.

Addendum - domain names for sale

Domain name thieves work in different ways, having targeted an individual and stolen their domain name they will email and offer the name back, for a fee; usually priced higher than its market value knowing you want and need it returned.

There are also those that steal in bulk and quite shamelessly, create a website with the specific purpose of selling stolen domain names. In this instance the domaining community will be directed to the relevant site promising excellent deals on prime domain names.

If you come across one of these websites with deals on domain names that are too good to be true, they almost certainly are. The thief/creator of the website will want to sell-on the names quickly so will want you to make a deal as fast as possible; do not be pressured. Research the history of the name, check the Whois directory at DomainTools, and call the previous owner for confirmation. If all looks genuine proceed with the purchase; but be absolutely sure, although you may buy in good faith, if the name has been stolen the original owner will fight for its return and then you become another victim.

New gTLDs – Trademarks & IDNs

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:25:45 +0100

2013 is going to be an exciting year for the domain name industry with new generic top level domains (gTLDs) being readied for introduction to the Internet. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the organization in control of assigning domains; its mission is to introduce and promote competition in the registration of domain names, whilst ensuring security and stability of the DNS. In 2011, ICANN launched the new gTLD program, “To increase competition, choice and consumer trust online.”

ICANN has announced two dates for your calendar; important dates in the new gTLD program.

Trademark Clearinghouse opens March 26, 2013

The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is a worldwide database of authenticated trademarks, enabling businesses and individuals to protect their trademarks during the launch of the new gTLDs into the Domain Name System (DNS). Following submission and verification of intellectual property rights within the TMCH, rights holders will have full access to rights protection services.

Trademark validation

As of March 26, rights holders from all over the world will be able to register their trademark data with the Trademark Clearinghouse. The verification of data is undertaken by Deloitte Enterprise Risk Services.

Database administration

Management of the TMCH database is the responsibility of IBM; they will be supplying all trademark data to the new gTLD registries and registrars during Sunrise and Trademark Claims periods.

Rights holders submitting trademark information to the TMCH will benefit from exclusive access to the Sunrise period – allowing registration of their trademarks as domain names before access becomes available to the general public. Also, during the Trademark Claims period, rights holders will receive early warning if a domain name is registered that matches or is similar to their trademark.

Rights holders must now concentrate their efforts on considering which trademarks they wish to submit to the Clearinghouse and ensure they have all registration certificates prepared and in a format accepted by the TMCH; with less than a month before opening, time is short.

Trademark Clearinghouse Guidelines

ICANN recently published the TMCH Guidelines; there is a very interesting item on page 20; ICANN has not promoted this little gem but it will certainly be welcomed by domainers. The new gTLDs’ Applicant Guidebook claimed that only ‘word marks’ would receive protection under the TMCH but the TMCH Guidelines clearly state that combined marks, i.e. word(s) and design, will be permissible. The restriction of only accepting ‘word marks’, as previously mentioned, would have meant the exclusion of a large number of trademarks composed of a logo/image and design.

The Domaining 2013 conference will take place in Valencia, April 25 – 27. EuroDNS will be attending as the Platinum Sponsor; experts from the TMCH will also be in attendance, ready to discuss the Clearinghouse services and answer all questions.

EuroDNS and eBrand Services

As always, EuroDNS will aim at streamlining this process and is currently developing a tool that will easily enable its customers to proceed to TMCH registrations via their EuroDNS accounts. This will allow EuroDNS customers to benefit from their TMCH registrations during the Sunrise periods each new gTLD will hold; periods reserved for brand owners.

However, and as for regular Trademark registrations, right holders may choose to recourse to the services of an authorised agent such as EuroDNS’ corporate arm, eBrand Services, to have their TMCH registrations handled for them. In addition to saving money, hiring the services of an agent will allow brand owners to eliminate the difficulties of having to go through the complex and time-consuming TMCH registration process; particularly for owners of numerous and “exotic” Trademarks.

If you need further information on eBrand TMCH services, please do not hesitate to contact newgtlds@ebrandservices.com.

ICANN says…

The March 26 date is “contingent on all systems being thoroughly tested and deemed ready for operation”. The TMCH will be the world’s first consolidated database of trademarks, designed specifically for the DNS.

To submit trademark information, rights holders will pay a yearly fee and can register their trademark for up to five years.

First batch of new gTLDs to be introduced on April 23, 2013

Following ICANN’s Random Draw to prioritize the new gTLD applications IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) are to be launched on April 23, 2013. IDNs are defined by ICANN as, “domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty six letters of the Latin alphabet, a-z”. Despite the draw being random, IDNs were given priority over the other gTLDs to make the Internet more accessible to audiences around the world that do not use the Latin script; thus the ability to use native scripts and languages will ease online navigation. The first new gTLD on the Internet will be the Chinese language version of .CATHOLIC.

What comes next?

ICANN have stated that following the launch of IDNs the next batch of gTLDs to be released will be those that are uncontested; possibly introduced to the Internet as early as July 2013.

Fadi Chehadé, the ICANN CEO, has said that the organization is on track for processing more than 1900 gTLDs but he added, “there are some things that we can’t control that may cause this date to slip.” Fadi emphasized that, “any delays would last weeks, not months.”

Nominet to revise direct.uk proposal

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:36:11 +0100

January 7, 2013, saw the close of Nominet’s three month consultation period regarding the introduction of direct.uk; a proposal to allow registrants to register at the second level, i.e. yourname.uk as opposed to yourname.co.uk. This would bring the UK country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) in line with most other countries. Following thorough consideration of feedback Nominet made its decision; to go back to the drawing board.

Nominet is the registry managing the UK domain space; it is one of the largest Internet registries and currently has over ten million domain names. In October 2012, it proposed a new service steered towards businesses; the ability to register shorter domain names with enhanced security features. Running alongside .CO.UK, the .UK extension would cost more but would bring advanced protection against fraud and cybercrime.

Public consultation

Realizing the possible ramifications to those concerned with the .UK domain space, Nominet opened a consultation period and invited stakeholders to share their opinions, concerns and suggestions.

EuroDNS participated in discussions and highlighted a potential hazard for existing registrants of .CO.UK domain names who have not registered their name as a trademark.

The scenario – your .CO.UK domain name has been registered for several years and you have built your marketing campaign and business around it, but you did not register it as a trademark. In the meantime, someone registers your name as a trademark; this would grant them priority over you when registering the .UK domain name, despite the trademark being registered after you registered the .CO.UK name. The scenario presented by EuroDNS was a concern shared by others who agreed priority should be given to existing .CO.UK registrants.

Internet community says no

Rather than launch the direct.uk proposal without consultation, Nominet opened up a forum, “to ensure that any resulting service or changes would meet the needs of business, boost trust in the .UK namespace, and contribute positively to Britain’s fast-growing Internet economy”. The danger of course, one doesn’t always hear what one wants. Fair play to Nominet, they have listened and acted accordingly, delaying the proposal to address the various issues.

Nominet has published the direct.uk proposal feedback itemizing the concerns along with comments from the contributors and the registry’s responses. There was disquiet about the cost to businesses ‘forced’ into defensive registration and having to compete for their .UK domain name, despite owning the .CO.UK extension. Although the .UK extensions would come with heightened security justifying the increased registration fee, commentators balked at yet more expenditure.

Whilst the enhanced security features, including malware monitoring and notification, DNSSEC, and a trustmark, brought support, stakeholders thought they should be reflected in all the UK extensions under Nominet’s administration. Concerns about the possible devaluing of existing UK domain name portfolios were voiced by several domain investors. The “more secure and more trusted” direct.uk tagline implying that other UK TLDs are inferior. Nominet’s company overview states, “Safe, secure and reliable, we keep the infrastructure fully functioning and work to protect it from threats, ranging from fraud, to cyber-attacks”, and, “ensure our services work well and are as innovative as they are trustworthy”; “services” plural, not – you get what you pay for.

Nominet goes back to the drawing board

The registry have said that they will explore the numerous comments from their stakeholders and revise the proposal; revisions to include a new phased release mechanism, security features to be spread across the UK namespace, and an appropriate pricing model. Progress of work will be reviewed at the June board meeting and depending on results; Nominet will take part in further consultation before a final decision is reached.

With the release of new gTLDs beginning this year, a quick resolution is essential; stakeholders anxious to keep the UK domain space relevant and competitive expressed concern that launching direct.uk after the new gTLDs would diminish its value.

EuroDNS, fighting for your rights

With the introduction of so many new domains, it is time to consider registering multiple domain names with a single registrar. EuroDNS offers specialized services to aid with domain name registration and its team of experts is available to give advice and answer your questions. Transferring and consolidating your domain names with EuroDNS will save you time, money and stress. Please contact sales@eurodns.com, we are here to protect you and your property.

AFNIC reports on the top 50 domain extensions

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:37:25 +0100

In February 2013, AFNIC published a report following an extensive study in 2012 of the world’s top 50 domain name extensions. The industry report reveals information regarding the performance of the 50 TLDs, in relation to each other and historically; the average growth rate was 7%, a 2% drop compared to 2011.

AFNIC (Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération) is the non-profit organization managing the TLDs .FR (France), .RE (Réunion Island), .YT (Mayotte), .WF (Wallis and Futuna), .TF (French Southern Territories), and .PM (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon). AFNIC is also positioned as a provider of technical solutions and services for registries and registrars.

Please see below for highlights of the study; if you wish to read in full, please visit AFNIC.

Relaxation creates surge for .CN domain names

A remarkable annual growth of 113% means .CN (China) is displaying the greatest increase in the number of registrations in 2012. The performance of the .CN extension has fluctuated for several years due to Chinese authorities imposing tight restrictions on registrations; topping four million names at year-end 2009 this figure dropped dramatically to three million in less than two years. The restrictions were relaxed in 2012 and subsequently the number of registrations at the end of 2012 has increased to almost six and a half million.

.COM still reigns as king of the domains

No surprise that .COM leads the generic extensions in growth, 8% in 2012; but it also boasted the highest number of registered domain names, 106 million.

Accent on the French

Founded in 1998, in December 2012 AFNIC announced it had over two and a half million .FR domains registered; new registrations in 2012 amounted to 730,000, an increase of 14% compared to the previous year.

The .FR extension ranks fourteenth out of the 50 extensions covered by the AFNIC report (generic and country code) and tenth in country code TLDs. The registrations of the .FR extension increased by 15% in 2012; excluding .CN, this is double the average growth of the other extensions.

Local presence is no longer a requirement when registering a .FR domain name and this brought an influx of new registrations. When AFNIC introduced IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) on all their ccTLDs, the numbers grew again as French speaking Internet users were able to portray their domain names correctly using 30 new characters.

With the new gTLDs scheduled to hit the Internet this year; one applicant is The City of Paris and it has engaged AFNIC as the registry administering the new extension, .PARIS.

The best of the rest

The second most popular extension is .NET with 15,500,000 million registered names, closely followed by .DE (Germany, 15.3m), .ORG (10.3m), .TK (Tokelua, 10.5m), and .UK (10.3m). A recent surge shows .CN with seven and a half million names registered.

It is worth noting that the hugely popular .TK extension is ranking highly due to its beneficial registration policy; domain names can usually be registered free of charge, regardless of the registrants nationality.

Whilst there are only 300,000 registered .IR (Iran) domain names, it grew an impressive 40% in 2012. Iranians wishing to register a .IR domain name are welcomed with open arms; as is the rest of the world, but due to a UN embargo on the country whilst it is still possible to register a domain name, payment of registration fees is impossible.

The Portugal extension, .PT, displayed an annual growth of 28%; this impressive growth was aided by registration restrictions being lifted on May 1, 2012, allowing anyone to register a domain name. With the liberalization of .PT new features were also introduced including domain names supporting accented characters.

In the middle of 2010 .COM had reason to be concerned when it faced competition with the introduction of .CO (Colombia); with liberalized registration requirements it was marketed as an ‘open ccTLD’ or ‘quasi gTLD’ and an alternative to .COM. Google also recognized it as .COM substitute and aligned its terms of SEO so the two extensions were appraised accordingly. By 2012 there were two and a half million registered domain names.

Montenegro’s .ME extension has always been popular and has been increasing year on year since 2008; its potential as a generic name was soon apparent and it was heavily promoted in the English speaking market as a means to personalize ones website. Officially .ME is a ccTLD but Google accepted it as an unofficial generic name and so, allows geo-targeting.

Unfortunately not all ccTLDs are equal and there are some in decline including .KR (Korea) dropping 9% and the Russian extension represented in Cyrillic characters, .рф, dropping by 17% despite it being hugely popular when it was launched in 2012.

Final word

According to Verisign (provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world), there were seven million domains added to the Internet in Q2 2012; meaning the total number of generic and ccTLD names registered worldwide is almost 250 million. Globally, registrations have grown by 11.9% since Q2 2011; we can only wait and see what will happen when the new gTLDs hit the Internet.

Traffic that's too good to be true

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:49:09 +0100

The perfect domain name, and with so much traffic, excellent. How fortuitous to have found this domain name up for sale. Don’t miss out; you better buy before someone else gets there first, apparently there is great interest in this name. Healthy traffic stats and a fair price, what more could one ask?

Information regarding the amount of traffic visiting a domain is vital when valuing a domain name; you know this and unfortunately, so do scammers. Read the following article and learn how this scam works and the questions you must ask.

Scam #5 Pump and dump scam

This scam is so simple it may never go away. It begins with a devious seller and a cheap domain name; they manufacture an increase in traffic received, i.e. they ‘pump’ it up. This is achieved through various methods including link exchanges, ISP bots and spam emails inviting visitors to the website; regrettably there are companies that sell fake traffic with a randomizing function producing various keywords, origins and time-spans. Once the site/domain name is sufficiently pumped, thus appearing valuable, potential buyers are targeted.

Buyers beware

The fraudulent seller will approach buyers through a domain aftermarket, listing it for sale; it should be remembered that aftermarket sites are, for the most part, not part of the scam, they are merely used and abused by the fraudster. But, the fact that the aftermarket site has a reputable name helps to promote the sale as honest, and enables the fraudster to hide behind a trusted brand. Lest we forget, aftermarket sites are only acting as technical intermediaries; their terms and conditions always state that the site does not guarantee traffic stats, thus protecting themselves from possible recriminations.

The aftermarket platform reaches a large audience of unsuspecting buyers, unfortunately greedy fraudsters also target online forums; but this approach has its downside, astute domain investors ask too many questions and perform due diligence. Being unmasked as a fraudster will deter some from this method; but records on Whois can be altered (in violation of the registrar’s terms) and false identities created, buyers must remain alert.

Domain name sold, it has been ‘dumped’; sit back and watch the traffic disappear.

When buying a domain name… due diligence

Is there a way to avoid this scam? Yes indeed, it is called ‘don’t be gullible’. What the fraudsters are promoting is too good to be true; get-rich-quick schemes exist but do not, never have, and never will work.

It is up to you, the buyer, to investigate the history and stats of a domain name/website; never trust the traffic figures, always check they are genuine. If a domain name displays fantastic traffic but zero backlinks, ask yourself why. Always check whether the domain name listed in recognized directories?

Try to deal with sellers boasting positive feedback and a good sales history. Speak with the seller and ask questions, if they are reluctant to share information, walk away and save your money; an honest seller has nothing to hide.

Seek and ye shall find, if not… walk away

The best defence against the pump and dump scam is research; if the answers are hard to come by or you feel they are being hidden from you, walk away and save your money.

Oops, you’ve been dumped on

Not good, especially if you invested a large sum. If you are prepared for some hard work then all need not be lost, it is possible to turn your loss into a profit by monetizing your domain.

Do not be embarrassed to ask for help, email sales@eurodns.com or speak with your EuroDNS account manager; our team consists of domain name experts and fraud busters, who would be more than happy to help with your investigations.

Further reading – it’s a dangerous world out there

This article is part of the EuroDNS Scam Alarm series; we want you to be fully aware of all possible hazards and threats to your livelihood and property so we regularly publish advice, information and warnings. Please subscribe to the EuroDNS Newsletter which contains not only Scam Alarm articles but all the latest domain industry news and our regular promotions.

Scam #1 Domain slamming
Scam #2 Fake trademark protection
Scam #3 Search engine submission
Scam #4 Domain name appraisal

EuroDNS Mega vouchers offer secure online cloud storage

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 08:39:29 +0100

EuroDNS has a promotional deal for its customers and it is mega. The newly created company Mega provides a cloud-based storage facility with enhanced online privacy; EuroDNS, a reseller for Mega, is offering its customers Mega vouchers to benefit from this new service.

EuroDNS customers visiting the Mega website can read the company mission,” In the past, securely storing and transferring confidential information required the installation of dedicated software.” It continues, “The new Mega encrypts your data transparently in your browser, on the fly. You hold the keys to what you store in the cloud, not us.”

Bigger . Better . Faster . Stronger . Safer

What does it mean? Effectively, EuroDNS will be offering vouchers for a secure cloud backup and file storage solution. This high level of security is realized with the use of an encryption generator which creates a unique alpha-numeric code for unlocking files – users can only view the files if the up-loader has given them a key code.

Mega vouchers

The EuroDNS vouchers can be used on the Mega platform; there are various options depending on requirements. Whether one needs 500GB or 4TB, over a month or for a whole year; there are packages for everyone. Purchasing a yearly voucher will save two months; a 17% discount.

Interested in this offer? Please visit the EuroDNS website and view the packages, with storage allowance and cost. For more information about the EuroDNS Mega vouchers or for further clarification, please contact sales@eurodns.com, the team of domain experts is more than happy to discuss the various options.

Why Mega?

EuroDNS Chairman, Xavier Buck instigated initial discussions with Mega and proposed EuroDNS as a reseller; wishing to provide its customers with the best services, Xavier recognized this as an excellent opportunity to offer a secure environment for the storage of files, using the latest cloud computing technology. Xavier said, “We want to give our customers the competitive edge; this state-of-the-art cloud-based storage platform has ground breaking encryption security enabling users to store files safe in the knowledge that access is granted by them alone.”

Xavier’s belief is so strong that he offered his help in the early stages of the formation of Mega; wholly confident that this platform will be a part of the security and privacy landscape for years to come. Xavier had the opportunity to meet the entire Mega team in July and following consultation he was convinced of the concept’s power and the quality of the team behind it. Xavier said, “I consider security and privacy to be key issues for the Internet community therefore I am proud to be able to support Mega both as a reseller through EuroDNS and as an individual; my knowledge and expertise are at their disposal over this key period of growth. Boasting over a million users signing up in the opening days, it is clear that this is going to be huge, for Mega, for its partners and for Internet users throughout the world. Finally, strong security in the cloud is going to be the standard, not the exception.”

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specializing in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Contact details
Phone: +352 26 37 25-1
Email: marketing@eurodns.com

EuroDNS, Digiweb and Instra, partner as resellers for Mega

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:00:03 +0100

Mega partners with three globally respected domain name registrars, EuroDNS, Digiweb and Instra, to offer secure, encrypted file sharing in a cloud-based storage repository.

The newly created company, Mega, launched amidst great fanfare on January 19, 2013, under the maxim, “We Promise We Deliver – Bigger . Better . Faster . Stronger . Safer”. As leading domain name registrars, EuroDNS, Digiweb and Instra have been welcomed on board as resellers and jointly, they will provide expert product advice, technical support, marketing and billing support.

The description on the Mega website reads, “In the past, securely storing and transferring confidential information required the installation of dedicated software.” It continues, “The new Mega encrypts your data transparently in your browser, on the fly. You hold the keys to what you store in the cloud, not us.” As trusted pioneers in their field, this newly formed partnership enables EuroDNS, Digiweb and Instra to offer their respective customers a secure cloud backup and file storage solution; the platform is fast and cost effective, with the high level of security achieved by utilizing an encryption generator to create a unique alpha-numeric code for the unlocking of files.

Mega launch

Tony Lentino, Instra Founder and Mega CEO and Director, has been vocal in his continued support of Mega and the development of this revolutionary new Internet service, “A cloud storage provider designed to set a new benchmark in Internet privacy”.

EuroDNS Chairman, Xavier Buck instigated initial discussions with Mega and proposed EuroDNS as a reseller; striving to provide its customers the best services, Xavier saw this as an opportunity to offer a secure environment for the storage of files using the latest cloud computing technology. He says, “We are giving our customers the competitive edge; this state-of-the art cloud-based storage platform has unprecedented encryption security so users can store files safe in the knowledge that access is granted by them alone.”

The Mega launch took place in New Zealand, January 19 (EST/GMT) – January 20 (NZDT).

About Digiweb Group

Digiweb was established in 1997 and operates a mix of hosting and domain name brands including www.digiweb.co.nz and www.domaincentral.com.

The Group focuses on offering geographically diverse 'trans-tasman' cloud solutions to the SME market via its four Australasian data centres. Digiweb operates out of New Zealand with offices in Christchurch and Auckland. The Group holds domain name accreditations across multiple countries and is also ICANN accredited. In recent years the Group has grown significantly on the back of the 'cloud' revolution as it offers scalable solutions to a mix of global clients across wide ranging industry sectors.

Contact
marketing@digiweb.co.nz
Phone: +64 3 351 6713

About Instra Corporation Pty. Ltd

Formed in 1997, Instra Corporation is a privately-owned company based in Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia.

Instra has expanded its initial domain name business from New Zealand and Australia into a leading, worldwide domain registrar. Instra Corporation supplies over 300+ country domains worldwide and has direct accreditations with over 100 registries. Many companies and household brand names from around the world take advantage of Instra’s unique and sophisticated Domain Management System to actively manage their online intellectual property. Our customers come from over 160 different countries.

Contact
Dennis Kittrell, VP Business Development
Mobile: + 1 602 325 3262

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specializing in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

EuroDNS .DO.MA.IN .NA.ME .DE.AL, .PR.AI.SE .BE!

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:23:46 +0100

EuroDNS wish all its readers a happy and prosperous New Year. To ring in 2013 we are offering a rather random promotion, but it was irresistible. Domain name deal, praise be, offers 11 domains at significantly reduced prices. Register today and start the New Year as you mean to go on.

EuroDNS strives to give its customers all they require, such as advice, protection and an efficient service. We offer regular promotions on the registration of domain names, industry news in our monthly newsletter, and invaluable information on how to protect your domain names and yourself against cyber bullies.

.DO.MA.IN .NA.ME .DE.AL, .PR.AI.SE .BE!

So here’s the deal, register a domain name with one or more of the following domains, valid until January 31; enter the appropriate promo code and benefit from this unique domain name deal.

Dominican Republic - SODO13A ....... € 59.99 ............ .DO

Morocco - SOMA13A ....................... € 77.99 ............ .MA

India - SOIN13A ............................... € 11.99 ............. .IN

Namibia - SONA13A ......................... € 3,300.99 ........ .NA

Montenegro - SOME13A .................... € 10.99 ............ .ME

Germany - SODE13A ........................ € 4.99 ............... .DE

Albania - SOAL13A .......................... € 53.99 ............. .AL

Puerto Rico - SOPR13A ................... € 900.99 ............ .PR

Anguilla - SOAI13A .......................... € 69.99 ............. .AI

Sweden - SOSE13A ......................... € 12.99 ............. .SE

Belgium - SOBE13A ......................... € 4.99 ............... .BE

EuroDNS in 2013

EuroDNS has big plans for 2013; lots of exciting things on the horizon that will be announced and launched through our website.

Stay ahead of the game and subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter, it will keep you up to date with all the latest domain industry news; you can also find us on Facebook and follow on Twitter, there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

The newsletter regularly highlights scams that you may be vulnerable to, offering instruction on how to avoid exploitation and protect your property. The EuroDNS Legal Department are readily available if you are approached by fraudsters and scam artists; please contact legalservices@eurodns.com for an initial consultation if you feel you are being threatened.

The EuroDNS sales team are experts in their field and offer a multilingual service; dedicated naming solutions for trademark holders and your own account manager are just some of the benefits, along with several other free services. Please do not hesitate to contact sales@eurodns.com if you require further information regarding the services provided
by EuroDNS.

Happy New Year to you all!

Customer Services: VAT number alert

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:00:33 +0100

Dear Customer,

Due to an external system problem with VAT administration, Luxembourgish VAT numbers are erroneously considered invalid. The problem started yesterday and the technical team at VAT administration is working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

We will inform you via the EuroDNS website as soon as the situation is resolved.

Please do not enter your Luxembourgish VAT number until you receive confirmation from EuroDNS that the problem is resolved; our system will receive an invalid test result from the VAT administration system and the action will fail.

Following resolution, it may be necessary for you to re-enter your VAT number in your EuroDNS account. We will, in the meantime, keep you up to date via the website.

We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Best regards,
EuroDNS Customer Services

Registration of country code domain names increasing

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:18:38 +0100

December 2012, saw over 61 million country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) names registered in Europe. In the last year the number of registrations has increased by over 7.9%; whilst registration of generic TLDs has grown by 6.2%, over the same period.

CENTR is the European country code TLD organization, its mission is to promote and participate in the development of high standards and best practices amongst ccTLD Registries. Twice a year CENTR publishes the DomainWire Stat Report, focussing on European domain name registries.

Relax and they will come

Inevitably, when a domain relaxes restrictions, there is a notable increase in registrations. The highest growth over the last 12 months was experienced by .CN, the domain of China, and showed an increase of 27%. It is now the fifth largest ccTLD in the world with over 4 million registered names.

In Europe, .PT of Portugal was the fastest growing ccTLD, displaying an increase of 25%. The registration restrictions were lifted May 1, 2012, as reported by EuroDNS; new features introduced meant the domain also began accepting accented characters. During the Sunrise period a total of 18,200 new domain names were recorded, apparently breaking records. Following General Availability, a staggering 28,984 domain names were registered.

Showing 17% growth over 12 months, the .ME domain of Montenegro is the second fastest growing European ccTLD. Although the restrictions on this domain were relaxed five years ago, the fact that Google recognize it as an unofficial generic name therefore allowing geo-targeting, ensure its increasing popularity. In addition, it offers registrants the ability to personalize their name, apply calls to action, and is excellent for domain name hacks. The hack being a trick whereby the full domain name, including extension, spells out a word or phrase; examples are hug.me, love.me, ti.me, and justcall.me.

EuroDNS offers one of the largest collections of ccTLDs along with all the gTLDs; if you would like to register a domain name and/or discuss the numerous advantages of registering multiple domain names and the subsequent forwarding of these names to your main site, please contact sales@eurodns.com.

.COM is not always king

The report also shows countries where there are more ccTLDs registered than gTLDs, indicating that registrants in these countries recognize the distinct value of displaying loyalty to their audience’s country. They also happen to be rather convenient extensions if you are looking for a domain name hack.

The countries whose ccTLD has the highest market share of the local domain market are Montenegro - .ME (99%), Serbia - .RS (90%) and Slovakia - .SK (87%).

gTLD vs ccTLD

Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) do not target specific countries but Google do make it possible with geo-targeting, should you wish to talk to a particular country. If your website domain name has a generic extension, such as .COM, .NAME or .ORG, etc., you can set a geographic target; should you choose not to, Google will use IP address, links, and contact details to find the relevant audience.

Websites with a ccTLD are geographically targeted purely by the extension of the site’s domain name.

The EuroDNS article Are ccTLDs important in the world of SEO?, discussed the advantages of registering a ccTLD and the pitfalls to avoid; “Having numerous ccTLD sites may require more effort, but the benefits will certainly outweigh this.”

A subsequent article, Protect & Profit @ EuroDNS, explained why registering multiple domain names and targeting a specific country will help your business succeed; and importantly, how to avoid being penalized by Google for black hat SEO.

EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a leading domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions; our clients are varied and range from SMEs to some of the world’s largest domain investors. There are several free services to help with all domain name registration requirements.

If you have registered variations of your company’s domain, such as product names and services, the EuroDNS free domain forwarding service will direct them all to your primary site; and for each registered domain name, customers have free access to a 1GB webmail account.

For more detailed information, please visit the EuroDNS website or speak directly with one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com. The team offers dedicated naming solutions for trademark holders and advice on protecting existing and registering new domain names. Our team is multilingual and offers a personalized service tailored to you.

National Day in the domain state of .QA

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:57:49 +0100

Qatar is celebrating; December 18 is the day the state commemorates its unification and independence. The day is recognized as a celebration of its heritage and to encourage pride in Qatar. EuroDNS love an excuse to bestow a gift so offer the .QA domain at a reduced price. Valid until January 1, 2013, register a .QA domain name for only €49.99; enter the promo code NDQA12A to reap the benefits of one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

In February 2012, Forbes listed Qatar as the richest country per capita and one of the fasted growing. “Qatar has lured multinational financial firms to the country, as well as satellite campuses of U.S. universities. The government is pouring money into infrastructure, including a deep water seaport, an airport and a railway network, all with an eye to making the country a better host for businesses and the 2022 World Cup.”

Size is not important

In September 2011, registration of .QA domain names was made available to members of the general public. It may have a small population but its Internet penetration is over 66%, statistics that display a high Internet awareness; October 2012, shows nearly 15,000 registered .QA domain names, proving the ever increasing interest shown in the domain. Qatar’s reputation around the world is growing daily, register a .QA domain name and see your business reputation improve.

Calling Qatar

Watch as your business grows, register a .QA domain name now, entering the promo code NDQA12A. Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS offers this popular extension to our customers with all the benefits offered by a .QA extension; target the Qatari audience and enjoy an increase in traffic and an immediate ROI.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS not only registers international domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to support our customers with all their domain requirements. The list of services currently includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are on hand to help.”

To register or transfer an existing .QA domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website, and enter the promo code NDQA12A, valid until January 1, 2013. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news and advice from a leading domain name registrar, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

EuroDNS can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter; there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Genuine offer, or devious scam?

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:40:23 +0100

“Dear prey,
I am interested in purchasing your domain name, scamvictim.com, and offer to buy it from you for 75% of the appraised market value. I accept appraisals from any of the following leading appraisal companies…” STOP READING NOW!

In its endeavours to protect its customers, EuroDNS regularly publish articles containing useful information, warnings of scams and the latest domain name industry news. The scam highlighted in this article has been around for a number of years; it is one that comes and goes but never leaves completely, proving unfortunately, that it still works as a scam. Be warned, its ugly face is making an appearance in your domain.

Scam #4 Domain name appraisal

How exciting, you just received an email from Mr Hoax and he is expressing an interest in one of your domain names; he is prepared to pay 75% of the appraised market value. For that added sense of trust he will even direct you to a blog post that recommends his company, and provide a list of independent evaluation companies to protect both your interests; it seems to be genuine as you recognize some of the names as belonging to reputable companies. Each company has its own fee and some are more expensive than others, but one is more reasonable than the others, so...

Having committed the grave error of reading this email, you are about to make a second mistake. The cheaper of the evaluation companies, along with the blog, is controlled by Mr Hoax; difficult to prove though, performing a Whois check of the domain name will surely result in a private registration with all information hidden. The alarm bells should be ringing rather loudly now, a legitimate business would have no reason to mask its identity unless it has something to hide, such as a certain Mr Hoax.

Looking for proof?

So, you are still intrigued and want proof that you are not about to ignore an offer of money? You could send a reply and suggest a price, also insist that any appraisal service will be at the buyer’s expense. But, it is almost certain that you will receive a swift response accepting your suggested price but stating that you have to pay for the appraisal and if not already offered, there will be a list of appraisal companies for your convenience. Mr Hoax will also request trademark verification to ensure there are no trademark infringement issues with your domain name(s).

Advice: never pay for an appraisal, if a buyer is chasing to purchase your domain name(s), they should pay. Insisting that you pay is more proof, if you need it, that it is a scam.

So, you fell for the scam

Despite the warning, you are still engaging with Mr Hoax; he has generously stated that should the valuation of your domain name be higher, you may adjust the asking price accordingly. He will ask for your preferred method of payment, Escrow, PayPal, wire transfer or credit card; as previously, more company names you recognize and feel safe with. Mr Hoax states that once he has received the independent appraisal of your domain name, negotiations will progress to the next stage. But don’t forget, Mr Hoax owns the appraisal company you selected and the blog recommending his company.

Do not pay for an appraisal

Too late, you transferred money to an independent appraisal company recommended by Mr Hoax and then forwarded the evaluation to him. You are patiently waiting for his reply and payment for your domain name. Well, sorry to disappoint but you are going to have a very long wait; you will never hear from Mr Hoax again. He got what he wanted and it was not your domain name, it was the fee for the appraisal. Some of you might think this is a very obvious scam but as previously stated; it is an old scam that keeps returning, indicating that it continues to work.

EuroDNS are here to help

If you feel that you are in danger of being scammed and you do not want to lose money, either from a legitimate purchase offer or a scam, please contact legalservices@eurodns.com.

EuroDNS is an ICANN accredited registrar and provides each customer with a dedicated account manager for all registration requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact the EuroDNS team at sales@eurodns.comm for information and advice.

The EuroDNS Scam Alarm

Scam #1 Domain slamming & Scam #2 Fake trademark protection
Scam #3 Search engine submission

Alternatively, please subscribe to the EuroDNS Newsletter which offers Scam Alarm articles along with domain industry news.

“Obligatory expropriation”, no way!

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:17:57 +0100

Expropriate:
1. to deprive of possession or proprietary rights.
2. to transfer (the property of another) to one’s own possession.

On November 16, 2012, red.es, the registry for the .ES domain, issued a press release announcing a new directive, “the procedure for reassigning domain names of exceptional general interest.” The objective is to apply a process to avoid abusive registration of domain names, and that is most definitely not ‘obligatory expropriation’.

A domain name that has been acknowledged as that of ‘high general interest’ may be cancelled by the registry and reassigned to the body epitomizing the general interest. But do not worry, the original registrant of the domain name does not leave empty handed, the registry kindly reimburses the registration fees.

The loophole that says it’s not expropriation

The registry emphasize that the original registrant was, illegally, benefiting from use of the ‘general interest’ domain name. The registrant enjoyed use of the name but never owned it, which is why the registry may cancel and reassign if deemed appropriate, but never expropriate.

Registrants are offered the chance to appeal to the Administrative Disputes Court should they feel they have been treated unjustly, not forgetting they will be fully reimbursed for the domain name registration fees.

Domain investors, beware!

The press release states, “Occasionally it becomes necessary to recover an ‘.ES’ domain name…”, “On many occasions these domain names are registered for the speculation purposes and give rise to confusion concerning the holder assigned and the subject that truly represents the general interest associated with that specific domain name.”

Be prepared

Despite preregistration investigations, establishing that no third party holds registered rights, your .ES domain name may not be safe. Contrary to other dispute resolution systems, during the ‘so-called’ reassignment process, a complainant will have to establish that no one can claim exclusive rights on the domain they want to obtain the transfer of, thus making the domain of general interest.

Having spent time and money promoting your .ES domain name(s), it would be a terrible shame to see all that go to waste.

If you are a domain investor and you have one or more parked .ES domain names, you may receive a missive from the Chairman of red.es indicating that your domain names are of general interest; it would be wise to be prepared with a good argument.

Feast your eyes on .US, and be thankful

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:32:59 +0100

On November 22, 2012, America celebrates Thanksgiving Day. Celebrate this occasion, honour the early settlers, mark the opening of the US Christmas shopping season, and be thankful for the EuroDNS promotion on .US domain names. Register your .US domain name for as little as €5.99, simply enter the promo code NLUS12A and harvest your rewards, valid until December 31, 2012.

Registering a .US domain name enables American and international businesses, based in the US, to strengthen their identity in the country, thus inspiring confidence by visibly proclaiming loyalty to the local audience; online consumers are known to feel safer when dealing with a company displaying their country’s ccTLD. The EuroDNS promotion is a Thanksgiving Day gift to our customers; register now at the reduced rate of €5.99, offer ends December 31, 2012.

Pumpkins and football for US all

“On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment – halftime.” author unknown

Thanksgiving occurs on the fourth Thursday of November; preceding Black Friday which is the opening of the Christmas shopping season and one of America’s busiest shopping days. It is a celebration giving thanks for all that one has, and honours the early settlers. Families come together to feast on turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, potatoes, the list goes on; only stopping to watch the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game.

USeful, SplendiferoUS, AdvantageoUS

“Not merely a nation but a nation of nations.” Lyndon B. Johnson

America is a country with a diverse population, registering a .US domain name for your business means you talk to the world.

Let US not forget

Domain hacks work very well with the .US domain extension; some examples would be melodio.us, scandalo.us, victorio.us. So are you in the music industry, paparazzi, or simply fabulo.us? Treat yourself to an auspicio.us name today.

EuroDNS puts US in safe hands

To register or transfer an existing .US domain at the unbeatable price of €5.99, visit our website, and enter the promo code: NLUS12A, valid until December 31, 2012.

Registrants of a .US domain must be American citizens, residents, organizations or, a foreign entity with a presence in the United States; the DNS server should also be located in America. If these requirements are not met, the domain can be deleted by the registry.

For more detailed information, please visit the EuroDNS website or speak directly with one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com. The team offers dedicated naming solutions for trademark holders and advice on protecting existing and registering new domain names. Our team is multilingual and offers a personalized service tailored to you.

The scandal that is, search engine submission

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:50:55 +0100

“We will submit your website to thousands of search engines”. Wow, too good to miss, where do I sign? Do not sign, do not ever sign; it is a scam, a con, a misconception, there are no positive words to describe this money making scheme.

EuroDNS believe in protecting their customers against fraudsters; with this in mind, articles are regularly published offering advice and warnings regarding scams (Scam #1 & Scam #2). This is the story of a legitimate service, search engine submission, which has become a scam. How did this happen? Over ten years passed and in that time technology advanced, rendering the service redundant; yet it is still being promoted as an essential service worth paying for.

Emails are being sent to unsuspecting individuals and businesses offering submission to thousands of search engines, rapidly increased traffic to websites; and all for a small monthly fee of…

Scam #3 Search engine submission

In the past, search engine submission was the best way to submit a website to a search engine; but now it is no longer necessary as the leading search engines use crawlers, bots and spiders to locate and index sites on the Internet. Do you need search engine submission tools? No, therefore, these emails asking for money are perpetuating the myth that the tools are worthy.

An alarm went off in the EuroDNS Legal Department when a concerned customer forwarded a ‘final notice of domain listing’ email; the service about to be cancelled was ‘annual website search engine submission for madeupname.com’. The email contained the statement, “Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web.” Rather peculiarly, the email was sent from a disposable email address, which was the first clue.

The small print stated (highlights only), “THIS IS NOT A BILL. This is a solicitation.” “You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated unless you accept this offer.” “There is no pre-existing relationship between ‘fraudulent company’ and the domain mentioned above. This notice is not in any part associated with a continuation of services for domain registration. Search engine submission is an optional service that you can use as a part of your website optimization and alone may not increase the traffic to your site.”

Luc Seufer, Chief Legal Officer at EuroDNS, says, “This communication is clearly deceptive, no question; it is misleading and can even be considered threatening. I would advise anyone receiving an email such as this to ignore it.” Luc continued, “Do not ever be tempted to pay anyone for search engine submission services; they are a way to extort money by foul means.”

Google says these services are unnecessary

On Google Webmaster Tools there is a statement, “Inclusion in Google's search results is free and easy; you don't even need to submit your site to Google. Google is a fully automated search engine that uses software known as "spiders" to crawl the web on a regular basis and find sites to add to our index. In fact, the vast majority of sites listed in our results aren't manually submitted for inclusion, but found and added automatically when our spiders crawl the web.”

In October 2012, on the Google Webmaster Forum, a Google representative officially stated, “…these services are not needed and can even be counter-productive (if they create unnatural links for your site, which would be against our Webmaster Guidelines).”

“We will submit your website to thousands of search engines”

Submission to thousands of search engines for a small monthly fee certainly sounds tempting and for business owners launching a new website, the offer to bring visitors whilst saving time and money may prove irresistible. It would be a cheaper option than employing comprehensive SEO services and they could relax, knowing that their website is being actively promoted.

But, the thousands of search engines in the statement are all too often ‘free for all pages’ (FFA); being listed offers no value to your business or website and can prove detrimental to the credibility of both. And it gets worse; there are some submission services that will sell your email address; the result being spam emails, and lots of them.

Is there a right way?

Yes, absolutely, it is called content. The most effective way to get your website indexed successfully is to generate useful and unique content such as articles, blogs, and forums…

One of the methods you can rely on to get your website indexed and ranked is to build appropriate incoming links, a.k.a. ‘backlinks’. The major search engines will locate your site by crawling links from other sites. Without links from other indexed pages your website will not rank well, even if a submission service alerts the search engines of its presence.

Submitting your website to web directories is a proven way to create relevant links to your site; do not be tempted to use an automated program as it will not find directories specific to your industry or location. Also, the genuinely valuable directories will ask questions related to you and your business; it is a manual process requiring your specialized knowledge, you should not try to cut corners. Receiving a backlink from a respected web directory ensures your website will be crawled by the search engine robots quickly, thus visibility in the major search engines in a matter of days.

Link building is the most effective way to step up in the SERPs (search engine results page) and improve search engine optimization; this is not possible with a search engine submission service.

EuroDNS, advices caution and offers help

The EuroDNS Legal Department warns all its customers, on receiving a spam/scam email of this nature, to exercise extreme caution. Luc advices, “Do not reply, sometimes this can start a chain of events and before you know it, you are losing money.” He continues, “Forward to the EuroDNS Legal Department where we will investigate and instruct you in the best action to take.”

If you get caught by any of these exploitative actions, or if you are approached and unsure of what to do you would be well advised to contact legalservices@eurodns.com.

In an effort to protect and warn customers, EuroDNS regularly publish articles offering guidance on scams, fraudulent solicitations, etc. Please read, My domain name has been kidnapped, help!; for information regarding Scam #1 Domain slamming and Scam #2 Fake trademark protection.

EuroDNS is an ICANN accredited registrar and provides each customer with a dedicated account manager for all registration requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact the EuroDNS team at sales@eurodns.com for information and advice.

.SX for everyone

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:33:33 +0100

From November 15, 2012, .SX domain names became available for registration to you all. Following the successful, earlier registering phases, General Availability opened on a first-come, first-served basis.

The .SX extension is the ccTLD of Sint Maarten and was launched with tremendous fanfare in March 2012. It is a domain that is open to individuals and organizations; a local presence is not required.

EuroDNS, accredited registrar for .SX

Registering a .SX domain name should be done through a registrar accredited by the SX Registry such as EuroDNS, who is waiting to receive your registrations.

General Availability officially opened on November 15, 15:00 UTC (11:00 SXM time or 10:00 EST).

Hot, hot, hot!

“Now everybody can get .SX”, “The hottest new TLD of 2012”, “The hottest new TLD through 2013”. The SX Registry is targeting a wide audience with its marketing campaign. At first glance, travel comes to mind, or maybe swimwear. The registry is clearly welcoming everyone with open arms and is hoping to attract customers from various industries. It has proved to be a very popular domain and it would be advisable to act immediately to ensure registration of the name you desire.

EuroDNS keeps it cool

As an accredited registrar, EuroDNS are ready to guide customers through the registration process; a team of experts are waiting to help and answer any questions. The EuroDNS domain team are multilingual and offer a personalized service tailored to individual customer’s needs. Please contact sales@eurodns.com, for more information on domain name registration.

EuroDNS is a leading domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions; our clients are varied and range from SMEs to some of the world’s largest domain investors.

French Court of Appeal confirms registrars’ neutrality

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:39:40 +0100

On October 19, 2012 the Paris Court of Appeal pronounced its judgment in a lawsuit initiated in 2008 by 13 French companies against EuroDNS and the .FR Registry regarding domain name registrations.

Ending a 5 years long lawsuit, the Court of Appeal confirmed that registrars shall remain neutral in disputes between domain names registrants and third parties claiming a violation of their rights and furthermore held that EuroDNS, as a registrar, shall not be liable for the registrations of its customers.

The Court of Appeal also confirmed the first instance’s ruling which found that EuroDNS acts diligently in cybersquatting cases.

A cornerstone decision for the domain name industry

While in the first instance, this case could be considered a sheer misdirected liability lawsuit against the registrar and not the registrants. The Court of Appeal however had to rule on claims that would have been tremendously detrimental for the whole domain name industry.

The claim of the appellants consisted in asking the Court to impose obligations on registrars that would have required them to act as “gatekeepers” for trademark holders for all the extensions they offer.

The Court of Appeal denied these demands and ruled that registrars have no obligation to proceed to an a priori control of the domain names their customers register with them, nor are registrars obliged to setup additional filtering measures other than those put in place by the registry.

“Those exact same demands were made against a US registrar in a famous case held before a Texas court [1] … back in 2001.” reminds Luc Seufer, Chief Legal Officer at EuroDNS. “Though our industry is still facing the same issues a decade later, several means to settle them via extra-judiciary routes such as the UDRP or SYRELI for .FR registrations have been successfully setup. As underlined by the Court in its decision, the appellants were misguided when they elected not to recourse to those and decided to act against EuroDNS and the French Registry.”
According to the Court of Appeal obliging registrars to screen their customer’s registrations would impose disproportionate and very costly efforts on them in regard to the aim of such obligation. Furthermore and on top of the technical burden that would be created, the decision also highlights the fact that just like Trademark registration offices, registrars have no legal means to decide as to the legitimacy of a registration.

Neutral but always mindful

“This decision upholds the position we have always maintained. As a registrar we are bound to remain neutral in any dispute between our customers and a third party.“ said Seufer. “However neutrality should not be confused with passivity. As the Court acknowledges, although we are in no position to prejudge upon the rights between two parties on a domain name, EuroDNS always act diligently when notified of an issue. Every complaint my department receives is swiftly communicated to the relevant customer along with a very clear reminder of our terms of service regarding third parties’ registered rights.”

By this ruling the Court of Appeal actually confirmed EuroDNS’ advice to its own customers to appeal to the applicable alternative dispute resolution processes when they seek to recover domain names for which they believe to hold exclusive rights on, and where no such process is available, to act against the registrant and not the registrar or registry.

The right route to protect your brand

On the eve of the new gTLDs launch, which will introduce 1400+ new extensions, it is of the utmost importance that brand owners seek advice from experts of the industry to determine the most efficient action to protect their rights on the Internet.

“With this upcoming colossal extension of the online land to monitor and protect, brand owners need to be adequately advised on the applicable means of action.” said Xavier Buck, Chairman of EuroDNS. “When assisting our customers in building their monitoring strategy for their brand, we never advise them to initiate a costly and ineffective action against a technical intermediary. The alternative dispute resolution process is the way to go. Each of the new registries will be bound by the UDRP and URS policies. Those proceedings are cost-effective and aimed at the relevant party: the cybersquatter.”

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

[1] Lockheed Martin Corporation v. Network Solutions, Inc.Case No. 97-56734 (9th Cir., Oct. 25, 1999)

What’s been happening in the .XXX domain?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:33:10 +0100

On September 7, 2011 the ICM Registry launched the .XXX domain; an online red light district off limits to innocents, with daily virus checks to eliminate fraud. The on-going mission of the registry is to encourage porn site owners to gather their wares under one roof, thus cleaning up the rest of the Internet.

A clean, porn-free Internet… sounds like a worthy plan; the innocent will be protected. All .XXX sites clearly labelled, and scanned daily for viruses, ensuring consumers can easily locate their hearts’ desires whilst enjoying full protection from identity thieves and credit card scammers.

Is it working? Porn sites rely heavily on being easy to find, with web filters employed to block access the sites could be in danger of losing traffic and therefore, revenue.

A year in the life

A year on, is the Internet a clean and safe place to visit? Well, best not search for porn whilst at work but according to a ‘reliable source’ there is still an abundance of sites readily available operating under domains other than .XXX. Does this mean the ICM Registry has failed in its mission? Well, yes and no.

The registry has been very successful in a number of areas; they boast that over 250,000 domain names have been registered since introduction of the .XXX domain.

ADULT, SEX & PORN

Applications for three new gTLDs have been posted with ICANN for .SEX, .PORN, and .ADULT. If the registry is allocated these new domains they intend introducing a “Grandfathering” clause; existing .XXX domain name registrants will benefit from having the three equivalent names reserved for free, and they will remain reserved until the registrant decides on future action. Owners of .XXX domain names are offered the chance to increase their online presence and profit accordingly; trademark holders owning .XXX domain names are therefore, automatically safeguarded.

Seek and ye shall find

In May 2012, the ICM Registry launched XXX.XXX, an online directory for .XXX sites; the directory lists close to 150 sites and the registry is open to new submissions.

The registry announced the creation of a ‘porn only’ search engine, Search.xxx, in September; customers no longer have to spend hours searching porn sites trying to find something to satisfy their needs and desires. Within the first 24 hours there had been 500,000 searches; currently the site has received over two million unique visits and 12 million page views. For more details please read the EuroDNS article, “Setting your sites on what you fancy”.

1,000 sexy keywords

The results for the Search.xxx search engine were put to good use and the ICM Registry released over 1,000 premium generic keyword domain names, available to register on a first come first served basis.

Value for money

November 1 brought an announcement regarding the Search.xxx Ad Program; .XXX website owners will be able to place advertisements next to particular keywords in Search.xxx. The ICM Registry wants to, “reward the loyalty of the .XXX community by offering the $75 per-domain credits to existing owners of .XXX names and those who renew or register names by January 31, 2013.” Basically, the cost of registering a .XXX domain name will be reduced by $75, making this a hard to resist offer; please read the ICM Registry Terms and Conditions for more information. The Search.xxx Ad Program is expected to be launched in Q1, 2013 and is a time-limited offer.

“If you don’t like it, don’t look at it. I just make it available in a lawful, civilized way.”

In June 2012, Stuart Lawley, CEO of the ICM Registry, was interviewed by Bloomberg Business Week; the article covers, amongst other things, his lengthy seven year battle to secure the .XXX domain. During the interview he also announces a new service to be offered by the registry in 2013, a micropayment system. This is Lawley’s weapon against low quality free porn and online piracy; he believes consumers would happily pay 99¢ for a high quality, short clip of their chosen porn. Lawley states, “If there were a totally reliable way to buy small bits of high-quality adult content, the way you can download a single song from iTunes, people would go back to paying for it, the way they went back to paying for music.” Because no one downloads illegally anymore!

Fancy a quickie? The service will also be available for download to mobile devices; porn, anytime anyplace with your very own hand held device.

Mission accomplished? Well, yes and no

The ICM Registry has been very successful in its first year, financially; but I am not sure they have really succeeded in their mission yet, to make the Internet a clean and safe place to visit. Detractors of the creation of the .XXX domain remain adamant that they will not relocate their .COM porn site to the .XXX domain, and have expressed anger that they have to register the .XXX name purely to protect their business.Thousands of .XXX domain names have been registered and in Lawley’s own words, “About a third of .XXX registrations are defensive”; large companies registering relevant domain names to protect their current online identity, whether they are porn related or not.

But, for a small fee of $150, the registry offers companies protection against their names appearing with a .XXX extension; and for no charge, they have already blocked some well known names.

Lawley has proven himself an astute businessman but is possibly a little naïve thinking owners of porn websites will be racing to hide their light under a bushel in the .XXX domain; give it time though.

EuroDNS protects the innocent

EuroDNS was one of the first registrars officially accredited by the ICM Registry to register .XXX domain names. If you wish to register a .XXX domain name and help clean up the Internet, please visit our website or speak directly with one of our domain team at sales@eurodns.com. The team is vastly experienced in all areas of domain name registration and offers a personalized service tailored to meet all your requirements.

Register .BE & .LU & celebrate the Royal Wedding

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:19:25 +0200

Belgium and Luxembourg tie the knot as royal wedding fever hits Luxembourg, flags adorn the buildings, fireworks are going to explode, and royals will be in abundance. Luxembourg’s Prince Guillaume and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy of Belgium are to marry this weekend, congratulations from all at EuroDNS.

What does one give the couple who have everything? A promotion on registering .BE and .LU domain names seems most appropriate. To celebrate this wonderful occasion EuroDNS is offering you the chance to register names with these two popular domains, .BE and .LU.

Register today and honour this grand union; enter the promo code SOLU12A to register or transfer an existing .LU domain name @ €12.99, enter the promo code SOBE12A to register or transfer an existing .BE domain name @ €12.99. The EuroDNS promotion lasts for two weeks until November 2, 2012.

Prioritization of new gTLDs by random draw

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:56:59 +0200

I can draw to raise funds…

Random draw, batching, digital archery; it’s been a challenge trying to find a method for prioritizing the new gTLD applications but ICANN have finally come up with, “an equitable and reliable method”, a random draw.

Yes, you read correctly, ICANN have gone full circle and returned to their original plan, announcing the Draw on October 10. When a random draw was first suggested, ICANN rejected the idea as they were concerned it would violate California’s anti-lottery laws. Following the negative reception batching and then digital archery received they have found a loophole in the law; they have applied for a fundraising drawing’s license, meaning non-profit organizations may conduct fundraising lotteries. Fundraising for what, we may never know.

With applicants eager to receive a prompt evaluation of their domains, there may still be reason for concern as ICANN await the result of their license application. The license, if granted, will arrive towards the end of November; should the license request be rejected ICANN have announced they will hold a contest. Details of this contest are unavailable but with previous complaints from applicants regarding the unfairness of digital archery, ICANN may struggle to find the perfect solution. Although there were helpful suggestions from the applicants during the comment period proposed games of skill/chance as a way to prioritize the applications such as rock, paper, scissors.

The Draw and how much it will raise

The Draw, if the license is granted, is a manual process (so no technical glitches, this time) and will assign a Draw number to each applicant; the number will determine the schedule for initial evaluation and the release of evaluation results. The lowest Draw numbers will be released first after the IDNs. ICANN plans to use a third-party to oversee the Draw which will occur between 4-15 December, the exact date is still to be confirmed.

The license for the Draw will specify that each applicant shall purchase a paper ticket; the ticket must be purchased in person, in California. Because not all applicants will be able or willing to make the trip, a representative can be appointed either by the applicant or, ICANN will provide an independent representative. Due to the license rules, ICANN are not permitted to sell the tickets via the Internet. Draw numbers must not be exchanged between applications or applicants; unfortunately this means that applicants with a portfolio of domains will not be able to prioritize their applications. Please read Drawing for Prioritizing for more detailed information.

The price of the Draw tickets is likely to be $100 (1930 applications possibly adding a tidy sum to the ‘fundraising pot’); having already paid $185,000, a few more dollars is a drop in the ocean.

Don’t want to play?

There is no obligation for applicants to participate in the ‘fundraising’ draw and should this be the case, their applications will be assigned randomly at the end. But, with all the delays to date, applicants’ costs are increasing; those in the same field of business will suffer if one is favoured over another, so opt-out is not something to be considered.

Priority already given to 116

ICANN has decided that IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) will receive priority with an early release. ICANN’s mission has always been to serve the public interest globally and the release of IDNs will ensure the Internet is more accessible to users in countries that do not use the Latin script and therefore have been limited in their use of the Internet.

There are 116 IDN applications awaiting evaluation.

Predicted predictions

ICANN have stated that the first of the evaluation results will be released in late March and finishing towards the end of June, beginning of July. Good news then, six months earlier than recent estimates; but wait, originally the delegation of gTLDs was planned for autumn, 2012.

It is planned for the Draw numbers to eventually be used to schedule appointments for pre-delegation testing and executing agreements; with approximately 20 pre-delegation testing appointments and 20 contracts executed per week. ICANN have stated, “No contracts will be fully executed or delegations made prior to the ICANN meeting in Beijing (April 7-11, 2013).”

If you don’t comment, you can’t complain

To proceed with the Draw, ICANN require approval from the state of California and the applicants; ICANN have opened a 30-day forum for public comments; scheduled from October 10 until November 9, it should make for an interesting read.

EuroDNS in Toronto

The ICANN meeting, that took place in Toronto this week, was attended by delegates from the EuroDNS team; as one can imagine, the current situation with the new gTLDs will have been on everyone’s lips. Any interesting or important information will be published in the EuroDNS newsletter, so please subscribe to ensure you stay fully informed.

Go directly to .UK, do not pass .CO

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:18:22 +0200

On October 1, 2012, Nominet, the not-for-profit organization managing the .UK domain space, launched a three month consultation period to obtain feedback on their latest proposal, direct.uk; it entails the introduction of shorter domain names registered with the extension .UK.

In January 2013, Wikipedia may have to update the following statement, “New registrations directly under .UK are generally not permitted. Instead, registrations are made under a selection of second level domains.”

Reduced extension, increased security

The proposed .UK domain space would allow individuals and businesses, with a proven UK presence, to register a yourname.uk domain name. It is planned to run concurrently with .CO.UK; although it will incur a higher fee it is offered with enhanced security features. Designed to reduce the danger of cybercrime, it includes owner verification, anti-malware detection and digital signatures; the domain comes with a trustmark indicating a secure website and thus, engendering trust in both consumers and visitors.

Nominet’s consultation period for direct.uk is scheduled to run for three months concluding on January 7, 2013; a site has been created for anyone requiring more information. Nominet invites feedback to help them, “ensure that any resulting service or changes would meet the needs of businesses, boost trust in the .UK namespace, and contribute positively to Britain’s fast-growing Internet economy.”

Where will it leave .CO.UK?

.CO.UK domain names are so entrenched in our minds as the ccTLD for the United Kingdom that having initially appeared strange, they are now the norm. Nominet obviously see a vast market for the .UK domain as a more succinct extension that individuals and businesses registered in the UK will jump at.

But, what about current registrants of .CO.UK names; time and money has been invested into promoting their website address. For brand protection, registrants cannot ignore this new domain space; they will have to register their name(s) with the .UK extension. With the .UK domain actively promoting enhanced trust and security, we can only speculate as to the future of the .CO.UK domain.

In an announcement on October 10, Nominet stated that currently 300 responses had been received. Comments include questions about the impact on the existing .UK portfolio and a FAQ page has been posted to offer clarification on certain issues. To calm the bubbling panic, various forums have been planned for open discussion, the dates and locations can be found in the announcement.

You have .CO.UK, what next?

Nominet recognize that there will be people already registered with a .CO.UK name wanting the same name with the new .UK extension. The registry is planning to protect owners of existing rights by releasing the domains in two Sunrise periods. The first will allow trademark holders to register and the second period will allow applications from existing domain name registrants and limited companies. Nominet plan to auction any domains receiving several applications; unfortunately there is no guarantee that current .CO.UK registrants will secure ownership of their domain name with a .UK extension.

EuroDNS will participate in the open discussion and one issue we plan to highlight is that the process could prove disadvantageous to existing registrants of .CO.UK domain names who have not registered their name as a trademark. For instance, a domain name registrant using myname.co.uk for several years but without having registered it as a trademark could lose out on registering myname.uk, the owner of the trademark of the string would have priority, despite the trademark being registered after the .CO.UK domain name.

With the possible, mass migration from .CO.UK to .UK, could the future existence of the .CO.UK domain space be in jeopardy?

2013, domain extensions prevail

Potentially, 2013 could be an expensive time for businesses as ICANN prepares to release new gTLDs throughout the year. Businesses endeavouring to protect their brand(s) could find themselves having to register several new domain names; taking into account variants, misspellings, and the new gTLDs the outlay could be substantial.

With the introduction of so many new domains, it may be the time to consider registering multiple domain names with a single registrar. At EuroDNS we provide numerous services to aid with domain name registration and offer a team of experts ready to give advice and answer your questions. Transferring and consolidating your domain names with EuroDNS will save you time, money and stress. Please contact sales@eurodns.com and allow us to protect your valuable corporate assets.

My domain name has been kidnapped, help!

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:55:15 +0200

Allow me to introduce myself; I am the kind and considerate registrar sending you an email reminder to renew your domain name before it expires. I am the concerned registrar warning you that your trademark domain name is about to be registered by another company. I am only trying to help… or am I?

Can you ignore these email alerts, should you ignore them? First the kindly email, then the demand for ransom; fraud, scam, or aggressive marketing?

As with any good scam there is an element of truth, your domain name may be about to expire and missing the renewal date is both time consuming and expensive; someone may already be monitoring your domain name with purchase in mind.

The Whois database is a veritable mine of information revealing contact information of domain name registrants, it also lists all the domain names nearing their expiration date; it is a valuable tool which can so easily be abused (obtaining contact information for questionable purposes is a violation (section 3.3.6.4.) of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA).

Scam #1 Domain slamming

Domain slamming, a.k.a. unauthorized transfers or registration scams, is the unlawful transfer of domain names from your existing registrar to a new one. The scam begins with an unethical registrar or reseller sending a ‘domain name expiration/renewal notice’ email warning you, the owner, that the registration of your domain name is about to expire and urging you to renew. By responding to the email you have successfully renewed your domain name but, unwittingly, terminated the existing contract with your current registrar and registered with a new service provider. As a EuroDNS customer, if you think you are being targeted by domain slamming, contact us immediately, sales@eurodns.com.

Always read the small print

The renewal notice will have been cleverly written implying that you are already registered with the registrar sending the email. If you respond to the email without reading the small print you may find, along with a new service provider, your fees have increased, and you have agreed to a long term registration contract. Worst case scenario, you could lose access to your website and email account, or your domain name may now direct visitors to another website. Do you really want to lose your domain name to these ‘criminals’, your revenue, your good reputation, your business?

Defend your property

The most effective defence against domain slamming is to treat the ‘renewal notice’ email as junk mail, mark as spam to avoid further correspondence and put it in the rubbish bin.

But, I would like to share advice that will prove invaluable should you ever face this type of scam. Never reveal any of your account details or personal information with an individual/organization claiming to be in the process of renewing your domain name registration. EuroDNS would already have all relevant information regarding your account and would not need you to provide it again.

If you receive a ‘renewal notice’ email and you are unsure of its validity, contact EuroDNS to discuss your concerns. But, never reply through the dubious email; doing this may expose you to the rather savage sales methods of unethical registrars with the sole purpose of persuading you to transfer your domain name(s).

It would be wise to keep up-to-date records for your domain name(s) including renewal dates, this ensures that if you receive a ‘renewal notice’ email you will be immediately aware of whether it’s genuine or not. If you have several domain names registered with different registrars this may also be the time to consider transferring your whole portfolio to EuroDNS and consolidating them; you can then schedule the registration renewals to the same date. It also means you do not have to remember the names of various registrars; more information can be found in the EuroDNS article on consolidation.

If the worst happens and you believe you may have been duped by this scam, contact your current registrar immediately so they can reject/cancel the transfer request; and stop any possible payments. EuroDNS offer a highly qualified team of domain name experts to answer any questions, concerns or requests for help, please contact them at sales@eurodns.com and they will be happy to assist.

Addressing the situation

The Fake Renewal Notices Drafting Team (FRN-DT) was created by the GNSO Council (Generic Names Supporting Organization) and is part of ICANN’s fight against domain slamming. The team was tasked with preparing an RFI (request for information) on fake renewal notices from the Registrar Stakeholder Group (RrSG). The Registration Abuse Policies Working Group recommended creation of an Issue Report and the results of the RFI were intended to aid the GNSO in their decision as to whether to create such a document.

The RrSG is endeavouring to find a solution to this problem; a problem that is damaging to both registrants and honest registrars. There was an initial suggestion to amend the Registry and Registrar Agreement (RAA) to allow ICANN to act in the instance of a fake ‘renewal notice’, but this idea was swiftly rejected as it would be a near impossible contractual obligation to enforce. Whilst the ICANN Compliance Department have no power over registrars’ ‘marketing techniques’ they will investigate if evidence is produced of fake ‘renewal notice’ abuse by one of their accredited registrars, and action will be taken if proven appropriate.

Scam #2 Fake trademark protection

Although less common than domain slamming, fake trademark protection scams are equally damaging to registrants; and my advice again would be ignore, ignore, ignore.The scam involves deceitful or fake registrars sending domain name registrants an email with the warning that another company is attempting to register several domain names containing the registrants trademark, names that are very similar, or the exact same name but with an alternative TLD. The spurious registrar announces that they have temporarily stopped the attempts at registration to protect the intellectual property of the registrant and request an immediate response to further protect the domain names.

The ‘fake trademark protection’ emails are variations on a theme and all follow the style of the genuine example below; capitalized words replace the original text (my apologies for the appalling grammar, it is a genuine scam email):

“Subject: Brand And Domain Names Registration YOUR DOMAIN NAME(If you are not in charge of this, please forward this to your CEO/President, because this is very urgent. Thanks.)

Dear CEO/President,

We are the department of FAKE REGISTRARS. Here I have something to confirm with you. We formally received an application on June 1st, 2012 that a company claimed "FICTITIOUS COMPANY" were applying to register "YOUR DOMAIN NAME" as their Net Brand and some YOUR DOMAIN NAME Asian countries top-level domain names.

Now we are handling this registration, and after our initial checking, we found the name were similar to your company's, so we need to check with you whether your company has authorized that company to register these names. If you authorized this, we would finish the registration at once. If you did not authorize, please let us know within 7 workdays, so that we could handle this issue better. After the deadline we will unconditionally finish the registration for "FICTITIOUS COMPANY ". Looking forward to your prompt reply.”

Tempted to respond? Don’t; the scammer will use scare tactics to persuade you to register the similar domain names as protection against trademark infringement.

Domainers are constantly searching for ways to make a profit; unfortunately there are some who are prepared to use unscrupulous methods. They will email the owner of a registered domain name and offer to sell them the unregistered TLD versions of the same name; when the owner agrees, the domainer will buy the names at the market value, mark-up the price and sell to his target/victim, making a nice profit in the process. Although this may not be a crime, it is something to be aware of; it would be wise to do your own research if you are approached by a, possibly, ‘unsavoury’ domainer.

Conclusion

Fraud, scam or aggressive marketing; these methods are unpleasant and dangerous. If you get caught by any of these exploitative actions, or if you are approached and unsure of what to do you would be well advised to contact EuroDNS.

EuroDNS is an ICANN accredited registrar and provides each customer with a dedicated account manager for all registration requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact the EuroDNS team at sales@eurodns.com for information and advice.

EuroDNS offers .DO domain names at €49.99

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:01:47 +0200

DO it in the Dominican Republic with the EuroDNS promotion; a special, limited time offer on .DO domain names. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until October 23, 2012, register a .DO domain name for only €49.99. Enter the promo code PRDO12A and benefit from this special deal, available for two weeks only.

By registering a .DO domain name with the EuroDNS promotion businesses demonstrate their loyalty and commitment to the country which, in turn, inspires confidence with the local online consumers. Generally, people prefer to deal with a company located in their country, it is more practical and feels more secure. Talk directly to your Dominican audience; register a .DO domain name and promote your business in this rapidly growing economy. DO it now, before it’s too late!

DO business in the Dominican Republic

With a history of migration and occupation, the Dominican Republic boasts a multiracial society which is reflected in its food, architecture, and music. Visit caves, enjoy the Victorian houses, and listen to stories of pirates. Geographically the country is also diverse; offering splendid mountain scenery and vast deserts. The people are friendly and welcoming of strangers, a business will flourish in this prospering country.

EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we want to deliver the best possible service to our customers at all times; we are offering this superb promotion on .DO domain names to benefit local and international businesses wanting to market their services and products to the Dominicans. We strongly believe that registering a domain name with the .DO extension will increase traffic, thus bringing more revenue. For the next two weeks all .DO domain names are available for registration and transfer, for only €49.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain name experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .DO domain name at the unbeatable price of €49.99, visit our website, and enter promo code PRDO12A, valid till October 23, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news and advice from a leading domain name registrar, please subscribe to our newsletter. EuroDNS recently published an article with valuable information and advice with regard the transfer and consolidation of domain names; EuroDNS can save you time, money and stress, please contact the sales team for more detailed information.

EuroDNS can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter; there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Setting your sites on what you fancy

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:53:15 +0200

ICM Registry, the operators behind the .XXX domain, released Search.xxx on September 27, 2012. Search.xxx is a new search engine for owners of registered .XXX domain names, granting them the opportunity to benefit from highly targeted traffic to their websites. It will also aid viewers of online adult entertainment; no one wants to waste time looking at the wrong .XXX website.

The .XXX domain was launched by the ICM Registry on September 7, 2011; it was designed to be a trusted outlet for the adult entertainment industry. Recognized globally, it is the domain for people wanting to provide pornographic material on the Internet. It was originally created with the intention of providing a more secure environment, one that could easily block access by children or in the workplace.

Adult entertainment domain creates excitement

Following its launch the .XXX domain proved to be exceptionally popular, registering 55,367 domain names within the first 24 hours of General Availability; add to this the Sunrise and Landrush Periods, and the grand total was 160,000; with collected revenue of $3.3 million.

Search.xxx gives a quality user experience

The Search.xxx engine only lists .XXX developed websites, non-members of the Sponsored Community will be excluded. Registrants of .XXX domain names must be an official member of the Sponsored Community for their website to go live; the members consist of individuals, companies and organizations that agree to comply with all IFFOR Policies (International Foundation for Online Responsibility) and Best Practices Guidelines.

The Search.xxx engine will also be a bonus to the adult entertainment audience who will be able to read search results in one of 20 languages; they will also be able to set preferences to their particular desires.

The ICM Registry sent an email to members of the Sponsored Community and in it stated, “We are focusing much of our efforts on delivering a quality user experience with highly relevant search results. It is our chance, as promised, to give something back to you and the consumer.”

Best practices in .XXX

The ICM Registry has informed .XXX registrants of SEO best practices to ensure their website is indexed and well ranked in the Search.xxx engine, these include:

• The Search.xxx engine will only crawl fully developed .XXX websites; links to non .XXX TLDs will not be crawled.

• If your .XXX website is forwarded to an adult site with a .COM, .NET, etc. extension, your DNS must use an ‘A’ record to point your .XXX to your web servers IP address, not a CNAME record. The search engine will only function on other TLDs if the URL is masked.

• Robots.txt files must be configured correctly, thus limiting the search engine crawl to visible pages only.

• As with any website each page must have good SEO, keywords should be used in titles, URLs, domain name and content.

Registrants of .XXX domain names may prefer not to be listed on the Search.xxx engine; opt out can be requested via ICM support.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS was one of the first registrars officially accredited by the ICM Registry to offer the .XXX domain name extension. Should you wish to register a .XXX domain name you must successfully pass the membership application process.

For more detailed information, please visit the EuroDNS website or speak directly with one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com. The team is multilingual and offers a personalized service tailored to your requirements.

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

EuroDNS offers .HU domain names at €7.99

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:50:35 +0200

Create a HUllabaloo in Hungary; this latest EuroDNS promotion is a HUmdinger, it is a special, limited time offer on .HU domain names. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until October 9, 2012, register .HU domain names for only €7.99. Enter the promo code PRHU12A and benefit from this special deal, it’s HUge.

Registering a .HU domain name with the EuroDNS promotion allows businesses to demonstrate commitment to a Hungarian audience, inspiring confidence and showing loyalty to the country. Online consumers are more inclined to deal with a local business, they trust them and have more confidence in the services and products they offer; talk to the locals by registering a .HU domain name today.

The .HU domain was created in 1990 and is administered by the Council of Hungarian Internet Providers. Citizens of the European Union or with a residency permit for Hungary may register a .HU domain name; also entities connected to the country are free to register. In March 2005, registration of .HU domain names was opened to European Union member states; to date there are 621,050 .HU domain names registered. HUrry, don’t miss out.

There’s nothing HUmdrum about Hungary

Budapest, the ‘Pearl of the Danube’, is the beautiful capital of this Central European country. It is the home of Central Europe’s largest fresh water lake, Balaton; offering hundreds of therapeutic mineral springs. Hungary is the birthplace of classical composers Liszt, Bartok and Kodaly; and also boasts traditional folk music. Well enough tourism text, let’s get down to serious business; Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó. Yes, that’s right, Bela Lugosi, a Hungarian actor and probably the best Dracula ever was born in Hungary in 1882. So enamoured with the role, it is rumoured that when he died he was buried wearing one of the Dracula cloaks.

The EuroDNS promotion on .HU domain names

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we aspire to deliver the best possible service to our customers, so we are offering this excellent promotion on .HU domain name registration. We strongly believe that registering this domain name extension for your business will increase traffic, thus bringing more revenue. For the next two weeks .HU domain names are available for only €7.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain name experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .HU domain name at the unbeatable price of €7.99, visit our website, and enter promo code PRHU12A, valid until October 9, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find many more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS, new offers are added regularly.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news and advice from a leading domain name registrar, please subscribe to our newsletter. We recently published an article with information regarding the transfer and consolidation of domain names, EuroDNS can save you time, money and stress, please contact the sales team for more detailed information.

EuroDNS can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter; there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Users to benefit from Google update

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 10:09:40 +0200

In August 2012 Google announced an update to their search algorithms; as of now, the ranking of sites possessing a large number of copyright infringements may be lowered in search results. It is Google’s intention to improve the users’ experience by providing only legitimate and high quality content.

The update takes into account how many DMCA takedown notices they receive regarding a particular website. A DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown request can be filed by anyone, it is simply a request to investigate, not evidence of infringement. Google will take all allegations seriously and following an inspection, act accordingly. Should the infringement prove to be a reality Google will act swiftly; thankfully with this latest update Google will only remove the offending page rather than the whole site. But, should a site have several requests against different pages, the whole site will suffer and its ranking will be lowered.

Google will take note of how many takedown requests a site receives, they will not be in a position to determine the legality of content. If a site is wrongly targeted or the victim of unscrupulous behaviour; it would be an effective way of damaging the ranking of a legitimate site simply by filing numerous takedown requests from different sources.

Google speaks

Amit Singhal, senior vice president of engineering at Google states: “Only copyright holders know if something is authorized, and only courts can decide if a copyright has been infringed; Google cannot determine whether a particular webpage does or does not violate copyright law. So while this new signal will influence the ranking of some search results, we won’t be removing any pages from search results unless we receive a valid copyright removal notice from the rights owner. And we’ll continue to provide "counter-notice" tools so that those who believe their content has been wrongly removed can get it reinstated. We’ll also continue to be transparent about copyright removals.”

A site believing their content has been wrongly removed may issue a counter-notice, but will their original ranking be reinstated?

Google owns YouTube and it will be interesting to see how it fairs as, judging by content, it should receive a great many takedown requests. But, YouTube has a different procedure for DMCA takedown requests, so we shall see…

Latest updates from the new gTLD program

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:38:14 +0200

ICANN continues with the evaluation of the new gTLDs and are posting regular updates, the latest posted on September 6. Please see below to keep up with all the latest information.

First we start with a reminder – the Application Comment Period is coming to a close, it officially ends on September 26. Comments should be posted as soon as possible to ensure they will be considered by the correct evaluation panel.

Application Comment Period

The Application Comment Period is to allow the public to comment on any of the new gTLD applications. This is not the same as a filed objection, which have to be submitted directly to the appropriate Dispute Resolution Service Provider (DRSP), not with ICANN. Anyone with a valid concern, such as trademark infringement, may file a formal objection. There are four objection grounds: string confusion, legal rights, limited public interest and community. The Objection Period opened on June 13 and remains open for approximately seven months.

To date, ICANN has received 6687 comments and no objections.

Application withdrawals

There have been seven applications withdrawn, four of which have been named and approved by ICANN. Three of the applications are from Charleston Road Registry Inc. (Google) and the fact that they are geographical designations would hint at the reason for the block; .AND, .ARE, .EST. The fourth was a brand name, .KSB, submitted by the KSB Group.

Change requests

In the original program there was no process for alterations to applications, due to demand ICANN has since implemented a program and subsequently, received 57 requests. ICANN has not published details of the change requests but they do list the seven criteria for determining a valid request: a reasonable explanation, an error correction, third parties affected materially, changes similar to others that have already received approval that could affect third parties, fairness to applicants, whether the change could affect the evaluation score or require re-evaluation, and if the timing interferes with the evaluation process. Please see here for more detailed information regarding the decision criteria and change request process. ICANN plan to make the application changes public for 30 days prior to approval.

Evaluation panels

The five Evaluation panels were created so applications would be distributed to the relevant panel and managed more efficiently. Applications are grouped if they have similar details, such as coming from one applicant or having the same back-end provider. The panels cover financial, technical, geographic names, string similarity and DNS stability; the most complex evaluations belonging to financial and technical and the panels are aiming to process 300 applications per month, with a target completion date of June 2013.

Batching/metering

ICANN received 101 comments on how the evaluation process should proceed with regard batching. The suggestions, submitted by both individuals and organizations, offer various solutions for the prioritizing of applications. Ideas such as priority for IDNs (internationalized domain names), geographic names or applications for community names were some of the suggestions. Uncontested new gTLDs, applications from developing countries, brands and genuine generic names were also recommended for prioritization. With 101 comments, ICANN has yet to reach a decision and don’t appear to be in a hurry, presumably they would like to avoid the fiasco that was digital archery so are taking time to find the perfect solution. ICANN’s roadmap suggests December 2012/January 2013 for implementation of the final solution; applicants who expected ICANN to have completed Initial Evaluation by Q1, 2012, will be severely concerned.

ICANN plan to post regular updates concerning the new gTLDs and have created a website for anyone interested in following the program. We will also keep you informed of all that occurs.

The French can .TEL it like it should be

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:33:16 +0200

Telnic, founded in 2000, is the UK based Registry Operator for the .TEL domain. The domain was originally launched in 2009; by January 2011 it boasted over 300,000 domain names registered.

The .TEL domain’s main feature is to provide a single means of contact for all your communication, including phone numbers, VoIP, email addresses, website links and IM details. It gives your customers the ability to contact you with a single click, from any device connected to the Internet.

Whether it’s home, office or mobile number, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc., the domain will even map your location. It is an international domain for communicating with everyone. Creating a cost effective base online is simple and provides you with an immediate web presence; with yourname.tel you will be recognized immediately, contact will be made and negotiations opened.

With a Gallic slant

Telnic’s latest announcement introduces French IDN to .TEL domain names; news that will be welcomed by companies and brands with accents in their titles. This new feature will be available from October 3, 2012, très bon!

Of slight concern is the lack of Sunrise Period for trademark owners to protect their brand names; registration will start on Wednesday, October 3 and they will be offered on a first come, first served basis. It would be advisable to register as soon as possible to protect brands and to avoid exposure to cybersquatting.

Accentuate your name

The .TEL domain is a user friendly and affordable option for everyone; it provides an immediate online presence without ridiculous advertising costs. Anyone anywhere can access your details and contact you from any device with an Internet connection. Connect to the whole world and .TEL your story.

Consolidate & protect your assets with EuroDNS

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:36:49 +0200

EuroDNS are posting this article with the intention of offering advice to you, our customers. We are not preaching or berating, this is not meant to scare; but we do want to warn you of impending danger. Do you have your domain names registered with numerous registrars? Domain names directing customers towards your company website; highlighting your products and services, introducing your management team. Highly valuable names that you searched for, waited for, paid for and you have them scattered around various registrars? Good luck!

You may be an individual with several registered domain names for your own personal use or for reselling, you may be a large corporation with all your products’ domain names registered, you may be an international company with numerous registered ccTLDs. You are in danger of losing time, money and your corporate assets if you don’t act fast.

Scenario

Over the years you have gone from one registered domain name to a couple, to numerous, to hundreds and you are still registering new ones. For various reasons the registrations are with different registrars; maybe someone else in your company registered names, or you were unhappy with the customer service of one registrar so started using another. The long term result of this scenario will cost you, not just financially, there could be devastating damage done to your business.

Your domain names, all registered with various registrars possess different invoice, renewal and expiration dates; their restrictions change constantly and require vigilant monitoring. There is no central administrative contact for the names, and emails must be checked on a regular basis. Does this sound familiar, are you running between spinning plates trying to stop them crashing
to the ground?

Solution

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Henry Ford

The solution is to transfer all your domain names to one registrar, easy. So why haven’t you
done it before?

EuroDNS can help; we will protect your property whilst saving you time and money.

Rationale

Your plates are spinning; you are running backwards and forwards trying to keep them all going, CRASH! It’s just a cheap plate, not that serious, but, supposing it was one of your domain names. It took time and money locating and registering names relevant to your business, products, and interests, your marketing plan was created using your domain names; so why do you treat them with such little respect?

You have a large portfolio of names registered with several registrars; there is no centralization so coordinating all your names is time consuming and frustrating. How many domain names have you lost due to missing the expiration date? How many relevant domain names did you fail to register? How many domain names did you lose to cybersquatters?

Transfer all your domain names to a single registrar and profit from full visibility of your whole portfolio, all under one roof; maintenance costs will be reduced and overall control will be greatly improved. Synchronize your domain names so they renew simultaneously; create a single user id and password to view your whole portfolio.

Transferring all your domain names to EuroDNS ensures you have one dedicated account manager who is familiar with your whole portfolio; they will be aware of your company’s online objectives and will be able to advise accordingly.

Your domain names are valuable to you and your business so you must ensure that all your information is correct at ICANN; with all your names under the EuroDNS roof it will be considerably easier to apply global changes to your details. Use one email address for your domain names’ administration contact on the Whois database, ensuring there is always someone monitoring and available to respond immediately.

Once your portfolio is established, list your domain names by expiration date thus ensuring
easy management of multiple names; you should also consider setting up yearly, automatic renewal procedures and if the names are valuable financially, register them for the maximum
time available.

Reduce the costs by working with a single registrar, streamline administration by keeping your portfolio in one place, transfer your domain names to EuroDNS now and we will keep your
plates spinning.

Prerequisite

EuroDNS is an ICANN accredited registrar holding an Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy; this ensures that registered name holders can transfer domain name registrations between registrars. If you wish to transfer your domain names from your existing registrar(s) to EuroDNS please be advised that there is a 60 day waiting period after initial registration or previous transfer of any domain name(s).

Before initiating any transfer it is essential that the administrative contact for all your
domain names has a valid email address in the Whois database; during the transfer you will receive correspondence from the old and new registrar and it is highly important that you
respond immediately.

Method

You have made the decision to transfer all your domain names and create a portfolio with EuroDNS; after speaking with your dedicated account manager you will receive confirmation of the transfer and the ‘Initial Authorization for Registrar Transfer’ form. You should return the completed form as soon as possible, a lack of response will lead to the cancellation of your transfer request. Your existing registrar(s) may follow a verification procedure and send you a confirmation of ‘Registrar Transfer Request’ form.

There are important points to remember during the transfer of domain names, please read the following and should you require further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the EuroDNS team at sales@eurodns.com.

• Unlock your domain name(s) at your current registrar(s).

• If you are transferring gTLDs you will need the authorization code (also known as EPP code or transfer key) for each domain name, without the code the transfer cannot continue. Registrars may show the code in your account details; others will send on request to the administrative contact email address attached to your domain name(s).

The transfer of your domain name(s) may be denied for several reasons.

• Evidence of fraud or an on-going UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) court order.

• If the identity of the person authorizing the transfer is questionable.

• Outstanding payments exist.

• The domain name(s) is locked; your current registrar(s) should provide means for you to
remove the lock.

• Domain name(s) is within 60 days of initial registration.

• Domain name (s) is within 60 days of an earlier transfer.

• If you have privacy protection on your domain name registration it will have to be disabled before any transfer can take place, this can be done through your current registrar(s).

If your current registrar(s) refuses your transfer request they have to provide a valid reason; EuroDNS will be happy to assist with negotiations should this be the case.

EuroDNS will accept a domain name transfer request if they receive the request via the EuroDNS website no less than seven working days prior to the expiration date. This period shall be subject to extension amounting to the period of notice defined by the Registry.

EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a leading domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions; our clients are varied and range from SMEs to some of the world’s largest domain investors. Our domain consolidation service is free and our team of experts is on hand to help with the transference of all your domain names. There are several free services to help with all domain name registration requirements.

If you have registered variations of your company’s domain, such as product names and services, the EuroDNS free domain forwarding service will direct them all to your primary site; and for each registered domain name, customers have free access to a 1GB webmail account.

For more detailed information, please visit the EuroDNS website or speak directly with one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com. The team offers dedicated naming solutions for trademark holders and advice on protecting existing and registering new domain names. Our team is multilingual and offers a personalized service tailored to you.

Conclusion

Managing a large portfolio is a challenge; managing a large portfolio involving several registrars, is a disaster waiting to happen. Domain name registration restrictions change regularly, new names become available daily, administration can be a constant headache with unsynchronized expiration and invoice dates.

Consolidate your domain names with EuroDNS to manage, grow and expand your portfolio
(and to protect your plates).

Belize is celebrating, what a buzz?

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:16:36 +0200

Belize has two national holidays this month, National Day and Independence Day. Do you realize what this means? With the celebrations commencing in early September, they will party for a month! EuroDNS invites you to join the festivities with a promotion on .BZ domain name registrations. Enter promo code NDBZ12A and feel the buzz for only €15.99, valid until September 19, 2012.

The .BZ domain was introduced in 1991 as the country code top level domain (ccTLD) for Belize. It is currently administered by the registry, Belize Network Information Centre (BelizeNIC). A highly desirable domain extension for Belize residents, it also boasts popularity throughout the world. Be in the right place at the right time; register a .BZ domain name during September and wherever you are, you can celebrate too.

Land of the free

In the month of September Belize celebrate their history, culture and people with two national holidays. September 10 commemorates The Battle of St George’s Caye and is commonly known as Belize’s National Day. A battle was fought in 1798 between Spain and Britain, following the defeat of the Spanish this day became a regular festival of celebration for the Belize.

On September 21, 1981, Belize became an independent nation; after lowering the Union flag the Belize flag was raised with great fanfare. Belize celebrates over thirty years of independence every September; truly, this is a month for partying, from dusk till dawn, from beginning to end.

Ciao Italia

The .BZ extension has been adopted by numerous websites in Italy, primarily in the province of South Tyrol whose capital city is Bolzano. BZ is the official abbreviation of South Tyrol and is also used for vehicle registration plates.

Let’s get down to business

.BZ has been promoted as standing for ‘business’ and is still used in this way worldwide, despite the existence of the .BIZ generic TLD. Registrations of .BIZ domain names may be challenged if the registrant is not running a genuine commercial entity; without restrictions to registration, .BZ is always open for business.

Bzzzzz words

Ok, why not have some fun with this extension? It will work in various ways if you use your imagination. Do you keep bees and sell honey online? Register honeycom.bz, and add a sting to your tail. Do you own a bar? Register bar.bz and hook your customers.

EuroDNS puts the buzz in business

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS offers this popular extension to our customers with all the benefits offered by a .BZ extension. Registering this domain extension will increase your website traffic and therefore, bring greater revenue.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS registers international domain names for individuals and businesses alike; we listen to our customers and offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to support all their domain requirements. The list of services currently includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are on hand to help.”

To register or transfer an existing .BZ domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

EuroDNS can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter; there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider Internet adoption.

EuroDNS offers .DK domain names at €5.99

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:45:48 +0200

Make your mark, in Denmark; the latest EuroDNS promotion allows just this; a special, limited time offer on .DK domain names. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until September 25, 2012, register .DK domain names for only €5.99. Enter the promo code PRDK12A and benefit from this special deal, available for two weeks only.

Registering a .DK domain name with the EuroDNS promotion allows businesses to demonstrate commitment to a Danish audience, inspiring confidence and showing loyalty to the country. Online consumers feel safer and are more inclined to deal with a local business; become a local by registering a .DK domain name today.

The .DK domain was created in 1987 at the Stanford Research Institute; it is now administered by DK Hostmaster whose website states they “create a domain name once every hour – 24 hours a day.” In 1997 registration restrictions for the .DK domain were lifted; 6500 registered names grew to 41,000 in a year as everyone raced to register .DK domain names. Don’t miss this opportunity to target Denmark; it’s a country going places fast.

Designs on Denmark

Famous for its simple and elegant design style, evident in everything from furniture to architecture, fashion to Lego, its exquisite craftsmanship is recognized all over the world. It boasts the highest per capita GDP in the European Union, low unemployment, enviable social welfare programmes and free education; the Danes have every reason to be happy. There is nothing ugly about Denmark, even the ducklings grow into swans.

The EuroDNS promotion on .DK domain names

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we want to deliver the best possible service to our customers, we are offering this superb promotion on .DK domain names. We strongly believe that registering this domain name extension for your business will increase traffic, thus bringing more revenue. For the next two weeks all .DK domain names are available for registration and transfer, for only €5.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain name experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .DK domain at the unbeatable price of €5.99, visit our website, and enter promo code PRDK12A, valid till September 25, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

EuroDNS can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter; there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

EuroDNS offers .MX domain names at €39.99

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:01:02 +0200

Mix it up in Mexico with the latest EuroDNS promotion; a special, limited time offer on .MX domain names. This EuroDNS promotion enables customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until September 11, 2012, register .MX domain names for only €39.99. Enter the promo code PRMX12A and benefit from this very special deal, available for two weeks only.

The EuroDNS promotion is ideal for companies wishing to demonstrate commitment and loyalty to a Mexican audience, registering a ccTLD inspires an element of trust within the country a business is targeting. Registration of a .MX domain name is now available to all companies and individuals; with previous restrictions lifted, the .MX domain is proving to be highly popular.

According to Euromonitor International, “Mexico benefits from a large and growing population, with its proximity to the USA being a major economic asset.” They go on to predict that Mexico will become the world’s 10th largest economy (in terms of GDP at purchasing power parity) by 2020. With economic expansion comes increased consumer spending, register a .MX domain name now and benefit from this rapidly expanding country.

Gracias Mexico

The world can be grateful to the Mexicans, without them there would be no chocolate, think of it, a world without chocolate, horrific. Tequila! Many a night would not be complete without the prerequisite slammers. With its indigenous culture and fusion cuisine, Mexico has given so much to the world, let’s give something back.

EuroDNS promotion fantástico

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we want to give to our customers the best service at all times, therefore we offer this excellent promotion on .MX domain names. We believe registering this domain name extension for any business will bring an increase in traffic, and greater revenue. For the next two weeks all .MX domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €39.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly growing range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit the EuroDNS web-site or alternatively, speak to one of our domain name experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .MX domain at the unbeatable price of €39.99, visit our website, and enter promo code PRMX12A, valid till September 11, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

EuroDNS can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter, there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Protect & profit @ EuroDNS

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 09:40:19 +0200

Registrars often advise you to register multiple domain names; let’s not be coy, they are running a business. But, before you dismiss out of hand, consider that they are not going to want to ruin a good reputation by persuading customers to spend money without proven good reason.

EuroDNS is a market leading domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. We support our customers with a growing range of services and advice to assist with registering domain names; when EuroDNS recommend buying multiple versions of domain names, it’s with good reason.

Publicity is good, invisibility is bad

“Without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!” P.T. Barnum

For any online business to succeed visibility is key so it is vital to achieve as much publicity as possible; your website should be submitted to all possible search engines and directories. Search engines, generally, rank each business according to the percentage of times keywords appear, so if your website contains said keywords, it will rank higher when searches are made.

But, please do not be tempted to submit your website more than once; it will not increase your appearance in the results; generally search engines store a website’s page content within one domain name. Search engines will judge this to be black hat SEO (see below) and penalize accordingly.

Open more doors and you’ll get more visitors

You run a gardening business with a .COM site called thebestgardeners.com, to increase the number of times your site features in the search engine’s results, consider registering other related domain names, such as thebestroses.com, killallweeds.com, perfecttulips.com. Your one website is now listed with four domain names, increasing the number of doors through which visitors may enter.

If your business sells trademarked products along with services, register the products’ domain names and redirect to your main website; this is a must to protect your brand names and deter competitors from stealing your customers.

Register your domain name with multiple extensions

If your website has a .COM extension it would be advisable, if applicable, to register .NET, .ORG, .BIZ, .INFO, this will prevent competitors taking advantage of your brand name and redirecting your traffic to their site.

This is also the time to register the .XXX variant of your domain name to prevent misuse by another registrant. Obviously, if your business is porn, you probably have it registered already, but for others, having their brand name attached to a .XXX extension could cause irreparable damage to their reputation resulting in a loss of business; it brings a whole new meaning to thebestgardeners.xxx.

Making your senior managers work

If your CEO is well known within your specific industry, his reputation respected and his opinion listened too, use him as a marketing tool. Create a simple website for each manager; register their name as the domain name, i.e. johnsmith.com, then link to your main site. The site can be submitted to search engines on its own merit and will be ranked accordingly; again, increasing traffic to your business website.

Face it, not everyone can spell

It should be remembered that nobody’s perfect, we all make mistakes; to err is human, etc., etc. With this in mind it makes sense that when registering your domain name you also register common misspellings or typos of your name, then redirect to your main site. Do you really want to lose customers just because they can’t spell, or are not proficient typists; thebestgardners.com is an easy mistake to make. Don’t let your business pay the price.

Whilst taking this into account it is also worth considering singular or plural versions of your company/brand names.

Targeting a specific country

If your business is going to expand and promote in other countries it is always better to have the relevant ccTLD; users feel more comfortable engaging with a website local to their country. Registering a ccTLD demonstrates loyalty to the specific country, and the more local links you have, the better.

It is important when targeting a particular country, your content is specific and the language is appropriate. Accurate translation is essential, as is ensuring all titles, meta tags and descriptions, and keywords are country specific. This will also mean there is no danger of posting duplicated content and incurring the wrath of the search engines. For more information on the benefits of ccTLDs, please visit the EuroDNS news section.

Good guys wear white hats

White hat SEO follows the rules, producing good results that are sustainable, without deception. While more effort is required, the wearer of the white hat always wins, take a look at the Lone Ranger if you don’t believe me.

Black hat SEO improves search engine ranking by nefarious means. Whilst an initial improvement may be apparent, the search engine will quickly recognize the crime and temporarily or permanently ban the site from the index.

As we recommended, it is advisable to purchase variants of your domain name as protection for your brand; but we don’t advise you, however, to register multiple domains and have them displaying the same content. Search engines are not that stupid; they will detect, detest, and destroy. It may be an innocent action but search engines will not recognize your good intentions, they will see your black hat and duplicated content, then shoot to kill.

Google’s Webmaster Guidelines state, “Don’t employ cloaking or sneaky redirects. Don’t create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.”

URL redirection or forwarding, will allow your main website to be visible under the various URL addresses. Employing a permanent 301 redirect means that visitors and search engine spiders will not see any content under the alternative domain names registered, only the main site URL. Effectively you will be catching visitors from various domain names but, without the danger of being penalized by Google.

EuroDNS, protect and serve

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890

Registering multiple domain names will drive traffic to your website by giving your customers more ways to find you; it will also protect your brand and online identity in the highly competitive world of the Internet.

EuroDNS offer numerous services to aid with domain name registration, including:

Free domain forwarding – point all your domain names to one location, without ‘cloak and dagger’
.
Multiple profile management – one company with worldwide branches; managing different domains easily by setting up an unlimited amount of profiles.

Expert knowledge – the team can suggest additional domain names and extensions it would be advisable to register, in order to protect your business/brand.

Multilingual email/phone support – receive a personalized service and a tailored solution.

For more detailed information, please visit the EuroDNS website or speak directly with one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

RU ready for this?

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 09:10:41 +0200

The Economist, May 19, 2012 states, “Last year the number of Russians online went up by 14%, to 53m. That made Russia’s online population Europe’s biggest, just ahead of Germany’s, with lots of room left to grow.”

On August 7 the Coordination Center for TLD’s records show that registrations for .RU domain names are about to reach four million; the Coordination Center is the administrator of the .RU domain extension. This places .RU 5th in the global ranking of ccTLDs, if its current growth rate continues it will surely improve its top ten position in the not too distant future.

If you are trying to target Russia, with its audience of approximately 80 million Internet users, your website must have relevant content and would profit if displayed in the local language. By registering a .RU domain name you will increase Russian traffic to your website as it will also be ranked by the local search engines. For more detailed information on registering ccTLDs and the benefits they bring, please read this detailed article in the EuroDNS newsletter.

Reach your potential in Russia

EuroDNS currently has a promotion on registering .RU domain names in its European Summer Bundle. Register before September 30 using the promo code PBRU12A, and add Russian character to your website, for only €10.99.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “We strive to keep our customers informed about the domain industry, along with delivering the best possible deals. Russia’s Internet audience is a fast expanding market, so we offer this promotion as a first step to joining this growing online population.”

For more detailed information, please visit the EuroDNS website or speak directly to one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com.

To receive updates of all new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news and comments from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

EuroDNS can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter, there are also additional posts on Google+ and LinkedIn.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

EuroDNS offers .IN domain names at €9.99

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:40:30 +0200

Get in with the .IN crowd using the latest EuroDNS promotion; a special, limited time offer on .IN domain names. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until August 28, 2012, register .IN domain names for only €9.99. Enter the promo code PRIN12A and benefit from this special deal, available for two weeks only!

Registering a .IN domain name with the EuroDNS promotion allows businesses to demonstrate commitment to an Indian audience, inspiring confidence and showing loyalty to the country. Online consumers feel safer and are more inclined to deal with a local business; become a local by registering a .IN domain name today.

Variety is the spice of life

Introduced in 1989, the .IN domain is operated by the INRegistry under the authority of NIXI (National Internet Exchange of India). Registration of .IN domain names is open to individuals, organizations and companies in India and abroad.

India successfully bridges the gap between honoring history and tradition and embracing the culture of the Internet age. It welcomes the challenge and ably proves its passion for such a disparate way of life. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, declared India to be, “a bundle of contradictions held together by strong but invisible threads.” Although this statement was made decades ago, it still holds true today.

India is a diverse country featuring snowcapped mountains and sun drenched beaches, temples are in abundance as are busy markets. It is an exciting, thriving country, it is noisy and frantic, displaying stunning architecture, exotic foods, and beautiful scenery; it possesses an eclectic mix of religions and philosophies, each with its own festival and celebrations. It is a country presented in technicolour.

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked." Mark Twain

Become a part of this extraordinary country today, register a .IN domain name and see your business thrive.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we always try to deliver the best possible service to our customers, therefore we are offering this excellent promotion on .IN domain names. We believe registering this domain name extension for any business will bring more traffic, thus increasing revenue. For the next two weeks all .IN domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €9.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain name experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .IN domain at the unbeatable price of €9.99, visit our website, and enter promo code PRIN12A, valid till August 28, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Please join EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter; we can also be found on Google+ and LinkedIn where we regularly post.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

PROve your PROfessionalism to the world

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:43:47 +0200

A domain that crosses the language barrier, a business tool that builds trust; the .PRO domain demonstrates your PROfessionalism to the world. EuroDNS are offering you the opportunity to register with this exclusive domain at a reduced price; valid until December 31, 2012, register a .PRO domain name today for €9.99; enter the promo code PBPRO12B and PROmote your business around the world.

The .PRO domain was originally introduced in 2004, at this time registrations were restricted to lawyers, accountants, physicians and engineers, in America, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK. It was launched as the first gTLD for business professionals, instantly indicating credibility and trust due to the rigorous registration requirements. Restrictions have now been relaxed and registration of a .PRO domain name is open to any professional individual or organization, anywhere in the world.

Earn you stripes

It is no small task, trying to establish trust in your business; by registering a .PRO domain name your business gains instant recognition as an entity to be trusted. EuroDNS is an authorized .PRO registrar; register a .PRO domain name today; it is a seal of approval, a badge of honour, a certificate of your professionalism.

Whilst the restrictions have been loosened it is still a domain requiring official credentials to prove good standing, meaning the value of a .PRO domain name has not diminished. The .PRO domain is now open to all individual professionals and licensed businesses in any country. Applicants must produce documentation proving they are a licensed business professional or business entity. Other occupations that will now be accepted include therapists, plumbers, police and fire officers, educators, etc., that is, any profession where a recognized government certification body or jurisdictional licensing entity, regularly verifies the data accuracy of licenses granted.

Licensed businesses must provide the service stated on registration documentation, i.e. if their license is to sell cars then they will be permitted to use their .PRO domain to sell cars.

The paperwork

Official documentation required for a business or individual to offer its services relates to their professional eligibility and includes personal identification, contact information, jurisdictional country, license number, licensing authority including HTML link. The registry will monitor information provided to ensure continued compliance with all registration requirements.

PROof positive

A seven day auction for the .PRO domain was held in January 2012, opening bids starting at $50 and growing to $5000 as the event progressed. Fever pitch struck towards the end of the auction with go.pro selling for $40,000, this is the highest price paid for a .PRO domain name to date. Other notable sales included xxx.pro at $18,903, and job.pro at $5,456.

Due to the restrictions enforced initially, there are many .PRO domain names available; even if you already have the .COM version of your name it would be wise to register the .PRO, enter the promo code PBPRO12B now, before someone else realizes its benefits. Its popularity is growing, in January 2011 records indicate 100,000 .PRO domains registered, by July the following year, the figure had reached 160,000.

EuroDNS can help you with all your domain requirements, employing a team of experts always happy to answer any questions, contact them at sales@eurodns.com.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Domain industry highlights from EuroDNS

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 08:32:36 +0200

To remain at the forefront of the domain industry it is essential to be ‘in the know’, keeping up to date with all the latest news, trends and announcements. At EuroDNS we believe this information should be shared with our customers and would like to highlight the latest headlines.

Over 233 million domain names worldwide

During Q1, 2012, there were over seven million domain names registered; there are over 200 million names registered in the world, with .COM and .NET boasting a combined total of approximately 116m. EuroDNS currently has a promotion on .COM domain names, €8.99 until September 30, register now to take advantage of this offer.

Country code TLDs numbered 94.9m by end of Q1, 2012; a 16.2% increase over the same period in 2011. There are more than 290 ccTLDs, with the top ten making up 60% of all registrations. Currently, the top 10 are .DE, .TK, .UK, .NL, .RU, .EU, .BR, .CN, .AR, .AU. This information has been brought to you from Verisign’s Domain Name Industry Brief, July 2012, please follow the link for more details.

Ten million .ORG domain names registered

The PIR (Public Interest Registry) states that the ten millionth .ORG domain name was registered at the end of June 2012. Could this last minute stampede be a result of the registration price increase that PIR initiated on July 1? One of the original TLDs, .ORG has no restrictions to registration and is recognised as the domain for non-profit organisations, non-governmental or public interest campaigns; it is a domain recognised throughout the world, engendering trust and credibility.

.EU reaches new heights

.EU domain names increased by 6.1% to 3.59m compared with Q1 of 2011. It is the best annual growth rate the EURid (appointed by the European Commission to operate the .EU domain) has experienced since Q3 of 2010. 9% more new names were registered in 2012 than at the same time in 2011. The full EURid’s Q1 2012 progress report is available online for more in depth information.

.EU was launched in 2005, and is available to all organizations in and residents of EU member states. Registering a .EU domain name invites 500m people, from 27 countries, into your domain; check out the EuroDNS promotion, running until October 31, register your domain name for just €11.99.

NEW gTLDs, the latest story

We said goodbye to ICANN’s Digital Archery batching scheme at the ICANN 44 conference in Prague; the aim now is to accelerate the evaluations and process them in a single batch, officially announced by ICANN on July 29. With this in mind, the target is for initial evaluations to be completed in 11-12 months, with publication of results in June/July 2013. This new evaluation process means delegations will take place six months later than originally planned.

ICANN invited everyone, should they desire, to comment on the new gTLDs. All comments will be displayed but ICANN reserves the right to remove ones that do not follow their Expected Standards of Behavior and ICANN’s Open Comment Forum Process and Standards. One contributor is to be commended having submitted 467 comments on individual applications; the comment is the same throughout and is directed at those applications that don’t have added rights mechanisms. As of August 1, there were 1,806 public comments posted.

Say your piece, the comment period is open between June 13 and August 12 2012, when it will be reviewed by the ICANN evaluation panel.

EuroDNS, keeping you informed

EuroDNS publish regular articles and a monthly newsletter with all the latest news from the domain industry and invaluable advice from our team of experts. Please subscribe to our newsletter and remain 'in the know'.

Please join EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter; we can also be found on Google+ and LinkedIn where we regularly post.

EuroDNS offers .SG domain names at €24.99

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:23:07 +0200

With a population of over five million and described by the World Bank as, “the easiest place to do business”; EuroDNS would like to introduce its customers to Singapore, the Lion City. The EuroDNS promotion on .SG domain names allows customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until August 14, 2012, register a .SG domain name for only €24.99. Use the promo code PRSG12A and enter the lion’s den.

The EuroDNS promotion on the .SG domain will protect online businesses, giving a unique web address which is easily remembered. Strengthen brand identity and increase confidence in products and services by speaking directly to a Singaporean audience; an audience which has English as its common language, followed by Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

The .SG domain is administered by the Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), it was introduced in 1988 and, as of June 2012 there were just over 50,000 domain names registered.

Rules of the jungle

Registration of .SG domain names is available to anyone possessing a valid Singapore postal address. Foreign applicants may apply if a local agent, with a valid Singapore postal address, is appointed as the administrative contact.

Inside beats the heart of a lion

The Malay word for Singapore is Singapura; this in turn, means Lion City.

Singapore is a country made up of 63 islands; it boasts several thousand international corporations and can claim to be one of the Four Asian Tigers. Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan make up the four, and are duly named because of their highly developed economies. Allegedly, one out of every six households has one million US dollars in disposable wealth, without taking into consideration businesses and property; this ensures Singapore has the world’s highest percentage of millionaires. Why not talk to them face to face and encourage them to spend some money.

Do a roaring trade with the EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we always try to give our customers the best possible opportunities to promote their businesses online. We are offering this promotion because registering a .SG domain name introduces you to Singapore, one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Until August 14, all .SG domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €24.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just registering domain names; we offer a growing range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list currently includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .SG domain at the unbeatable price of €24.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRSG12A, valid until August 14, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The accent is on Italy

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:13:15 +0200

Fantastico, the Italian registry, Registro.it, has announced a new naming policy for the .IT domain; it is now possible to register IDNs (internationalized domain names). .IT domain names can be registered by residents of countries in the European Union; this permission is now also granted to Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Republic of San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican City.

Just because…

The new naming policy is proving extremely popular, within seconds of opening the first name was registered perché.it, moments later, perchè.it, joined the list. Registrants, apparently racing to protect their brands by registering multiples of domain name variants. Early registrations also included, normally, unaccented words such as pizzá.it, and country names in the original language such as österreich.it.

Safety in numbers

Without a ‘priority registration period’, trademark owners are offered no protection; therefore it is imperative to register all the possible variations of names as soon as possible, to ensure trademarks are fully protected. The owner of perché.it realising this, swiftly registered the same name with a different accent.

EuroDNS are currently offering a promotion on registering .IT domain names, as part of a European Summer Bundle; the offer lasts until September 30, 2012, register a .IT domain name for only €16.99, entering the promo code PBIT12A.

.IT reaches great heights

In 2010, .IT domain name registrations reached 2,000,000, doubling in just five years. In July 2012, there are almost 2,500,000 registered .IT domain names, proving its huge popularity.

The benef.it of hacking

Express yourself, whether you are a hobb.it or a herm.it, explo.it the opportunity to create a domain hack, they are fun and memorable; they are also good for link sharing as being shorter, they are easier to remember.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS had this to say, “EuroDNS are offering the .IT domain extension, at a discounted rate, for the whole of the summer period.” Daniel continued, “For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are ready to help with advice on bulk domain name registration to protect trademarks.”

To register or transfer an existing domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Join the fun and games in .CO.UK

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:45:18 +0200

The United Kingdom 2012, Ancient Greece arrives in London’s East End, and no, it’s not a new restaurant; London will welcome 10,500 foreigners from 205 nations around the world. EuroDNS invites its customers to join the millions of spectators of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and register a .CO.UK domain name today for only €5.99 valid until August 31, with promo code NLCOUK12B.

.CO.UK was introduced in 1985 as a second-level domain under .UK; it is widely used and recognized as the most popular domain extension in the United Kingdom. The .CO.UK domain takes precedence over .UK, the country’s ccTLD which has a restriction on new registrations. Online purchases are increasing every day and customers behaviour seems to indicate that they have more confidence buying from a website with their own country extension; big name brands recognizing this and utilize ccTLDs specific to the country they are targeting, for example Amazon and eBay. Equally, a company such as Triumph Motorcycles, known all over the world for its classic British motorbikes, treats its domain extension as part of its branding, triumph.co.uk shouts ‘Great Britain’.

Nations gather under the Union Flag

The vibrant, multicultural city is finalizing preparations; after years of blood, sweat and tears, London is ready and waiting. London 2012 begins on July 27, when Queen Elizabeth II will open the games; two weeks later it will all be over.

London was selected to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on July 6, 2005; this will be the first time a city has hosted the modern games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948. Countries all over the world are asking; how many medals will we win? Do the beach volley ball teams really wear bikinis, even the men? Will Beckham play? Will it rain all the time? What is that London 2012 logo all about? How do we become a part of this historic event?

In answer to the questions, EuroDNS are here to help: we shall see, take a camera just in case, unfortunately not, take an umbrella – it’s England, good question, register a .CO.UK domain name now!

Address the nation

No medals, unfortunately; just lots of new visitors. Register a .CO.UK domain name now, entering the promo code NLCOUK12B, before August 31.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS would like to offer the .CO.UK extension to our customers, it will inspire trust and confidence and your business can only benefit.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS not only registers international domain names; we also offer a wide range of solutions and services to support our customers with all their domain needs. The list of services currently includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are on hand to help.”

To register or transfer an existing .CO.UK domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

11 European countries?

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:05:11 +0200

It’s the Formula 1 race calendar! It’s the European Football Championship! It’s the Eurovision Song Contest! No, better, it’s the EuroDNS European Summer Bundle.

Yes, we are promoting domain extensions across Europe, namely: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and The United Kingdom. Register now with any of these country domains and add a hint of continental Europe to your website, valid until September 30, 2012.

The EuroDNS European Summer Bundle is our latest promotion; we want our customers to enjoy the summer, come rain or shine. The promotion is on 11 European domains, register today using the codes provided and be like a European; drive a Ferrari past windmills, eat a waffle with caviar, listen to punk rockers playing Chopin, read Sartre in German, dance the flamenco to ABBA whilst your cuckoo clock strikes the hour.

Target your audience

Speak to your European audience directly; by registering the ccTLD related to the country you want to target, you will increase trust, respect and loyalty with that particular audience. Users feel more confident engaging with a website local to their country; .COM’s popularity is global but when looking for local companies a ccTLD is the direction users will take. Targeting several countries is a good option for an international business; the most efficient way, and most beneficial for SEO purposes is to use separate ccTLDs hosted in the relevant country. EuroDNS published an article in June discussing the role of ccTLDs in the SEO world; it offers advice and opinion with regard registration of country code domain names.

Touring Europe with EuroDNS

Take a look at the list below and register with one, two, three, or all of the domains, your business can only improve. The promotion is valid until September 30, 2012.

PBBE12C .BE (Belgium) €9.99

PBFR12E .FR (France) €10.99

PBDE12D .DE (Germany) €9.99

PBIT12A .IT (Italy) €16.99

PBNL12C .NL (Netherlands) €10.99

PBPL12B .PL (Poland) €14.99

PBRU12A .RU (Russia) €10.99

PBES12C .ES (Spain) €10.99

PBSE12C .SE (Sweden) €16.99

PBCH12B .CH (Switzerland) €16.99

PBCOUK12D .CO.UK (United Kingdom) €8.99

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS had this to say, “EuroDNS are offering these popular extensions, at a discounted rate, for the whole of the summer period. Any business will benefit greatly by talking directly to their audience, bringing more visitors and improving their search engine ranking.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS is a leading registrar that not only registers international domain names; we also deliver a range of solutions and services to support our customers with all their domain requirements. The list of services currently includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are on hand to help.”

To register or transfer an existing domain name, please visit theEuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, pleasesubscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

ICANN 44: EuroDNS précis Prague

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:09:53 +0200

June 24-29, 2012, EuroDNS delegates attended the ICANN 44 conference in Prague; on their return they summarized the highlights of the event.

VeriSign secure .COM for a further six years

The ICANN board announced their approval of the renewal of VeriSign’s agreement to act as registry for the .COM domain. The agreement commences on December 1, 2012, finishing on November 30, 2018.

The ICANN board resolution contains new clauses, one introducing, “…modified provisions to bring .COM into line with other comparable agreements (.BIZ, .INFO, .NET and .ORG), including modifications to terms such as functional and performance specifications, Whois, indemnification, and broad audit provisions.”

Prior to the renewal of the agreement ICANN invited public comment, these comments were then taken into consideration when making their final decision. Several comments highlighted the concern regarding increases to the charges registrars pay for domain names registrations, the 2012 renewed agreement states, “Both the current .com registry agreement and the proposed renewal agreement permit VeriSign to increase the price it charges registrars for domain names registrations four times during the six-year term with each increase being no greater than 7 percent.”

The implications are that VeriSign can raise the registration fees by 7% in four of the next six years, as opposed to in all six years as was the original proposal; the price increases can be made without consultation.

Since 2006, the .COM registry fee has steadily increased; regrettably the new agreement allows this to continue. The most popular domain in the world, .COM continues to grow, VeriSign are surely set to increase their profit substantially. But, whilst they collect with one hand, they will have to give with the other; the quarterly fixed-fee VeriSign currently pay to ICANN has been cancelled in favor of payments of $0.25 per registered, transferred or renewed .COM domain, on top of the $0.18 per domain fee already paid.

It would be advisable if registrants considered registering ccTLDs as a more economical option; they are often cheaper and EuroDNS regularly offer country code domains with a promotion, reducing the price even further.

Reveal Day, what’s next?

…according to Kurt Pritz, Senior VP, ICANN, “the silent period”, whilst the new gTLDs are evaluated. On Reveal Day ICANN presented the results of the first round of applications, including:

• 1930 total number of applications

• 1179 unique applications

• 1000 applicants

• Luxembourg is 3rd in terms of applications per country, after America and the Cayman Islands.

Popular, ‘everyday’ words, with duplicated applications included: .APP (13), .HOME (11), .INC (11), .ART (10), .BLOG (9), .BOOK (9)

The first meeting, following Reveal Day, was attended by experts and consultants from the industry, offering their services to applicants looking to become registries and registrars. With millions of dollars on the table, these services have become indispensable.

With the possibility of 1179 new gTLDs entering the Internet, the earliest appearing in Q1, 2013, there are inevitable changes predicted. The public’s awareness of domain names will increase, along with the need for further knowledge as to how domain names and search engines work.

Registrars will have to be prepared to support these new gTLDs; at EuroDNS each division is ready to offer specialized consultancy services for the new registries. With experts in development, technical and sales, services streamlined and automated, EuroDNS and its sister companies are fully equipped to handle future implementations.

• eBrand Services is involved in 30+ applications, and has developed a ‘quick search’ tool to access all the information regarding the New gTLD Application Database.

• OpenRegistry has been selected to act as technical backend provider for 24 applications.

EuroDNS has published several articles in its news section discussing the ICANN process, the figures and comments on the new gTLDs.

Digital Archery

ICANN, anticipating more than 500 applications for new gTLDs, developed a system to implement a secondary time stamp for the process of batching the applications; the system became known as Digital Archery, because applicants would all have a sporting chance of hitting the target.

To determine which applications would be handled first, applicants were invited to click on a button, on a given day; a few days later the applicant would be required to click the same button, at the exact same time as previously.

Whilst sounding like a fun computer game, the batching process was of the utmost importance in determining which gTLDs would be available for registration first. Applicants selected for early release would have had a distinct advantage over later releases. However, on June 23, after concerns were aired regarding the fairness of Digital Archery and complaints of unexpected results and network latency, ICANN announced, “Operation of the digital archery portion of the New Generic Top-level Domain Program has been suspended.”

It is to be hoped that applicants who rose to the challenge, investing money on developing a software solution to play the Digital Archery game, are not too ‘out of pocket’. ICANN has yet to announce a new process for the batching of the new gTLDs.

Trademark Clearinghouse, a globally available database

The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) was designed as a central repository for trademark information, offering authentication of trademark data in the new gTLD domains. Providing services for the authentication and validation of brands, participating rights holders will be alerted if a domain name is put up for registration that matches TMCH records.

On June 1, 2012, ICANN announced that Deloitte and IBM had been selected to administer the TMCH services; both the aforementioned parties will subcontract IPClearingHouse (aka CHIP) to promote these services. EuroDNS and eBrand Services are already accredited agents of the IPClearingHouse.

During the session with Deloitte and IBM it was announced that rights holders would be charged $150 per trademark registration, with an annual renewal fee representing a percentage of this amount.

New gTLD registries will be charged a $10,000 fee per TLD, to connect to the TMCH database.

With this system in place, the Sunrise Periods for the new gTLDs, where trademark owners are given the opportunity to apply for their trademarks in the new gTLDs, should proceed more easily than in the past; it will also be less expensive for registrants.

Uniform Rapid Suspension system update

The URS system is similar to the UDRP, designed to address obvious cases of cybersquatting in domain names; but, URS results in suspension of the domain name for the length of its registration period, rather than transfer or cancellation. Intended as a complement to the UDRP, the URS filing fee, targeted to be $300-$500 per case, will be set by the URS provider. Trademark owners may file a complaint leading to the registrar involved immediately suspending the domain; the offending company has 14 days to dispute the complaint. An unsatisfactory answer or no response will mean the domain name is taken down.

During the session on the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS), current UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) providers expressed concern regarding successful implementation of the URS system, and doubts that the cost target could be met. With URS promoted as ‘low cost’, this situation will have to be addressed and work continued towards achieving this goal.

ICANN introduces new CEO

Fadi Chehade was announced as the new CEO of ICANN, he is a successful business man of Egyptian descent; born in Lebanon, at the age of 18 he arrived in America unable to speak a word of English. Fadi brings strong international experience and is fluent in four languages, Arabic, English, French and Italian. In his opening speech he said, “ICANN cannot become a fortress. ICANN must become an oasis, a place that people see and come to because it works, because it makes sense, because it's efficient.”

Fadi replaces outgoing president and CEO, Rod Beckstrom; he is scheduled to start officially on October 1, 2012 and his tenure will end July 1, 2015.

RAA Negotiation

EuroDNS, as a member of the Registrar Stakeholder Group (RrSG), participated in a number of sessions during the week relating to the current status of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) negotiations with ICANN. The RrSG serves as the voice of domain name registrars within the ICANN process.

The RAA is the agreement between ICANN and its accredited Registrars setting forth the terms under which Registrars operate and offer gTLD registrations to the public; the RAA is the Registrars’ “license to register”.

Discussions regarding the agreement began in November 2011; although significant progress has been made the negotiations are still not complete. Prior to the Prague meeting, ICANN posted a draft RAA, the RrSG responded with feedback and commentary. ICANN’s highest priorities are the areas of Whois verification and data retention requirements; ICANN and the RrSG have not yet reached agreement on particulars of the law enforcement recommendations.

There were 12 recommendations, relating to the RAA, presented during a meeting between the RrSG and the Law Enforcement community. The RrSG accepted 10 of the 12 recommendations with little change; but, they have requested further discussion and feedback with regard Whois verification and data retention.

Luxembourg based registrar, EuroDNS, will face little or no disruption from the 10 requests already accepted, as the company is already bound by the country’s law on e-commerce.

The two recommendations still under discussion and being contended by the RrSG are;

• the performance of registrant’s data verification for all gTLDs (existing and future); and

• lengthy and invasive (illicit under European Law) retention and divulgation of EuroDNS’ customers details to ICANN.

Invasion of registrants’ privacy and the numerous uncertainties regarding the methods of implementation means the two remaining recommendations may be subject to a ‘Policy Development Process’, via which the public and all concerned parties will be able to provide their input.

EuroDNS offers .BE domain names at €2.99

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:13:40 +0200

EuroDNS announces a special, limited time offer on .BE domain names. With this promotion, EuroDNS customers can register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until July 31, 2012, register a .BE domain name for only €2.99. Enter the promo code PRBE12B and subscri.BE to the vi.BE.

The EuroDNS promotion offers companies, organizations and individuals, the opportunity to register a .BE domain name; it is an excellent way for local and international companies to promote their products and services in Belgium. With no restrictions, registration is open to everyone; registering a .BE domain name will strengthen and protect company’s online brand, whilst providing localized information to a Belgian audience. For a Belgian company, registering a .BE domain name demonstrates commitment and loyalty to local customers, thereby instilling trust; audience’s that trust, will applaud.

The .BE domain is under the control of DNS Belgium and currently, there are over 1,300,000 domains registered.

So you wanna.BE?

The Kingdom of Belgium is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU headquarters in its capital city, Brussels; the motto of the EU being ‘United in diversity’, promoting a more tolerant way of life. This makes it a really important country. But enough about that, what makes this country so special, so great, so brilliant, so… smurftastic, is that it is the birthplace of the Smurfs. These small blue creatures, three apples high, promote life as a cooperative; holding the belief that each Smurf has something he or she is good at, and can contribute to their society. Called Schtroumpfs in Belgium, they were created by Pierre Culliford under the pen name Peyo.

BEhold, the EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we always try to give our customers what they want, with the best possible service. We are offering this promotion on .BE domain names, and we know that all who register this domain name extension will benefit greatly. Until July 31, all .BE domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €2.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does a whole lot more than just registering domain names; we offer an increasing range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list currently includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .BE domain at the unbeatable price of €2.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRBE12B, valid until July 31, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Come party with .ME in Montenegro

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:43:09 +0200

Montenegro is throwing a party; National Day (Statehood Day) is celebrated on July 13 and marks the anniversary of Montenegro becoming an independent state. EuroDNS is gate-crashing this party and bringing a gift, a time limited promotion on .ME domain names. Valid until July 27, register a .ME domain name for only €13.99; enter the promo code NDME12A and join .ME.

On July 13, 1878, the Congress of Berlin recognized Montenegro as the 27th independent state in the world, Statehood Day marks this momentous occasion. On June 3, 2006, Montenegro declared its independence from the state of Serbia and Montenegro; the following year ICANN delegated the .ME domain to the country, replacing the .YU domain previously shared with Serbia.

You, .ME and everyone

The potential of this domain as a generic name was soon apparent and in 2008 registration became available on a global scale. Officially the .ME is still a ccTLD but Google accepted it as an unofficial generic name and so, allows geo-targeting. Any website with a .ME domain name will benefit greatly in terms of searches and thus, enjoy more traffic.

Making it personal with .ME, whether it’s for business or pleasure, creates a unique, highly visible website. Talk to your friends or talk to your customers, but remember to talk to .ME.

Hello world, this is .ME

Introduce yourself to the world, register a .ME domain name now, entering the promo code NDME12A; and say hello.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS offers this popular extension to our customers with all the benefits offered by a .ME extension; express yourself, personalize your website, have fun and watch all the traffic pour in.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS not only registers international domain names; we also offer an increasing collection of solutions and services to support our customers with all their domain requirements. The list of services currently includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are on hand to help.”

To register with one of the above domains, please visit the EuroDNSwebsite.

Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

NEWS FLASH: Domain prices guillotined!

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:17:45 +0200

Joyeux Quatorze Juillet! EuroDNS offers a très fantastique promo on the .FR domain and the French Overseas Departments and Territories (DOM-TOM), all to celebrate La Fête Nationale. We won’t be storming any prisons but we are releasing six domain extensions, all at a reduced cost. Valid until July 27, register now!

To honour Bastille Day, EuroDNS is offering a promotion on the following domain extensions: .FR (France), .RE (Réunion Island), .WF (Wallis and Futuna), .PM (St Pierre and Miquelon), .TF (French Southern Territories), .YT (Mayotte). Registration for this promo is available until July 27; please see below for promo codes and prices.

All the aforementioned extensions are administered by the registry AFNIC (Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération).

Bonne fête nationale

The storming of the Bastille, July 14, 1789, was the spark that kindled the French Revolution; French citizens fighting against an oppressive institution, demanding liberty, equality and fraternity for all. The world over, the French will be celebrating Bastille Day with fireworks, picnics, parades, dancing and feasts.

Liberty in Europe

December 2001, saw AFNIC relax restrictions on their domains allowing any European individual, company or organization to register a domain name. Internationalized domain names (IDN) were introduced in May 2012, allowing registrants to present the true pronunciation and meaning of their brand.

Registration information

Promo code NDFR12D .FR (France) €5.99
Promo code NDRE12A .RE (Réunion Island) €8.99
Promo code NDWF12A .WF (Wallis and Futuna) €8.99
Promo code NDPM12A .PM (St Pierre and Miquelon) €8.99
Promo code NDTF12A .TF (French Southern Territories) €8.99
Promo code NDYT12A .YT (Mayotte) €8.99

Bonjour, salut & allô

Storm the world, register with any of the above domain extensions now, simply enter the relevant promo code and let your website speak for itself.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS offers these extensions to our customers with all the benefits they bring; relaxed restrictions allowing any European entity to register a domain name and talk to a global audience.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS not only registers international domain names; we also offer an increasing collection of solutions and services to support our customers with all their domain requirements. The list of services currently includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are on hand to help.”

To register with one of the above domains, please visit the EuroDNS website.

Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Exciting updates@.TEL

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:06:39 +0200

.TEL just gets better and better, with the introduction of video and new business templates to personalize and add credibility to any .TEL website.

Telnic, founded in 2000, is the UK based Registry Operator for the .TEL TLD. The domain was originally launched in 2009 and currently lists approximately 300,000 names on its books.

The .TEL domain’s function is focussed on providing an area for Internet communication services. Unlike other TLDs, .TEL publishes contact data, such as phone numbers, SIP addresses, etc., directly in the DNS (Domain Name System), for all other TLDs, the DNS only holds data such as the IP address of the computer where the information is located.

The .TEL concept enables the user to store, update and publish contact information, web links and keywords directly on the Internet under a unique domain name. Accessible from any device, registering a .TEL domain name allows businesses and individuals to take full control over how and where people reach them; owning a website that requires no building, hosting or managing. Whether it’s home, office or mobile number, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc., the domain will even map your location. It is an international domain for communications, available to anyone.

Video@.TEL

In March, 2012, Telnic released the latest update to the .TEL domain which enables a video to be added and played within the page. This new feature is available for both the desktop and the mobile proxy.

The release from Telnic allows video records to be created for .TEL domains, via API interfaces, and displayed as embedded movies within the TelProxy page.

• Videos will be supported from the three major video sharing sites: YouTube, Vimeo and DailyMotion; currently it is not possible to link or upload from any other video formats.

• Each (fully qualified) .TEL domain will only be able to show one video within the TelProxy. If multiple video records are created then the first one parsed by the TelProxy will be the one displayed.

Personalize@.TEL

July 2012 saw the service updated again with the introduction of three new business .TEL templates, which can be personalized to any organizations’ requirements. The new features are available now and can be accessed from within the users’ .TEL control panel.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

To access these exciting new templates, simply log in to the .TEL hosting partition at telhosting.eurodns.com, click on the template tab, select the required design and personalize. It couldn’t be any easier!

Do .TEL

So why have a website, with flash graphics, streaming videos and pages, and pages of text? If all you need is easily accessible contact information, for you and your customers, .TEL is the way forward.

It’s quick, user friendly and affordable, giving you an immediate online presence without extortionate advertising costs. Your .TEL is accessible from any device with Internet connection, including all mobile devices, it’s easy to upload images of your products and can be updated in real-time.

Customize your .TEL today!

.CO.NO Go Live, available to everyone

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:25:58 +0200

EuroDNS, are pleased to announce the opening of the Go Live Period for .CO.NO domain names. On July 4, 2012, application requests can be made by the general public, without restriction or priority rights, on a first come, first served basis.

EuroDNS is an ICANN accredited, leading domain name registrar, ranking in the top ten in many countries throughout the world. Constantly striving to provide their customers with the best possible services, they are now offering registration of .CO.NO domain names.

The .CO.NO domain was launched in 2010, opening the door to businesses and individuals wanting to target a Norwegian audience. Without restrictions, the .CO.NO domain is available to everyone but to protect trademark owners, a Sunrise Period was held in November 2010, allowing them to register and protect their brand before General Availability.

On July 4, 2012, at 10:00am CEST, any interested party will be able to apply to register a .CO.NO domain name. Contact EuroDNS to register a .CO.NO domain name, the team of domain experts will be happy to guide customers through the registration process. EuroDNS boasts management of all domain names in a centralized portfolio with a multilingual end user interface.

CoDNS created in 2007, deals exclusively with the .CO.NO and .CO.NL domains; CoDNS currently has offices in Amsterdam, Norway and Luxembourg.

Why .CO.NO?

Domain names registered during the opening period are active on the Internet and registrants are already welcoming an increase in international traffic and potential revenue.

.CO.NO offers full flexibility, having no local presence requirements and no limits on how many names can be registered by individuals and companies. Studies indicate that Internet users familiar with searching for .CO.XX addresses in their own countries will follow this trend when searching in other locations around the world.

Go Live, better late than never

Following a successful Sunrise Period in 2010, registration of .CO.NO domain names suffered an unavoidable delay. After a lengthy court case CoDNS was triumphant and informed its network of worldwide registrars that the Go Live Period would now be possible. For more information regarding the CoDNS case, please read the press release.

EuroDNS introduces you to Norway

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “The .CO.NO domain is seen as a beneficial way to enter the Norwegian market and position a brand or company as part of the international community, the Go Live Period is the opportunity for everyone to do just that.”

Daniel continued, “With the flexibility that .CO.NO brings, it is an excellent choice and we are excited to offer it to our customers. At EuroDNS we always try to give our customers the support they deserve, we offer a growing range of solutions and services which currently includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register a .CO.NO domain please visit our website; for promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS on please check out the offers page.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

EuroDNS offers .US domain names at €5.99

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:21:46 +0200

Firework displays, parades, barbecues, carnivals, family picnics, baseball games, the Star-Spangled Banner and a EuroDNS promotion; it must be the Fourth of July. EuroDNS celebrate Independence Day in the US with a promotion on the .US domain, enabling EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until July 17, 2012, register a .US domain name for only €5.99. Enter the promo code PRUS12A and attain the American dream.

The .US domain enables American and international businesses, based in the US, to strengthen their identities and increase confidence in their products and services with the US audience. The EuroDNS promotion offers this hugely popular .US domain at a reduced cost; register now and reap the benefits, available until July 17.

Registration requirements

Registrants of a .US domain must be American citizens, residents, organizations or, a foreign entity with a presence in the US; the name servers should also be located in the country. If these requirements are not met, the domain can be deleted by the registry.

The .US of A

Pop art, Coca-Cola, Hollywood, Abe Lincoln, cookies, Elvis, Martin Luther King, basketball, Satchmo, Mickey Mouse, Tex-Mex, hip hop, Marilyn, Jack Kerouac, Central Park, Tennessee Williams, Madonna and the Statue of Liberty; all instantly recognizable as American. Registering a .US domain for your business puts it on the map, by adding a dot and two letters your business will become a part of this large, multi-cultural, rich country; talking directly to the people.

America is a truly multicultural nation, home to a diverse population speaking different languages, worshipping different gods; bringing traditions and culture from countries all over the world. This creates a massive, international audience; registering a .US domain name ensures online businesses talk to all nations of the world, contained in just one country.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we strive to give our customers what they want and deliver to them the best possible services, hence we offer this promotion on .US domain names. We know that all who register this domain name extension will benefit by targeting this massive audience. Until July 17, all .US domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €5.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does so much more than registering domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services assisting our customers with all their domain requirements. The list currently includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our domain experts at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .US domain at the unbeatable price of €5.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRUS12A, valid until July 17, 2012.Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

New gTLDs and the road ahead

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:08:13 +0200

Almost 2000 organizations from around the world participated in ICANN’s new gTLD program and with major companies such as Google and Amazon taking part, any scepticism about the venture, must surely have been quashed. Or has it? Where were Pepsi, Coca Cola, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, surely not a lack of funds?

While the dust is settling, some companies are breathing a sigh of relief, whilst others are preparing for battle. Many brand owners will be anxiously waiting the fall out, used to having to defend their brands; the battle has now become a war with hundreds of new possible trademark infringements.

But, for some companies, these are exciting times and the introduction of new gTLDs is seen as favourable; owning an accredited space from which to provide online services.

Google vs. Amazon

Between them, Google and Amazon have applied for 177 gTLDs, with 23 duplicated applications there is a strong possibility that an auction will be held. ICANN has stressed that an auction is the last resort for deciding ownership of a duplicated gTLD, encouraging applicants to negotiate privately.

If the new gTLDs are successful will this give the new domain owners too much influence over the Web? If Amazon wins the right to own .BOOK they will have total control over who is allowed to use this domain. Should this wholly generic domain be owned by a book seller? Will they remain impartial and allow competitors to register a domain name? If Google win .BOOK, will they allow Amazon to register? And, if the competition is not there will users pay the price? So many questions…

Teaching old dogs new tricks?

These new gTLDs are not revolutionary, with the previous introduction of .MUSEUM, .NAME, .COOP, .AERO, .JOBS, .TRAVEL, .CO and .MOBI. Regrettably, these early TLDs did not prove hugely successful; .MUSEUM, created in 2001, shows approximately 500 registered domain names, whilst the big names felt safer keeping their original domains: louvre.fr, tate.org.uk, guggenheim.org. So what’s different this time?

Users may be so overwhelmed with the new choices that they stick with what they know and trust; millions of people will have to be encouraged and nurtured, their trust will have to be won.

WHATdotWHERE

The ICANN list of applied-for new gTLDs indicates 86 geographic names, 50 of which are cities, with only .MED having multiple applicants.

Xavier Buck, EuroDNS Chairman says, “I don’t believe in the generic TLDs, look at the history of .TRAVEL, .JOBS, etc. I believe in the mind of the people, and their surfing pattern is WHATdotWHERE. WHERE.COM is for global, and ccTLDs for local, now they will have the city TLDs.” He went on to say, “If you search for hotel Berlin or hotel London, Google will favour hotel.london and hotel.berlin; Google is becoming more local and always considers the IP address, domain extension and language of a site, to provide pages that are geographically relevant.”

Xavier Buck gave an interview to DomainSherpa, ‘Candid Advice for all New gTLDs’, please read for more information on how Xavier became the ‘king of ccTLDs’.

Brand new

There are 725 applications for brand names, but as previously stated, there are some big names missing, we can only wonder why. The companies that did apply for their brand did not restrict themselves to merely their brand name; L’Oreal included .SKIN, .SALON, .BEAUTY, and .HAIR in their applications. Xavier, who was in consultation with some of the brand name applicants, is of the opinion that 90% do not yet know what they are going to do with the TLDs they now own.

Survival of the fittest

With the first of the new gTLDs scheduled to hit the Internet next year, the public’s general awareness of domain names is inevitably going to increase; along with this will be a need for further knowledge as to how domain names and search engines work. Those owners possessing numerous new TLDs will survive comfortably, but those only holding one or two are going to struggle to make enough money to sustain their registry with the fees, cost of marketing, and the inevitable competition. The larger, new registries will eventually swallow up the smaller; to avoid this it would be advisable for the small registries to form partnerships, creating a force to be reckoned with.

Items of interest

The Kerry Trading Company in Hong Kong sent six applications for new TLDs including one for .KERRYLOGISITICS. Oops, a spelling mistake; with no provisions for this type of occurrence mentioned in the ICANN guidebook, the applicant may have lost a significant amount of money. Another, application is for .DOTAFRICA, let’s hope it was intentional, but I think not.

Holy See (Vatican City) has submitted four applications for .CATHOLIC (Latin, Russian, Arabic, Chinese), they are not for individuals to register; restricted to diocese, religious communities and other specified institutions. These restrictions eliminate any possible return on the huge investment of over $740,000, terrible news for an institution with falling numbers and lack of funds!

Whilst most of the TLDs offer no surprise there are several that ‘raise an eyebrow’, such as .SUCKS, .WTF, .GOO, .FOO, .OFF, .OOO, and so on. Yes, they are amusing, but what a price to pay for fun names.

EuroDNS offers support

EuroDNS intends having all the new gTLDs in its portfolio and offers specialized consultancy services for the new registries; they will need a registrar and EuroDNS is perfectly placed to fulfil this role. Xavier said, “We have a strong team of experts in development, technical and sales; with everything already streamlined and automated we are well positioned to handle several implementations a week.”

For more information, customers can visit www.eurodns.com or speak to a sales representative at sales@eurodns.com.

EuroDNS invite you and .ME into their domain

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:52:27 +0200

EuroDNS offers its customers the opportunity to register .ME domain names, a hugely popular extension. .ME is the ccTLD (country code top level domain) for Montenegro, assigned to the country in 2006 when it became an independent nation. Valid until July 31, register a .ME domain name for only €14.99, enter the promo code NLME12C and join .ME for some fun.

The government of Montenegro quickly recognized the potential of the extension as a generic name and registration became available worldwide in 2008. Although, officially a ccTLD, Google allows geo-targeting of .ME domain names as it does with TLDs such as .COM. This has a very positive impact in terms of searches for websites utilizing this domain.

In August 2008, 100,000 .ME domain names were already registered, beating its rivals .ASIA and .MOBI, both launched prior to .ME. By 2010, over 320,000 domain names had been registered.

Personally, I see you and .ME working well together

The .ME extension is used by individuals and businesses alike, it’s fun and easy to personalize, and has already been adopted by big brand names such as Facebook fb.me, WordPress wp.me, and Time magazine ti.me.

To create a truly unique and personal website address, combine your name with the extension, include in your email address and you need never worry about visibility. Ideal on social networks for promoting individualism and one’s own personal brand, yes, it’s all about .ME.

Everyone needs a call to action so justcall.me, and I’ll be there.

Register .ME now

Introduce yourself to the world, register a .ME domain name now, entering the promo code NLME12C; you’ll be so glad you did.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS offers this unique extension to our customers with all the benefits offered by a .ME extension; be yourself, personalize your website, have fun and welcome all the traffic you will draw.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS not only registers international domain names; we also offer a wide range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain questions and requirements. The list of services is constantly evolving, responding to the latest needs of our customers; it currently includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or contact our sales office at sales@eurodns.com, where our domain experts are on hand to help.”

To register or transfer an existing .ME domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website.

Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider Internet adoption.

ATtention: ATtractive .AT promotion ATtached

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:40:28 +0200

AT all costs, don’t miss this EuroDNS promotion! Benefit from this stunning, limited time offer on the .AT domain name extension. Valid until July 31, 2012, register .AT domain names for only €7.99. Enter the promo code NLAT12D and ATtract a far larger audience.

The latest EuroDNS promotion offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to register with this extremely popular domain, .AT, bringing them closer to the Austrian people, whilst still allowing communication with the rest of the world.

AT work, AT play

Registering a .AT domain name will increase the visibility of any website, leading to a significant growth in traffic; registration is simple and there are no restrictions on who may apply.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “We are offering this excellent promotion on .AT domain names for the benefit of our customers, available for only €7.99 until the end of July. Earlier this year EuroDNS announced an additional standard for .AT domain names; the launch of DNSSEC security standard which enhances the safety and security of .AT extensions.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS not only registers domain names; we also offer a range of solutions and services to support our customers with all their domain needs. The list currently includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .AT domain at the unbeatable price of €7.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: NLAT12D, valid until July 31.

Please review the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Are ccTLDs important in the world of SEO?

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:32:10 +0200

To be ranked in a local SERP (search engine results page), the search engine, whether it’s Google, Bing, etc., has to be able to recognize the location of your website; the simplest and most obvious way is too look at the domain name extension.

Generic TLDs, which include .COM, .ORG, .NET, etc., are the choices working most successfully when a business wants to be ranked internationally; although choosing a ccTLD may limit chances of ranking highly in other countries it will ensure sites rank higher for the country relating to the chosen ccTLD. In fact, the ccTLD version will possibly rank above the same website with a .COM extension in the local version of Google.

And let’s not forget, competition will be less as the target market is reduced, no international competitors.

Walk the walk, talk the talk

The Google search engine will initially consider the domain extension of a site, as its aim is to always provide pages that are geographically relevant to the audience, so it will steer .FR pages towards French users. Other areas it will investigate, if the ccTLD is considered generic, i.e. .ME, .TV, is the content language, contact address and telephone number. To determine the target of a website with a gTLD Google will also use the IP address; with this in mind, if you are focussing on a German audience with a .COM address it would be wise to contact your hosting provider with regard provision of an IP address that corresponds to the country being targeted.

It is important to remember that if you are offering your site in a local language you employ a native speaker for translation; this is not the time to save money by using an online translation tool. All pages, titles, and meta descriptions and meta tags will need to be in the language of the country you are targeting to benefit fully from the country-specific search engines. Keywords in the relevant language are essential for ranking, and although there are several countries with English as their first language, there are still many differences, for instance the US would talk about freeways, sidewalks and pants, whilst in the UK it would be motorways, pavements and trousers.

Users do read URLs to determine where a website is located so it is vital when purchasing your ccTLDs to take the language differences into account; it would be pointless owning football.de and filling the website with content in German, why? Because in Germany they play fussbull, or more accurately Fußball, equally football.us would fail as the Americans play soccer.

Credibility

Despite .COM being king, users are still inclined and feel more confident engaging with a website local to their country; in certain situations this makes perfect sense, why live in Germany and look to buy a car from a .COM website.

Registering a ccTLD requires applying to local authorities, there are restrictions applied and by going through this process it proves a certain commitment and loyalty to the country.

Google dominates the world of search engines, providing search results targeted for specific countries; but never assume that all countries are dominated by Google. The Czech Republic uses Senzam, China uses Baidu, Japan favours Yahoo, Russia uses Yandex, suggesting that ccTLDs are definitely preferable in countries that don’t favour Google.

Link building

If you own numerous ccTLDs you will need a separate link building strategy for each of the country-specific sites you maintain. For websites with ccTLDs it is much easier to acquire links from other local businesses; it is also the case that many country directories will only accept submissions from local sites. Ensure your links come from the correct country; your visitors will have more time and respect for your site if your links are local, rather than numerous links from the US.

Having numerous ccTLD sites may require more effort, but the benefits will certainly
outweigh this.

Site architecture

When building a website there are three options for targeting multiple countries:

• Sites created on separate ccTLDs – displaying different content according to language, currency and preferences of the audience. Hosted in the relevant country so search results display it quickly. This option is ideal for SEO purposes but is expensive, with set-up and on-going maintenance costs.

• Create country-specific subdomains of the main domain – Wikipedia is a good example of this method with subdomains, en.wikipedia.com, fr.wikipedia.com, etc., the drawback is any trust value is divided, thus reduced per subdomain compared to separate ccTLDs. Your TLD will be in competition with ccTLDs in local SERPs but, this is a cost-effective option with only one site to develop and maintain. Hosting each site in the relevant country, with the correct IP address, will improve search engine ranking.

• Create country-specific subdirectories of the main domain, e.g. name.com/uk – all content is your TLD with subdirectories targeting different countries/languages. Unfortunately, this is by no means a SEO friendly option, users are more likely to land, spend time and purchase from a domain with their country extension, i.e. .FR, .DE, .CO.UK. This is the cheapest option to maintain and possibly the only choice for smaller businesses.

All three bring their own advantages and disadvantages, and each represents a different level of investment; any decision made will depend on budget and available IT resources. In my opinion, big brands with deep pockets would benefit substantially from using the ccTLD relevant to the country they want to target, increasing trust, respect and loyalty with each particular audience.

A warning to hackers

Domain hacks is a popular reason for choosing ccTLDs, combining the domain name with certain ccTLDs to spell out the full name of the website, i.e. goo.gl, fold.it, youtu.be. The obvious choices are .AL, .AS, .CO, .IN, .IS, .IT, .ME, .US, but remember; Google only considers three of these as generic, .ME, .CO, and .AS. Generic TLDs have the Geo Targeting feature enabled in Google Webmaster so a site is able to target a specific country, i.e. a .DE website cannot target France.

But be careful, if your brand name is part of your SEO, for instance, ‘superprofit’, choosing the .IT extension and calling yourself superprof.it, is going to fail; you will be ranked as ‘superprof’ located in Italy.

And finally…

SEOmoz is a US based organization providing SEO software and what SEOmoz doesn’t know about SEO, isn’t worth knowing. With this in mind, you may be interested to watch this informative video concentrating on SEO and ccTLDs. Despite being over a year old, it is still highly relevant and full of useful advice.

.LU National Day celebrates Duke’s birthday

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:37:12 +0200

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg partied at the weekend celebrating the Grand Duke’s official birthday on National Day. EuroDNS would like to take this opportunity to wish the Grand Duke a very happy birthday; to mark this auspicious occasion we offer our customers an irresistible promotion. Valid until July 9, register a .LU domain name for only €16.99. Enter the promo code NDLU12A and join the party.

Luxembourg boasts a strong, high income economy with low inflation and low unemployment, making it the second richest country in the world. The IP law makes it a lucrative place in the European Union to create an entity for holding, developing and operating any intellectual property covered by the law. All individuals or companies dwelling in or carrying on activities can benefit from this regime, accordingly 80% of the net income and capital gains generated by, or issued from, copyrights on software, patents, trademarks (including service marks and domain names), designs, patterns and models, acquired or instituted after December 31, 2007, shall be exempt from tax, while only 20% shall be taxed at the ordinary combined (income tax and municipal business tax) rates.

How can you resist .LU?

By registering a .LU domain name your online business will be well protected, benefiting from a distinct web address. Build a sense of loyalty and trust by talking directly with the Luxembourg population.

In 2010 the new online platform my.lu was launched for 24-hour online domain name registration and management. .LU accepts Internationalised domain names (IDN); the administrative contact no longer needs to be resident in Luxembourg.

Small is beautiful

Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is in the heart of Western Europe. With a population of just over half a million, it is now the world’s only remaining sovereign grand duchy. Often called the banking capital of the world, housing over 150 banks and 100 insurance companies; Luxembourg’s financial activities have grown to include the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, the European Investment Bank, and the Luxembourg Central Bank. Due to an excellent infrastructure, several companies that operate on the Internet have moved their headquarters to Luxembourg, such as Amazon, eBay, iTunes, PayPal, and Skype.

A melange of different cultures, Luxembourg offers beautiful architecture and dramatic landscapes. It has been voted European Capital of Culture twice and has more Michelin-starred restaurants per head than anywhere else in the world.

EuroDNS invites you to register .LU

EuroDNS want you to be a part of the celebrations by registering a .LU domain name, enter the promo code NDLU12A, this is a party you don’t want to miss.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “We offer this .LU extension to our customers; benefiting businesses with its high levels of trust, confidence and resilience.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we also offer a constantly expanding range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list, currently, includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .LU domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

EuroDNS promotion offers .ORG domain names at €8

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:46:42 +0200

The Public Interest Registry (PIR), the administrator of the .ORG domain, has announced that effective July 1, 2012; the fee for registering a .ORG domain name will be increased. With customers’ interests at heart, EuroDNS announces this opportune, limited time offer on .ORG domain names. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new, transfer or renew existing domain names before the price increase and, at a promotional rate. Valid until July 3, 2012, register a .ORG domain name for only €8.99. Enter the promo code PRORG12A and benefit from this special deal, available until July 3.

By registering, renewing or transferring a .ORG domain name now, customers will not only benefit from the EuroDNS promotion but also avoid the price increase. EuroDNS are delighted to offer this timely promotion to register .ORG domain names before July 3 at a reduced rate, and remind customers that it is possible to renew for multiple years, hence saving further time and money.

.ORG, the voice of the people

The .ORG gTLD is one of the original top-level domains (TLDs), created in 1984 along with .COM, .EDU, .MIL and .NET. There are no restrictions to registration but .ORG is recognized as the domain for non-profit organizations, non-governmental or public interest campaigns; organizations with an altruistic objective; it is also recommended for individuals wanting to promote an interest or cause, from knitting clubs to charity sports events, hospitals to schools. The domain is recognized throughout the world, engendering trust with visitors.

The .ORG domain allows for IDN (internationalized domain names); in 2009 the PIR announced that the .ORG domain was the first gTLD to implement DNSSEC (domain name system security extentions), allowing the verification of authenticity and integrity of DNS data.

In 2011 the PIR announced over 9.5m registered .ORG domain names, making it, at that time, the third largest gTLD in the world.

Inspire trust in your audience

Whether trying to raise funds, highlight humanitarian issues, provide unbiased comment, or just spread the word, .ORG is the domain of choice. Large or small organizations and individuals are recognized as trusted entities.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we strive to deliver the best possible service to our customers, hence we offer this timely promotion on .ORG domain names. We know that all who adopt this domain name extension will benefit from more traffic to their site, assisting with their cause, raising funds for their charity. Until July 3, all .ORG domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €8.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does so much more than registering domain names; we also offer a constantly increasing range of solutions and services assisting our customers with all their domain requirements. The list currently includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .ORG domain at the unbeatable price of €8.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRORG12A, valid until July 3, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Lack of evidence insures UK Company loses its .XXX

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:23:01 +0200

The first company to lose a cybersquatting case for an XXX domain name is a UK company named BGL Group. The Group, more widely recognized as comparethemarket.com, heard in May that their claim had been rejected; meaning the owner of comparethemarket.xxx may now use the domain name in any way they choose.

The BGL Group is a personal-lines insurance broker founded in 1992; in 2005 it created the brand ‘comparethemarket’ and launched the website comparethemarket.com, a price comparison website allowing users to compare quotes from online insurance companies. BGL also registered comparethemarket.co.uk, operating the sites simultaneously. In 2007 it registered comparethemeerkat.com to support its marketing campaign featuring a Russian meerkat, the idea being that the meerkat is frustrated as people are constantly visiting his website looking for quotes on car insurance.

Apparently, ‘meerkat’ sounds similar to ‘market’ when spoken with a Russian accent!

BGL loses the right to have .XXX

On December 7, 2011, the second day of the ‘general availability’ period, comparethemarket.xxx was registered by UK resident, Jon Watkins; December 20, 2011, BGL Group became aware of the registered domain name.

BGL filed a UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) complaint with the Czech Arbitration Court (CAC) in April 2012, claiming that the registration was “a clear attempt to take unfair advantage of the reputation which has been developed by BGL.” BGL must have felt confident that their case was strong; they had registered the trademark for the term ‘comparethemarket’ prior to the domain name registration and had been marketing with the phrase for six years.

As the complainant, BGL was required to demonstrate that the domain name was registered in ‘bad faith’, surely, an open and shut case? In May 2012, BGL received the verdict, their claim had been rejected.

The panel from the Czech Arbitration Court wrote, “Claimant fails to prove bad faith registration or use of the domain. Complainant states that the domain is “completely inactive”. Complainant does not show that Respondent tried to sell the domain to Complainant, has registered other infringing names, or otherwise has tried to profit from the domain or cause any other harm to complainant. Respondent is not shown to have had prior UDRP cases in which he has been an unsuccessful Defendant. Clearly, “compare the market” could relate to myriad different types of markets and myriad different comparisons within each one, as demonstrated by a simple web search.”

This is a stark warning to trademark owners, the decision indicating that hard evidence is required to prove a ‘bad faith’ registration, such as offers for sale to the trademark owner, or linking the domain to competitors; creating and owning a trademark for six years, is obviously not enough.

For more information regarding the court decision, please read the case notes.

The jury is still out

Will the BGL Group launch an appeal? Their first argument may highlight the fact that previous inactive websites, involved in similar disputes, have been accepted as examples of bad faith.

Having faith in a system does not insure you are going to win a bad faith case.

ICANN reveals applicants and new domains

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 18:10:42 +0200

They’re here!

London, UK, June 13, 12.00pm - ICANN held a press conference yesterday during which they revealed which companies, organizations, geographical regions, etc., had applied for new gTLDs, and what those domains are to be. The press conference was hosted by ICANN’s Rod Beckstrom, CEO and Kurt Pritz, Senior VP, and was followed by a forum and discussion session.

There have been various opinions online, predictions of what’s to come and how it may benefit users of the Internet; the initial announcement of new gTLDs brought panic to some, relief and excitement to others. Having received over 1900 applications, a great many people have been holding their breath in anticipation of this day; it proved to be very exciting and hugely informative.

What we can expect

Although there have been many applications for dot brands, it is unlikely that there will be any squabbling over names; the interest will be in those brands that ignored this opportunity, and those that applied purely with the intention of shelving the TLD.

The fiercest competition will be for the popular, ‘everyday’ words, such as .INSURANCE, .SHOP, .BANK; these TLDs will have brought duplicated applications and we can expect altercations, maybe even bloodshed. Applications for city TLDs should prove to be an easy situation due to the very uniqueness of the names.

Early indications from ICANN showed that there were a total of 1930 applications with a division of 1846 for standard TLDs and 84 designated as community based; 66 of the total are reported as geographic names with applications from 60 countries.

Anticipating possible contention, it was also the opening of the 60 day Comment Period and the formal Objection Period, seven months during which anyone may file an objection based on legal grounds, public interest or community standing.

But enough conjecture, here are details of the list as revealed by ICANN:

A powerful change is coming

The press conference commenced with Rod Beckstrom, CEO, ICANN and Kurt Pritz Senior VP, ICANN, announcing it as an historic day for the Internet, with things about to change forever.

At first glance, the list is broken down as:

Geographic breakdown

• 911 North America
• 675 Europe
• 303 Asia Pacific (surprisingly low considering the possibility for IDN, and China boasting the largest use of the Internet)
• 24 Latin America and the Caribbean
• 17 Africa

IDN (internationalized domain names) was represented with 116 applications.

There were 231 duplications involving 751 applications, including: x13 .APP, x10 .ART, x11 .INC. When asked how these string contentions would be resolved the ICANN panel stressed three possible approaches involving the parties working together and settling themselves, preference being shown to community based applications, and finally if still undecided, the TLDs will go to auction.

There is an Applicants’ Support Program for ‘needy’ applicants looking for financial support with their applications; currently there are three registered for the program.

No surprise is the numerous applications from the ‘big name’ companies, Charleston Road Registry Inc’s (allegedly Google, but the panel was unwilling to confirm) put forward 101 applications, Amazon, 77.

There are possible provocative applications, .SUCKS, .SEX, .SEXY, .PORN, but ICANN claimed to be expecting challenges and are fully prepared.

The full list of applications for new gTLDs can be viewed online, with full details of all the gTLDs and details of the applicants.

ICANN comments

The panel emphasized that these are still just applications and not yet approved, after rigorous evaluation some may be rejected and never see the light of day. Of the successful, the panel suggested that a total of 1000 could enter the Internet, with the first appearing Q1, 2013.

The possibility of another round of gTLDs is to be expected and will be discussed at ICANN 44, Prague, taking place in a couple of weeks.

ICANN was ready for all comments thrown at them whether positive or negative and stated several times, “compared to where we are today, it looks good.” Is it so bad now? We will have to wait and see.

Want some more?

If you would like more information regarding the new gTLD scenario, EuroDNS have further information in their news section, you can also subscribe to the monthly newsletter for updates as they happen.

ICANN show and tell, June 13, 2012

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 08:52:48 +0200

June 13, 2012, five months after the opening of the TLD Application System (TAS), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is revealing the list of applied-for new gTLDs, along with the names of the applicants. The day is rather cleverly named, Reveal Day.

On January 12, 2012 ICANN began accepting applications for new generic TLDs, the process being completed on May 30, after suffering from delays due to technical problems. With over 1900 applications, there are several big name companies with multiple applications, one of the most notable being Google. Aiming to promote their brand name and business, the company has, allegedly, made 50 applications that include .GOOGLE, .DOC, and .LOL.

Reveal Day, June 13, ICANN will publicly post all new TLD character strings and the applicants behind.

Application Comment period begins June 13 and lasts for 60 days. Applicants and members of the public are invited to submit comments on any of the applications. For this process, and to remain unbiased, ICANN has hired an Independent Objector to review the comments. ICANN states, “Professor Alain Pellet has agreed to serve as the Independent Objector for the New Generic Top-level domain program. The Independent Objector will act solely in the interests of the public who use the global Internet. He is a highly regarded professor and practitioner of law and has represented governments as Counsel and Advocate in the International Court of Justice in many significant and well-known cases.”

Objection period kicks off on June 13 and runs for seven months, during which objections may be filed by anyone who feels they have justification, based on legal grounds, public interest, or community standing.

Batching process is running from June 8 to June 28, 2012. ICANN’s decision “to open the domain name space to competition and choice” invited an unlimited number of applications; realizing that evaluating such a quantity could be considerable, a decision was made to implement a batching process.

July 11, ICANN will announce the results of the batching process.

Initial Evaluation begins July 12, and concentrates on String and Applicant reviews. String reviews judged whether the applied for TLD is too similar to another, meets technical requirements, and whether it is a geographical name. Applicant reviews investigate whether the appropriate technical, operational and financial criteria has been met by the applicant to successfully run a registry,

Additional Program Phases run through December/January 2013. Applications passing the initial valuation without objection will, eventually, go live as a TLD, but some may be delayed. Multiple applicants for a single TLD could, if deemed equally worthy, go to auction; a process that could be very expensive for the winning bidder; there is also a dispute process in place to handle any legal issues such as trademark infringement.

Trademark Clearinghouse

June 1, 2012, ICANN announced that it will be working with Deloitte and IBM on implementation of the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), which will be offering full support for protection of trademark rights in the new gTLD domains.

The TMCH will be a globally available database, providing services for the authentication and validation of brands. Deloitte will provide control and data validation, whilst IBM will give technical database administration services. ICANN said, “Both providers are highly qualified, with significant experience, technical capacity, and proven ability to manage and support processes.” ICANN wanted service providers with, “a demonstrated understanding of the issues concerning global intellectual property rights and the Internet, global capacity to authenticate and validate trademark information, and experience designing, building, and operating secure transaction processing systems with 24/7/365 availability.”

Applicants gaining approval to run a registry will be required to implement a rights protection model, supported by the TMCH; during a TLD’s start-up period when a domain name is registered that matches Clearinghouse records, participating rights holders will be alerted. Whilst ICANN are still finalizing fees for access to the Clearinghouse database, the preliminary cost model – June 1, 2012, estimates, “a set-up fee of $7,000 - $10,000 will be due per TLD registry.”

There is a bundled, low fee for authentication and validation services for Rightsholders, expected to be under $150 per submission for a ‘straightforward submission’; additional services due to errors in the original submission, or any appeals will increase the cost.

If all goes to plan, the first of the new gTLDs should start to appear online at the beginning of 2013… if all goes to plan.

EuroDNS to attend ICT Spring Europe 2012

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 09:27:54 +0200

EuroDNS, a member of DCL Group, is proud to announce its participation at the ICT Spring Europe 2012, taking place in Luxembourg, June 19-20.

ICT Spring Europe 2012 covers innovation in cloud computing, digital distribution, mobility, social networks and media, disruptive technologies, highlighting trust in security. The event is focussed on business technology, and all the latest trends and solutions on the market. It is an invaluable meeting of minds offering the opportunity to network, find new partners and generate leads.

DCL Group

Headquartered in Luxembourg, DCL Group is a leading Internet and e-commerce company, which includes the globally recognized EuroDNS, Datacenter Luxembourg, LuxCloud and voipGATE. Xavier Buck, Founder of DCL Group, Chairman of EuroDNS, said, “An excellent opportunity to network and exchange views with some of the most talented international specialists, DCL Group is pleased to support ICT Spring for the third consecutive year.” Xavier continued, “The event is the place to discover the latest ICT innovations; as such the four companies from DCL Group will be present to showcase the best solutions available with regard to domain name registration, datacentre, voice over IP and cloud services.”

Please visit DCL Group at ICT Spring, where we are a Platinum Sponsor; booth D 02 in the ‘E-motion Village’. Don’t miss the chance to meet our highly experienced teams, learning about our latest innovations, new products and services offered.

ICT Spring, latest news

ICT Spring Europe 2012 has announced 38 speakers with a promise of more to come; the list includes top influencers such as Randi Zuckerberg, former Head of Marketing at Facebook and Current Founder and CEO of R to Z Media, Hiroshi Mikitani, Founder and CEO of Rakuten.

Prior to Randi Zuckerberg’s speech on Wednesday, June 20, DCL Group’s very own CEO and Founder, Chairman of EuroDNS, Xavier Buck, will be opening the day with his presentation, “1900 New TLDs - The Inside Story”, an expert’s perspective.

The introduction of an unlimited number of new gTLDs, has many implications for users and international organizations. Whilst the rewards may be huge, the responsibilities are not to be ignored. Businesses owning an entire TLD space, with an unlimited choice of domain names, will be able to communicate their brand without limit. Owning a TLD ensures complete control over policies, who is registering what name, for what end-use, and the fee for registering.

The number of applications has been vast, new gTLDs accepted will be significantly less; each domain name must be unique so, if there are any names duplicated or confusingly similar, the String Contention procedure will be enforced. Statistics will be discussed with regard the breakdown of new gTLD types, whether they are generic, brand names or geographic.

So, whether companies are intending to utilize these new gTLDs, or opt to ‘shelve’ them to protect against cybersquatters, there are bound to be many significant changes to the way we are all working and particularly the way search engines will handle and index all these new extensions.

Xavier will discuss the above, from an expert’s perspective.

DCL Group

Datacenter Luxembourg

Datacenter Luxembourg was founded in 2000. The services comprise a datacenter Infrastructure, International Internet & Telco Connectivity, Managed e-Commerce and Housing Services. Server virtualization and scalable storage can be added to this list as added value services, providing businesses with more flexibility, stability and economies of scale. Datacenter Luxembourg operates out of distinct geographical facilities connected to a looped backbone. Added to that are quality bandwidth and IP through its own international looped backbone and third party ones.

EuroDNS

Created in 2002, EuroDNS is a leading domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders.

LuxCloud

Founded in 2010, LuxCloud is a market leading provider of cloud computing services, allowing companies to quickly launch and profitably deliver the cloud services demanded by small and medium sized businesses. LuxCloud offers customizable own branded solutions enabling resellers, telecoms, system integrators and service providers to sell online any and all of the services and applications available on the platform. The range of applications includes Web and Application Hosting, Messaging & Collaboration, Business Processes and Infrastructure packages.

voipGATE

Founded in 2004, voipGATE operates locally and worldwide as a leading operator in Voice over IP, by offering telecommunication services and local phone numbers in more than 60 countries, allowing customers to establish a virtual presence in their key markets. voipGATE has strong partnerships with key PBX and mobile device vendors to ensure and offer its customers both flexibility and ease of use.

DCL Group looks forward to welcoming you to Luxembourg, and meeting you at ICT Spring Europe 2012.

.RU tops 3.8m, and then the Russians party

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:57:21 +0200

The CCTLD (Coordination Centre for TLD), administrators of the .RU domain name extension, have announced that registration is over 3.8 million names. With this in mind, and the fact that they are celebrating Russia Day, EuroDNS would like to offer a special, limited time promotion on .RU domain names. Valid until June 24, register a .RU domain name for only €9.99. Enter the promo code NDRU12A and celebrate these two memorable occasions.

.RU is the 6th domain in the global ranking of ccTLDs in the world and approximately 1500 new domain names are registered per day; with such incredible growth, this is a country that businesses and individuals cannot afford to ignore. The Russian Federation has one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and by joining the World Trade Organization in 2011, it is predicted that this growth will continue year by year. The .RU domain name extension will protect online businesses, offering a unique, memorable web address; talking directly with the Russian people to create a sense of loyalty and trust.

Russia Day

Since 1992 the Russian Federation has celebrated Russia Day, the date the country adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty, reflecting a whole new way of life. Track and field events take place on the streets outside the Kremlin, whilst inside the president awards medals for achievements in science and culture.

.RU going to join the party?

EuroDNS want to invite you to be a part of these exciting times by registering a .RU domain name, enter the promo code NDRU12A, enjoy.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “We offer this .RU extension, one of the biggest TLDs worldwide, to our customers; benefiting businesses with its high levels of trust, confidence and resilience.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list, currently, includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .RU domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and informative articles, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The Portuguese have so many reasons to party

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:59:43 +0200

EuroDNS sends its felicitations to Portugal. The liberalization of the .PT domain proved to be a huge success, with record breaking numbers of domain names registered during the Sunrise Period, followed by a deluge of applications on the opening of General Availability; and then it was National Day.

EuroDNS would like you to celebrate with Portugal and are offering a special, limited time promotion on .PT domain names, valid until June 24. Register a .PT domain name for only €15.99, enter the promo code NDPT12A, and join the celebrations.

On May 1 General Availability of the .PT domain opened, registration restrictions had previously been lifted allowing anyone to register a domain name with a .PT extension. The same day it was announced by the FCCN (Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional or Foundation for National Scientific Computation) that during the Sunrise period a total of 18,200 new domain names had been recorded, apparently breaking records.

A deluge of domain names registered

A follow up announcement from the FCCN on May 9, boasted the registration of 28,984 domain names in the opening week of General Availability, with thousands of businesses and individuals recognizing the value of registering a .PT domain name.

It’s National Day, let the festivities begin

As if that wasn’t enough reason to party, Portuguese throughout the world also celebrated Portugal’s National Day on June 10, officially named Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas (Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities). The day commemorates the death of Luis Vaz de Camões, the author of Os Lusiadas, Portugal’s national epic poem celebrating the achievements and history of Portugal. The day involves open air parties with an abundance of eating, singing, drinking and dancing; it’s the day the Portuguese remember their roots, hence, no matter where they are in the world they pay homage to their country.

Celebrate and join the .PT

Want to join these exciting times? Register a .PT domain name now, entering the promo code NDPT12A; as previously stated, there are no restrictions and with this liberalization comes the use of accented characters: á, to, â, ã, ç, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú. .PT is also the first extension incorporating a tool that will search for domain names and brands.

EuroDNS invites customers to Portugal

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS offers this extension to our customers with all the benefits offered by a .PT extension, such as registering very short domain names (three character minimum), abbreviations or acronyms of three to five letters only. They will also be able to check the availability of a domain name or a mark with a free search via a tool developed in partnership with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we also offer a wide range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list, constantly evolving to reflect the latest needs of our customers, includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .PT domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and informative articles, please subscribe to the EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

EuroDNS offers .SK domain names for only €15.99

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:31:47 +0200

EuroDNS announces a special, limited time offer on .SK domain names. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until June 19, 2012, register a .SK domain name for only €15.99. Enter the promo code PRSK12A and reap the benefits of this exciting deal, available for two weeks only.

The EuroDNS promotion offers companies, organizations and individuals, the opportunity to register a .SK domain name; it is an excellent way for local and international companies to promote their products and services in Slovakia. By registering a .SK domain name companies strengthen and protect their online brand, whilst providing localized information to the Slovakian audience. Registering a .SK domain name demonstrates commitment to local customers, thereby instilling trust.

It has been suggested that Internet shoppers feel safer purchasing online via a ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain), than with a .COM; with a population of nearly 5.5m including over 2.5m Internet subscribers, it’s time to register a .SK domain name.

Restrictions do apply when registering a .SK domain name, registration is only open to local entities, i.e. Slovak citizens or companies registered in Slovakia. However, EuroDNS offers a solution by becoming the domain holder; once a domain name is registered it is transferred to the customer’s account and full access to the domain is granted.

unma.sk the potential

The .SK domain extension offers potential to imaginative ‘domain hackers’, a domain name combining domain levels to spell out the full name of the domain. Possible examples for English speaking businesses would be telephonekio.sk, coffeefla.sk, eggwhi.sk and fraudri.sk.

Tatra Tiger

Slovakia attracts many foreign investors due to an attractive tax rate of only 19% for both businesses and individuals, and a highly educated workforce. It has been called a tiger economy, indicating a country experiencing fast economic growth and an increased standard of living. Globally renowned companies such as Volkswagen, Peugeot, Sony and Samsung, have recognized the potential of this rapidly developing country and are investing heavily.

Register a .SK domain name now, and target this hungry audience.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we continually strive to deliver the best possible service to our customers, we are offering this excellent promotion on .SK domain names, which we think is too good to miss. We believe any company or individual adopting this domain name extension will benefit from an increase in traffic to their site, bringing new business and increasing revenue. For the next two weeks all .SK domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €15.99."

Daniel continued, “At EuroDNS we do so much more than just register domain names; we offer a range of solutions that is constantly being enhanced, and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. Our solutions include a local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS delivering safe and secure a DNS service with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .SK domain name at the unbeatable price of €15.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRSK12A, valid till June 19, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of new promo codes, exciting deals on domain extensions and the latest news from the domain industry, please subscribe to our newsletter.

DNS.be says "get on your bike!"

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:28:20 +0200

June 21, 2012, DNS.be will be helping to bridge the digital divide by cycling up a mountain. DNS.be is involved in organizing the ‘Bike to Close the Gap’ for the second time, and they are inviting ICT workers and registrars to take part in this cycling challenge whilst benefiting from networking opportunities.

The ‘Bike to Close the Gap’ event was introduced last year and was organized by Close the Gap and DNS.be; more than €36,000 was raised, enough to deploy almost 400 computers.

Social education

Close the Gap is an international, not-for-profit organization; its mission is to bridge the digital divide by furnishing developing countries with high-quality, refurbished IT equipment. Close the Gap enables people to improve the quality of their lives through the use of IT. Founded in 2003, by the end of 2011 the organization had collected over 160,000 computer goods from donors all over Europe. The IT equipment is placed in learning facilities in Africa, South-East Asia, Latin America, and more recently, employability programmes in Benelux.

Step up a gear

The event consists of personnel from IT companies cycling laps in Kluisbergen, a Belgian municipality, followed by the climb up the Paterberg; a mountain with a cobblestone path 400m long, and a maximum gradient of 20%. In 1986, the Paterberg was introduced to the route of the Tour of Flanders, an annual bicycle race for professionals.

The aim of the event is to raise money and this is achieved by the entrants receiving sponsorship from their employers. Following the laps around Kluisbergen comes the ascent of Paterberg; riding up the slope as many times as possible to collect as much money as possible. For every €100, Close the Gap is able to take a second-hand computer, refurbish it, load software and donate it to the Fourth World (citizens living in areas devoid of most forms of technology, and therefore, considered irrelevant in the modern technological world).

DNS.be at the heart of Europe

The event, taking place on June 21, is targeting Belgian projects, obviously something close to DNS.be’s heart. DNS.be, a non-profit association, has been responsible for the registration of the Belgium domain since 1999; initially a number of restrictions were in place but since been relaxed and now registration is open to everyone. In 2003 DNS.be created a consortium with the Istituto di Informatica e Telematica del CNR in Italy and the Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur in Sweden; the consortium was called EURid and was awarded the management of the .EU domain.

It’s not too late

If you would like to join this event, you will not only benefit from networking with your IT peers, but will be contributing to a very worthy cause.

Buenas noticias, 1.5m .ES domain names registered

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:08:08 +0200

Fiesta time in Spain as over one million domain names, with extension .ES, have been registered, with the slogan, “lo hemos conseguido, 1,000,000 de .ES”, roughly translated as, “we have exceeded, 1,000,000 .ES”.

Since 1988, when the .ES domain was created, the number of registrations has steadily grown but, it wasn’t until 20 years later that it reached a million. The sudden influx coincided with a change to registration rules, allowing any citizen to register a .ES domain name, at a much lower cost than previously. The .ES domain has experienced a growth of 17%, representing the largest increase in four years. With approximately 1,460,000 active domains at the end of 2011 this indicates an increase of over 200,000.

Today, .ES is unrestricted and anyone in the world is able to register a domain name without having to prove local presence. With over 45 million inhabitants in Spain and the world’s second largest tourist industry, adopting a .ES domain name opens up a vast audience to businesses and individuals.

Don’t go loco, be a local hero

Another explanation for this recent growth spurt would be the marketing push encouraging websites, with content in Spanish, to promote their identity and location by adopting the .ES extension. The hope is that this will engender an increased appreciation of Spanish businesses, the businesses thus benefiting from improved web ranking, brand awareness, trust and quality of service.

facts&figures.es

• .ES accounts for approximately 50% of the Spanish market, 57% belong to individuals and the remaining 43% to corporations, limited partnerships, cooperatives, associations, etc.

• 2007 saw the government approve the use of accented characters in .ES domain names.

• The number of .ES domains not renewed in 2010 has decreased in 2011 by 29%.

• Geographic distribution – Madrid hosts 329,900 active domains, Catalonia 199,600, Andalucia 168,600.

A strong presence in the main domain forums, including: CENTR, LACTLD and ICANN, has brought invaluable support.

Pronto!

“Action is the foundational key to all success” Pablo Picasso

Already popular in Spain, the .ES domain extension has been used for ‘domain hacks’, a domain name using the extension letters to spell out the full name of the domain. Examples utilizing the .ES domain are geociti.es, beach.es and iTun.es.

EuroDNS offers a wide range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain name requirements. For more information, please visit our website, or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.

In a world that has over 500 million Spanish speakers, it makes perfect sense, act now!

Accents bring new meaning to .FR domain names

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:07:33 +0200

Holders of French domain names no longer have to settle for a name that does not meet their requirements, or say what they mean. Looking for ‘forêts’ or ‘forets’, ‘congres’ or ‘congrès’; could bring unexpected results, never again will a search for drills end up in the forest.

Try to say what you mean

Not always easy when your alphabet has been substantially reduced.

AFNIC (Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération), the administrator for the .FR domain, announced in February 2012, that from May 3, .FR domain names would be able to incorporate accented characters.

In 1985 the first domain name was registered, since then France (and many other countries) has struggled to incorporate their language into the domain name format. Prior to this new ruling, when a French domain name was written down the relevant accents were included, but if one searched online using accented characters – there was no guarantee it would work.

Introducing internationalized domain names (IDN) to .FR allows domain name holders to present the true pronunciation and meaning of their brand. This new function also applies to .RE Réunion, .TF French Southern and Antarctic Lands, .WF Wallis and Futuna, .PM St Pierre et Miquelon, and .YT Mayotte ; characters available are: à, á, â, ã, ä, å, æ, ç, è, é, ê, ë, ì, í, î, ï, ñ, ò, ó, ô, õ, ö, ù, ú, û, ü, ý, ÿ, œ, ß.

Richelieu says, “très bien!"

This is surely good news for the Académie Française, established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635, its role is to protect the French language against foreign influences, slang, and the degradation of the language.

Identity protection

AFNIC has decided to offer two registration periods:

• The priority period, from May 3 to July 3, allows users with existing domain names to register the exact equivalent utilizing accented characters and all its possible variants. AFNIC state, “If you havepeches.fr you are entitled to register pêchés.fr, péchés.fr, pèches.fr etc. with the same registrar, for the same holder (i.e. with the same "NIC handle").” A NIC handle is the unique alphanumeric character sequence assigned by the registrar to a particular domain name, such as registrant’s name and email address. This period applies to users with domain names registered with .FR, .YT, .PM, .WF, .TF and .RE.

• General release begins on July 3 and there will be a ‘first come, first served’ policy. Any registered company or individual residing within the European Community (including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) may register a .FR domain name.

EuroDNS supports you

We would strongly recommend users contact their domain name registrar to confirm they offer IDN registration and if so, the availability of the various versions of their domain name.

From May 3, 2012, EuroDNS offers IDN registration on the aforementioned domain name extensions, .FR, .YT, .PM, .WF, .TF and .RE. Current holders of the relevant domain names should contact sales@eurodns.com, for assistance with obtaining new IDN versions of their domain names.

It's all .ME, .ME, .ME at domain name auction

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:04:56 +0200

Sedo and .ME Registry are joining forces to auction keyword rich .ME domain names, the auction takes place from May 26 until May 31, 2012.

There are 200 domain names available, predominantly keyword and geographic domain names. Examples from the list are computer.me,greencard.me, domainregistration.me, unitedkingdom.me. Unfortunately there are no outstanding ‘call to action’ names present, so the chance of topping the success of meet.me at $450,000, is unlikely.

.ME goes global

ICANN delegated the .ME domain to Montenegro in 2007, and the .ME Registry was elected to operate the extension. Montenegro was assigned the .ME domain as its ccTLD after the country became an independent nation in 2006. The government was quick to recognize the potential of the extension as a generic name and it became widely available in 2008, making the .ME domain available for worldwide registration. Similar to TLDs, the domain names can be geo-targeted by Google, which has a positive impact in terms of searches.

In August 2008, 100,000 .ME domain names were already registered, beating its rivals .ASIA and .MOBI, both launched prior to .ME. By 2010, over 320,000 domain names had been registered.

This is not the first auction held for.ME domain names and Sedo has to date, managed the sale of over 1,000 .ME domain names. Big name companies have jumped on the .ME bandwagon such as Facebook (fb.me), Yahoo! (me.me) and Time Magazine (ti.me), proving the popularity of this extension as a memorable TLD.

Show .ME the love

Hugely popular in English speaking countries, during the land rush period date.me sold for $70,000, love.me for $32,500 and hug.me for $20,000. This extension has proved a big hit with domain hacks (‘Hack’, implying a trick as opposed to exploitation), i.e. a domain name created by combining domain levels and spelling the full name or title of a name, for instance, del.icio.us and goo.gl.

Domain name investing, buy, buy, buy!

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:03:28 +0200

Investing in domain names gives higher returns than investing in NASDAQ listed companies. What are you waiting for?

Thies Lindenthal, visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Real Estate, and Product Manager for Domain Pricing at Sedo, has created the IDNX price index, revealing the evolution of domain name sales since 2006. The index shows that the prices for the ten most commonly traded TLDs have increased by 64% since January 2006. It would appear, when comparing the IDNX with the NASDAQ 100 (index of the 100 most actively traded companies listed on the US NASDAQ stock exchange) that domain name prices are influenced by changes in the stock market. Interestingly, the comparison also indicates that investing in domain names gives higher returns than investing in companies listed on the NASDAQ.

Domain flipping is the buying and selling of domain names for profit, as with any investment there are risks, and there are no guarantees that money will be made. It is not a ‘get rich quick scheme’; it requires patience and hard work.

Domains hit Wall Street

In April 2012, two leading financial companies, Bloomberg and Reuters, added the IDNX to their stock indices, adding credence to domain name investing and making the domain market more visible so profitable investment decisions may be more easily reached. Domain name owners will be pleased to note that the index reports growth over the preceding five months, with a significant increase in March.

Virtual investment

Will this trend lead to people playing the stock market with domain names? Sedo, a domain marketplace, brings buyers and sellers together offering marketing and brokerage services. It’s a trading platform offering a domain parking program, enabling domainers the opportunity to park their unused domain names, loaded with relevant pay-per-click (PPC) ads, thus earning revenue whilst increasing the value and likelihood of a sale.

Mann, he’s making millions!

Anyone remotely interested in the domain name industry will have heard of Michael Mann, he is the chairman and founder of numerous companies and charitable funds, and he is a multimillionaire earning copius amounts of money buying and selling domain names; in his own words he, “wants to own the world.”

He was bitten by the domain name bug in the late 90s when he was made an offer for menus.com, originally purchased for $70; he was offered $25,000, overnight the offer doubled, the rest, as they say, is history.

In the good old days registering an innovative and exciting domain name was easy as there was less competition, but as time went on the volume of available names reduced. Things started to get dirty with domainers designing software that rang alarm bells immediately a name expired, some small, unscrupulous registrars took payment for revealing inside information regarding names coming up for renewal. Michael, not to be beaten, fought back and designed his own system which allowed registration and transfer of domain names and URLs such as those used to access content via the Internet and world wide web, the system was awarded a patent in 2003.

Alledgedly, Michael purchases approximately 300 names per day, selling them through his company, DomainMarket.com. He is obviously a busy man and while continuining to add to his shopping list, he had reduced his spending. All that changed in April 2012 when he decided to go shopping. Using his in-built filter for sorting the ‘wheat from the chaff’, and software performing multiple purchases, he obtained 14,962 domain names in under 24 hours. Judging by past form, Michael will surely be selling these for a substantial profit.

Some people may consider Mr Mann’s business ‘cut throat’, making it difficult for others to obtain the domain names they need whilst he fills his coffers; others may admire his business acumen and foresight.

Are you a Mann or a mouse?

It’s risky, but so is any investment. Currently, there is no way of predicting whether a domain name will be a success, and not everyone possesses Mr Mann’s inherent ability to spot a winner. There are companies offering valuation of domain names but they can never be 100% accurate, it all comes down to what a buyer can pay, and how much they want to own that particular name.

Research is essential to avoid paying over the market value, check out similar names and how they have performed. Before purchasing any domain name use Google Adwords to see what people are searching for, and how many are looking; aim to buy names containing these keywords. Be aware of current and future trends, niche markets, news stories, events; these are all potential markets that may be looking for domain names.

It’s only worth money if someone wants it

Building and nurturing your domain name portfolio takes time and money, you will need a crystal ball to see which names are going to become popular, hard work is required to promote your domain names effectively, and you will need an abundance of patience; a domain name may be parked for years waiting for the right market.

Develop the domain name and increase its value by generating traffic; create a website and add keyword specific content and meta tags, or park the domain name with an online marketplace where ads will be placed and traffic generated. The number of new websites increases every day and with them, the demand for good domain names, but if you don’t have ‘spare cash’ investing in domain names is not for you, your investment may not pay out for five to ten years or more; and annual renewal fees eat into any potential profit.

There are no tricks

.COM is the most popular domain but with this comes huge competition, the growing popularity of ccTLDs such as .US, .DE, .TV, makes these viable options which may be sold to businesses wishing to develop in their own country.

If you are lucky enough to get hold of a three/four letter domain name, congratulations, they are like gold dust; otherwise try to stay with two word domain names ensuring they are memorable, easy to type and are visually pleasing.

Generic names can bring in huge profits, one only has to look atinsure.com selling for $16m, sex.com at $13m, clothes.com at $4,900,000, but steer clear of trademarked names as this can lead to a lengthy court battle and eventual loss of money and domain name.

Previously unregistered domain names may be purchased for very little as they have no history but they will require effort on your part to market them and make them more attractive. The secondary market offers more valuable choices with price tags reflecting their desirability.

In November 2011, EuroDNS announced the deployment of Afternic’s unique ‘Instant Transfer’ technology for domain sales, offering transactions in record time. This new service allows EuroDNS customers to purchase secondary market domain names directly from the Domain Listing Service (DLS) of Afternic. Existing customers of EuroDNS will also benefit from direct access to more than 50 million prospective buyers that access Afternic’s DLS every month. Read more about the benefits of this premium domain marketplaceat the EuroDNS website.

Holding or flipping

Parking a domain name to increase its value, or executing a quick flip, with a well prepared portfolio it is possible to make money on your investments.

Will you own the world… hey Mann, who knows?

EuroDNS promotion offers .JP domain names

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:14:21 +0200

EuroDNS announces yet another special, limited time offer on .JP domain names. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until June 5, 2012, register .JP domain name for only €52.99. Enter the promo code PRJP12A and benefit from this special deal available for two weeks only!

The EuroDNS promotion offers businesses and individuals, the opportunity to register a .JP domain name; by registering with this very popular domain name extension companies can provide localized information about their products and services, developing and expanding their business presence in Japan. In targeting the Japanese market, companies demonstrate their commitment to the local audience inspiring consumer confidence and trust; a .JP domain name offers companies protection for their business online, with a unique and memorable web address.

Companies and individuals possessing a mailing address in Japan can register a .JP domain name. EuroDNS’ Japanese partner offers a local contact address free; please note that this service does not cover legal or administration costs that EuroDNS may incur due to use of this service. Should there be any such charges; the registrant will be wholly responsible.

The .JP domain is administered by the Japan Registry Service (JPRS); in 1986, when the domain was established, it was under the control of JPNIC, but as the domain grew in popularity and size, a new registry was created. The Japan Registry Service officially took over the .JP domain in 2003.

Businesses wishing to target customers in Japan will benefit in many ways when registering a .JP domain name. SEO experts agree that Google Japan will give preferential ranking to Japanese websites as they contain content relevant to the user, so in this instance the search engine is including the domain name extension in its index.

The land of the rising sun

Japan has the world’s third largest economy by nominal GDP and fourth largest by PPP (purchasing power parity); it is the fourth largest exporter and fourth largest importer in the world. Universally renowned companies in Japan, include Toyota, Nintendo, NTT DoCoMo, Honda, Canon, Toshiba and Sony.

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and the center of The Greater Tokyo Area, which in turn, is the largest metropolitan area in the world with over 30 million residents. The city houses several of the world’s largest investment banks and 51 of the companies currently listed on the Global 500 are head quartered in the city. Despite being named the second most expensive city for expatriate employees in 2010, it has also been named the most ‘liveable’ city and, as more and more people move to the area, it now boasts one of the busiest subways and commuter rail networks in the world. Tokyo’s rapid development knows no bounds, and historical buildings have been demolished to make room for more contemporary architecture.

Become part of this economic empire today, register a .JP domain name and watch your business rise in the East.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we strive to deliver the best possible service to our customers, hence we are offering this excellent promotion on .JP domain names. We believe all who adopt this domain name extension will benefit from more traffic to their site, bringing new business and increasing revenue. For the next two weeks all .JP domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €52.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all their domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .JP domain at the unbeatable price of €52.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRJP12A, valid till June 5, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

.AT Joins DNSSEC Club with little enthusiasm

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:03:03 +0200

Austria (.AT) has joined a club that has members from .AM (Armenia) to .UK (United Kingdom) and beyond, but whose biggest member could be .CZ (Czech Republic), according to the latest .at report.

DNSSEC is a security extension for the Domain Name System (DNS). By using digital signatures it assures the authenticity and integrity of DNS replies. In other words: DNSSEC guarantees the users that they will actually access the right domain without being redirected unnoticed.

Overall there are 313 top level domains around the world, including country codes and generics, but less than one third have a DNSSEC signature. Of those DNSSEC signed 61 are ccTLDs (including .EU), 11 gTLDs and 13 are internationalised domain names including two for Taiwan while the remaining IDNs are for ICANN for test purposes.

Of the statistics given in the .at report for selected TLDs, the largest is .CZ with 330,000 domains signed with DNSSEC, followed by 166,975 in .DE (Germany) and 147,729 .SE (Sweden).

Now that DNSSEC has been signed in .AT it is important that registrars get on board. But registrars are not very interested. The two eco Registrar Atlas reports in 2011 and 2012 found registrars are very ambivalent.

In 2011, 40 per cent of those .AT registrars responding to the questionnaire said they would introduce DNSSEC within the next 12 months, which equals 70 DNSSEC-active registrars in the first half of 2012.

However, reality shows that not even ten per cent (9% - only 14 registrars) of those questioned have actually got onboard and are currently actively using DNSSEC. The eco Registrar Atlas shows a similar outcome for other participating countries. For example, 45 per cent of .DE registrars stated in 2011 that they would implement DNSSEC in 2012 but one year later the number had only increased from 17 to 19 per cent. It is possible, but unlikely, the respondents were different and this could account for the variations.

In .AT, the survey found that while the number of registrars offering DNSSEC has roughly doubled, from (4.6 to 9%) from 2011 to 2012, while a large proportion of the 40.8% of those planning to implement DNSSEC in the next 12 months has clearly not done so. The number of registrars planning to implement DNSSEC in the next 12 months was now only 27 per cent. And while the number saying that had not planned to introduce DNSSEC had dropped from 54.6 per cent to 44 per cent, those not saying had jumped from zero to one in five (20%).

But the future is somewhat bright. More than half of those .AT registrars questioned (51%) are convinced that DNSSEC will prevail as a security standard.

However, almost 70 per cent of those questioned believe that DNSSEC will be (rather) insignificant for them. Not even one quarter (23%) regard DNSSEC as very or rather important.

From a registrants point of view, it seems there is a similar attitude. Only 15 per cent of the registrars state that they have received customer requests for DNSSEC while four in five (80%) have not even received one request.

Part of the reason for the lack of enthusiasm for DNSSEC could have been explained by Thomas Rickert at the Domain Pulse conference in February. Commenting on the then preliminary results of the survey, he said part of the failure could be the industry, particularly registrars and registries, have not created a demand for DNSSEC. And while many internet users are concerned about the security of their data online, they are unaware of DNSSEC and its role.

Moving a successful website to a new Gtld

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:46:48 +0200

The New York Times has run a couple of articles in recent weeks on a company that bought a generic domain name to replace their existing domain name for the online part of their business.

The company, Newark Nut Company, is a family-owned nut retailer in the US that employs more than 80 workers and has annual revenue of more than $20 million, 95 percent of it online.

The company had originally bought the domain name nutsonline.com in 1999, which the owner Jeffrey Braverman never liked. So in 2011 Braverman bought nuts.com for "hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"The acquisition was completed last October, but to avoid problems during the holiday rush, Mr. Braverman decided to wait until January to reintroduce the site. He began to prepare new branding and packaging to assure his customers that only the name, not the company, was changing.

"He brought on a Web consultant to make the move as smooth as possible. With the consultant, Mr. Braverman cleaned out extraneous and duplicate pages and set up redirects to send NutsOnline visitors to the corresponding pages on Nuts."

Then on 6 January Braverman changed domain names for his business. "The site, which had been averaging more than 30,000 visits each week from nonpaid Google searches, with traffic rising 5 to 10 percent a month, suffered a 70 percent decline in nonpaid Google traffic in the two weeks after the switch. Almost three months later, it was still down by more than 50 percent. The decline, Mr. Braverman said, cost the company at least 100 to 150 orders a day."

The nuts.com site was also getting 85 per cent of its traffic from the UK due to the popularity of a men's magazine there.

The New York Times in its articles talked to people in the industry to find out what to do.

Warren Adelman, chief executive of GoDaddy.com told the Times "Google may be reassessing the site, which could explain the drop in organic search visits. This analysis can take three or four months before better search results appear. So as difficult as it may be to do, be patient, hold the line with your brand redirect and keep doing what you do."

The Times also spoke with Matt Cutts, chief of Google's Webspam team. Cutts said "because Google's algorithms have to adjust to a new address, sites should expect a temporary drop in traffic immediately after a move, maybe 5 percent.

According to Mr. Cutts, Mr. Braverman missed three opportunities to minimize his traffic loss.

First, Nuts.com had been a parked or content-free site before the sale -- meaning, Mr. Cutts said, that 'NutsOnline basically moved into what was an abandoned building for the last 10 years.' To prepare users -- and Google -- for the site's new purpose, Mr. Cutts said, Mr. Braverman should have put up a banner or a simplified site on Nuts.com to announce its new identity several months before moving."

Cutts then goes on to say Braverman should have first moved a small part of the site to the new address and that they should have done more to set the geographic location of the site.
A couple of businesses were also interviewed, one another online retailer and the other, an online marketing company, said Braverman should persevere, although the latter thought Braverman should probably have redirected from nuts.com to nutsonline.com.

And to conclude, the Times interviewed Braverman about reader suggestions and his experiences a week on from the original article. The second article also includes links to YouTube videos on how to go about moving a domain in such circumstances.

Only EU Trademarks Able To Register.EU Domains

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:16:12 +0200

Businesses must be established within the European Union to enable them to register their trademarks as .EU domain names, a legal advisor to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said.

The case came about after an American eyewear company, that uses the domain name lensworld.com, wanted to register a .EU domain name, but their trademark was not established in EU. The company, Walsh Optical, hired the Belgian intellectual property consulting firm Bureau Gevers to register the domain lensworld.eu.

However the Belgian eyewear maker Pie Optik, who uses the domain name lensworld.be, complained, after attempting to register lensworld.eu in January 2006, around a month after Bureau Gevers applied for the .EU domain on the day .EU domains became available.

"Only undertakings and organisations which are themselves established in the EU may request a .eu domain name," the Advocate General Verica Trstenjak said, according to a statement from the Court as reported by Out-Law. "The .EU Top Level Domain is intended to provide a clearly identified link with the EU, the associated legal framework, and the European market place. It should enable undertakings, organisations and natural persons within the EU to register in a specific domain which will make this link obvious."

"Against that background, a non-resident undertaking cannot be allowed to circumvent the rules on eligibility by obtaining registration of a .eu domain name by means of a legal construction such as the commissioning of a third party organisation that is established in the European Union and thus an eligible party," the advisor said.

Out-Law goes on to report "Advocate General Trstenjak said that Walsh Optical's so-called 'licence agreement' with Bureau Gevers was in reality 'a contract for the provision of services'. Therefore the Belgian consultancy could not be considered a 'licencee eligible' to benefit from the priority rights given to it when it had applied, and been granted, rights for 'lensworld.eu' on behalf of Walsh Optical, she said."

ICANN: Approved July 2012-June 2015 Strategic Plan

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:54:34 +0200

Based upon the Board Resolutions resulting from the recent Special Meeting of the Board of Directors held in Amsterdam on 6 May 2012, the adopted 2012-2015 Strategic Plan is now posted.

2012-2015 Strategic Plan

English
العربية - coming soon
中文 - coming soon
Français - coming soon
Español - coming soon
Русский - coming soon

During the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors held in Amsterdam the Board approved the July 2012-June 2015 Strategic Plan, and directed the President and CEO to move forward with the Internationalization survey and community-based operational planning process based on the strategic objectives as set forth in the plan. The aspects of the 2012-2015 Strategic Plan that cover the expansion of ICANN's international presence and engagement efforts are deferred pending further direction from the Board.

Rationale for Resolution 2012.05.06.06

To remain accountable to the global Internet community, the Board is taking this action to allow for community input on the further planning for ICANN's international presence and engagement. There has been a community survey on these items, and a paper will be produced that will be the subject of public comment and discussion. In addition, continued work towards these efforts as set forth in the 2011-2014 Strategic Plan is not prudent, therefore those portions of the 2011-2014 Strategic Plan are deferred.

After review of these inputs, and as appropriate to respond to inputs, initiatives to expand ICANN's international presence and engagement may be updated within the 2012-2015 Strategic Plan, and included within the 2012-2013 Operating Plan. In order to allow for the 2012-2013 operational planning cycle to proceed, the Board approves the 2012-2015 Strategic Plan.

While there will likely be a fiscal impact as a result of this work, the fiscal impact of undertaking the survey and review process is minimal. Further, the deferral of current initiatives within the 2011-2012 Operating Plan regarding the further allocation or reallocation of staff and resources that relate to ICANN's international presence and engagement prior to the Prague Meeting will preserve resources from having to be reallocated as necessary after this review is complete.

This action is not expected to have any impact on the security or the stability of the DNS.

This version of the Strategic Plan includes extensive community feedback, including a 45-day Public Comment period (10.3.11 – 11.17.11). Many thanks to the Community for its continued support and input.

ICANN's Strategic Plan is a three-year rolling, annually updated strategic planning process and feeds in to the larger ICANN planning process as the adopted Strategic Plan guides the development of the FY13 Operating Plan and Budget.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-3-18may12-en.htm

Domain name investing, buy, buy, buy!

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:52:39 +0200

Investing in domain names gives higher returns than investing in NASDAQ listed companies. What are you waiting for?

Thies Lindenthal, visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Real Estate, and Product Manager for Domain Pricing at Sedo, has created the IDNX price index, revealing the evolution of domain name sales since 2006. The index shows that the prices for the ten most commonly traded TLDs have increased by 64% since January 2006. It would appear, when comparing the IDNX with the NASDAQ 100 (index of the 100 most actively traded companies listed on the US NASDAQ stock exchange) that domain name prices are influenced by changes in the stock market. Interestingly, the comparison also indicates that investing in domain names gives higher returns than investing in companies listed on the NASDAQ.

Domain flipping is the buying and selling of domain names for profit, as with any investment there are risks, and there are no guarantees that money will be made. It is not a ‘get rich quick scheme’; it requires patience and hard work.

Domains hit Wall Street

In April 2012, two leading financial companies, Bloomberg and Reuters, added the IDNX to their stock indices, adding credence to domain name investing and making the domain market more visible so profitable investment decisions may be more easily reached. Domain name owners will be pleased to note that the index reports growth over the preceding five months, with a significant increase in March.

Virtual investment

Will this trend lead to people playing the stock market with domain names? Sedo, a domain marketplace, brings buyers and sellers together offering marketing and brokerage services. It’s a trading platform offering a domain parking program, enabling domainers the opportunity to park their unused domain names, loaded with relevant pay-per-click (PPC) ads, thus earning revenue whilst increasing the value and likelihood of a sale.

Mann, he’s making millions!

Anyone remotely interested in the domain name industry will have heard of Michael Mann, he is the chairman and founder of numerous companies and charitable funds, and he is a multimillionaire earning copius amounts of money buying and selling domain names; in his own words he, “wants to own the world.”

He was bitten by the domain name bug in the late 90s when he was made an offer for menus.com, originally purchased for $70; he was offered $25,000, overnight the offer doubled, the rest, as they say, is history.

In the good old days registering an innovative and exciting domain name was easy as there was less competition, but as time went on the volume of available names reduced. Things started to get dirty with domainers designing software that rang alarm bells immediately a name expired, some small, unscrupulous registrars took payment for revealing inside information regarding names coming up for renewal. Michael, not to be beaten, fought back and designed his own system which allowed registration and transfer of domain names and URLs such as those used to access content via the Internet and world wide web, the system was awarded a patent in 2003.

Alledgedly, Michael purchases approximately 300 names per day, selling them through his company, DomainMarket.com. He is obviously a busy man and while continuining to add to his shopping list, he had reduced his spending. All that changed in April 2012 when he decided to go shopping. Using his in-built filter for sorting the ‘wheat from the chaff’, and software performing multiple purchases, he obtained 14,962 domain names in under 24 hours. Judging by past form, Michael will surely be selling these for a substantial profit.

Some people may consider Mr Mann’s business ‘cut throat’, making it difficult for others to obtain the domain names they need whilst he fills his coffers; others may admire his business acumen and foresight.

Are you a Mann or a mouse?

It’s risky, but so is any investment. Currently, there is no way of predicting whether a domain name will be a success, and not everyone possesses Mr Mann’s inherent ability to spot a winner. There are companies offering valuation of domain names but they can never be 100% accurate, it all comes down to what a buyer can pay, and how much they want to own that particular name.

Research is essential to avoid paying over the market value, check out similar names and how they have performed. Before purchasing any domain name use Google Adwords to see what people are searching for, and how many are looking; aim to buy names containing these keywords. Be aware of current and future trends, niche markets, news stories, events; these are all potential markets that may be looking for domain names.

It’s only worth money if someone wants it

Building and nurturing your domain name portfolio takes time and money, you will need a crystal ball to see which names are going to become popular, hard work is required to promote your domain names effectively, and you will need an abundance of patience; a domain name may be parked for years waiting for the right market.

Develop the domain name and increase its value by generating traffic; create a website and add keyword specific content and meta tags, or park the domain name with an online marketplace where ads will be placed and traffic generated. The number of new websites increases every day and with them, the demand for good domain names, but if you don’t have ‘spare cash’ investing in domain names is not for you, your investment may not pay out for five to ten years or more; and annual renewal fees eat into any potential profit.

There are no tricks

.COM is the most popular domain but with this comes huge competition, the growing popularity of ccTLDs such as .US, .DE, .TV, makes these viable options which may be sold to businesses wishing to develop in their own country.

If you are lucky enough to get hold of a three/four letter domain name, congratulations, they are like gold dust; otherwise try to stay with two word domain names ensuring they are memorable, easy to type and are visually pleasing.

Generic names can bring in huge profits, one only has to look at insure.com selling for $16m, sex.com at $13m, clothes.com at $4,900,000, but steer clear of trademarked names as this can lead to a lengthy court battle and eventual loss of money and domain name.

Previously unregistered domain names may be purchased for very little as they have no history but they will require effort on your part to market them and make them more attractive. The secondary market offers more valuable choices with price tags reflecting their desirability.

In November 2011, EuroDNS announced the deployment of Afternic’s unique ‘Instant Transfer’ technology for domain sales, offering transactions in record time. This new service allows EuroDNS customers to purchase secondary market domain names directly from the Domain Listing Service (DLS) of Afternic. Existing customers of EuroDNS will also benefit from direct access to more than 50 million prospective buyers that access Afternic’s DLS every month. Read more about the benefits of this premium domain marketplace at the EuroDNS website.

Holding or flipping

Parking a domain name to increase its value, or executing a quick flip, with a well prepared portfolio it is possible to make money on your investments.

Will you own the world… hey Mann, who knows?

Seven domain names taken into custody

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:33:12 +0200

The US Department of Justice has a Task Force, and its mission is to fight domestic and international intellectual property (IP) crime. Their latest investigation brought to light the online sale of counterfeit goods, netting $896,000 and taking seven domain names into custody.

The warrant for the seizure of the seven domain names was issued by the District of Columbia on April 2012, Ronald C. Machen Jr, US Attorney for the district said, “Seizing the domain names of these unscrupulous operators was one big step, and seizing their ill-gotten proceeds should send them another message that these counterfeit sales will not be tolerated”.The investigation, Operation in our Sites, was originally launched in June 2010 by ICE’s (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Office of Homeland Security Investigations, and is a federal law enforcement initiative hunting IP pirates and online vendors of fake goods and copyrighted property.

Cyber Monday I

On November 29, 2010, Operation in our Sites executed seizure orders against 24 domain names of websites selling counterfeit merchandise and copyrighted property, such as shoes, handbags, sunglasses, pirated DVDs and music, and sportswear. The ‘sting’ was instigated on Cyber Monday, the Monday following Black Friday. In the US Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and signals the start of Christmas shopping, Cyber Monday follows and is promoted as the biggest online shopping day of the year. The counterfeit goods, including fake Chanel, Nike and Cartier, were imported from China. One domain name seized, tvshack.cc, was a website acting as a ‘link’ between sites allowing users to obtain illegal copies of films and tv shows, tvshack.cc replaced tvshack.net, this domain name was terminated in June 2010.

Several of the online businesses continued trading, overcoming this technical glitch to their business by using new domain names; fraudsters in China selling fake sportswear and college sports jerseys forfeited their domain names when undercover agents purchased goods and confirmed them to be fake. PayPal Private Ltd was used for payment process with the money then wired to Chinese banks.

Cyber Monday II

To celebrate the ‘biggest online shopping day of the year’ the US Department of Justice struck again, Operation in our Sites cast its net on November 28, 2011, and seized 150 domain names attributed to commercial websites selling spurious merchandise. The feds went undercover and purchased an array of goods with fake trademarks, manufactured abroad and imported to the US, the domain names were terminated.

The fight continues

Operation in our Sites has, to date, terminated 758 domain names of websites dealing in counterfeit goods. The IP Task Force continues to investigate and fight this on-going battle, endeavouring to protect the US against fraudsters who undermine the economic wellbeing of the country. The Task Force is currently working with IPEC (Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator) to improve the protection of intellectual property rights.

It's all .ME, .ME, .ME at domain name auction

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:13:12 +0200

Sedo and .ME Registry are joining forces to auction keyword rich .ME domain names, the auction takes place from May 26 until May 31, 2012.

There are 200 domain names available, predominantly keyword and geographic domain names. Examples from the list are computer.me, greencard.me, domainregistration.me, unitedkingdom.me. Unfortunately there are no outstanding ‘call to action’ names present, so the chance of topping the success of meet.me at $450,000, is unlikely.

.ME goes global

ICANN delegated the .ME domain to Montenegro in 2007, and the .ME Registry was elected to operate the extension. Montenegro was assigned the .ME domain as its ccTLD after the country became an independent nation in 2006. The government was quick to recognize the potential of the extension as a generic name and it became widely available in 2008, making the .ME domain available for worldwide registration. Similar to TLDs, the domain names can be geo-targeted by Google, which has a positive impact in terms of searches.

In August 2008, 100,000 .ME domain names were already registered, beating its rivals .ASIA and .MOBI, both launched prior to .ME. By 2010, over 320,000 domain names had been registered.

This is not the first auction held for.ME domain names and Sedo has to date, managed the sale of over 1,000 .ME domain names. Big name companies have jumped on the .ME bandwagon such as Facebook (fb.me), Yahoo! (me.me) and Time Magazine (ti.me), proving the popularity of this extension as a memorable TLD.

Show .ME the love

Hugely popular in English speaking countries, during the land rush period date.me sold for $70,000, love.me for $32,500 and hug.me for $20,000. This extension has proved a big hit with domain hacks (‘Hack’, implying a trick as opposed to exploitation), i.e. a domain name created by combining domain levels and spelling the full name or title of a name, for instance, del.icio.us and goo.gl.

Buenas noticias, 1.5m .ES domain names registered

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:43:30 +0200

Accents bring new meaning to .FR domain names

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:39:40 +0200

Holders of French domain names no longer have to settle for a name that does not meet their requirements, or say what they mean. Looking for ‘forêts’ or ‘forets’, ‘congres’ or ‘congrès’; could bring unexpected results, never again will a search for drills end up in the forest.

Try to say what you mean

Not always easy when your alphabet has been substantially reduced.

AFNIC (Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération), the administrator for the .FR domain, announced in February 2012, that from May 3, .FR domain names would be able to incorporate accented characters.

In 1985 the first domain name was registered, since then France (and many other countries) has struggled to incorporate their language into the domain name format. Prior to this new ruling, when a French domain name was written down the relevant accents were included, but if one searched online using accented characters – there was no guarantee it would work.

Introducing internationalized domain names (IDN) to .FR allows domain name holders to present the true pronunciation and meaning of their brand. This new function also applies to .RE Réunion, .TF French Southern and Antarctic Lands, .WF Wallis and Futuna, .PM St Pierre et Miquelon, and .YT Mayotte ; characters available are: à, á, â, ã, ä, å, æ, ç, è, é, ê, ë, ì, í, î, ï, ñ, ò, ó, ô, õ, ö, ù, ú, û, ü, ý, ÿ, œ, ß.

Richelieu says, “très bien!"

This is surely good news for the Académie Française, established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635, its role is to protect the French language against foreign influences, slang, and the degradation of the language.

Identity protection

AFNIC has decided to offer two registration periods:

• The priority period, from May 3 to July 3, allows users with existing domain names to register the exact equivalent utilizing accented characters and all its possible variants. AFNIC state, “If you have peches.fr you are entitled to register pêchés.fr, péchés.fr, pèches.fr etc. with the same registrar, for the same holder (i.e. with the same "NIC handle").” A NIC handle is the unique alphanumeric character sequence assigned by the registrar to a particular domain name, such as registrant’s name and email address. This period applies to users with domain names registered with .FR, .YT, .PM, .WF, .TF and .RE.

• General release begins on July 3 and there will be a ‘first come, first served’ policy. Any registered company or individual residing within the European Community (including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) may register a .FR domain name.

EuroDNS supports you

We would strongly recommend users contact their domain name registrar to confirm they offer IDN registration and if so, the availability of the various versions of their domain name.

From May 3, 2012, EuroDNS offers IDN registration on the aforementioned domain name extensions, .FR, .YT, .PM, .WF, .TF and .RE. Current holders of the relevant domain names should contact sales@eurodns.com, for assistance with obtaining new IDN versions of their domain names.

EuroDNS promotion celebrates Europe Day

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:08:56 +0200

EuroDNS is saluting Europe Day with a special, limited time offer on the .EU domain name extension. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until May 22, 2012, register a .EU domain name extension for only €0.99, enter the promo code PREU12C and benefit from this special deal available for two weeks only.

The EuroDNS promotion offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to register this hugely popular domain name extension, .EU, emphasizing the European identity of a website rather than restricting it to a single country. The .EU domain name extension is available to all organizations in and residents of EU member states, for companies dealing across the borders it offers a much wider audience. Register or transfer to a .EU domain name to open the door to over 500 million people in 27 countries.

The .EU domain was launched in 2005, with approval by ICANN in 2005. According to EURid (appointed by the European Commission to operate the .EU domain), “residents embraced the .EU web addresses when they became publically available on 7 April, 2006, registering 1.7 million within the launch month. Since then .EU registrations have more than doubled and we are fast approaching 3.6 million registrations”.

United in diversity

Paris, May 9, 1950, Robert Schuman, Luxembourgish born, French Foreign Minister, made an announcement to the press; he was asking for European countries to combine their coal and steel production with the intention of forming a European federation. Robert Schuman believed this to be the only way to unite Europe and maintain peaceful relations in the future; the “Schuman Declaration” saw the birth of what was to become the European Union. Europe Day or Schuman Day has become a symbol of a united Europe, and celebrates the continued peace and unity in Europe.

The EU’s ethos is based on several treaties which state that the EU is, "founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities..., in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail".

Initially there were six founding countries in the EU, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; this number has now grown to 27, with Croatia expected to join and become the 28th member in July 2013.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we are currently offering our cus-tomers an excellent promotion on .EU domain names, for the next two weeks all .EU domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €0.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .EU domain at the unbeatable price of €0.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PREU12C, valid till May 22, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

.ASIA FreeB promo arrives, bearing gifts

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:06:44 +0200

EuroDNS welcomes the .ASIA FreeB promo from DotAsia, and are pleased to announce a time limited offer, to accompany this promotion.

.ASIA remains a relatively young domain that was created in 2007 specifically for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, extending to almost 70 countries from the Middle East to Australia. APAC accounts for more than 60% of the world population, speaking 90 languages, and boasting over 400 million Internet users.

Asia is a region currently experiencing immeasurable economic, cultural and technical growth; the .ASIA TLD was originally created to help individuals and businesses in the region target their efforts locally and, on a wider scale, increase their online visibility globally.

The promotion

DotAsia, the .ASIA registry, are offering gifts to users registering a new .ASIA domain name. Depending on the length of registration, users will receive:

• one year registration – headphones,

• two years registration – stylus pen,

• five years registration – Bluetooth keyboard,

• ten years registration – 7” Android Tablet with camera.

DotAsia states only new domain names registered will be entitled to the above free gifts, renewals and transfers will not be eligible.

And there’s more, from EuroDNS

Running alongside this amazing incentive, EuroDNS has a promotion offering the .ASIA extension at €7.99, during the period of May 1 to July 31, 2012, with the promo code PBASIAC.

What’s in a name?

.ASIA domain names are hugely beneficial for companies operating in the APAC region, possibly more so than .CN (China), .IN (India), .JP (Japan). Whilst a company with its head office in Shanghai, using a .CN domain name, will communicate well with customers in China; should this company wish to trade in India, a .ASIA domain name would speak to the wider APAC audience.

In addition, the .ASIA TLD contains a word used frequently in every day speech, and more importantly, in search engines. ‘Asia’ is a popular keyword; routinely appearing in searches, by adopting this TLD a user could potentially improve the visibility of their site.

Rules of registering .ASIA

Individuals, businesses, and organizations such as community groups, are encouraged to register with a .ASIA domain name, but there are some restrictions in place:

• The .ASIA domain registrant must have at least one domain contact that is a legal entity in the Asia region.

• The .ASIA domain registrant must have a minimum of one administrative contact, with postal address, within the Asia region.

EuroDNS, one of the first registrars officially accredited by the .ASIA Registry to allow private individuals and companies to apply for the .ASIA domain names, offers a free local presence service for registering .ASIA domain names.

Should you wish to register a .ASIA domain name, please contact sales@eurodns.com, where a representative will happily assist you with all your domain needs.

We come bearing gifts

The benefits of registering a .ASIA domain name are seemingly endless, from adding a popular keyword to ones’ domain name, enhancing communication with the vast APAC audience, to the exciting gifts on offer from DotAsia.

As if this isn’t enough, EuroDNS grants the opportunity to register a .ASIA domain name for the price of €7.99. To take full advantage of this unbeatable price, visit our website, and enter the promo code: PBASIAC, valid May 1 to July 31, 2012.

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Sint Maarten gets its own ccTLD, .SX

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:20:01 +0200

March 2012, saw the launch of a new top level domain, .SX, now the country code of Sint Maarten.

In 2010 the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, previously it had been an independent Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With the dissolution, Sint Maarten became an autonomous country and filed an application for its own country code top-level domain (ccTLD). The sponsoring organization, SX Registry, is a private company incorporated in Sint Maarten, and wholly owned by SX Registry SA, a company headquartered in Luxembourg using OpenRegistry. There are no restrictions when registering a .SX domain name and a local presence is not necessary. .AN remains the Internet ccTLD for the former Netherlands Antilles, but it is gradually being phased out and as of November 2010 there are only, approximately, 800 domain names still registered.

Why .SX?

.SX was an obvious choice, as the territory has long been known, both locally and internationally, as ‘SXM’ (the IATA code for the island’s International Airport). This code was available in the ISO (International Organization Standardization) 3166 list and was awarded to the territory in December 2010.

Following a decision from ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the IANA (Internet Assigned Names Authority) has awarded the .SX ccTLD to the SX Registry. The Registry, a partnership between the European Registry Provider OpenRegistry and the Canadian company MediaFusion, will promote the usage and registration of .SX domain names globally.

SX Registry has appointed the ClearingHouse for Intellectual Property (CHIP), the service aimed at assisting brand owners in securing and safeguarding their trademark rights in the domain name space, already used by .CO, .ASIA, .FR. Additionally, should a case of domain name abuse be raised the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) process will be implemented along with the traditional UDRP and, when abuse has been proven, the offending domain name will be suspended (the domain name will not be transferred to the complainant).

For your protection

For the protection of all users, the registration process will have several phases:

• Grandfather period, agreed in March, 2011, ends on May 2, 2012; current owners of a .AN domain name registered before December, 15 2010 whose Admin-C contact was established in Sint Maarten will have the right to register the corresponding .SX domain name.

• Sunrise period, May 3 to July 4, 2012; owners of registered trademarks, validated by CHIP, may register their .SX domain names.

• Sint Maarten priority period, July 5 to September 4, 2012; allows individuals and companies from Sint Maarten to register .SX domain names. However, there are conditions to be met to prove eligibility for this phase.

• Landrush period, September 5 to October 4, 2012; any interested individual or company may register up to two .SX domain names, multiple applications will be subject to auction.

• General availability begins October 5, 2012; open to everyone, without restriction.

It is strongly recommended that .AN owners, meeting the above conditions and who wish to register the equivalent .SX domain name, should register before May 2. Following this date they will lose any preferential advantage.

Columbus sailed the ocean blue

Originally claimed by the Spanish but left unoccupied, the French stepped in and claimed ownership along with all the islands from Trinidad to Bermuda. The Dutch West Indies Company, wanting the island under their control, populated the southern half and claimed ownership. Spain tried to regain control, and after a brief take-over of the Dutch settlements and a long battle, they eventually left.

Both the French and the Dutch wanted control of the island and after several battles, an accord was reached in 1648 with the signing of the Treaty of Concordia. The treaty stated that the island be separated into two distinct countries – one side owned by the French (St Martin) and the other by the Dutch (Sint Maarten). This agreement has subsequently created a fascinating island where two diverse cultures exist side by side, in perfect harmony.

Unexpected visitors

Whilst the population of Sint Maarten is barely 40,000, local businesses adopting the .SX domain extension will benefit from having their own identity on the Internet, as will the two million tourists that visit the island every year. Additionally, since the extension is virgin territory and wide open to anyone without restriction; it will be attractive to many looking for a different ending!

.PT domain restrictions end, May 2012

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:02:39 +0200

Great news for the domain name industry and EuroDNS, from May 1, 2012, it will be possible for anyone to register a domain name under a .PT extension.

The announcement, by the FCCN (Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional or Foundation for National Scientific Computation) on February 23, 2012, has created great excitement. Previously scheduled for release in 2008, the imminent liberalization of .PT will allow online businesses to communicate directly with their Portuguese audience. Adopting a .PT domain extension will create a unique and memorable web address, whilst enhancing local presence. With approximately 383,000 .PT domain names registered, this announcement should see an increase in the number of users choosing the .PT extension over the gTLDs.

Important dates to remember

General availability, on May 1, 2012, will allow any person or entity to register a .PT domain name whilst having no affiliation with a brand or company.

From March 1st, 2012, .PT now has only four sub-domains: .COM.PT (unrestricted registration), .EDU.PT, .GOV.PT and .ORG.PT. This date also heralded the end of the following domains: .NET.PT, .INT.PT, .PUBL.PT, .NOME.PT, but any domain name already registered with these extensions prior to this date, remains active.

Owners of domain names registered with a .COM.PT extension would be wise to register the same name with the .PT extension, as soon as registration is open, to avoid possible cybersquatting in the future.

New features

With the liberalization of .PT come new features, domain names will be able to support the following accented characters: á, to, â, ã, ç, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú; and domain names will be able to contain from three to 63 characters.

.PT will be the first extension incorporating a tool that will search for domain names and brands. The tool was developed in collaboration with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property, and allows businesses to verify the existence of a domain name.

EuroDNS benefiting their customers

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS returns with a new domain name extension. We wanted to offer this extension as soon as possible to enable our customers the benefits offered by a .PT extension, such as registering very short domain names, abbreviations or acronyms of three to five letters only. They will also be able to check the availability of a domain name or a mark with a free search via a tool developed in partnership with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we also offer a wide range of solutions and services to assist our customers with their domain needs. The list, constantly evolving to reflect the latest needs of our customers, includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .PT domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.To be aware of the latest promo codes and receive our new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our EuroDNS newsletter.

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider Internet adoption.

For more information, please contact:

EuroDNS
Isabelle Vekemans
Marketing & Communication Manager
Phone: +352 27 220 313
E-mail: press@eurodns.com

15 millionth .DE domain name registered

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:34:56 +0200

Say it with flowers! The floristennetzwerk.de domain name was registered by German florist, Alexander Kleerebezem on April 18, 2012, bringing the number of domain names registered with DENIC to an incredible fifteen million.

DENIC is the registry for domains in Germany, which took over management of the .DE domain in 1997. The .DE domain was added to the IANA database in 1986, and prior to DENIC, was managed by the University of Dortmund.

A company doing business abroad would do well to adopt an international domain name extension, it increases ones audience and helps reduce possible cultural barriers while appearing less ‘foreign’ to the German audience.

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow

Eleven years after its formation the number of .DE domain names registered had already reached one hundred thousand, and by 1999, a staggering one million. 2004 saw the introduction of internationalized domain names allowing the inclusion of German characters such as umlauts Ä/ä, Ö/ö, Ü/ü and the Eszett ß (sharp S). In 2009, DENIC approved the use of single and two-letter names, and number only domain names.

Approximately 50,000 domain names are registered every month, registrants ranging from individuals, medium sized companies, to international organisations. .DE is currently the most popular ccTLD (in terms of registration) in the world, and ranks second as a TLD after .COM.

The .DE domain utilizes the first two letters of the German name for Germany, Deutschland. East Germany originally had a separate ccTLD, .DD, but it remained unassigned and was subsequently withdrawn in 1990.

Leading the field

The Federal Republic of Germany’s population is currently 81.8 million; it is a major political power and a technological leader in numerous fields. It was a founding member of the European Community in 1957 (becoming the EU in 1993), and is part of the Schengen Area which aims to eliminate border controls with other Schengen members whilst strengthening border controls with non-member states. It is heavily involved with the United Nations, NATO, the G8, G20 and the Council of Europe.

With the largest economy in the European Union, it has the world’s fourth largest by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the fifth by purchasing power parity (PPP). From 2003 to 2008 it was the world’s largest exporter, dropping to second place in 2009; most of its exports are in engineering, machinery, cars, chemical goods and metal, it is currently the principal producer of wind turbines and solar power technology.

Global brand names to be proud of, from Beethoven to Schumacher

German engineers including Gottlieb Daimler, Rudolf Diesel, Karl Benz, have all played their part in producing some of the world’s most well respected and recognized cars, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. And while all these cars ‘make beautiful music’; Beethoven, Bach, Wagner, Brahms and Mozart, also contributed to our listening pleasure.

Finally, passing the chequered flag, we should remember Michael Schumacher and his brother Ralf, Sebastian Vettel, and recent Formula One race winner, Nico Rosberg.

Driving the point home

Approximately every sixth person in Germany has a .DE extension domain name, with no limits on the number of names registered by individuals and companies. Interest in this domain grows every year, don’t get left behind!

The .world according to Google

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:17:56 +0200

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) described its decision to approve the creation of new gTLDs such as .PARIS, .APPLE, .LONDON, etc., as historic, and believe the new extensions will ‘shake up’ search results.

This initiative means that website addresses could adopt almost any word, in any language as their extension, making the Internet open to users whose language contains accented characters. It will give organizations the opportunity to optimize their brand, country or highlight their ‘good cause’.

Early applications include:

• .EARTH, .HOTEL, .MUSIC, .RADIO, .SHOP

• .AFRICA, .LONDON, .NYC, .PARIS

• .GAY, .WINE, .GOLF, .PEACE

• .CANON, .DELOITTE, .UNICEF

Is it worth it?
Unfortunately, these new extensions are not cheap, with $185,000 application fee, followed by a $35,000 management fee per year. You must also demonstrate sufficient capital to keep the registry operational for a minimum of three years. As with VeriSign, who are responsible for all .COM TLDs, you will be wholly responsible for all the domain names registered with your .NAME gTLD.

But, could that expense and additional work be justified if the new TLD web addresses are automatically favoured over a .COM name? Of course it could, if we are to believe that the new TLDs may receive preferential treatment.

Alas, Google says no!
Google has emphatically stated that content and relevance will remain the deciding factors when ranking websites, not giving preference to the new TLDs. They strongly warn against registering a new ‘name specific’ TLD expecting it to improve your website’s search engine ranking, as you will be disappointed. (1)

Déjà vu?
This is not a new concept with previous ‘name specific’ TLDs already in use, such as: .MUSEUM, .NAME, .COOP, .AERO, .JOBS, .TRAVEL, .CO and .MOBI. Regrettably, these early TLDs did not always prove successful; .MUSEUM, created in 2001, shows approximately 500 registered domain names, whilst the big names felt safer keeping their original domains: louvre.fr, tate.org.uk, guggenheim.org.

Despite its rather unsuccessful history, businesses are applying for their own domains, concerned they will lose out to their competitors if they don’t.

Don’t forget, Google said no! But…
If they were to be acknowledged as keywords and rated, .MOBI, used by mobile devices for accessing the Internet via the Mobile Web, would benefit from Google’s search engine as they give priority to .MOBI sites when searched from a mobile device. .COM and .MOBI were indexed in less than 12 hours by Google spiders, performing a keyword search and .COM and .MOBI were the only webpages found.

Should you choose .MOBI? Google said yes when they, along with Microsoft and several tier one CSPs, financially backed the domain.

The clue’s in the name
The IHRA (International Hotel & Restaurant Association) is actively pursuing the .HOTEL extension for the exclusive use of hotels, thus reassuring visitors that they are on genuine hotel sites. It can only help hotels when appearing in searches with this extension, returning control to the hotel industry and away from commercial distributors. Whilst the extension .COM provides no clue, .HOTEL broadcasts its content without question. Adopting place name extensions would also help local hotels in searches, how could besthotel.paris fail?

When publishing your website it is worth remembering that for Google to present the most appropriate page in a search, it is advised that a ccTLD should be used when producing content specific to a particular country. Therefore, when publishing content in French or German, use .FR and .DE, respectively.

A small, French baker’s website, written in French, would have more success with boulangerie.fr, keeping it local and talking to a specific audience, rather than using boulangerie.com and advertising to the whole world. Boulangerie.paris would appear in searches for Paris, again attracting too wide an audience, but if you were a large chain with branches all over the world then boulangerie.paris, boulangerie.co.uk, may strengthen your branding, and improve results in country-specific searches.

Using the right tool for the job

Should you wish to improve your brand’s exposure, these new TLDs offer a possible opportunity. .CO is working well for start-up businesses, and the media industry has readily adopted the .TV extension. So, whilst they may not improve your keyword usage, they should be recognised as a beneficial marketing tool.

Food for thought
It has been predicted that by the end of 2012 there will be approximately 1000 extension applications approved. Are we really to believe they will be ignored in search engines? That Google, for instance, has not already considered the implications and begun integrating them into their algorithms.We will have to wait and see!

STOP PRESS!
April 12, 2012, ICANN announced that the TLD Application System (TAS) was, temporarily, taken offline due to a bug in the system, allowing a number of applicants access to other applicant’s data.

April 20, 2012, with new procedures in place to improve system performance, and testing underway, ICANN say they are committed to reopening the application system as soon as possible, and endeavouring to notify all affected users.

April 20, 2012, ICANN will not be providing a date for reopening the application system until all affected applicants have been identified and informed. They said, “In order to give all applicants notice and an opportunity to review and complete their applications upon reopening the system, we will keep it open for at least five business days. No later than April 27, we will provide an update on the reopening of the system and the publication of the applied-for new domain names.”

(1) As stated by Matt Cutts, Team leader Webspam Google, on Google+

EuroDNS promotion offers .CH domain names

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:28:08 +0200

EuroDNS announces yet another special, limited time offer on the .CH domain name registration. Valid until May 8, 2012, register .CH domain names for only €7.99. Enter the promo code PRCH12A and benefit from this special deal available for 2 weeks only!

The latest EuroDNS promotion gives businesses and individuals the opportunity to register with this popular domain name extension, .CH; communicating directly with a Swiss audience, whilst remaining accessible to the rest of the world. Register a Swiss domain name to protect online businesses, creating a memorable and unique web address.

Experience a significant increase in traffic by registering a Swiss domain name. With no restrictions on who may apply, and no limit to the number of domain names any individual or company use, registering a .CH domain name is simple. The length of .CH domain names can be from three to 63 characters, and since March 2004, may contain accented characters.

SWITCH, the registry in Switzerland administering the .CH domain names since the Internet began, implemented, in November 2010, a new security procedure to combat malware. Despite Swiss websites being amongst the most secure in the world, they were experiencing a rise in websites spreading malicious software. The new security check alerted SWITCH to any possible abuse; the site owner was then contacted and given the opportunity to remedy the problem. If the situation was not addressed within one working day, SWITCH blocked the domain name.

At EuroDNS all that’s needed to register a domain name is under one roof, ensuring a secure and stress-free process. Experience a unique and memorable web address with the .CH extension, communicating on a personal level with the audience in Switzerland.

.CH is the Internet country code top level domain (ccTLD) for Switzerland. The .CH domain comes from Confœderatio Helvetica, the Latin name for the country, introduced after the formation of the federal state in 1848.

More than just cuckoo clocks

Geneva is the birth place of the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions, also housing a large number of international organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Council. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but is not a member of the European Union, or the European Economic area; joining the EU has been frozen due to the population consistently rejecting membership. Historically, Switzerland remains neutral and avoids alliances that may entail military, political or direct economic action.

Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world and possesses the highest wealth per adult of any other country in the world.The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) tunnel, built by CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, situated in Geneva, it was also the birth place of the World Wide Web.

Mmmmmm, chocolate!

So much chocolate, so little time; the Swiss are the world’s largest consumers of chocolate and most Swiss chocolate produced, is eaten by themselves.

Made in Switzerland since the 18th century, the invention of conching and tempering compounded the quality of the chocolate immeasurably. Conching was invented by Rodolphe Lindt in 1879, previously chocolate was conched (agitated) for as little as six hours; legend has it that Rodolphe left a mixer running overnight and after his initial distress, realized the huge improvement to the consistency of the chocolate. Good quality chocolate is now mixed for up to 72 hours. Tempering is the final process in producing chocolate. To achieve a uniform sheen and crisp bite, rather than crumbling, small cocoa butter crystals are produced during this process.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sale Officer, EuroDNS said, “We want to offer our customers the best service possible, hence we are offering this promotion on .CH domain names. We believe individuals and companies adopting this extension will experience an increase in traffic to their site, whilst reaching out to one of the richest countries in the world.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we offer a wide range of solutions and services to help our customers with their domain needs. The list, constantly evolving to reflect the needs of our customers, includes cloud computing services. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .CH domain at the unbeatable price of €7.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRCH12A, valid until May 8, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

The transaction of secondary market domain names

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:46:04 +0200

The domain registry lists $225,000 as the value of bowlingballs.com, saturn.pl is worth $189,000, empire.com a mere $135,000.

Due to the confidential nature of many secondary market domain name transactions it appears that there are few sales taking place, indicating that the market is in decline. This is not so, according to the latest report from Sedo, the sales in 2011 are on par with 2010 ($84,431,965 vs $101, 438, 953) exclude the sale of sex.com in 2011 for $13 million, and the figures are comparable and remain healthy.

Sales early in 2012 confirm this market to be growing: ule.com selling for $145,000, airline.com at $125,000, qe.com at $89,000. The domain name register at Sedo was led by .COM in 2011, this domain name extension is valued above all other domain name extensions, commanding five to ten times more than the same domain name with an alternative extension, followed by .DE (18%), .CO.UK (6%), .EU (4%), with .CO and .ME still too new to count.

Time to call in a professional

Certain domain names are highly sought after but not all are up for sale, purchasing and registering these domain names requires an expert to handle all areas of the negotiation.

Whilst the buying, selling and registration of domain names still occurs on public marketplaces and auction listings, confidential transactions currently dominate the arena. According to Sedo 80% of transactions in 2011 were held privately. It is therefore imperative that a registrar professional handles these confidential and possibly sensitive negotiations, one that is able to converse in the native language of the domain name owner whether they take place in Europe, America or Asia.

The marketplace includes domain names that have expired, along with names that the current owner is not looking to sell. If said owner needs encouragement to sell it is essential that a fair price is quoted, the purchaser’s identity must remain anonymous at all times to avoid any price increase.

Finally, the transaction must be secure financially, legally and technically.

Knowledge is power

The value of secondary market domain names can vary from thousands to millions of euro. The value of these domain names may be determined by:

• the extension in which the domain name was registered;

• the length of domain name – two and three character names are highly desired due to ease of recollection;

• search engine visibility;

• relevance to a specific audience;

• previous association with a high profile website – well established links with other websites bringing steady traffic.

Being anonymous

To purchase, sell and register your domain names successfully, anonymous transaction management is of primary importance. eBrand Services offers your business the professional help you require for all domain name transactions.

eBrand Services is the corporate branch of EuroDNS, providing solutions and consultation for corporate clients. Specializing in domain name management for companies throughout Europe, customers include multinationals, SMEs, international organizations such as the United Nations, law firms and communication agencies. Support and guidance is provided for optimizing online visibility, and the fiscal aspects of both domain name management and trading.

For more information, please contact Sylvie Rouen, CEO, eBrand Services, srouen@ebrandservices-fbs.com.

EuroDNS promotion offers the .AT domain name

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:26:05 +0200

EuroDNS announces yet another special, limited time offer on the .AT domain name extension. Valid until April 24, 2012, register .AT domain names for only €7.99. Enter the promo code PRAT12C and benefit from this special deal available for two weeks only.

The latest EuroDNS promotion offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to register this hugely popular domain name, .AT, bringing them closer to an Austrian audience, whilst still allowing communication with the rest of the world. Registering a .AT domain name will increase company website’s visibility leading to a significant growth in traffic. Registration is straight forward; there are no restrictions on who may apply and one does not need to be based in Austria to qualify for registration.

Register now or transfer to a .AT domain, the process is easy and the registration is completed in under 48 hours. ‘Continuing obligation’ (similar to utility connections) ensures the contract remains active unless terminated by you, the exception being an unpaid invoice. Alternatively, there is a fixed-term contract which will automatically expire unless renewed.

Schnitzel, Schnapps, and Mr Universe

Austria is proud to be the birthplace of some of the most famous people in history, such as composers Haydn, Liszt, Schubert, Strauss, and Mozart; painters including Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, and 38th Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Since joining the European Union in January 1995, Austria has become more and more open to foreign trade. Its central location in the heart of the EU allows Austria to deal with major economic players.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS returns with yet another exciting promotion for our customers offering an excellent deal on.AT domain names with the .AT extension available at €7.99 only for the next two weeks. Last month EuroDNS announced an additional standard for .AT domain names; the launch of DNSSEC security standard which enhances the safety and security of .AT extensions.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we also offer a wide range of solutions and services to assist our customers with their domain needs. The list, constantly evolving to reflect the latest wishes of our customers, includes cloud computing services. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .AT domain at the unbeatable price of €7.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRAT12C, valid till April 24, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Meet EuroDNS at Domaining 2012

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:33:13 +0200

EuroDNS is a Platinum Sponsor of Domaining 2012

EuroDNS, a leading Domain Name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be exhibiting at Domaining 2012 in Spain - as Platinum Sponsor.Domaining 2012 is one of the biggest events for the domain name industry. For its fourth edition, the conference will take place in Valencia, Spain on April 26 – 28, 2012 and bring together the biggest names in the industry. Attendees (120-150 expected) will be discussing gTLDs, ccTLDs and domain markets at Sorolla Palace Hotel during three days.

This year, the show will focus on the arrival of new Top Level Domains, including city TLDs like .paris, .berlin and .madrid. New extensions that have already arrived on the scene, like .xxx and .co, will also be covered. The event will also attract some of the most remarkable domain name investors.

Xavier Buck, EuroDNS founder and chairman, has been nominated keynote speaker for the event. As such he will present “Past, present and future of domains” on Friday, April 27, at 11.30 am while Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer of EuroDNS, will take part in the “Industrial News” session, at 6:30 pm that same day.

Join us at Domaining 2012 and discover how our solutions can assist you with your domain names related needs.

If you are interested to meet us and discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Over ten million .UK extensions registered

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:10:57 +0200

The ten millionth domain name ending in .UK has been registered, this landmark occasion indicates the strong growth and trust inspired by the .UK domains. In March 2012, it became the fourth most popular TLD in the world.

Registration service Nominet filed the domain name swarvemagazine.co.uk for Hampshire based company SN Technologies, a TLD on their registry since 1996 when there were only 26,000 .UK sites. New businesses desperate to get online, buying possibly their first domain name, have encouraged substantial growth of the UK Internet. Nominet, an NPO (Non-Profit-Organization), states that approximately 70% of the domain name addresses are renewed at the end of their two year expiry date, meaning that .UK is the second most popular ccTLD in terms of number of registrations.

The second level domain, .CO.UK, takes prominence in this domain, differing from other countries where the ccTLD is dominant. It is prohibited to register a domain name using the ccTLD .UK, rules set by Nominet. No such restrictions apply with regard second level domains: .CO.UK, .ORG.UK, .ME.UK, these being the most commonly used.

It is possible to register a domain name with Nominet but it is faster and cheaper to do it via a registrar, such as EuroDNS, who has many options for second level domains for .UK.

Studying the market

Nominet took this opportunity to publish a report analysing the typology of domain names registered with the extension .UK.

Beginning with the 20 most common words in the 1.1 million registered domain names, ordered by popularity: service, home, shop, London, house, solution, group, photo, property, business, sports, school, hotel, media, wedding, centre, electric, training, world, print.

Currently trending words are:

• technology – app increased in 2012 to 50,000, from 3,700 in 2001, an increase due to the introduction of smartphones and their applications;

• e-commerce – shop appears in more than 82,000 domain names registered, increasing from 10,000 in 2001;

• travel – spa is the most popular and its growth is continuing;

• banking &finance – insurance is included in 33,000 domain names, ten times more than in 2000;

• food & drink – cupcake, due to the current fashion, is on the increase, from only two sites in 2001 the figure has now risen to 4,500;

• gambling – poker originally only appearing in 60 domain names ten years ago now appears in 9,000 names, due to the growth in online gambling although this industry has now stabilised and is beginning to show signs of decline;

• sport & leisure – music tops the list, with film, dance and fitness close behind.

Whilst london is listed fourth in the top 20 most common words with 83,343 appearances, 66 cities in the United Kingdom are represented in 400,000 registered domain names, indicating that the Internet is playing an ever increasing role in local businesses.

This increase in usage has caused a deficit of the popular short names (94.1% of the domain names of three characters are already registered) names in 2012 are now showing 13.84 characters as opposed to 11.67 in 2001. Add to this the desire of the British to use domain names that accurately describe their product or service and longer names become the norm compared to other TLDs.

The letter S is the favourite first character of a domain name with E having the most appearances, followed by A. This is partly due to Eng’s presence in over one million registered domain names.

Conditions of registration in the UK:

• .UK is available to all individuals and companies, regardless of country of origin of the purchaser.

• Duration of registration or renewal of a domain name, originally a two year obligation but from 1 May 2012 this will become one to ten years.

• Domain names can have 1 to 63 characters. Since June 27, 2011 anyone can register a short (1/2 characters) name but this depends on whether the name is still available and the rule is, first come, first served.

• Currently .UK does not accept IDN (Internationalized Domain Names, i.e. accented characters).

This study reveals a very positive situation with huge potential for further growth in the .UK Internet space. United Kingdom businesses appear to be showing a preference for .UK as a TLD wishing to brand themselves as a UK company rather than using the more generic .COM. With peoples’ online buying increasing there is evidence that purchasers feel more confident when they buy from a website with their own country extension, hence Amazon offering different country domain names for each country.

Will country code domain names become more popular than the generic top level domain names?

suspended-for.spam-and-abuse.com

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:54:07 +0200

The United States government with the help of a US registrar lays down the law, whilst Big Brother remains vigilant in the United Kingdom.

When the domain name jotform.com was suspended by the US Secret Service more than 500,000 innocent people paid the price for the crime of a single user. Wednesday, February 15, the US Secret Service ordered the domain name registrar GoDaddy to suspend the domain name jotform.com. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have previously seized domain names without warning for hosting music, live sports streaming, movies or child pornography. What does JotForm offer? It helps customers create online forms to embed in their websites, customers that include web hosting companies, universities, schools, etc.

David vs GoLiath

Following the order from the US government, the domain name registrar GoDaddy suspended the site for suspected spam and abuse, blocking two million online forms thus creating havoc for over 500,000 JotForm customers and untold damage to JotForm’s reputation. JotForm immediately migrated all files to jotform.net restoring access to their customers. Yes, this new site carries the same ‘dodgy’ content, yet remains live with no threat of suspension. JotForm suspected a user of uploading a phishing form missed by the Bayesian filter they run, 2011 saw 65,000 accounts suspended, but the company remains in the dark having received no information with regard the suspension.

Unfortunate consequences for GoDaddy are that JotForm has subsequently moved its domain names to a new registrar.

Across the water, Big Brother goes by the name of SOCA!

In the United Kingdom a similar event occurred when in February 2012 SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency) seized the domain name rnbxclusive.com, a website offering often unpublished music for download. No court order was issued and it is a domain name registered under the gTLD.com controlled by American registry Verisign, yet SOCA was able to block the .COM domain name and post its own inflammatory page on the website stating, “The individuals behind this website have been arrested for fraud”.

SOCA claims RnBXclusive made available music files stolen from artists, allegedly 70,000 per day for download, causing the music industry a huge loss of approximately 15 million pounds per year. Be afraid, with SOCA no one escapes, it goes on to threaten users of the site with a possible prison sentence of ten years plus an unlimited fine under UK law. Be very afraid, the original SOCA page displays the user’s IP address, browser name, operating system, and date and time of connection to the site.

Big Brother is watching, and will catch you.

The original SOCA page has since been replaced with a less menacing message stating simply “SOCA took control of this domain name”, but the threat remains.

Choosing the best domain name for your business

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:45:31 +0200

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.” Chinese proverb

Choosing a domain name is one of the most important and hardest decisions your business will have to make. It’s your electronic business card displaying your brand, product and activities to the world. It’s with you for life, you may make many changes to your business but you cannot change the name. Ok, technically you can change it but all that work that went into SEO will be lost, along with clients and backlinks. An important fact to remember is search engine ranking is influenced by domain name age, so always trust your elders.

If it’s easy to remember, it’s easy to recommend.

Your domain name is as important to your business as your company name so it’s worth taking advice from people who know, companies recognising this have been known to change their name to match the website domain name. Building a professional online presence is primary in the race with your competitors. Make it memorable, people may love your site but are unable to find it a second time.

Short and sweet

A short name is generally better, for clients it’s memorable and it’s the preference of search engines, several search engines (i.e. Google) may penalize too lengthy URLs. It should be a relevant combination of characters and not too difficult to spell. Relevance to website content is essential and if possible, the name should be exclusive to your business, using keywords if possible to improve the ranking, thus improving traffic. Beware of acronyms – they may be dangerous, don’t keep it short just for the sake of keeping it short, random letters are easily forgotten. In general, names can be two to 67 characters in length but, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Hyphens, camels and human beings

Domain names without hyphens look more professional, although names with targeted keywords of no more than three words work well with search engine spiders. But, users often forget to type the hyphen, or ignore it when relating your web address, unwittingly directing a prospective customer to a competitors’ website. It is commonly accepted that a domain name with multiple words does not contain hyphens but with the availability of names decreasing the hyphenated option may be your only choice. A popular workaround is using CamelCase, although the domain name is registered in all lowercase when written the words are differentiated, e.g. FedEx, YouTube.

It is worth noting that human beings are fallible and when typing your website address they may misspell your name, or mishear over the phone. Explaining abbreviations, special characters, etc., takes time and increases the possibility of error, consider this when purchasing your domain name. If available you could do bulk domain registrations to include possible variations to your company name, incorporating possible misspellings, plural/singular forms etc.

.COM, .BIZ, .ORG, .CO.UK ?

When choosing a suitable extension for your domain name you should consider your targeted audience, nature of your business and country of operation. Recent SEO studies have indicated that ccTLDs may suffer in the ranking stakes when competing with gTLDs. So, .COM and .NET are the most common and therefore the most trustworthy, but it’s not always possible to obtain these highly desirable extensions.

.COM could be anywhere

If your business only caters to the local community it makes commercial sense to register with a country specific domain name, i.e. a taxi company based in the UK would benefit from the extension .CO.UK as customers will recognize they are viewing a local business. Triumph Motorcycles’ main portal is triumph.co.uk, it is using a ccTLD for advertising reasons as it is a trusted brand always associated with its country of origin, the UK.

Only .COM will do?

When a user types a domain name without an extension the browser will primarily search for .COM, not so good for your ccTLD, so make it a rule that you always promote your business or website with its full domain name. More and more countries have released their country code TLDs hence allowing international registration, a clever example of exploiting this would be Del.icio.us, or consider Italy’s .IT domain with purchase.it.

Avoiding the long arm of the law

Ensure your chosen domain name does not infringe on the trademark of another company. The responsibility lies with you, the domain name registrant, as the laws applying to hard copy also apply on the Internet.

Is it safe?

You will purchase your domain name through a registrar. Selecting your registrar is an important decision as they will be responsible for the security of your personal and business information, and domain name. It must be reliable, offer maximum uptime and provide add-ons such as free email hosting. In February 2011 a change to Google’s search results ranking algorithm was released under the name Google Panda, this release rates the quality of your registrar when ranking your websites. Domain names are no longer in abundance, using the above suggestions will help you find the perfect name for your website. But don’t leave it too late, another business is about to find your name!

EuroDNS, the world of domain names

EuroDNS is a domain registrar specialized in international domain extensions, offering a host of complementary solutions and services. With customers around the globe and hundreds of domain name extensions on offer, we are one of the market leaders in the domain name industry and have established accreditation with more than 70 registries worldwide.

We currently offer email and collaboration on the cloud, monitoring and recovering of domain names, provision of an anycast DNS network through ProDNS, issuing of SSL certificates and a domain research service. We have a large portfolio of generic (gTLDs) and country code (ccTLDs) extensions, along with premium domains in the secondary market, for you to choose from.

Looking for help with your domain requirements? Please visit the EuroDNS website or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.

A dozen .xxx sites terminated

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:00:59 +0200

A dozen .xxx sites terminated, and they won't be back

In February 2012 the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), exclusively administering the Rapid Evaluation Service (RES), ordered 12 .XXX domains to shut down.

The RES has dealt with 15 complaints since December 2011 and February 2012 saw it publish the results of the 15 cases handled since the .XXX domain went live.

• 14 of the 15 complaints were from trademark owners;

• Non-compliances saw two rejected;

• 12 cases won by the complainants, of which 11 were trademark owners. The 12 domains suspended forever.

facts&figures.xxx

The .XXX domain was designed to be a trusted brand for the adult entertainment industry. Recognized globally, it is a tool for people wanting to provide and access pornographic material on the Internet, and for those who want to prevent access, e.g. children, workplaces.

Initial figures:

• The first domain name purchased during .XXX general availability was IOwn.xxx.

• During the first 24 hours of general availability, the ICM sold 55,367 domains.

• Including the sunrise and landrush periods bringing this total to 160,000.

• On the first day ICM brought in approximately $3.3 million in revenue.

• The highest priced .XXX domain name so far is gay.xxx, sold in October 2011 for $500,000.

RES to evict squatters

The ICM Registry (the operator behind .XXX) launched RES with its anti-cybersquatting policy, in August 2011, to assist trademark holders with complaints when they have been associated with a .XXX domain name, against their wishes. The complainant, employing RES, has the power to get a registered domain name suspended in under a week, following which it will be terminated.

RES is based on the UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) with several differences, the key one being that unless you are filing to protect a personal name, RES is for nationally registered, current trademarks only.

In February 2012 Richard Branson won control of the domain name richardbranson.xxx when NAF ruled that the name had been registered ‘in bad faith’.

NAF, the only organization authorized to deal with RES cases, can name its price and currently charges $1,300 per domain, with each new domain name invoiced as a separate entity. Although the complainant won’t get control of the domain name, they don’t have to pay renewal fees. Once the domain name is down, it stays down.

Gone in the blink of an eye

The 12 cases won by NAF earlier this year took, on average, 12 days from initial complaint to domain name shutdown. Two working days from the issue of complaint for administration, registrants then have ten days to respond before judgement is passed. If the registrant defaults for any reason they still have three months to launch an appeal.

The complainant must prove:

• The registered domain name under dispute is identical or confusingly similar to a registered trademark of national effect that the complainant owns and uses.

• The registrant/defendant has no rights over or legitimate interest in the domain name.

• The disputed domain name was registered and is either being used in ‘bad faith’ or, if unused, cannot be used in ‘good faith’.

To protect the identity of the complainant the ICM, NAF and RES, unlike UDRP, will not be publishing cases, only releasing accumulated statistics. Therefore there is no way of judging the fairness or accuracy of these decisions, which may lead to concern in the .XXX TLD world.

Britney and Beyonce placed under ICM protection

To avoid the possibility of legal action, thousands of celebrity names were placed on permanent reserve lists by the ICM Registry. The lists contain approximately 15,000 names; including britneyspears.xxx, beyonce.xxx, elvis.xxx, marilynmonroe.xxx. Names have also been included on cultural grounds: the world’s capital cities, culturally sensitive affiliations such as several spellings of Mohammed and osamabinladen.xxx, and numerous premium names intended for auction.

The reserve lists thwart any plans cybersquatters or unscrupulous porn webmasters may have had to register a celebrity domain name purely to drive traffic to their site.ICM will not be publishing its list of protected names nor will it reveal its criteria for inclusion. Suffice to say, if your name is not protected but becomes affiliated with .XXX, you would be well advised to contact the RES.

Let’s talk about .XXX

EuroDNS became one of the first domain registrars officially accredited by ICM, allowing private individuals and companies the right to apply for .XXX domain names. When you choose to register your .XXX domain name you will appreciate many benefits, namely your website will be scanned daily by McAfee for Malware. The .XXX domain has created such a buzz around the world that it brings its own publicity to your site. Your web address becomes unique, promoting your profile and corporate image, enabling you to communicate with audiences in the online adult entertainment industry.

EuroDNS has announced an exceptional promotion on .XXX domain extensions. Register your .XXX domain name today with EuroDNS at an unbeatable price of €49.99, using the promo code NLXXX12C, this promotion will remain valid until the end of April. It’s too good to miss, so hurry!

To register your .XXX domain name at this ‘special offer’ price, visit the EuroDNS website now!

Celebrate Paddy's Day with a special .IE promotion

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:42:05 +0100

Joining Paddy’s day and its celebration of Irish culture, EuroDNS goes green with a special limited time offer on .IE domain names. With promo code PRIE12A everyone can now wear their shamrock and expand their profile in Ireland for only €18,99 till March 27th, 2012.

No matter whether Irish or not, with a .IE domain name any business or individual will be able to join the parade. A .IE extension identifies oneself as being Irish or having a presence in Ireland; it helps reach and communicate with an Irish audience, maximizing your local footprint. .IE also enables companies to protect their business online, a .IE domain making one’s web address unique and easy to memorize.

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.“ This famous quote by Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, is even more applicable to today’s competitive economy. “Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck; however at EuroDNS, we decided not to dye rivers or streams green but to follow Oscar Wilde’s saying. Offering the .IE at €18,99 for the next two weeks gives anyone with an interest in the Emerald Isle, the opportunity to be “talked about” by securing a local presence," said Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS. "With this fantastic deal we wish all our customers a happy Paddy’s day!” Daniel continued.

So turn your business into Irish green during the next two weeks for only €18,99 with EuroDNS special offer. All that is needed is to use voucher PRIE12A till 27/03/2012 to register or transfer existing domain at this unbeatable price. Visit the .IE ccTLD page at http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Ireland/Ie and enter promo code PRIE12A. The IE Domain Registry policies apply to every registration and all applicants must provide the necessary supporting information or documentation within 30 days of their order in order for their application to be accepted. To find out what documents need to be provided go to http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Ireland/Ie

Check out the offers page on our website to find out more promotions offered by EuroDNS: http://www.eurodns.com/offers/

To be informed of the latest promo codes and receive our new deals on domain extension directly into your mailbox, subscribe to our newsletter here: http://www.eurodns.com/newsletter/

In addition to domain registration, EuroDNS also provide services such as email and collaboration in the cloud, domain monitoring and domain recovery to mention but a few.

Stay up-to-date on what is happening in the DNS industry, join us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/eurodns) and follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/EuroDNS)

About EuroDNS:EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. http://www.eurodns.com

Meet EuroDNS at WHD.global - March 20-23, 2012

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:57:14 +0100

EuroDNS is a Platinum Sponsor of WHD.global 2012

EuroDNS, a Domain Name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be exhibiting at WorldHostingDays Global - WHD.global - as Platinum Sponsor along with its partner LuxCloud, a market leading provider of cloud computing services, and Datacenter Luxembourg, an independent datacenter service provider.

WorldHostingDays is the world's largest hosting event. This four-day conference and trade fair takes place in Europa Park (Rust, Germany) on March 20 – 23, 2012. WHD is an event from the industry for the industry and as such a great networking opportunity. It delivers information and impulses directly from the source to targeted businesses. The event unites all important decision makers of the leading hosting related companies from Europe, America and Asia.

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

WHD will also be the opportunity to hear the latest news from the industry including that of our partner LuxCloud. Lorenz Meis, COO of LuxCloud, will talk on "Cloud Automation as a Service (CAaaS) or how to instantly increase sales to your existing customer base". The presentation will take place on Wednesday, March 21 at 09.15 in the main.FORUM.

Join us at WHD.global 2012 and discover how our solutions can assist you with your domain names related needs.

If you are interested to meet us and discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com

EuroDNS offers unique limited time promo on .FR

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:27:15 +0100

EuroDNS announces special limited time offer on the .FR domain name extensions now at an exclusive price of just € 4.99 valid for new registrations and transfers. Benefit from this unique offer and register .FR today by using promo code PRFR12A available for two weeks only!

The .FR domain can be easily identified by general public and is appropriate for companies and individuals having a connection with France. As of 6 December 2011, AFNIC the Registry for the .FR extension has extended the eligibility to register .FR domain names to residents and legal entities throughout the European Union. Previously domain holders needed a local presence to be able to register .FR names. Now anyone can register .FR domain names; the process is easy and immediate.

France being one of the largest countries in Europe makes the .FR Namespace a prospective one. .FR is therefore particularly useful for individuals, companies, and organizations located in France. It's also a great idea to register .FR domains if one wants to reach French customers.

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, ‘‘we are back with yet another exciting promotion for our customers offering a fantastic discount on the .FR domain extension.’’ He continued, ‘‘We are very happy with the response we received for the .NL and the .LU extensions and continue to aim to do our best to ensure that our customers are satisfied with our exclusive prices’’ Daniel also added, ‘‘we would like to take this opportunity and remind our customers that we do a lot more than just registering domain names. Besides the large portfolio of generic (gtlds) as well as country code (cctlds) we offer Local presence services for many TLDs. Additionally we offer various complementary solutions and services such as email and collaboration on the cloud; monitoring and recovering of domain names. We also provide an anycast DNS network through ProDNS, issue SSL certificates and offer domain research services.’’ To assist you with your domain requirements please visit www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sale@eurodns.com

The .FR ccTLD (country code top-level domain) is a popular extension with accented characters and is a very well known suffix for domains globally. To register or transfer an existing .FR domain at an unbeatable offer price of € 4.99 with EuroDNS use promo code PRFR12A valid till 13/03/2012. For the registration process please visit our website here http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/France/Fr/?promo=PRFR12A

To discover more promotions on domain extensions currently offered by EuroDNS check out the offers page of our website here http://www.eurodns.com/offers/.

In addition please note that EuroDNS releases new promo codes as part of its monthly newsletter. There will be more deals on domain extensions in the February edition of our newsletter, so don’t forget to subscribe with us here http://www.eurodns.com/newsletter/ to receive our newsletters directly to your inbox.

AFNIC announces opening of IDNs for the .FR

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:58:35 +0100

AFNIC will shortly be opening the registration of IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) to their ccTLD portfolio. All those who already are owners of .FR domain names or wish to register new ones will benefit from this feature. Starting May 2012, web site owners will be able to buy domain names with accents and special characters.

On February 3, Afnic, the organization that manages French domain names, announced the introduction of special characters in web addresses ending with .FR (France), .RE (La Réunion), .TF (French Southern and Antarctic Lands), .WF (Wallis and Futuna), .PM (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon) and .YT (Mayotte).

A total of 30 new characters will be introduced, including almost all accented vowels (à, é, è, î, ô, ù ...), also the "i" and some consonants like "ñ" or "ß" (double "s" in German). Prior to this, domain names were restricted to numbers and Latin letters without accents.

The AFNIC will implement the launch of IDNs (internationalized Domain Names), in two stages;

• 3 May 2012: Launch of the IDN sunrise period with the "Grandfathering" rule.
• 3 July 2012: Opening with IDN attribution according to the "first come, first served" rule.

Between May 3 and July 3, 2012, the owners of a domain name will be given the opportunity to buy different versions of their name with special characters. For example, societe.fr will be the only buyer who can purchase société.fr. However, after this two-month period, purchase of domain names will be open to all buyers. No privilege will be given to domain owners with the equivalent name without the special characters and a domain name will be sold to the first person who wants to buy it. So it is essential that one secures their web addresses and protect individual brand names before someone else does.

The "sunrise" or the "Grandfathering" is designed to protect the acquired rights of existing domain owners. The name requested should be the exact equivalent of the name previously held. The requested name is registered in the same extension as the name filed initially in the ASCII (the code that allows only unaccented characters). For .e.g. the owner of "societe.fr" may save "société.fr" but not "société.re". On the other hand the holder of a name such as "Muller-strasse.fr" may choose three possible variants of this name, namely "Müller-straße.fr", "Muller-straße.fr" and "Müller- strasse.fr "or only one of them. Registering one of these options will retain his rights for a possible subsequent registration because the accents do not induce any change in meaning of the name in ASCII.

Remember this opening of IDNs only concerns 30 new characters: ß, to, á, â, ã, ä, å, æ, ç, è, é, ê, ë, ì, í, î, ï, ñ, ò, ó, ô, õ, ö, ù, ú, û, ü, ý, ÿ, ow. Cyrillic and Arabic characters are not accepted at this time.

For more information on IDNs and/or to register .FR domain names please do not hesitate to contact our sales team at sales@eurodns.com

ICANN renews policy- WHOIS database to be updated

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:55:42 +0100

According to ICANN’s renewed emphasis on its already existing policy, it is important for all domain owners to observe the practice of maintaining updated contact information for their domain names in the WHOIS database, an online directory where the general public can look up domain names using the WHOIS search tool.

WHOIS is an Internet database that contains information on domain names including the name servers associated with the domain name, the domain registrar and the administrative, billing and technical contacts with postal and email addresses. Each domain registrar maintains a WHOIS database with all contact information for the domain names hosted on their servers.

As a registrant it is essential to keep personal information such as a working contact email address for your domain updated in the WHOIS database through your ICANN accredited Registrars. A registrar may contact the e-mail address on file to notify the domain name owner of domain expiration, transfer attempts, and general domain management information. In case the information is not updated or accurate the registrars have the authority to delete the domain name, allowing someone else to register the same domain name.

ICANN’s policy requires registrars to maintain the accuracy of the domain name owners’ contact details in the WHOIS database. Domain expiration for registrants can be troublesome. ICANN provides for a redemption period, during which the registrar temporarily deactivates the expired domain name. But reactivating the domain name during this period requires a reactivation fee of $250 USD. More importantly, one can lose important incoming e-mails and experience unavailability of the related website. Domain name expiration can seriously impact the business of the domain name owner.

By implementing this policy, ICANN is taking measures to reduce the number of “unreachable” WHOIS registrations by 50% within 12 months.

By practicing good domain name management one can avoid expiration of their domains. The process is easy and just takes a few minutes to implement. To update information and maintain the accuracy of one’s WHOIS entry, a registrant needs to flourish accurate information to their registrars who in turn will have to log into the domain control panel and enter the most recent contact details for the domain name. It is recommended that all registrants update their complete record, including phone, address, e-mail and company information. A notification will be sent by the registrars at least once a year and/or 120 days prior to the expiration of a domain requesting the owner to verify his/her details. This will help ensure that one receives notices about renewals, transfers and domain management.

If you need any further assistance with updating your contact details please do not hesitate to contact our sales team at sales@eurodns.com

ICANN introduces Trademark Clearinghouse

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:53:39 +0100

ICANN introduces Trademark Clearinghouse for protecting new gTLDs

Following ICANN’s recent announcement that from January 12 until April 12, 2012, any legal entity can file an application with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers) for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), ICANN has notified that it will hire a third party to implement a Trademark Clearinghouse. The Trademark Clearinghouse will help keep a database of registered trademarks for all new gTLD registries that will connect their systems to it and will also act as a central storehouse of trademark information.

The trademark clearinghouse that ICANN is in the process of establishing will be required to provide two primary functions:

• Authentication and validation of the trademarks in the Clearinghouse
• Serving as a database to provide information to the new gTLD registries to support pre-launch Sunrise or Trademark Claims Services

In today's online world there are 22 different generic top-level domains (gTLDs). This list which includes .com, .net, .org, .gov, .biz and the recently launched .xxx are the most popular extensions. As per the new gTLD program, unlimited gTLDs will be released and anyone can apply for new website domains specific to their businesses. For the first time generic TLDs will be able to include words in non-Latin languages, such as Cyrillic, Chinese or Arabic and can also be specific to a business or product. For e.g. .cars, .cola, .watches, .nike, .football, .nokia, .starbucks, etc.

ICANN plans to have the Trademark Clearinghouse for new gTLDs up and running by October 2012, giving companies three months to submit their trademarks to the Clearinghouse before the first new gTLDs go live in early 2013.

Being listed in this Trademark Clearinghouse is important for the protection of one’s brand. Entering a registered trademark into the Trademark Clearinghouse database will allow trademark owners to obtain some important protections that would otherwise not be available. Registries will give owners of trademarks entered in the Trademark Clearinghouse the right to register a domain name consisting of the trademark before registration is available to the general public. For example, the registry that owns .coffee will offer Starbucks the right to purchase starbucks.coffee before it is available to the public. Also, those attempting to register a domain name that is in the Trademark Clearinghouse will be notified that the proposed domain name is a trademark while owners of those trademarks, and if entered in the Trademark Clearinghouse, will receive notifications when someone tries to register a domain name that is identical to their trademarks.

In addition, brand owners will benefit from the introduction of the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS). The URS is designed to provide an expedited procedure for addressing clear cases of infringement against trademarks. The URS would exist alongside the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which also addresses matters of trademark infringement in domain names. While the UDRP provides for transfer of a contested domain name to the rights holder, the URS is intended to provide a faster (and less expensive) means to stop the operation of an abusive site.

Help is available to make the complex topic of new gTLDs and related Trademark Clearinghouse easier to understand. Providers such as EuroDNS’ partner OpenRegistry.com offers all the necessary tools and expertise to prepare for a successful gTLD application and operate the extension for the next ten years on their state-of-the-art infrastructure.

This will be a revolution in the world of domain names. EuroDNS plans to offer the most exciting extensions as soon as they are available, in the meantime don’t hesitate to get in touch to see how we and our partners can help!

sales@eurodns.com
info@openregistry.com

.XXX failed sunrise names up for registration

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:51:18 +0100

.XXX unsuccessful domain names from the sunrise launch period available for registration

The ICM Registry, the registry for the .XXX domain extension, announced on February 14th, 2012, that all failed Sunrise A and B applications will become available for registration starting at 16:00 UCT the same day and will be available for registration on a first-come, first-serve basis like any other unregistered .XXX domain.

.XXX is the only top-level domain (TLD) designed exclusively for adult entertainment content, making it attractive to both consumers and domain investors. The launch of .XXX opened up a world of possibilities with domain names that were previously unavailable in other extensions.

Applicants who could not successfully procure .XXX domains during the Sunrise phase can now attempt to register active and blocked domain names from the Sunrise period. These domain names can be minimum three to 63 characters in length. They can contain English-language letters A through Z, digits 0 through 9, and hyphens (except at the beginning, end, or in both the third and fourth position of the domain name). Internationalized domain names (IDNs), spaces, and special characters (such as !, $, and &) are not allowed.

Members of the Sponsored Community who did not qualify for the Sunrise period can also apply for registering these highly sought after domain names.

One must complete the ICM Registry's free membership application process before their domain names can resolve to the internet. You will receive an email from the registry within 24 hours of purchasing a .XXX domain name and will be provided further information on completing the process. The registry might request additional documentation to validate the membership. After the registry validates the membership, one needs to submit their membership credentials (ID) to the registry.

Applicants outside the sponsored adult entertainment community can purchase defensive registrations to block domain names from becoming .xxx domain names on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants with defensive registrations must pay a time fee of € 63.53 to register the domain names but are not required to complete the ICM Registry's membership application process. Instead, the registry places those domain names on non-resolving nameservers.

For more information on registering .XXX domain names please do not hesitate to contact EuroDNS sales team at sales @eurodns.com

Happy Registration!

Special Limited Time Discount on .LU Domain Name

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:53:08 +0100

As part of EuroDNS special limited time promotion on domain name extensions the .LU domain name is now on offer at an exclusive price of just €12.49. Benefit from this unique offer and register .LU today by using promo code PRLU12A, valid for the next two weeks only.

The .LU domain can be easily identified by the general public and is appropriate for companies and individuals having a connection with Luxembourg. Anyone can register a .LU domain name; the process is easy and fast.

Luxembourg is one of Europe's largest financial centers. It is located at the heart of Europe and IT giants such as Amazon, iTunes, Microsoft, eBay, PayPal and Skype have their European headquarters established here. Furthermore, it is part of the Benelux region together with the Netherlands and Belgium and a member state of the European Union (EU). In fact Luxembourg’s location, competitive environment and infrastructure provide an ideal platform for a flourishing business.

Daniel Eisenhut, the Chief Sales Officer of EuroDNS said, "It is that time again when we are able to offer an exceptional discount on a specific extension for our valued customers. Following the success of the .NL promotion, it is our pleasure to announce this unique offer on the .LU domain name, and we aim to continue doing our best to ensure that our customers are able to take advantage of market leading prices." Daniel also added, "We would like to take this opportunity and remind our customers that we do a lot more than just registering domain names. We have a large portfolio of generic (gtlds) as well as country code (cctlds) extensions to offer along with premium domains on the secondary market. Additionally, we offer various complementary solutions and services such as email and collaboration on the cloud, monitoring and recovering of domain names. We also provide an anycast DNS network through ProDNS, issue SSL certificates and offer domain research services." To assist you with your domain requirements please visit http://www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com

The .LU ccTLD (country code top-level domain) is a popular extension which supports the registration of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) with accented characters. To register .LU at an unbeatable offer price of € 12.49 with EuroDNS use promo code PRLU12A. For the registration process please visit EuroDNS's website here http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Luxembourg/Lu

To discover more promotions on domain extensions currently offered by EuroDNS check out the offers here: http://www.eurodns.com/offers/.

In addition please note that EuroDNS releases new promo codes in its monthly newsletter. There will be more deals on domain extensions in the newsletter's February edition, so don’t forget to subscribe with EuroDNS here http://www.eurodns.com/newsletter/ to receive our newsletters directly to your inbox.

EuroDNS & LuxCloud at Parallels Summit 2012

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:22:14 +0100

Meet EuroDNS & LuxCloud at Parallels Summit 2012 in Orlando, Florida on Feb 14th-16th EuroDNS and LuxCloud part of the well known DCL Group are Silver sponsors of Parallels Summit 2012 and will be exhibiting at the conference taking place on February 14-16, in Orlando, Florida.

Parallels Summit is the place to gain exclusive and comprehensive insight into the lucrative business opportunities with SMBs in 2012. This is the premier conference for service providers and web designers looking to rapidly and profitably deliver the widest range of integrated, easy-to-use Cloud services that small businesses are eager to acquire.

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider internet adoption.

LuxCloud is a market leading provider of cloud computing services, allowing companies to quickly launch and profitably deliver the cloud services demanded by small- and medium-sized businesses. LuxCloud is a SaaS delivery platform that automates billing and provisioning of SaaS services. The platform is open to ISPs and VARs that want to benefit from an increasing demand for Hosted Services.

Parallels Summit 2012 will be the opportunity to hear the latest news from the industry with Lorenz Meis, COO, LuxCloud, speaking on the topic ‘’Get to market quickly with no upfront costs’’ on Wednesday, 15th February at 2.45pm.

Parallels Summit 2012 will be a great networking opportunity as it will give you a chance to meet over 1200 industry influencers. Get together with industry peers from Cloud service providers, hosters, ISVs and other industry influencers, to build relationships while you share and learn best practices that can help you improve your business.

For more information on the date or the program check out http://www.parallels.com/summit/2012/

If you are interested to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com or sales@luxcloud.com

We look forward to meeting you at the Parallels Summit 2012, taking place on the 14th-16th of February in Orlando, Florida.

EuroDNS Announces Special Limited Time Promotion

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:54:14 +0100

EuroDNS announces special promotion on .NL domain extension. Register .NL domain name today with EuroDNS at an unbeatable price of € 3.99. Use promo code PRNL2012B valid for two weeks only!

A domain with .NL makes a web address unique and easy to memorize. It enables individuals and organizations to protect their businesses online and to reach and communicate with audiences in the Netherlands. .NL is one of the most popular country code domains in the world helping companies with local and international opportunities. Any company can maximize their revenues by registering a Dutch domain name which will provide relevant and localized information about their product and services.

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy that depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is also noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub.

.NL was the first ccTLD ever to be registered. SIDN (Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland) is the registry for the .NL tld and is responsible for issuing and managing the use of .NL domain names. What’s more? There are no restrictions on registering a .NL domain name. All companies and individuals that have a connection with The Netherlands would benefit from the extension and so will any organization willing to secure their online presence globally.

.NL domain name helps expand ones web profile and corporate image. To register a .NL domain name at a special offer price of just € 3.99, visit EuroDNS here; http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Netherlands/Nl

‘’Our aim is to provide our customers with the best price in the market, hence we have come up with great value limited time offers on specific domain extensions, to be announced every two weeks’’ said Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS. ‘’Now our customers can get their choice of domain names at a price that they have always wanted.’’ He also added, ‘’we would like to take this opportunity and remind our customers that we do a lot more than just registering domain names. We have a large portfolio of generic (gtlds) as well as country code (cctlds) extensions to offer along with premium domains on the secondary market. Additionally we offer various complementary solutions and services such as email and collaboration on the cloud; monitoring and recovering of domain names. We also provide an anycast DNS network through ProDNS, issue SSL certificates and offer domain research services.’’ To assist you with your domain requirements please visit our website or speak to one of our sales representative at sales@eurodns.com

To discover more promotions on domain extensions currently offered at EuroDNS check out the offers page of our website here; http://www.eurodns.com/offers/.

In addition please note that EuroDNS releases new promo codes as part of its monthly newsletter.Check deals on domain extensions such as .LU, .NET, .TV, .INFO, .COM, .NET, in the January’s edition of our newsletter. Don’t forget to subscribe with us here http://www.eurodns.com/newsletter/ to receive the February issue of our newsletter directly in your inbox.

About EuroDNS
EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. http://www.eurodns.com

Meet EuroDNS at DOMAINfest 2012

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:46:41 +0100

EuroDNS, a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be present at Domainfest Global in Santa Monica, CA, on January 31st to February 2nd 2012.

DomainFest Global is a conference held for online marketers, publishers and domain investors to share insights uncover emerging trends and discuss the ongoing industry practices. This conference also ensures unmatched networking opportunities with over 700 internet professionals from 30 countries.

EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider internet adoption.

If you are interested to meet and discuss opportunities with our expert on location, Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS, please contact our sales team at sales@eurodns.com to arrange a meeting.

We look forward to meeting you at DomainFest Global 2012 in Santa Monica, CA, on the January 31st – February 2nd.

ICANN announces opening of new gtlds

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:42:58 +0100

Since January 12th until April 12th 2012, every candidate with a custom extension is able to file an application with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers) to obtain a new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

In today's online world there are 22 different generic top-level domains (gTLDs). This list which includes .com, .net, .gov and the recently launched .xxx plus all the 18 other gTLDs will soon be expanded to include all types of words in many different languages. For the first time generic TLDs will be able to include words in non-Latin languages, such as Cyrillic, Chinese or Arabic.

Now any legal entity can apply for its own new gTLD, however, application process is expected to be thorough and exacting. To be awarded a new gTLD, applicants will need to provide a secure and reliable technical infrastructure, as well as demonstrate a long-term ability to enforce policy for and administer the domain. This prerequisite will help reinforce ICANN’s primary mission of maintaining DNS stability and security.

Help is available to make it easier. However, providers such as EuroDNS’ partner OpenRegistry.com offer all the necessary tools and expertise to prepare for a successful gTLD application and operate the extension for the next ten years on their state-of-the-art infrastructure.

As ICANN has begun accepting applications for new gTLDs on January 12th, hundreds of new extensions may be introduced until April 12th, 2012. It is expected that registrations in the new gTLD could be available as early as 2013.The new gTLDs will likely fall into the following categories:

• Brands - Brand owners, such as corporations, sports teams, and other high-profile entities, can protect their brands and trademarks, enhance brand trust, and create new ways to extend their brand and services to partners, resellers, and customers.
• Communities - Groups of like-minded organizations that share common missions, goals, and challenges can promote commercial or non-commercial offerings to better promote, protect, guide, and serve their communities.
• Cities or Regions (Geographic) - Cities and regions can promote greater recognition of their areas, generate additional revenue, and better serve constituents.
• Generic Terms - This category covers terms that do not fall under the previous three categories. Forward-thinking organizations and innovative entrepreneurs could pursue new business opportunities or build their online presence.

By March 29th, 2012, applicants must subscribe into the TLD Application System (TAS) to be able to submit their application. April 12th, 2012 will be the final day for submitting all applications.

This will be a revolution in the world of domain names. EuroDNS plans to offer the most exciting extensions as soon as they are available, in the meantime don’t hesitate to get in touch to see how we and our partners can help!

sales@eurodns.com
info@openregistry.com

Price hike for .COM and.NET

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:58:01 +0100

ICANN, (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) authorized the principal registries of the .COM, and the .NET. to increase their prices in 2007. Since the revised contract was signed between Verisign and ICANN to maintain and manage the .COM registry in 2006, the price for the most popular TLD in the world has increased consistently over the past few years and on January 14th, 2012, .COM prices were hiked once again.

With this raised contract, Verisign has the authority to increase .COM prices by 7% every year with a 6 month notice to its Registrars. Furthermore, a similar contract signed in June last year for the .NET allows registries to increase their prices by 10%. These price increases indicate that every registrar most probably will have to increase their prices for .COM and .NET.

In these past six years, however, EuroDNS has never increased their prices for the .COM and the.NET and to remain consistent with our prices we offer to our customers, we do not intend to increase the prices in the near future either. As always we only promise to serve you better with the best we can.

What’s more? EuroDNS is running a special promotion this month on the .NET! So hurry and take advantage of the special offer and book your favorite .NET domain name today for only €5.99 use promo code NLNET12A.

That’s not all; we have many more attractive offers on various other extensions for you. To view our current offers please visit http://www.eurodns.com/offers/

2011 Trade shows and Events

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:27:12 +0100

2011 was an eventful year for EuroDNS as we participated in many tradeshows and events taking place all over the world.

The year started with EuroDNS being present at Domain pulse which took place in Vienna, Austria on February 17-18, 2011. Domain pulse is the most important event in the German-speaking world for current topics and trends associated with domain names. The event was hosted by the Austrian Registry nic.at.

On February 22-24, 2011, EuroDNS along with its partner LuxCloud, a market leading provider of cloud computing services, took part in Parallels Summit 2011 as Silver sponsors of the event, which took place in Orlando, FL. Parallels Summit was the place to gain exclusive and comprehensive insight into the lucrative business opportunities with SMBs in 2011.

Concurrently on February 23-25 2011, EuroDNS was Platinum sponsor of Punta 2011, the 3rd International Internet Marketing & Domaining Conference held in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. The conference provided a great opportunity to make new businesses, improve the performance of activities, network with other domainers and helped in updating one's knowledge in all areas of this market.

Shortly after, EuroDNS took part in Domain Roundtable as Gold Sponsors of the event was hosted in the Bahamas on March 1-4, 2011. Domain Roundtable is an annual conference focusing on domain names and new products, technologies and companies in the domain marketplace.

EuroDNS was also Gold sponsors at WorldHostingDays along with its partner LuxCloud. The event took place in Rust, Germany on March 22 – 25, 2011. WorldHostingDays – formerly known as WebHostingDays - is the world's largest hosting event.

More recently, EuroDNS exhibited at DomainvermarkterForum in Hamburg on September 8-9, 2011. The show was an opportunity for EuroDNS to introduce brand new domain name related portals including domainAPI and domainReseller.
• DomainAPI offers cloud based webservices that regroup all major lookup, data and transaction functions of the domain name industry.
• DomainReseller offers a single point entry to domain name registration.

That same month EuroDNS was Gold sponsor of Domain Meeting which took place in Warsaw on September 22, 2011. DomainMeeting.pl is the largest domain industry conference in Poland, which targets a wide audience, including entrepreneurs, investors and owners of websites.

Finally on October 14, 2011 EuroDNS was Silver sponsor of the fifth edition of MeetDomainers, a domain investors meeting, which was held in Warsaw, Poland. Indeed MeetDomainers is the perfect place for buying and selling domains, signing contracts and observing new technologies.

After an exciting year of travel, networking and business opportunities, EuroDNS looks forward to a promising 2012. Always a key factor in the domain name industry is keeping abreast with the latest developments, be it the release of new extensions or the latest technologies available, we make sure to do our best to be able to serve you better.

Stay tuned to know more about upcoming events and shows. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter here; http://www.eurodns.com/newsletter/

EuroDNS in 2011- a Recap!

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:10:45 +0100

EuroDNS wishes everyone a very happy new year 2012.

2011 was a busy year for EuroDNS and we would like to share our highlights.

Last year EuroDNS customers witnessed the launch of ProDNS, had new extensions on offer like the much talked about .XXX and saw the deployment of Afternic’s Domain Listing Service. Our IT department has been busy working on improving our platform, resulting in the first upgrade being released this week. We also participated in 8 tradeshows around the world, using the opportunity to gather feedback and ideas for 2012. The EuroDNS team also saw internal improvements with a senior management re-organization with the exciting mission to take the company to the next level of success in 2012.

Early last year EuroDNS proudly announced its partnership with ProDNS. ProDNS is built on a Distributed Anycast platform, which ensures maximum uptime and resilience.As an Authorised Value-Added Reseller of ProDNS, EuroDNS is now offering its customers the enhanced service of ProDNS unique multiple AnyCast networks!

You may have noticed we carried out an upgrade to our platform on Monday 16th of January, 2012. This was to ensure the system is capable of supporting our customers for the future and give us more flexibility to enhance the product range, flexibility and usability of our systems. Over the next 12 months you will notice similar changes on other part of our systems and product ranges. The new interface (internally referred to as ‘v3’) will bring a lot of constructive changes for the EuroDNS website. To name a few that are immediately visible; we now display prices in your preferred currency; USD and British Pounds in addition to Euros and have also integrated payment options by PayPal. You can now make use of our Namemedia API and Domain API and can now also use/benefit from our DomainRecovery services.

In 2012 we will continue to improve our systems, website and products. If there is something you’d like to see us offer, please feel free to email your suggestions to feedback@eurodns.com and we will take that into account in our future plans.

The year was also filled with exciting promotions and offers on domain extensions. Some popular ones from the year 2011 were .ME, .FR, .DE, .EU, .NL, .BE, .INFO, and .AT amongst others. In addition to the .XXX, the COM.DE (Centralnic.) was also introduced.

In November 2011 EuroDNS observed two important events. First the company saw a top management re-org where Xavier Buck, former CEO of EuroDNS, stepped up to become the new President and Chairman of the Board while Lutz Berneke took over as EuroDNS CEO. The next important event was the integration of Premium Domain Marketplacein the EuroDNS API, through Afternic DLS. As part of this, EuroDNS deployed Afternic’s unique“Instant Transfer” technology for domain sales.

During this period, in response to significant traffic growth and customer feedback, in order to provide our customers with a more robust platform, EuroDNS moved from two nameservers to four in geographically diverse locations.

As we look forward to yet another eventful year and strive to provide all our customers with the best domain name experience, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for being a part of the fantastic year we had at EuroDNS.

Please stay tuned for this year’s events, offers on domain extensions and news by subscribing to our monthly newsletter here http://www.eurodns.com/newsletter/

Domain Extension Offers and Promos at EuroDNS

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:06:32 +0100

It is that time of the year again where fun, frolic and festivities surrounds our lives. As we gear up for yet another Christmas, we at EuroDNS would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

As a part of our Christmas wishes we will be releasing our traditional voucher codes. These voucher codes will be valid till December 31, 2011. Don’t miss the opportunity to avail of the latest offers at EuroDNS. We are currently offering great discounts on many domain extensions.

Let us give you a sneak peak to some of these offers;

.AT available for € 19.20 use promocode DECAT to avail of this offer

.ME available for € 10 use promocode IAMME to avail of this offer

.CH available for €17.88 use promocode CHD2011 to avail of this offer

.CO.NZ available for € 27.20 use promocode JACONZ11 to avail of this offer

.COM available for € 10.80 use promocode COMDEC to avail of this offer

.IM available for € 6.00 use promocode IAMIM to avail of this offer

.IT available for € 11.20 use promocode RENEWIT11 to avail of this offer

.NL available for € 11.70 use promocode NLXMAS11 to avail of this offer

.RU available for € 6:00 use promocode RUVDNG to avail of this offer

To know more about our current offers you may visit our website http://www.eurodns.com/offers/

To receive our Christmas voucher codes please make sure you sign up for our monthly newsletter http://www.eurodns.com/newsletter/ here or alternatively follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook before next week.

FR domain name now available for Euro 9 at EuroDNS

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:11:09 +0100

Celebrating the opening of the .FR domain name to Europe now available for €9 at EuroDNS.

On 6 December 2011, AFNIC the Registry for the .fr extension extended eligibility to register .fr domain names to residents and legal entities throughout the European Union. Previously domain holders needed a local presence to be able to register .fr names.

This hugely popular TLD currently represents a third of all domain registrations in France with over 2.1 million names registered and the number is growing rapidly.
At EuroDNS we take this opportunity to celebrate this opening by offering a 50% discount to all our customers who will use the promo code SOFR4EU11. By using this offer the extension will be available for registration at €9. The offer is valid till 31 December, 2011.

Come be a part of this celebrated moment and register your .FR with EuroDNS here.

NORID Announces Changes in Complaint Fee Procedure

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:00:54 +0100

NORID Announces Changes in the Complaint Fee Procedure for Registering and Renewing .NO Domains

NORID - the Norwegian registry for Internet domain names - announced recently that as of November 30, 2011, the complaint fee procedure for registering or renewing a .NO domain name will be modified so that a domain holder who loses a complaint in the dispute resolution body, must cover the complaint fee.

As a result to the increase of quota from 20 to 100 maximum .NO domain names applicable to companies and other organizations, the complaint fee procedure has been changed. The modification in the procedure means that a domain holder losing a complaint in the Dispute Resolution body will need to cover the related complaint fee.

In addition existing .NO domain holders might also be charged with a fee that did not exist at the time they registered their domains. All domain holders will be informed about any additional fee so that they can choose not to renew their domain name if they do not accept the change of policy.

The Dispute Resolution Committee is a fast and inexpensive alternative to taking matters to court. It is an independent entity which processes complaints about rights to a domain name or appeals against decisions made by Norid.

Please note that the complaint fee procedure only affects organizations, not private individuals with a priv.no domain. There will be no changes made to the complaint deadline of three years, so domains that are registered before 30 November 2008 will not be affected.

For more information please kindly get in touch with EuroDNS Support team at support@eurodns.com

.XXX General Availability opens December 6, 2011

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:33:13 +0100

After the grand success of the Sunrise and Landrush periods, the General Availablity period for the .XXX domain extension opens on Wednesday, December 6, 2011. From this date the .XXX will be open to all, according to the principle "first come, first served" basis. This means that the sooner you will place your order the better chance you will have to get the name you want.

Members of the adult sponsored community can now apply without pre-existing rights or qualifications unlike in the previous launch periods.

For those who are non-members of the adult Sponsored Community, this period is a chance for you to protect your brand and company names as well as your personal names, by applying for a defensive registration.

So hurry and register your .XXX domain name with EuroDNS now!

Opening of the .fr and other AFNIC TLDs to Europe

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:47:43 +0100

Opening of the .fr and other TLDs operated by AFNIC to the European Union

As of 6 December 2011, AFNIC the Registry for the .fr extension will extend the eligibility to register .fr domain names to residents and legal entities throughout the European Union. Previously domain holders needed a local presence to be able to register .fr names.

AFNIC (the French Network Information Center) is the registry for the Internet domain names .fr (France) and .re (Reunion Island) among others.

On 6th of December all private individuals and public enterprises will be able to enjoy maximum visibility among French Internet users by choosing a .fr domain name. As one of the largest countries in Europe the .fr namespace is a prospective one. Recently the extension crossed the two million registration mark. This opening will be a great opportunity to promote the different territories operated by the AFNIC.

AFNIC will also allow European residents and legal entities to apply for the following TLDs which have previously been closed for registration to non French entities;

•    .re (Reunion Island)
•    .wf (Wallis and Futuna)
•    .pm (St Pierre and Miquelon)
•    .tf (French Southern Territories)
•    .yt (Mayotte)

The above will be subject to the same registration rules as the .fr TLD.

Backed by a naming policy that respects the public interest, strict attention to the rights of third parties, and stringent standards in terms of technical quality, AFNIC maintains the .fr namespace with a high level of stability and performance, ensuring that .fr domain names remain accessible from anywhere on the Internet.

Hurry! Book your .fr domain name today with EuroDNS

For further information about the registration process contact EuroDNS Sales Team at sales@eurodns.com

Meet.Me Sold for $450,000;.ME in Demand!

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:47:55 +0100

Meet.Me Sold for $450,000 triggering demand for .ME Domain Names
Recently Meet.Me was sold for a world record price of $450,000 by the MostWantedDomains.com Brokers. This has raised the bar for the other .ME domain names especially the domains with verbs, call to action type of domains as well as other bang on domains, in other words; .ME is competing with the supremacy of the .COM.

The Domain was jointly owned by Worldwide Media, Inc., Rick Schwartz and Ammar Kubba. The name was acquired at a TRAFFIC auction for $5,890 just over three years ago. This sale was ranked the 7th highest sale of the year on DnJournal.com, YTD chart and the 3rd highest non-.com sale of 2011.

.Me has proved to be a great occurrence in the world of TLDs. With its unforgettable meaning and limitless word combination possibilities, .Me gives a truly personal tone to ones domain name. It is considered a great choice by a lot of people for its uniqueness as it is a domain name that ‘speaks for itself’.

.Me has enormous prospects as it is creative, personal and relatable. The domain's popularity is partly due to its versatility across different languages, as the word "me" has a similar meaning in a number of languages.

Domain names like Date.Me, Marry.Me, Love.Me, Use.Me and Text.Me are unique domain names for businesses and subsequent to the huge sale of Meet.Me, the .ME domain extension is in even greater demand in the market of domain names.

So hurry and book your favorite domain name before the best ones are taken.

Register your .ME today with EuroDNS here!

EuroDNS Announces Launch of Domain Marketplace

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:44:17 +0100

EuroDNS Announces Launch of Premium Domain Marketplace Through Afternic DLS.

New Technology Gives Domain Buyers Instant Access to Purchases.

EuroDNS today announced the deployment of Afternic’s unique “Instant Transfer” technology for domain sales. Effective immediately EuroDNS’ website allows its customers to purchase a secondary market domain name directly from the Domain Listing Service (DLS) of Afternic. The integration also means that domain name owners registered at EuroDNS wishing to sell their domains benefit from direct access to more than 50 million prospective buyers that access Afternic’s DLS each month.

“Through our partnership with Afternic’s DLS and the launch of the new Instant Transfer technology we are delighted to offer our customers immediate and direct access to premium domain names,” said Lutz Berneke, the recently appointed CEO of EuroDNS. “All buyers and sellers will benefit from the new platform, which represents for domain buyers a ‘one-stop-shop’ to the world's largest domain portfolio, and for domain sellers access to the best global platform for listing their name for sale.

As domain names continue to be the centerpiece of effective online marketing, buyers looking for just the right name for their business are increasingly turning to the secondary domain market—the market for pre-registered domains offered for sale by their owner. Afternic has built the industry’s largest global network for the trading of secondary market domains and
EuroDNS is now fully integrated into the purchasing system. This way, buyers are able to order pre-registered domain names directly from within EuroDNS’ API. All that is required is to add the premium domain names in one’s shopping cart for customers to buy that secondary market domain name instantly. No need to go through any additional administrative measures that other, legacy marketplaces require; the whole process is automated so that customer wishing to opt for premium domains can do so smoothly and effectively following the same simple steps needed for the registration of a primary domain name.

“The benefits of this new service are manifold,” said Jason Miner, the General Manager at Afternic. “Not only can domain buyers start tapping into millions of the world’s best domain names and complete the transaction in record time thanks to this “Instant Transfer” technology, but that very functionality makes domains more appealing to retail buyers because the transaction is effortless, and gives the buyer immediate access to and control of the name purchased.”

With branch offices throughout Europe as well as America and Asia, EuroDNS has established accreditation with over 70 registries worldwide offering more than 300 international domain extensions. EuroDNS customers had therefore already countless options to choose from when registering new domains. With the addition of the inventory of millions of secondary market domains from Afternic’s DLS, EuroDNS will be one of the first in Europe to offer this opportunity for domain buyers to easily search and buy a premium domain name. Likewise the implementation of Afternic’s DLS now enables domain owners to be connected to more than 50 million prospective buyers every month. Following a simple registration process, owners of domains registered with EuroDNS have the opportunity to list their domains for sale on Afternic’s DLS. Doing so will allow the names to be displayed on the search results to prospective buyers at EuroDNS but also under every domain registrar connected to the Afternic‘s DLS, including six of the top ten registrars globally. Such wide exposure brings additional value and liquidity to the domain aftermarket while eliminating barriers to sale, increasing returns for domain sellers.

For more information on NameMedia and EuroDNS, please go to: http://www.namemedia.com and http://www.eurodns.com

About Afternic and NameMedia
Afternic is the industry's leading full-service domain marketplace, delivering the highest sales velocity and highest average sales price to people interested in selling domains. Afternic is part of NameMedia, a leader in the acquisition, development and trading of digital real estate through a network of highly targeted websites and a marketplace for premium domain names. The company’s website development focuses on creating compelling online communities in niche categories. The company’s marketplace allows owners of premium domain names to list their domain properties for sale, and for domain buyers to review the largest available inventory. Through its ownership of one of the largest domain portfolios in the world, its innovative website development platform, and its broad distribution, NameMedia now serves more than 50 million visitors to its network of websites and sells domains to customers in more than 100 countries. Headquartered outside Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts, more information is available at http://www.namemedia.com.

About EuroDNS
EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. http://www.eurodns.com

EuroDNS Announces Changes In Its Management Team

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:54:41 +0100

Luxembourg November 16, 2011 - EuroDNS Announces Appointment of New Senior Management to Support the Company's Future Growth Plans

Effective immediately, EuroDNS has appointed Xavier Buck as the new President and Chairman of the Board while Lutz Berneke takes over as CEO. Reporting to Lutz are Macsen Galvin, COO and Daniel Eisenhut, CSO, Anouar Adlani remaining in his position as CTO.

Xavier Buck has been an Internet Entrepreneur since 1996. In 2000 he founded the DCL Group, a leading Internet and e-commerce company, consisting of the well known Datacenter Luxembourg, EuroDNS, voipGATE, eBrand Services and LuxCloud. Under his direction EuroDNS, created in 2002, has become one of the leading global Internet Registrars. Employing 50 staff in Luxembourg and a further 30 throughout the world, the company offers more than 300 extensions and manages around a million domain names.

Following his involvement with various other companies Xavier’s duties have multiplied over the past years; as a result of his busy schedule he has decided to step up allowing him to focus essentially on a strategy for the DCL Group and giving Lutz and his team the opportunity to take the company to the next level of success with the running of its operations.

Xavier Buck, the new President and Chairman of the Board, comments "We are in the process of rapidly expanding our presence in the world of domain names and want to put in place a team of highly experienced professionals to effectively guide our business plans. This internal reorganization will help us leverage the collective expertise of Lutz, Macsen, Daniel and Anouar”.

Previously CFO of EuroDNS, Lutz, in his new role as CEO, will be in charge of the day to day operations of the company, working closely with Xavier on the various strategies, implementing new policies for development and accelerating growth. Lutz comes from the German High Tech industry and held positions as CEO at GEA and at Bosch Security Systems and as CFO of KUKA Systems. “I thank Xavier for stepping up to his new role and giving me the opportunity to experience the expanded responsibilities of my new position as CEO” said Lutz Berneke. He will also continue his position as CEO of eBrand Services to leverage joint platform and product strategies.

Macsen Galvin has just joined EuroDNS as the new COO of the company. He brings with him over 15 years of core industry experience. In his previous job at Webfusion, the largest domain registrar and hosting company in the UK, he held the position of Development Director, Head of Product Management and Head of Technical Strategy. Macsen will work together with Lutz on the company’s future plans and policies.

Part of the EuroDNS team since September 2011, Daniel Eisenhut as EuroDNS CSO – Chief Sales Officer – is responsible for the company’s sales operations. Previously Daniel was in charge of International Business Development at InterNetX, an international provider of domains and hosting services for resellers.

Anouar Adlani, EuroDNS CTO, will continue to excel at leading EuroDNS IT Services.

After 4 years at EuroDNS, Nuno Soares, former Sales Director at EuroDNS, was appointed the new Director of a DCL Group Company to complete the global strategy of the group and focus on the secondary market.

We wish everyone all the very best with their new roles and future endeavors.

About EuroDNS
EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. http://www.eurodns.com

CoCCA Announces new Registration Policy

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:32:18 +0100

As of November 7, 2011, CoCCA (Council of Country Code Administrators), the registry provider for the ccTLDs .AF, .CX, .GS, .GY, .HT, .KI, .MS, .NF and .SB will amend the registration policies enforcing registry activation and confirmation.

On registration, renewal or change of registrant (i.e. change of ownership), the administrative contact or registrant will be sent two emails from the registry. One will be a "welcome" message from the sponsoring organization that advises the registrant of their rights and responsibilities as well as the contact information of their registrar; the second will be an "activation" email with a link that the recipient must click on to;

a.) accept the TLD Registrant Agreement and AUP (Acceptable Use Policy)

b.) confirm the validity of contact details provided by the registrar or reseller to the registry.

On renewal or change of registrant the policy must again be accepted and the contact details confirmed within 21 days or the domain will be suspended.

Register your .AF, .CX, .GS, .GY, .HT, .KI, .MS, .NF, .SB ccTLDs with EuroDNS here!

.IN crosses the 1 million registration mark!

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:26:01 +0100

.IN surpassed the 1 million registration mark in October 2011. The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) published the statistics, stating that the 1 million registrations included the second level domains, org.in, ac.in and co.in, as well as the .in domain type. This is not a huge number considering the population of India and the fact that a fair percentage of registrants are not from India. Nonetheless, it is still an exciting landmark for the TLD.

In early 2005, INRegistry, the Registry for .IN, had enabled all individuals and legal entities, to register .IN domain names without the need for any local presence. Under NIXI, the INRegistry functions as an autonomous body with primary responsibility for maintaining the .IN ccTLD and ensures its operational stability, reliability, and security. It implements the various elements of new policies set out by the Government of India and its Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

In November 2009, the number of registrations was 550,000 and in less than two years this number has doubled. The potential for further growth is enormous as the growth of India’s economy over the past decade has intensified facilitating the country’s information technology market.

Although India’s economy has grown substantially in the last decade, the technology infrastructure and the economy have not grown at the same rate. India boasts the third highest number of Internet users in the world, with 100 million people online, but this is only a relatively small 8% of the overall population. The country has over 800 million users of mobile phones, about 70% of the population and over 38 million social network users (an increase of over 12 million in the last 6 months).

It is expected that India, with its current economic growth rate will soon become a fore-runner in the information technology market. At the moment India has the third highest internet users in the world after China and the United States of America.

Register your .IN with EuroDNS here!

Celebrating 25 years of .DE!

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:28:29 +0100

On 5 November 2011, the German Top Level Domain .DE celebrated its 25th anniversary. It is the largest country code TLD with more than 14.6 million registered domains and about 3,000 new ones added daily. Furthermore it receives more than 7 billion name server queries per day. Dimensions that go beyond the imagination of even the most visionary Internet pioneer and that have fundamentally changed social and economic communication habits within only a quarter of a century. .DE has been elected by the Internet community as the TLD with the best brand image in 2010.

With more than 14.6 million registrations .DE currently has the most registrations in comparison with other country-specific top-level domains, followed by Great Britain (.UK) with around 9.7 million registered domains and the Netherlands (.NL) with 4.7 million registered domains. 25 years after the introduction of .DE, every sixth German has his own website under .DE. Furthermore, nearly 80 percent of all .DE domain holders are private persons.

.DE marked the emergence of the information technology 25 years ago in Germany on 5 November 1986 - when it was registered in the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) database. With this entry, domains with the country code for Germany were permitted to be registered for the first time in history. Nowadays every second about 100,000 times an Internet address ending with .DE is called up from somewhere in the world.

During the first ten years, administration and DNS service for .DE were provided by universities. Only in 1988, a German institution, the University of Dortmund, took over administration and care of the first six .DE domains (dbp.de, rmi.de, telenet.de, uka.de, uni-dortmund.de and uni-paderborn.de). In 1993, a foundation was established through the initiative of the then three German Internet Service Providers, the "Interessenverbund Deutsches Network Information Center (IV-DENIC)" to put out to tender the operation of the nationwide name server service. By 1994 the domain inventory had increased to about 1,000 domains and the tasks of the Deutsches Network Information Center (DENIC) were transferred to the data center of Karlsruhe. The number of domains reached 20,000 in 1996. DENIC also was the first country code registry that started to run its name server network completely independently in 2003. And in 2004, the Cooperative was one of the first TLDs that included IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) in their character set permitted for domain names.

By 2011 more than 200,000 second level domains under .DE are currently signed, the most renowned of them is paypal.de. According to a McKinsey study published in May 2011, the Internet sector as a key industry generates 3.2 percent of the German gross domestic product and thus – not only due to a growth rate of 24 percent in the last five years – has become a more important economic factor than the energy industry or agriculture. Even after 25 years .DE is and remains a critical element of this success.

Register your .DE with EuroDNS here!

The Sunrise period for .XXX ends in grand success!

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:33:38 +0100

With more than 80,000 requests for domain names registered by October 31, 2011, the first phases of .XXX ended with startling success. The next phase, the Landrush period, will start on November 8 until November 25, 2011, while General Availability will kick off on December 6, 2011.

Landrush is designed for those members of the adult Sponsored Community that want to secure premium .XXX domain names and guarantees either member the chance to purchase premium .XXX domain names or be involved in a closed auction to bid for .XXX domain names.

The .XXX was launched by ICM Registry (the registry for .XXX) on September 7, 2011 after being approved by ICANN in San Francisco on March 18, 2011.

The first phase or the Sunrise period was to initially end on October 28, 2011, but with the overwhelming demand it received, the ICM Registry extended the deadline by 3 more days.

On October 24, ICM Registry announced in a statement that it had already received over 42,000 requests, more than five times what was expected. A week later the Sunrise period ended with nearly double that amount. ICM reported that 78,938 trademarked and/or pre-owned names were submitted, while 1,524 other names were allocated as part of their Founders Program.
The two stages;

1. Land Rush, which opens on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011, is a restricted 17-day period set aside for members of the adult Sponsored Community who want to secure premium .XXX domain names. They will have a chance to either buy them outright or (in cases of multiple applicants for the same name) to participate in a closed mini-auction where they can bid for the names.

2. General Availablity, which opens on Wednesday, December 6, 2011, the. XXX will be open to all, according to the principle "first come, only served". This means domain names with only one application will be simply awarded while those with two or more applications will proceed to a closed mini-auction between the respective applicants.

Register your .XXX domain name with EuroDNS here!

The CO.NO Operator seeks Norwegian court ruling

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:17:28 +0200

The CO.NO Operator seeks Norwegian court ruling to protect its customers.

The Sunrise period for CO.NO domain name reserved to IP rights holders opened almost a year ago. Three months later, January 31st 2011, this opening phase was successfully completed and every approved application was activated. However, contrary to the announced schedule, the Go Live period for .CO.NO registration had to be postponed.

As mentioned in a previous press release, the .CO.NO Operator took this difficult decision to ensure that everything was clarified with the .NO Registry and to offer its customers and registrars partners the best and most stable service.

Read the full Press Release here!

About CO.NO
CO.NO should not be confused with .NO Domain names as registered by Norid, the Registry of the .NO extension. Norid is not involved in any way with the registration or servicing of CO.NO subdomains. See www.domain.co.no for details.

For more information on .CO.NO check out our .CO.NO TLD page or contact our sales team at sales@eurodns.com

EURid releases 9000 .EU domain names

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:23:45 +0200

EURid releases 9000 .EU domain names for registration after winning lawsuit

9,000 seized .EU domain names will be made available by EURid on a first-come, first-served basis order over a 48 hour period on 24 and 25 October, 2011.

EURid (the European Registry of Internet Domain Names) will now permit .EU domain names to be registered by anyone eligible whose request is received through a .EU accredited registrar and in keeping with the regulations. Any individual, organization and business residing within the European Union are eligible to register .EU domain names.

In 2006, EURid, ascertained that almost 9000 .EU domain names had been registered by a registrant in violation of .EU registration regulations. Following this EURid filed a lawsuit against this registrant and finally the Court of Appeal in Brussels decided in EURid’s favour.

As per the decision issued on 21 September 2010, the Court of Appeal found that these .eu domain names were registered in bad faith and therefore the registrations were to be terminated. Allowing time for subsequent appeals and legal notifications, EURid is now authorized to implement the final court order and revoke the .EU domain names concerned.

As a result 9000 .EU domain names are now available for registration. To deal with the large number of extensions, all domain names will be released every hour, in chronological order starting at 9 a.m on October 24, 2011.

Subsequent to the opening of the .EU most of these names were promptly registered including many brand names. So this could be your opportunity to own interesting domain names such as;

www.nokia-accessories.eu
www.sales-lentz.eu
www.telecom-paris.eu
www.mediawelcome.eu
www.ambulance-store.eu
www.phuket-hotels.eu
www.top-home.eu
www.euroam.eu
www.metalrock.eu
www.tourisme-alsace.eu

..and there are 8990 more to go!

You can view the list of all such .EU domain names at; http://www.eurid.eu/files/zheng-releaselist.pdf

To register your own .EU domain name, check out EuroDNS here.

Or to obtain more information about .EU registration please contact EuroDNS sales team at sales@eurodns.com

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

EuroDNS announces a brand new offer on Nameservers

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:18:59 +0200

In response to significant traffic growth and to provide our customers with a better domain name experience, we are pleased to announce a new improved nameserver offer with immediate effect.

Starting now EuroDNS customers will be able to enjoy a set of four (4) free nameservers instead of the two (2) offered previously. The upgrade will address the higher number of visitors to the website but also prevent our customer’s domain from going down in the occasion our systems or network encounter issues. The result is an improved quality of service!

The upgrade will be done automatically with all new domain name registration. Previously registered domains will be migrated step by step over the next few weeks. Two additional nameservers, NS3 and NS4 have been added outside of our infrastructure in two different locations to increase reliability. All registrations will now benefit from (4) name-servers when allowed by the related registry.

Should a customer have any doubt or need more information on the EuroDNS nameservers upgrade please contact EuroDNS support team at support@eurodns.com

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

ICANN Launches New Online Information Center

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:16:52 +0200

ICANN Launches New Online Information Center for New Generic Top-Level Domains

As an online home for information about New Generic Top Level Domain program ICANN has designed a new micro-site. This site can be accessed from a button on the home page of ICANN.ORG or by going directly to http://newgtlds.icann.org/.

This user- friendly micro-site is designed for everyone regardless of their knowledge of gTLDs. ICANN is in the midst of a major campaign to raise awareness around the world about the impact and possibilities of new gTLDs.

In a quest to ensure that the New gTLD Program is inclusive and accessible to all parts of the world, the ICANN community has created a sustainable approach to providing support to applicants, particularly those from developing economies as they apply for and operate new gTLDs.

The site is easy to use and all information’s about basic material can be found under the ‘’About’’ tab. Information on educational materials, interviews with CEOs of current internet registries and presentations on how to complete the application form is available under the ‘’Applications’’ tab. Potential applicants are also eligible for financial and non-financial assistance through the Applicant Support Program. You can check the status of your gTDL application from January 2012 under the ‘‘Program Status’’ tab. Journalists can check for latest news and events under the ‘’Announcements and Media ‘’ tab.

ICANN promises to be a multilingual platform. Many new gTLD related sources will be available, not only in English but in other languages, including factsheets and presentations.

This is just the beginning! Much more information and online tools are just a click away at http://newgtlds.icann.org/.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

.CN registrants to confirm registration

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:02:30 +0200

CNNIC has issued a notification to all .CN registrants to verify their registration.

EuroDNS was informed that the Verifications will be done by an email sent out by CNNIC containing a verification link to the email address appointed to the holder of every .CN domain name. Once this email reaches the registrant/their customers, they will need to read and click on the verification link provided in the .CN Registry email.

Failing to comply with the verification process will cause deletion of all such domain names.

If one’s domain name registration information is inaccurate and incomplete, please contact EuroDNS to modify it as soon as possible. EuroDNS will send all modified ID back to CNNIC for re-confirm purpose. Once CNNIC has confirmed the modification, CNNIC will send another confirmation email with the updated information to let the registrant/customer complete the confirmation process with a similar URL link. Registrant/customer will need to click that new URL link in order to finalize the confirmation process.

For more information please get in touch with EuroDNS Customer Care Department at support@eurodns.com

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

EuroDNS-Silver Sponsor of MeetDomainers

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:38:35 +0200

EuroDNS, a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions, is a silver sponsor of the fifth edition of the MeetDomainers- a domain investors meeting, taking place on October 14, 2011 in Warsaw, Poland.

MeetDomainers are inviting domain name investors from all over the world, companies connected with the domain secondary market, registrars and registries, and everyone interested in the future trends and earnings of the domain name industry.

EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest domain investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider internet adoption.

EuroDNS is sponsoring MeetDomainers as it is the perfect place for buying and selling domains, signing contracts and observing new technologies. There will be interesting domain name on offer for domainers and it will be the opportunity to meet web developers and SEO specialists.

For more informations and to register at the event please visit http://meetdomainers.eu/en/rejestracja/
Or contact sales@eurodns.com to arrange a meeting.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. http//www.eurodns.com

EuroDNS welcomes Germany’s new .COM.DE

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:19:52 +0200

The wait is over - EuroDNS welcomes Germany’s new domain .COM.DE. Get ready for the latest domain name as .COM.DE launches today at EuroDNS.

After 25 years of the strong presence of .DE it is an extremely exciting event to take place in the world of domain names. With two of the world’s favorite domain names side by side adding a .COM.DE to an internet presence gives one's website one of the highest search engine ranking across the world. Imagine the possibilities that this opportunity would bring to a business. Indeed the COM.DE is a great initiative as it will participate in driving success to one's company.

COM.DE – Germany much anticipated new domain - ensures a great opportunity to register highly desirable keywords, place names, domain with German characters and short domains at a very competitive price. So to get a desired pick of words for one's domain and this at an attractive price as well – Hurry and book the domain name you have always wanted with EuroDNS.

Anyone from anywhere around the world can register, there are no restrictions on registrations. This makes it suitable for all national and international focused German companies, as well as foreign companies with interest in the German market. It is an excellent branding tool as it functionally and technically equals to TLDs such as as .COM and .NET but with more benefits.

"Unlike the new German regional TLDs, .COM.DE is for all Germans, no matter where they live. This is a great opportunity to secure these domain names that may have been tied down with the .DE, some of them for as long as 25 years!" Xavier Buck, CEO, EuroDNS.

For more information on the .COM.DE check out the COM.DE TLD page.

Don’t miss the opportunity to register the COM.DE of your choice today!

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. http//www.eurodns.com

Meet us at Domain Meeting in Warsaw!

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:43:19 +0200

EuroDNS is gold sponsor of Domain Meeting which takes place in Warsaw on September 22, 2011.

The goal of the conference is to provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge of experienced practitioners in the domain and hosting industry.

While at the event don’t miss the opportunity to hear Adam Wagner, Sales Manager, Poland at EuroDNS, present on Domains – a business for registrars and an indispensible tool for management staff. The talk will be given in Polish and is scheduled that day - September 22, 2011 - at 3 pm.

DomainMeeting.pl is the largest domain industry conference in Poland, which targets a wide audience, including entrepreneurs, investors and owners of websites. It is addressed to the executives and senior managers of the field. The conference is a Polish initiative featuring presentations, lectures and workshops. The focus of the discussion will be on boosting innovation and its practical applications in modern business domain solutions with a special focus on:

• New generic domains,
• Secondary market,
• Law and taxes in domain trade,
• Domain development,
• The future of domain market.

For further information please visit www.domainmeeting.pl or contact our sales team at sales@eurodns.com to arrange a meeting.

.XXX Sunrise now open!

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:49:35 +0200

Press Release: The .XXX Sunrise now open at EuroDNS

Luxembourg, September 7, 2011 - EuroDNS (http://www.eurodns.com), a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, announces the opening of the .XXX Domain Name Sunrise at www.eurodns.com.

EuroDNS is glad to announce that the Sunrise phase for the new .XXX extension was successfully opened and will be available until October 28th, 2011. Secure your .XXX Domain Name; register for the Sunrise at www.eurodns.com.

The progressive new home for adult entertainment online

The Internet is home to a wealth of content, suitable for a wide range of ages and values. The adult entertainment industry has, and always will, account for a large amount of this content and while it is enjoyed by some, it is not suitable, or of interest, to all internet users. Regardless of your views on adult content, it's here to stay, so let's be adult about it.

Increasingly, internet users are coming into contact with content that they do not wish to see and in turn, others finding it hard to locate exactly what they are looking for, due to a decrease in availability for precise and clear domain names.

The creation of .XXX will create a clearly signposted place where adult entertainment can be accessed and allow surfers to have a clear idea of the nature of the site before they click, rather than after.

.XXX isn't just a helpful distinction. It's the progressive new home for adult entertainment online.

As authorized registrar for the .XXX, EuroDNS is thrilled by the launch of this new and much talked about extension.

The .XXX registration timeline

The launch process will be done in specific phases based on the qualifications of both members and non-members of the Adult Sponsored Community.

September 7, 2011 marks the launch of the Sunrise period. This phase will run until October 28th, 2011 and is separated into Sunrise A (Opt-in) and Sunrise B (Opt-out).

•    Sunrise A (Opt-in) is dedicated to members of the adult Sponsored Community with either verifiable trademark rights or owners of exact matching domains in other TLDs which is also known as “Grandfathering”.

•    Sunrise B (Opt-out) - September 7, 2011 to October 28, 2011 - was created especially for non-adult Intellectual Property holders who are non-members of the adult Sponsored Community with verifiable trademark rights so they can block their domains in the .XXX space.

The Landrush period is scheduled from November 8, 2011 to November 25, 2011 while General Availability will kick of on December 6, 2011.

The Sponsored Community

The Sponsored Community consists of individuals, business, entities, and organizations that fit one of the following descriptions:

•    Provide Online Adult Entertainment intended for consenting adults (“Providers”) (e.g. adult webmasters, performers, studios, store owners, club operators);

•    Represent Providers (“Representatives”) (e.g. lawyers, agents, advisors, accountants, affiliates); or

•    Provide products or services to Providers and Representatives (“Service Providers”) (e.g. adult domainers, manufacturers, delivery companies, caterers, distribution companies, merchant account services, make up artists, stylists, hosting services).

For more information on the related Sponsored Community Validation Process check out http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Generic/Xxx

.XXX registration fees

EuroDNS will charge its customers €74 annual registration fee (ex. VAT) for each .XXX domain name registered unless such domain name is allocated during the Sunrise B period (Opt-out), in which case EuroDNS will solely charge you with a €195 fee (ex. VAT) for a 10 years period.

In addition to the €74 annual registration fee, the following fees apply:

• “Adult Trademark” Sunrise A (Opt-in): €98 validation fee, on top of the annual fee (ex. VAT)
• “Adult Domain” Sunrise A (Grandfather): €55 validation fee, on top of the annual fee (ex. VAT)
• “Landrush” Period, open to anyone but with potential auction: €55 on top of the annual fee (ex. VAT)

No annual registration fee is added to the “Blocking” Sunrise B (Opt-out) which has a flat validation fee of €195 (ex. VAT) including a 10 years /blocking period.

For more details on the various period go to http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Generic/Xxx or

Secure your .XXX Domain Name

As of September 7, 2011 the Sunrise is open. Whether a trademark owner or a member of the adult Sponsored Community (Sunrise A), or on the contrary if you are not a member of the adult Sponsored Community but wish to protect your name from any future .XXX use (Sunrise B), now is the chance to register the corresponding .XXX domain name.

For more information on .XXX visit the .XXX TLD page on http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Generic/Xxx and http://www.eurodns.com/eurodns-news/article/secure-your-xxx-now

“Let’s be adult about it” and register your .XXX on http://eurodns.com now!

About EuroDNS
EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

# # #

EuroDNS Contact
Isabelle Vekemans
Marketing and Communication Manager
EuroDNS
2, Rue Léon Laval
L-3372 Leudelange, Luxembourg

Tel: +352 263725 0
Press(at)EuroDNS(dot)com
Tel: +352 27 220 313
http://www.facebook.com/pages/EuroDNS
http://twitter.com/EuroDNS

Meet EuroDNS at DomainvermarkterForum on Sept 8-9

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:03:27 +0200

EuroDNS is a Gold Sponsor at DomainvermarkterForum!

EuroDNS, a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be exhibiting at DomainvermarkterForum in Hamburg on Sept 8-9, 2011.

DomainvermarkterForum is being held for the 7th time this year and has become over the years the largest event for German “Domainers” whilst also attracting domain investors from all over the world. The two days’ conference will be divided into presentations, networking and the domain auction. For more information on the program or the list of domains to be auctioned on Sept 9th check out http://www.domainvermarkterforum.de

The show will also be the opportunity for EuroDNS to introduce brand new domain name related portals including domainAPI and domainReseller.

domainAPI, offers cloud based webservices, that regroup all major lookup, data and transaction functions of the domain name industry. DomainAPI taps into the world’s leading Whois providers (like DomainTools), into the world’s registries, into registrars capable of providing worldwide domain availability check services (like EuroDNS) and into the major aftermarket places.

domainReseller is your single entry point to domain name registration dedicated to the wholesalers.

Join us and discover domainAPI and domainReseller along with many new features promoted especially at DomainvermarkterForum 2011.

If you are interested to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com

About EuroDNS
EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. http://www.eurodns.com

Secure your .XXX now!

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:05:23 +0200

Secure your .XXX: pre-register your .XXX Domain Name with EuroDNS now!

Luxembourg, August 25, 2011- EuroDNS, a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, announces the opening of .XXX pre-registrations for the Sunrise, Landrush and Go Live periods at www.eurodns.com.

Whether one is for or against adult content online it is a reality and a growing one as the sector is in full expansion and expected to continue so. Best therefore to “be adult about it” and ensure online sexually-oriented adult entertainment is easily identifiable whilst following best business practices. To help all parties benefit from this great opportunity, EuroDNS is now accepting pre-registrations for .XXX Domain Names. EuroDNS is one of the first Registrars officially accredited by ICM Registry, the .XXX Registry to allow private individuals and companies to apply for .XXX Domain Names. “We are delighted to have EuroDNS as one of our main partners. They have exhibited true commitment to this launch and understand the special needs of this market extremely well,” says Stuart Lawley, CEO of IMC Registry.

As authorized registrar for the .XXX, EuroDNS is thrilled by the launch of this new and much talked about extension. Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “The advent of the .XXX is a significant move in the domain name industry not only for those wishing to get a .XXX extension but equally for companies who decide to protect their trademark by blocking any future .XXX use”.

The internet is vast and can be very confusing. In fact it is almost impossible to be certain of a site’s content prior to accessing it. On one hand this may result in embarrassing moments for those landing unintentionally on sexually-oriented content. On the other hand it may be as difficult for internet surfers on the look for adult entertainment content to easily access it. A clearly identifiable .XXX domain name makes it a choice to access adult entertainment content, a huge benefit to both types of internet users.

Not only will it allow adults to protect their children from accessing adult content but a .XXX site comes along with a set of best business practices for adult content provider established by ICM, the .XXX registry. These policies aim at protecting .XXX user leading to more predictable revenue stream, greater customer retention and fewer complaints.

The launch process will be done in specific phases based on the qualifications of both members and non-members of the Adult Sponsored Community.

Sunrise A (Opt-in) - September 7, 2011 to October 28, 2011 - is dedicated to members of the adult Sponsored Community with either verifiable trademark rights or owners of exact matching domains in other TLDs which is also known as “Grandfathering”.

Sunrise B (Opt-out) - September 7, 2011 to October 28, 2011 - was created especially for non-adult Intellectual Property holders who are non-members of the adult Sponsored Community with verifiable trademark rights so they can block their domains in the .XXX space.

Landrush - November 8, 2011 to November 25, 2011 - is for members of the adult Sponsored Community but NOT on a first come, first served basis. Unlike Sunrise A and Sunrise B, there are no qualification requirements needed for Landrush. Applications for competing names will go to a closed-auction at the end of the Landrush period.

Finally General Availability - December 6, 2011 - is when members of the adult Sponsored Community get regular, resolving names on a first come, first served basis. Non-members of the adult Sponsored Community can also get “Non-Resolving” names.

EuroDNS will charge its customers €74 annual registration fee (ex. VAT) for each .XXX domain name registered unless such domain name is allocated during the Sunrise B period (Opt-out), in which case EuroDNS will solely charge you with a €195 fee (ex. VAT) for a 10 years period.

In addition to the €74 annual registration fee, the following fees apply:

• “Adult Trademark” Sunrise A (Opt-in): €98 validation fee, on top of the annual fee (ex. VAT)

• “Adult Domain” Sunrise A (Grandfather): €55 validation fee, on top of the annual fee (ex. VAT)

• “Landrush” Period, open to anyone but with potential auction: €55 on top of the annual fee (ex. VAT)

No annual registration fee is added to the “Blocking” Sunrise B (Opt-out) which has a flat validation fee of €195 (ex. VAT) including a 10 years /blocking period.

Pre-register a .XXX domain name and get ready for the Sunrise phase. On September 7, 2011 the Sunrise will be open. Whether a trademark owner or a member of the adult Sponsored Community (Sunrise A), or on the contrary if you are not a member of the adult Sponsored Community but wish to protect your name from any future .XXX use (Sunrise B), now is the chance to pre-register the corresponding .XXX domain name. For more information on .XXX visit the .XXX TLD page on /top-level-domain/Generic/Xxx

“Let’s be adult about it” and pre-register your .XXX on http://eurodns.com now!

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

FREE INVITATION FOR ICT SPRING 2011

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 09:56:07 +0200

Join us at the ICT Spring Fair on June 28 and 29 in Luxembourg and get in for FREE!

To benefit from EuroDNS’s invitation click on http://www.ictspring.com/register-now/?code=saqcyu and get a FREE registration entry pass for the 2 days trade show.

Visit us on our booth B 01 in the 'Cloud Village' and discover:

- Worldwide Domain Registration for Brand Protection and Search Engine Indexation
- Our New Services: Domain Recovery, Domain Appraisal
- The latest details about NewTLDs
- Why Large Brands should go for their own domain extension?

While at our booth find out about the complementary solutions offered by our sister companies LuxCloud, Datacenter Luxembourg and voipGATE.

Should you wish to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com to arrange an appointment.

We look forward to welcoming you to Luxembourg!

The EuroDNS team

About DCL Group
Headquartered in Luxembourg, DCL Group is a leading Internet and e-commerce company, made of the well known LuxCloud, EuroDNS, Datacenter Luxembourg and voipGATE.

Founded in 2010, LuxCloud is a market leading provider of cloud computing services, allowing companies to quickly launch and profitably deliver the cloud services demanded by small and medium sized businesses. LuxCloud offers customizable own branded solutions enabling resellers, system integrators and service providers to sell online any and all of the services and applications available on the platform. The range of applications includes Web and Application Hosting, Messaging & Collaboration, Business Processes and Infrastructure packages.

Created in 2002, EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders.

Datacenter Luxembourg has been founded in 2000. The services comprise a datacenter Infrastructure, International Internet & Telco Connectivity, Managed e-Commerce and Housing Services. Server virtualization and scalable storage can be added to this list and are real added value services, providing businesses with more flexibility, stability and economies of scale. Datacenter Luxembourg operates out of distinct geographical facilities connected to a looped backbone. Added to that are quality bandwidth and IP through its own international looped backbone and third party ones.

Founded in 2004, voipGATE operates locally and worldwide as a leading operator in Voice over IP, by offering telecommunication services and local phone numbers in more than 60 countries, allowing customers to establish virtual presences in their key markets. voipGATE has strong partnerships with key PBX and mobile device vendors to ensure and offer its customers both flexibility and ease of use.

About ICT Spring 2011
For more information on the event and to register, go to: http://www.ictspring.com and don’t forget to use code: SAQCYU to get a free 2 day pass saving 460 euro.

Secure your Short and Numeric .tel domain name

Thu, 26 May 2011 18:18:41 +0200

Pre-registration for Short and Numeric .tel Landrush now open at EuroDNS
The official launch for short, two-character (alpha-numeric) and numeric only .TEL domains is finally here. Get your applications in early to lock down the .TEL domain you’ve been waiting for!

EuroDNS is now accepting pre-orders for the launch of .TEL short and numeric domain names.

Short and easy to remember!

•    Two-character and all numeric .TELs are great for short, fun, easy to remember domains, all numeric or 2-letter brands or trademarks, shortcodes, initials, or lucky numbers!
•    Quick & easy, update any time and have all your contacts under one name
•    Gain a powerful and effective mobile presence in minutes
•    Increase search engine rankings

Whether you wish to:

Protect your brand by securing short (aa.tel) and number-only trademark names (247.tel or 3663.tel) as well as keypad variants for any vanity phone numbers you are using (085rose.tel and 0857673.tel).

Run marketing campaigns and customer services using shortcode numbers and matching .tel names. For example, an 08457 shortcode can be used for directory enquiries or a voting platform with detailed information published on the matching 08457.tel name.

Get a fun easy-to-remember name with your initials or your lucky number.

There are 1,042 Short 2 character .tel domains becoming available at 15:00 UCT on the 1st June 2011 under the Landrush policy (along with thousands of numeric-only .tel domains, up to 7 digits in length).

Any that aren't snapped up during the 14 day Landrush period will become available to register at 15:00 UCT on the 14th June 2011 at regular price of just 18€ each per year.

Landrush applications are subject to a premium non-refundable fee of 124 € on top of the usual registration fee.

During the Landrush period, domain names will be registered on a first-come first-served basis. Regular .tel domain registrations will continue to be allowed during this period.

For more information, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Generic/Tel

EuroDNS Team

.SO General Availability Phase Now Open at EuroDNS

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:20:33 +0200

Luxembourg, April 1st 2011 - EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the General Availability period for .SO domain names.

Register today any .SO domain names for 18 Euro by going to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Somalia/So

The general availability corresponds to the opening of the .SO to the general public. All available .SO domain names can now be registered on a first-come, first-served basis.

.SO is the Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for The Republic of Somalia. The technical operator of .SO is the Japanese company GMO Registry while the “sponsoring organisation” of the ccTLD is the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of Somalia. GMO registry will be donating a portion of the operating profit to provide necessary aide for Somalia targeting children more specifically.

“This is a great initiative” comments Xavier Buck, EuroDNS CEO, “setting an example of corporate philanthropy in the Domain Name Industry whilst enabling the world to capitalize on the short & catchy .SO extension”

The policy for the TLD .SO is liberal, there are no restrictions concerning the registrants, no local presence service is needed. The registration period for domains registered during General Availability has to be at least one year and maximum ten years.

For more information, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Somalia/So

EuroDNS Team

.CO.NO Go Live period further postponed

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:40:51 +0100

The .CO.NO Registry has announced further postponement of its Go Live period. As previously you can already secure your .CO.NO extensions ahead of the opening of the Go Live period.

As soon as a new date is published, we will communicate accordingly.

For more information on the postponement of the CO.NO Go Live period check out the CO.NO registry announcement.

For more information on .CO.NO check out our .CO.NO TLD page or contact our sales team.

Meet EuroDNS at Worldhostingdays – March 22-25

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:44:13 +0100

EuroDNS is a Gold Sponsor of WorldHostingDays 2011.

EuroDNS, a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be exhibiting on Booth 63-64 along with its partner LuxCloud, a market leading provider of cloud computing services.

WorldHostingDays – formerly known as WebHostingDays - is the world's largest hosting event. This four-day conference and trade fair takes place in Europa Park (Rust, Germany) on March 22 – 25, 2011.

WHD is an event from the industry for the industry and as such a great networking opportunity. It delivers information and impulses directly from the source to targeted businesses. The event unites all important decision makers of the leading hosting related companies from Europe, America and Asia.

As a Gold Sponsor of WHD, EuroDNS will be exhibiting and presenting at the event. The EuroDNS presentation will take place Wednesday, March 23 at 16.00 (room: Teatro dell’Arte).

The show will also be the opportunity for EuroDNS to introduce brand new domain name related portals including domainAPI.

domainAPI, offers cloud based webservices, that regroup all major lookup, data and transaction functions of the domain name industry. DomainAPI taps into the world’s leading Whois providers (like DomainTools), into the world’s registries, into registrars capable of providing worldwide domain availability check services (like EuroDNS) and into the major aftermarket places.

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Meet us on booth 63-64 and discover domainAPI along with many new features promoted especially at WHD 2011.

If you are interested to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com

Register and join us at WHD 2011!

EuroDNS: Gold sponsor at Domain Roundtable 2011

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:31:51 +0100

EuroDNS, a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be part of the next Domain Roundtable conference as a Gold Sponsor. This high profile conference will be held at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas on March 1-4, 2011 .

Domain Roundtable is an annual conference focusing on domain names and new products, technologies and companies in the domain marketplace. The conference brings together serious players in the domain industry, allowing new and veteran domainers the opportunity to converse with like-minded peers and create an awareness of current industry trends from the people who are setting them.

EuroDNS is proud to be one of the major sponsors of this high profile event .

Whether you are looking to expand your domain business or simply relax and catch up with industry friends, Domain Roundtable 2011 provides attendees with ample opportunities to discuss and reflect on the current and future state of the domain industry.

The conference will also have thought-provoking content with panel discussions and workshops on topics such as “Tactics for Successful Branding”, “Leveraging Social Media – Turning Traffic Into Revenue”, “Navigating the Domain Marketplace”, to name but a few.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, comments “Domain Roundtable has always been a core event for domainers and gives the opportunity to tackle major topics regarding the Domain Name Industry, such as an overview of the market and technology trends or how to increase the domain’s value. We are proud to be one of the major sponsors”.

For more information on the event, please go to: http://www.domainroundtable.com/

.CO.NO Go Live period postponed

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:14:45 +0100

The .CO.NO Registry has announced the postponement of its Go Live period to March 25, 2011. As previously you can already secure your .CO.NO extensions ahead of the opening of the Go Live period.

For more information on the postponement of the CO.NO Go Live period check out the CO.NO registry announcement.

For more information on .CO.NO check out our .CO.NO TLD page or contact our sales team.

EuroDNS: Platinum sponsor of Punta 2011, Feb 23-25

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:18:36 +0100

EuroDNS, a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, is a Platinum sponsor of Punta 2011, the 3rd International Internet Marketing & Domaining Conference taking place on Feb 23-25 in Punta del Este.

Punta 2011 is a nonprofit formal meeting which gathers domainers, webmainers and Internet investors.

Punta 2011 provides a great opportunity to make new business, improve the performance of activities, network with other domainers and update one's knowledge in all areas of this market.

After two years of consecutive success, along with the strong growth of the Spanish-speaking market through huge investments in domain names and the expansion of their ccTLD's, the 3rd edition of the most famous domain conference's in the Spanish-speaking world will allow participants to do more and better business within a tailored environment.

Register here and be part of it!

Meet EuroDNS at Parallels Summit on Feb. 22-24

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:10:48 +0100

EuroDNS will be present during Parallels Summit 2011 taking place in Orlando, FL on February 22-24, 2011.

EuroDNS, a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be exhibiting on Booth 113 along with its partner LuxCloud, a market leading provider of cloud computing services.

Parallels Summit is THE place to gain exclusive and comprehensive insight into the lucrative business opportunities with SMBs in 2011. This is the premier conference for service providers and web designers — looking to rapidly and profitably deliver the widest range of integrated, easy-to-use Cloud services that small businesses are eager to acquire.

The show will also be the opportunity for EuroDNS to introduce brand new domain name related portals including domainAPI.

domainAPI, offers cloud based webservices, that regroup all major lookup, data and transaction functions of the domain name industry. DomainAPI taps into the world’s leading Whois providers (like DomainTools), into the world’s registries, into registrars capable of providing worldwide domain availability check services (like EuroDNS) and into the major aftermarket places.

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

Meet us on booth 113 and discover domainAPI along with many new features promoted especially at Parallels Summit.

If you are interested to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com

CO.NO goes Live in a few days!

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:38:58 +0100

Luxembourg, February 17th, 2011 – Following a successful Sunrise period, EuroDNS S.A. is glad to announce the opening of the Go Live period, starting on February the 22nd at 2:00 pm GMT. Application requests can be made by the general public without any restriction or priority rights, and will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. This is a great opportunity for all trademark holders to secure their Norwegian-flavored domain names.

The generic names and brands registered during the first phases are already gathering significant international traffic. Sander Scholten of CoDNS B.V., the operator of .CO.NO. comments, “We are delighted by the results we have achieved and people’s engaged response towards this new international extension. The .CO.NO is already seen as a successful alternative way to enter the Norwegian market and position a brand or a company as part of the international community. The Go Live period is an opportunity for anyone to do exactly that”.

Registration requests under the Norwegian TLD .No are sometimes difficult to fulfill due to the strict regulations of the Registry. Thanks to CO.NO, customers will now have the opportunity to display their Norwegian identity on the Internet without any local presence restriction or any limitation on the number of domain names that can be registered by a given individual or company. Worldwide almost 20% of all registered country code domains have the recognizable .co.xx extension. Think of .co.uk of the United Kingdom, .co.kr of Korea and .co.nz of New Zealand: all internationally appealing domain extensions that residents unconsciously use when they are looking for information. 45 countries are actively promoting their .co.xx extension as the internationally accepted domain extension. And now you too are able to internationally promote your presence in Norway using a .co.no domain.

“Many of our customers are willing to get an Internet presence in Norway but are deterred by some of the Registry’s restrictions” comments Xavier Buck, EuroDNS CEO “Since Co.No is much more flexible, it is a great alternative and we are excited to offer it to our customers, individuals and companies from all around the world”.

You can already secure your .CO.NO extensions ahead of the opening of the Go Live period. So get started and capitalize on the new .CO.NO by getting those Norwegian domain names that you’ve always wished for!

For more information check out our .CO.NO TLD page or contact our sales team.

Meet us at Domain pulse on Feb 17-18 in Vienna

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:15:19 +0100

EuroDNS will be present during Domain pulse taking place in Vienna, Austria on February 17-18, 2011.

The Domain pulse is the most important event in the German-speaking world for current topics and trends associated with domain names. The event will be hosted by the Austrian Registry nic.at.

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS.

EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

If you are interested to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com

.SO Land Rush period opens today

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:31:50 +0100

SO registry has postponed the Land Rush phase by a week to January 17th, 2011, for precautious measures with the Land Rush opening on Jan 17, 2011.

The Land Rush, which would originally have started on December 16th, has already been postponed once. The reason for this postponement was the huge success of the sunrise period for this extension which made the registry decides to extend this sunrise period by one month.

Because of this extension the sunrise ended on December 31st instead of on November 30th. At that time the registry decided to postpone the start of the Land Rush from December 16th until January 10th. Due to precaution measures, the registry now decided to wait a week longer before starting the Land Rush. Below you’ll find the new dates:

• Land Rush: January 17th 2011 until February 28th 2011
• General availability: April 1st 2011

During the Land Rush everyone who wishes to do so, can register a .so domain name. Registrations will only be completed at the beginning of March since the first come, first served principle doesn’t apply during this Land Rush. So it’s very well possible that 2 or more people apply for the same domain name. If this happens, those domain names will be sold during an auction after the Land Rush to the highest bidder. Only people who applied for the domain name can participate in the auction.

On April 1st, 2011 the general availability will start. From then on, applications will be treated on a first come, first served basis. Everyone who wishes to do so, can register a .so domain name. Should you have any question do not hesitate to check out the .SO TLD page or contact us.

ProDNS, the next generation DNS soon at EuroDNS

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:51:05 +0100

EuroDNS is proud to announce that it has entered into an agreement with ProDNS. As an Authorised Value-Added Reseller of ProDNS, EuroDNS will be offering to its customer the enhanced service of ProDNS unique multiple AnyCast networks!

Whether you are one person business, a small or large business, ProDNS is the perfect choice to protect your data and image at low cost. ProDNS has gathered the latest technologies to offer the best DNS services and infrastructure to fit customers’ expectations for solid and reliable DNS.

ProDNS is built on a Distributed Anycast platform, which ensures the most accurate and regular resolution of your websites, with maximum uptime and no maintenance requirements. By combining DNS offers from the best players in the markets into one single product, ProDNS has created a platform which is ideal for companies with critical businesses that deliver web services.

Stay tuned as more details enfold on the ProDNS offer at EuroDNS in the near future.

Only a few days left for the .CO.NO Sunrise

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:49:24 +0100

Opened since November 1st, 2010, the Sunrise Phase will close on January 31st, 2011. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity for all trademark holders to secure their Norwegian-flavored domain names before others can.

Registration requests under the Norwegian TLD .No are sometimes difficult to fulfill due to the strict regulations of the Registry. Thanks to CO.NO, customers will now have the opportunity to display their Norwegian identity on the Internet without any local presence restriction or any limitation on the number of domain names that can be registered by a given individual or company. Worldwide almost 20% of all registered country code domains have the recognizable .co.xx extension. Think of .co.uk of the United Kingdom, .co.kr of Korea and .co.nz of New Zealand: all internationally appealing domain extensions that residents unconsciously use when they are looking for information.45 countries are actively promoting their .co.xx extension as the internationally accepted domain extension. And now you too are able to internationally promote your presence in Norway using a .co.no domain.

Sunrise period is specifically dedicated to Trademark Holders to give them the opportunity to register their brands as .CO.NO names before the system is open to the general public. As of February 22nd, 2011 the .CO.NO will enter its "Go Live" period. From that moment on, everyone will be able to register .co.no domains on a first come first served basis.

Don't miss on this great opportunity & register your trademark related domain names before it is too late! For more information check out our .CO.NO TLD page or contact our sales team.

New Terms & Conditions for .SE

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:35:47 +0100

From February 15, 2011 onwards, revised Terms and Conditions of Registration applicable for .SE-domains will be implemented.

.SE will be introducing updated conditions of registration (Terms and Conditions of Registration applicable for the top-level domain .se from February 15, 2011) for the purpose of simplifying and clarifying the rules and regulations. The new Terms and Conditions of Registration contain new wording concerning alternative dispute-solution procedures (item 7) as well as a clarification in item 9 concerning the handling of personal data.

The new Terms and Conditions of Registration will be in force from February 15, 2011 and will apply to all registered domain names under the .se top-level domain.

You will find the new Terms and Conditions of Registration on .SE’s website http://www.iis.se/domaner.

If you have any questions concerning the new Terms and Conditions of Registration you can send these to info@iis.se.

.SO Sunrise Is Open!

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:24:07 +0100

.SO Sunrise Is Open at EuroDNS

Luxembourg, November 16th, 2010 – EuroDNS is glad to announce that the Sunrise phase for the new .SO extension was successfully opened and is still available until November 30th, 2010.

.SO is a new extension for Internet domain names that will open a brand new Internet gateway with great flexibility. Indeed customers will be able to benefit from .SO domain names without any local presence restriction or any limitation on the number of domain names registered by a given individual or company.

.SO is the Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for The Republic of Somalia. The technical operator of .SO is the Japanese company GMO Registry while the “sponsoring organisation” of the ccTLD is the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of Somalia. GMO registry will be donating a portion of the operating profit to provide necessary aide for Somalia targeting children more specifically.

“This is a great initiative” comments Xavier Buck, EuroDNS CEO, “setting an example of corporate philanthropy in the Domain Name Industry whilst enabling the world to capitalize on the short & catchy .SO extension”

As for other domain name extensions, the .SO registration process is divided in various phases. The Sunrise period, currently held for trademark holders, is open until November 30th, 2010, to give applicants the opportunity to register their brands as .SO names before the system is open to the general public.

The Sunrise period will benefit from the expertise of The IP Clearing House. This independent entity will validate customers’ requests based on their trademark registrations registries, following their submission using the usual EuroDNS.com interface. To be considered as part of the Sunrise Phase, the Trademark must be fully registered by January 1st, 2010.

The Sunrise is not operated on the basis of the first come first served principle but will be followed by a Sunrise Auction Period opening on December 1st where all credible Sunrise applications submitted during the Sunrise Period will be able to bid against other Trademark applicants. This process will be held between December 1st and 15th, 2010 through the Pool.com service.

Sunrise domain names may be registered for a minimum of three years and a maximum of ten years.

Following the Sunrise phase, the .SO Landrush phase will open on December 16th, 2010 and last till February 9th, 2011. The Landrush Period was designed to allow companies and private individuals from all over the world to obtain the very '.SO' domain name they want as soon as possible, in exchange of a premium fee.

As per the Sunrise phase the Landrush is not operated on the basis of the first come, first served principle. Instead a Landrush Auction Period will open on February 10th, 2011 where all identical .SO Domain Names applications submitted during the Landrush Period will be able to bid against one or more applicants for the same .SO Domain Name.

Following the Landrush Auction Period, the Open Registration will be open to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis without any specific requirement. Open Registration starts on March 1st, 2011.

Both Landrush and Open Registration domain names may be registered for a minimum of one year and a maximum of ten years.

.SO domain names must be made up of a minimum of 3 characters and a maximum of 63 characters (excluding the extension). Only the Latin alphabet letters a-z, digits, and hyphens will be accepted. Domain names beginning or ending with hyphens, as well as domain names with hyphens on the third and fourth position are prohibited. The policy for the TLD .SO is liberal, there are no restrictions concerning the registrants, no local presence service is needed.
Go & get your own .SO domain names and while doing SO you’ll be helping out children!

Standard Sunrise Registration Price is 75 €. If you wish to Register several domain names based on the same trademark information, the validation fee decreases to 50 € for the second domain using the same trademark.

Customers who have obtained a CHIP code for a TM already validated in the Clearing House, see the price decrease to 12 €. All Sunrise Prices are on top of a 3-years Registration fee of 132 €.

Each domain name registration during the Landrush and Go Live onwards will cost 18 €.
For more information see our .SO TLD page at http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Somalia/so and don’t hesitate to contact our Sales team at sales(at)eurodns(dot)com.

About EuroDNS
EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

EuroDNS Contact
Isabelle Vekemans
Marketing and Communication Manager
EuroDNS
2, Rue Léon Laval
L-3372 Leudelange, Luxembourg

Tel: +352 263725 0
Press(at)EuroDNS(dot)com
Tel: +352 27 220 313
http://www.facebook.com/pages/EuroDNS
http://twitter.com/EuroDNS

Strategic Partnership announced with Dyn Inc.

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:15:18 +0200

EuroDNS and Dynamic Network Services Inc. (Dyn Inc.), a leading provider of managed DNS services, are entering into Strategic Partnership.

EuroDNS and Dyn Inc. have similar roots in the domain name industry, and share the same culture of innovation and customer-driven services. Their common paths, coupled with consistent industry involvement, created an organic opportunity to work together.

“We had known about Dyn Inc. for a while and had great relationships with many people on their staff” said Xavier Buck, EuroDNS CEO, “We’re excited that this relationship could evolve into a strong business partnership.”

For more information see Dyn Inc.’s press release.

Alert Update: Drastic verification of .CN registra

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:58:28 +0200

Luxembourg, October 14th, 2010 - As you have already been duly notified, the .CN Registry is conducting a drastic verification of the details provided by .CN holders for their domain name registrations.

In order to operate this verification, CNNIC will soon send an email containing a verification link to the email address appointed to the holder of every .CN domain name.

This being, you/your customer will need to read and click on the verification link provided in the Chinese Registry email.

Please be informed that failing to comply with this verification process will automatically conduct to the deletion of your/ your customer(s) domain name(s).

Should you need further information, please don't hesitate to contact our customer care department using the form reachable at: http://www.eurodns.com/eurodns/contactSupport

Thank you for your trust in EuroDNS.

Best Regards,

EuroDNS Customer Care Department

Celebrate the 1st Million .SE domain name Registe

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:39:46 +0200

EuroDNS is happy to announce that the first millionth registrations of .SE domain names has been achieved, and is therefore offering a great promotion on any .SE registered between now and October 31st. Grab this opportunity; register your .SE for only 9 Euro, using the promo code: 1MILSE

You can also now transfer your .SE for free.
The number of .SE domains has now reached an historic level, the one millionth being tolkutbildning.se, which was registered via .SE’s registrar, City Network Hosting AB.
.SE currently accounts for about 75 percent of the net growth of the Swedish domain market. In 2009, .SE had a total market share of 58 percent, and among companies with ten employees or more, with own domain names, 89 percent had a .SE domain.
Last year, 87 percent of all Swedish companies with no fewer than ten employees had a website. This is reflected in the fact that two thirds of the .SE domains are registered by companies. Among private individuals, it is also becoming more common to want to have a separate identity on the Internet. (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation)
Many want to have independent e-mail addresses. Registering a domain name for a private blog has also become twice as common in the past three years and new trends in name registration are emerging. “Part of the new motivations for acquiring a domain name includes registering to achieve more successful search optimization” explains Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS.
Many companies that began with one domain name have since registered new ones for various divisions, departments and products. For example, it is also common to have specific domain names for marketing campaigns.
Take advantage of the .SE promotion & be part of it!

For more information on the .SE, please go to:
http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Sweden/Se

Meet EuroDNS at T.R.A.F.F.I.C

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:34:13 +0200

EuroDNS will be present during Targeted T.R.A.F.F.I.C taking place in Miami, FL on October 17-20, 2010.

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS,

EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

If you are interested to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com

.SE for only 9 Euro!

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:41:17 +0200

Celebrate the 1st Million .SE domain name
Register a .SE domain name for only 9 Euro!

EuroDNS is happy to announce that the first millionth registrations of .SE domain names has been achieved, and is therefore offering a great promotion on any .SE registered between now and October 31^st.

Grab this opportunity; register your .SE for only 9 Euro, using the promo code: 1MILSE
You can also now transfer your .SE for free.

The number of .SE domains has now reached an historic level, the one millionth being tolkutbildning.se, which was registered via .SE’s registrar, City Network Hosting AB.

.SE currently accounts for about 75 percent of the net growth of the Swedish domain market. In 2009, .SE had a total market share of 58 percent, and among companies with ten employees or more, with own domain names, 89 percent had a .SE domain.
Last year, 87 percent of all Swedish companies with no fewer than ten employees had a website. This is reflected in the fact that two thirds of the .SE domains are registered by companies. Among private individuals, it is also becoming more common to want to have a separate identity on the Internet. (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation)

Many want to have independent e-mail addresses. Registering a domain name for a private blog has also become twice as common in the past three years and new trends in name registration are emerging. “Part of the new motivations for acquiring a domain name includes registering to achieve more successful search optimization” explains Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS.

Many companies that began with one domain name have since registered new ones for various divisions, departments and products. For example, it is also common to have specific domain names for marketing campaigns.

Take advantage of the .SE promotion & be part of it!

For more information on the .SE, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Sweden/Se

.NL for only 4 Euro!

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:15:54 +0200

Celebrate the 4th Million .NL domain name
Register a .NL domain name for only 4 Euro!

EuroDNS is happy to announce that the four millionth registrations of .nl domain names has been passed on August 18th, and is therefore offering a great promotion on any .nl registered between now and September 14th. Grab this opportunity; register your .nl for only 4 Euro, using the promo code: 4NL8
You can also now transfer your .NL for 4 Euro to EuroDNS, using the promo code: TR4NL.The 4th million domain name is: tomgoesusa.nl, registered by Tom ter Heerdt from Didam. “To celebrate reaching this milestone, SIDN, the .nl Regsitry, is giving Tom an iPad and waiving all registration fees on his new domain name for as long as he keeps it” (SIDN.org).
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, explains “Reaching a total of 4 million domain names for a country code top level domain is truly an achievement. The .nl is thus now placed at the 5th position, in terms of volume of registrations, after .DE, .UK, .CN and .EU. Besides.nl domain names are easy to register and considered to be one of the most secured TLDs. Don’t miss this chance to maybe register the 5th million .nl domain name for only 4 Euro!”
Over the last twelve months, the .nl domain has grown by almost 13%, and in the Netherlands, 38 people in every 100 have broadband internet access – more than anywhere else in the world.
For more information on the .nl, please go to:
http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Netherlands/Nl

.IM for only 6 Euro

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:00:24 +0200

Register a .IM domain name for only 6 Euro @EuroDNS!

EuroDNS is glad to announce a great promotion for the .IM extension, representing the Isle of Man. You can now purchase your .IM domain name for only 6 Euro, an offer valid for 3 months, using the promocode 6IM10.
.IM is the Country Code Top-Level Domain extension for The Isle of Man, a self-governing crown dependency located within the British Isles. The .IM extension is regularly used for personal domain names, Instant Messaging users, Instant Messaging web sites, trademarks and local Isle of Man’s businesses.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, comments “The .IM is first of all the country code domain for the Isle of Man’s businesses and residents. But it is also largely used for personalized web addresses, such as YourName.IM. The .IM is strongly linked to the social characteristic of Instant Messaging, which allows you to create a website using your instant messaging screen name. It’s important to notice that the need of a unique, specific and personalized domain name extension such as .IM is growing. Register today your .IM at EuroDNS for 6 Euro”.
.IM extension offers a number of interesting possibilities around the personalization and social aspects of a web address. It is also a way to expend one’s business and e-commerce within The Isle of Man.
For more information on this offer and to get more promotions and an extensive list of available extensions, please go here!

20 free passes @EuroDNS

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:41:59 +0200

Domaining III Spain to take place –
20 free passes @EuroDNS, Register Today!

Luxembourg, August 11th, 2010 - The third annual edition of Spain's largest domain conference, an event started in 2008 by Inverdom’s CEO Dietmar Stefitz, will take place on September 23-25 in Valencia. To get your free pass go to: http://www.eurodns.com/eurodns/domainingSpain

"Domaining III is the leading industry event in Spain, attracting the country's most important domain name investors and online entrepreneurs," said Stefitz. "With top domainers coming in from across Europe, we are sure this event will be a win-win for all attendees."

The high profile aspect of this conference is largely shown by the participation of some key industry leaders: the Castello Brothers (Michael and David Castello) of the Castello Cities Internet Network (CCIN) and Tim Schumacher, CEO and co-Founder of SEDO, will be the Keynote speakers. In addition to their keynote address, the Castello Brothers will conduct a seminar titled, "Domain Names & the Power of Branding."

This domaining event is especially dedicated to the secondary market and the growing domain name investment sector. Indeed, today domain names are being recognized and used as valuable assets, like stocks and bonds.

The participants will take part in workshops and seminars to analyze and discuss the latest market trends, such as SEO, the future and potential of new country code top level domain name extensions (ccTLDs) and the dotbrand project, as well intellectual property issues.

This will also be the perfect timing to celebrate the registration, 25 years ago, of the first domain name registration, “Symbolics.com”.
To be part of this conference and win one of the 20 passes, please register at:
http://www.eurodns.com/eurodns/domainingSpain

.TEL for only 5 Euro

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:12:28 +0200

.TEL domain names for only 5 Euro at EuroDNS -
.TEL is more than just a normal TLD !

Luxembourg, August 11th, 2010 - After the recent opening of IDN.tel, allowing the registration of .tel domain names in sixteen different languages, EuroDNS is proud to launch a great promotional campaign.

Register your .tel domain name now for only 5 Euro, using the promocode: DUTEL5.
The .tel allows the storage, publishing and updating online of one’s contact information and keywords under a unique domain name, without the need for a website. Having a .tel domain name offers a strong online presence without much development and .tel domain names are optimized for Mobiles and PCs.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, comments “.telnic has created a real and interactive communication hub around .tel domain names. A .tel is like a business card and enables you to store all the information you like about your company. Full control, low cost and real time coverage are also key factors in the importance of having a .tel domain name. Besides, you can now register it for only 5 Euro”.

Over 275,000 .tel names have been registered in just under one year of their availability. .tel domain names have essentially attracted businesses and individual professionals wanting a single branded place online without the hassle of building and maintaining a traditional website to look again at this cost-effective and innovative service.

The recent launch of IDN.tel names is also an important step forward. The IDNs give companies and individuals the chance to register domain names that contain non-Latin characters under the .tel domain. All registrations will be on a first-come, first served basis. One and two character IDN.tel domains will also be available.

The languages selected by the .tel registry, Telnic, are as follows: Chinese, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

For more information on .tel, please go here:

http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Generic/Tel

.CO General Availability open!

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:42:02 +0200

PRESS RELEASE:
.CO General Availability Phase Now Open at EuroDNS
Create your opportunity today!

EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the General Availability period for .CO domain names. Register today any .CO domain for only 20 Euro! Use the promocode: CO20

The general availability corresponds to the opening of the .CO to the general public. All available .CO domain names can now be registered on a first-come, first-served basis

.CO is a unique opportunity offering registrants a new experience in the branding of their online presence. The .CO extension is assimilated to the notions of visibility, international and credibility. There is a strong sense of attractiveness in these two letters extension and .CO is also highly related to social networks. .CO works perfectly with words such as “COmpany”, “COrporation”, “COmmerce”, “COtent”, “COnnect”, “Communicate”, “and COllaborate”.

Xavier Buck, comments “We are happy to be part of the .CO new era, and offer our customers the possibility to register .CO domain names and thus consolidate their portfolio. We did already open a .CO pre-registration period for the general availability one month ago and it now officially open. .CO is considered to be the world’s next premier web address. There are lot of opportunities associated to such an extension so don’t miss this new trend!”.

.CO is more than the top level domain for the Republic of Colombia and enjoys liberal domain registration policies with no domicile or burdensome requirements for example.

For more information, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Columbia/Co

EuroDNS Partners with Open-Xchange

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:15:08 +0200

EuroDNS Partners with Open-Xchange to Provide Hosted Groupware

250,000 customers of EuroDNS get Open-Xchange webmail and PIM at no additional charge

LUXEMBOURG, June 30th, 2010 – Open-Xchange, a provider of business-class open source e-mail and collaboration software, announced today an agreement with EuroDNS, a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions, to offer hosted e-mail and collaboration.

Within the next month, more than 250,000 customers of EuroDNS will get both Open-Xchange webmail and PIM (Personal Information Management) at no additional charge with an option to move to full groupware, as well as support for mobile devices.

“Our SME (small- and medium-size enterprise) customers have been asking us for hosted applications to improve their office communication and securely store their documents,” said Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS. “Open-Xchange is the ideal platform to extend our application services from hosting to SaaS. Open-Xchange provides unmatched user experience and features, along with a very attractive price point for our customers."

"Open-Xchange helps service providers to gain competitive advantage and significantly grow profitability,” said Rafael Laguna, CEO of Open-Xchange. “By leveraging our Open-Xchange software, EuroDNS will strengthen their relationship with existing customers, increase their average revenue per user and attract new customers."

Open-Xchange software integrates e-mail, calendar, contact and task management with advanced groupware features such as information management and document sharing. Productivity is enhanced through unique teamwork features, like team view, single-password document sharing, and shared calendars, contacts, tasks and documents.

With recently introduced “Social OX” features, Open-Xchange also gives users the ability to consolidate any kind of existing webmail accounts — for example from Google and Yahoo — into a folder in Open-Xchange so they can be managed more easily. In addition, contact details from social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Xing can be added automatically to the Open-Xchange address book — giving users easy access to the latest contact information within their personal network. Users can now integrate and merge their address books from Google Mail and Facebook into Open-Xchange, as well.

Open-Xchange is used by more than 15 million users worldwide as hosted and on-premises business-class e-mail and groupware.

About EuroDNS
EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the U.S. and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. For more information, visit www.eurodns.com.

About Open-Xchange
Open-Xchange is the innovator of scalable and integrated open source e-mail and collaboration solutions for enterprises, academic institutions, and government authorities. The company provides on-premises versions called Open-Xchange Server Edition and Open-Xchange Appliance Edition, along with Open-Xchange Hosting Edition, which enables web hosting companies to provide an easy-to-use and feature-rich application delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS). The Open-Xchange Hosting Edition is architected to integrate into a hosting provider’s existing infrastructure, such as authentication, provisioning, billing, and e-mail storage and does not require that these systems be replaced.

Open-Xchange AG is a privately-held company headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany with offices in Olpe, Germany and Tarrytown, N.Y. For more information, visit www.open-xchange.com.

.CO Landrush Open

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:13:13 +0200

.CO Landrush Phase Now Open at EuroDNS

Luxembourg, June 21st 2010 - EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the .CO Landrush phase. The pre-registration is also open for the General Availability period.

The Landrush period gives the opportunity to anyone interested in securing a short and memorable domain name of high commercial value to submit an application before the General Availability begins. An auction will be used in case of matching domain names.

.CO is a unique opportunity offering registrants a new experience in the branding of their online presence. The .CO extension is assimilated to the notions of visibility, international and credibility. There is a strong sense of attractiveness in these two letters extension and .CO is also highly related to social networks. .CO works perfectly with words such as “COmpany”, “COrporation”, “COmmerce”, “COtent”, “COnnect”, “Communicate”, “and COllaborate”.

Xavier Buck, comments “The .CO landrush is the next step in the .CO launch. This extension is opening a new era and considered to be the world’s next premier web address. We are offering you the possibility to also pre-register your .CO domain name for the General Availability phase”.

.CO is more than the top level domain for the Republic of Colombia and enjoys liberal domain registration policies with no domicile or burdensome requirements for example.

There are two launch phases for the .CO domain registration process. These phases are the Landrush and General Availability.

Landrush, from June 21st to July 16th , 2010 – The landrush is a period during which interested parties can seek to register priority domains not previously registered or reserved by the Registry or Restricted by Policy. An auction process will be used to allocate domain names in the event that more than one applicant applies for the same domain. Due to its early-bird status, Landrush Registration is subject to an increased price, directly determined by the Registry. This is why a yearly premium registration fee of €260 will be charged on top of the non refundable €10 validation fee.

General Availability is starting on July 20th, 2010 – The general availability is the date when .CO opens to the general public, and available .CO domain names can be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. The yearly fee will be of €28.

For more information, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Columbia/Co

10 year company anniversary!

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:29:18 +0200

Today, DCL Group, a leading Internet and e-commerce company, made of the well known Datacenter Luxembourg, EuroDNS and voipGATE, reaches a milestone as it celebrates its 10 year anniversary.

Headquartered in Luxembourg, DCL Group has managed to position itself strongly on the European map and also across the oceans in its respective fields of expertise: Datacenter and Infrastructure, Domain Names, Telecommunication and VoIP.
With the recent creation of LuxCloud, DCL Group is opening a new era and positioning itself as a leader and key Internet player within the Grand Duchy and Europe.
Xavier Buck, Founder and CEO of EuroDNS, comments “These 10 years have been exciting and challenging. We have had hectic and interesting moments throughout the years. Thanks to the commitment and belief of a number of actors, as well as strong operational teams, we have achieved our goals. Internet is a fast moving world and we are completely in tune with it ”
It all started with the meeting of two completely different characters, Marco Houwen and Xavier Buck who decided to change the Internet world. They were ready and eager to become pioneers and open new eras. They started their journey with the creation of Datacenter Luxembourg (www.datacenter.eu) in 2000, which became an independent and leading datacentre service provider. In just a few years and thanks to constantly improving infrastructure and connectivity within the Grand Duchy, Datacenter Luxembourg expanded within the European scene with a large panel of services.

Only 2 years later and in the wake of the .EU domain name extension, Xavier Buck decided to take over the domain name world and he created EuroDNS (www.eurodns.com), a worldwide domain name registrar. Today, EuroDNS counts more than 300 extensions and is much more than just a registrar. EuroDNS covers all aspects of the industry: the primary market with its large panel of extensions worldwide; the secondary market targeting domain name investment and auctioning with Domain Invest (www.domaininvest.lu); the online brand management with its corporate arm eBrand Services (www.ebrandservices.com), helping some of Europe’s largest companies to develop and strongly position their brand on the Internet; the media side with the management and deployment of the domain name news portal, DomainNews (www.domainnews.com); the domain name recovery side with DomainRecovery.com, which provides an online step-by-step solution to the domain recovery needs; major tools such as domain history, monitoring, ownership search, mark alert and typo squat domain finder, thanks to the participation of EuroDNS in one of the top 200 most trafficked websites in the world, Domain Tools (www.domaintools.com).

Following the new technological trends and the telecommunication industry, Xavier and Marco created voipGATE (www.voipgate.com) in 2004. voipGATE rapidly became a unique and leading Operator in Voice over IP by offering telecommunication services and local Phone Numbers across the world. voipGATE also created strong partnerships with PBX key brands and various mobile devices. The insurance of flexibility, reliability and ease of use are truly part of voipGATE’s goals and values.

Marco Houwen concludes, “We couldn’t have written the last 10 years differently and I am proud of what we have achieved and where we stand today. With our constant willingness to create, reach, innovate, and be successful, the next 10 years will surely be full of surprises and new challenges. And we are ready!”

See you in 2020!

.tel IDN now open

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:36:19 +0200

EuroDNS is proud to announce the opening of IDN.tel, which allows the registration of .tel domain names in sixteen different languages.

The IDNs give companies and individuals the chance to register domain names that contain non-Latin characters under the .tel domain. All registrations will be on a first-come, first served basis. One and two character IDN.tel domains will also be available.

Register today and benefit from our 50% promotion. Use the promocode TELGOIDN, valid until July 15th, 2010.

The languages selected by the .tel registry, Telnic, are as follows: Chinese, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. More languages will follow based on demand and possibilities.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, notes “The introduction of IDN.tel is part of our willingness and efforts to offer a maximum of IDNs, whenever it is technically possible and for any domain name extensions in which IDNs are available. We have recently launched IDNs in .LU, .PL, .EU, .DE, .COM and .NET, and the list will keep expanding this year. Please stay tuned!”.

Over 275,000 .tel names have been registered in just under one year of their availability. .tel domain names have essentially attracted businesses and individual professionals wanting a single branded place online without the hassle of building and maintaining a traditional website to look again at this cost-effective and innovative service.

“With the launch of IDN.tel names, individuals and organizations in many more countries can now benefit from a simple, single and professional point of contact that they can share with friends, colleagues and customers and which is instantly formatted for any device connected to the internet,” said Justin Hayward, Communications Director at Telnic Limited. “With its low cost, ease of setup and support for multiple languages, a .tel name is an incredibly accessible and beneficial tool to enable people to connect in the way they want to, both locally and worldwide.”

Celebrate the World Cup!

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:34:07 +0200

To celebrate the start of the Football World Cup in South Africa, we are happy to announce a promotional campaign on any CO.ZA domain names registered from today until the end of the summer.

Get your CO.ZA for only 8 Euro, using the promocode WC2010, valid until end July 2010.

Enter the South African domain name space and actively participate to the football World Cup in South Africa. Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNs, says “This is your chance to gain great visibility during the World Cup and position yourself right under the glare of the spotlights by getting your .CO.ZA domain name today! For the occasion and to celebrate this fun sporting event, you can now get a 50% discount on any domains registered in the CO.ZA extension”.
.za is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for South Africa and the .CO.ZA is largely used for commercial purposes.
At the same time, you can also consolidate your domain name portfolio by choosing between the 250 and more extensions that EuroDNS offers, from generic extensions (.com, .org, .net…) to country code ones (.DE, .BE, .FR, .NL…).

For more information on EuroDNS’s services and any partnership possibilities, please go to: www.eurodns.com

.ASIA Renewal for 9 Euro!

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:37:26 +0200

EuroDNS/AsiaDNS is glad to announce the launch of a great promotional campaign for any .ASIA domain names registered or renewed today until end of August 2010.
It is your chance to get your .ASIA or renew it for only 9 Euro, using the promocode REASIA9.

dotAsia has reached around 300,000 names registered since two years now, and .Asia has become a significant extension worldwide for e-commerce and visibility, with coverage of 70 countries, from the Middle East, to the Far East and Oceania regions.

Leona Chen, DotAsia Organisation Ltd., explains, “Having a .Asia web extension makes it easier for people to find you online, because it improves search engine ranking organically for searches related to Asia. Besides, .Asia web address is a natural fit for your Asian content or target market. Another important point is that every .Asia registration helps fund community work in Asia”.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS/AsiaDNS, comments, “the landrush renewal period is under way and it is important to act as soon as possible, using the 50% discount we are offering you this summer. We strongly believe in the strength of the .ASIA extension as it provides a perfect way to reach the Asian market and offer you the possibility to position your brand. Don’t miss this”.
Xavier also adds, “We are currently going through Landrush renewals, a lot of good names may become available again. Get your .Asia web extension today!”
For more information and to register your .Asia, go here:
www.asiadns.com

Meet EuroDNS @ INTA

Tue, 18 May 2010 16:13:23 +0200

Luxembourg May 18th, 2010 – EuroDNS, a worldwide registrar, and its corporate branch, eBrand Services, will be participating to the International Trademark Association’s must-attend Annual Event held in Boston, starting on May 23rd until the 26th. This Annual Meeting is a major event in the intellectual property field, with numerous educational programs, workshops, trademark and law sessions focusing on International topics. Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS comments, “It is the third time we will be present at INTA and we are delighted to meet with IP professionals willing to learn more about domain name management and protection. One on one meetings and demonstrations will take place at our booth. A member of our corporate branch, eBrand Services, will also be present with more to tell about efficient portfolio management, brand protection, cost savings and the dotBrand project. We will also take this opportunity to launch our new service focusing on domain name recovery www.domainrecovery.com. We are looking forward to meeting you at booth 642!”. DomainRecovery.com has gathered years of legal expertise and key partners in the Internet community to provide an online step-by-step solution to your domain recovery needs. From the first alert to the final transfer of the domain, everything is included. The dotBrand project is part of EuroDNS and eBrand’s ongoing efforts to follow the drastic evolution of the Internet world and guide customers into the new gTLDs’ world. This new evolution will not only allow companies to turn their brand into a domain name, or to create dedicated Internet spaces for large product groups and countries, but also to be part of the new gTLDs strategy, by having dedicated sub domains. The new gTLDs will open up the Internet to a new platform for innovation, diversity, e-business and competition. INTA’s exhibition hall will gather more than 90 exhibitors featuring new products and cutting-edge demonstrations. The networking opportunities are numerous, which makes the INTA Annual Meeting the only place to meet thousands of IP experts and stay current on trademark developments. Don’t miss this opportunity, come along to booth 642! About EuroDNS EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com About eBrand Services eBrand Services acts as consultant for some of Europe’s largest companies willing to develop and strongly position their brand on the Internet, thanks to its expertise in domain names management and strategies. eBrand Services has offices and local expertise all around Europe. www.ebrandservices.com Contact on the booth for One to One meetings: Jean-Christophe Vignes – Executive VP and General Counsel, EuroDNS/eBrand Legal Services Melanie Delannoy – Marketing & Communication manager, EuroDNS Espen Falkenhaug – MD, eBrand Services NL

.EU & .AT for 8 Euro

Tue, 04 May 2010 16:54:39 +0200

Get your .EU and .AT for only 8 Euro.
Use promocodes: 8AT5 and 8EU5!

EuroDNS enters the .CO era!

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:41:21 +0200

Register for the .CO Sunrise Today & Pre-Register for the Landrush and Go Live

Luxembourg, April 29th 2010 - EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the .CO Sunrise phase, reserved for holders of Trademarks to enable them to register the corresponding .CO domain names on a priority basis. The pre-registration is also open for the Landrush and General Availability periods.
To benefit from this priority period and secure your .CO, register your domain name today at EuroDNS for €260.
.CO is a unique opportunity offering registrants a new experience in the branding of their online presence. The .CO extension is assimilated to the notions of visibility, international and credibility. There is a strong sense of attractiveness in these two letters extension and .CO is also highly related to social networks. .CO works perfectly with words such as “COmpany”, “COrporation”, “COmmerce”, “COtent”, “COnnect”, “Communicate”, “and COllaborate”.
Xavier Buck, comments “.CO is opening a new era and considered to be the world’s next premier web address. We are proud to be part of the .CO Sunrise registration period and we are also offering you the possibility to register for the Landrush and General Availability phases. We will also be providing some promotional prices, so stay tuned at EuroDNS”.
.CO is more than the top level domain for the Republic of Colombia and enjoys liberal domain registration policies with no domicile or burdensome requirements for example.
There are three launch phases for the .CO domain registration process. These phases are known as Global Sunrise, Landrush and General Availability.
Sunrise for trademarks registered globally, from April 26th to June 10th, 2010. The Sunrise Process was created to allow trademark holders to prevent the abusive registration of domain names for which they hold rights. This sunrise gives the holders of certain eligible registered trademarks the right to apply for the .CO domain names corresponding with their trademarks before the registration of domain names under the .CO TLD is open to the public at large. The registration fee of €260 is non refundable and there is an extra €28 per year.
Landrush, from June 21st to July 13th , 2010 – The landrush is a period during which interested parties can seek to register priority domains not previously registered or reserved by the Registry or Restricted by Policy. An auction process will be used to allocate domain names in the event that more than one applicant applies for the same domain. Due to its early-bird status, Landrush Registration is subject to an increased price, directly determined by the Registry. This is why a yearly premium registration fee of €260 will be charged on top of the non refundable €10 validation fee.

General Availability is starting on July 20th, 2010 – The general availability is the date when .CO opens to the general public, and available .CO domain names can be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. The yearly fee will be of €28.
For more information, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Columbia/Co

.FR open to all French!

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:44:14 +0200

EuroDNS welcomes AFNIC’s opening of .FR domain names
to all French citizens outside France!

Luxembourg, April 14th, 2010 - EuroDNS is glad to support AFNIC’s opening of the .FR domain names to French citizens residing in a foreign country, lowering the geographical restrictions previously in place.
For years registration of a .FR Domain Name used to be possible only for French Companies and citizens with a valid address in France. Starting this month, French citizens no longer have to actually live in France to be able to acquire a .FR domain name for their e-mail addresses or web sites. While AFNIC does not require the interested individual to produce its passport before entering the Registration request, EuroDNS has been informed that random checks may occur following the registration where the individual will have to send a document confirming its French citizenship.
Xavier Buck, EuroDNS CEO, comments “This decision is a step in the right direction and should finally allow French citizens – whether in bordering countries such as Luxembourg or in the other side of the world – to express themselves with a domain name linked to their home country. Having worked for years towards the wide adoption of local domain names by individuals and companies, EuroDNS is proud to support this limited opening”
To celebrate this achievement, EuroDNS customers can now benefit from a discount on their .FR domain names registrations using the promocode FRABROAD.
It will take AFNIC another two years to finally accept registration of .FR from all individuals and structures located within the European Union, in 2012. Contrary to many Registries in the world, there are currently no plans to allow non-French individuals outside of Europe to register a .FR Domain Name.
For more information on the .FR, please check here: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/France/Fr

.LU IDN Go Live!

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:15:43 +0200

EuroDNS announces the opening of the .LU IDN Go Live period
Register your .LU Today!

EuroDNS is proud to announce the opening of the .LU Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) Go Live period.
Get your .LU for only 25 Euro, using the promo code LUGO10 or going directly to: http://www.eurodns.com/promo/LUGO10?mk=promoLUGO10

The Go Live period is open to all and is based on a “first come, first served principle”. The IDNs give companies and individuals based in the European Union the chance to register domain names that contain non-Latin characters under the .LU domain.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “EuroDNS was one of the first registrars accredited by the .LU registry to allow the registration of LU IDNs and we are now proud to be part of this great launch. Luxembourg has 3 main languages, Luxembourgish, French and German, so this is a great opportunity to have your .LU written in your own language and alphabet”.
During the GO Live, no restrictions apply, so get your name .LU IDN name today and also benefit from our promotion.

The opening of the .LU IDN follows the recent launch of .PL, .EU, .DE, .COM and .NET IDNs.

For more information on .LU IDNs, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Luxembourg/Lu

.EU in the Spotlight !

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:28:51 +0100

EuroDNS announces a great .EU promotion for the coming months. Register today your .EU at http://www.eurodns.com/promo/9EU10 and get 50% discount.
By registering a .eu, the registrant can also get Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). This means that anyone based in the European Union can register domain names containing non-Latin characters under the .eu domain.
About 3 Million .eu domain names have been registered since the launch of the extension in 1999. The advantages of having a .eu are numerous. The fact to belong to the European community, gathering 27 countries, is significant for businesses and also individuals wishing to implement themselves in Europe. Having a .eu is also having a strong European identity and opens more opportunities on both the business and social sides.
The arrival of the IDNs a few months ago has definitively been a great step forward and has allowed the existing 23 official languages and alphabets to be used and recognized as domain names.

IDNs are domain names that contain non-Latin characters. These characters include, for example, the Swedish å, the German ü, the Romanian ș, the Cyrillic й, Latin accents such as é and characters from the Bulgarian and Greek alphabets. The characters that will be supported can be found here: http://www.eurid.eu/en/eu-domain-names/idns-eu/supported-characters
Don’t miss the 9 Euro Promotion!

"Dots for Your Trademarks"

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:39:20 +0100

Learn about the new Internet Extensions at ICT Spring 2010!
Luxembourg, March 2nd 2010 – Panelist on ICT Spring’s Intellectual Property workshop, EuroDNS will talk on “Dots for Your trademarks” to unveil the opportunities new Internet extensions represent for brand owners.

Over the years, EuroDNS has witnessed tremendous evolution of the Internet with the introduction of specific Top Level Domains (TLDs) such as .Info, .Mobi, and .Asia. The creation of these new extensions has helped companies gain more visibility and presence online and has made the search for specific products and services faster and more straightforward. This momentum will continue with the creation of new extensions, from special purposes ones, generic terms to brand names (ie: .Paris, .Berlin, .Music…).

Jean-Christophe Vignes, Executive Vice-President & General Counsel of DCL Group/EuroDNS, will present at ICT Spring and explains, “While the introduction of hundreds of new TLDs may be seen as a threat by brand owners, we believe the proper information is the only missing bit to allow companies to make the most of this huge opportunity”.

Indeed, new TLDs will give Trademarks immediate recognition on the Internet: a new URL shuch as ‘http://MyBrand’ is much more memorable than ‘http://www.myproduct.com’! So-called ‘dotBrand” TLDs will also give companies a way to control their own Internet space and distribute domain names to all subsidiaries, key entities…or even customers. It will definitively help companies protect their brands and gain even more visibility.

ICT Spring Europe is the first edition of a conference in Luxembourg oriented towards business technology and its latest evolutions, with a great focus on International players’ needs and expectations.

Scheduled right after the ICANN meeting in Nairobi, ICT Spring Europe is quite timely. Indeed 2010 should be the decisive year at the end of which all applications for new gTLDs should be submitted and reviewed. When this window closes, applicants may need to wait several years before having the opportunity to create their own extension. Therefore, companies should act now to benefit from this opportunity. With its corporate branch eBrand Services, EuroDNS, offers the necessary expertise and guidance every step of the way during the whole process.

.COM Anniversary!

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:40:16 +0100

EuroDNS is celebrating the 25 years of existence of .com by starting a great 25 days promotional campaign. Get your .com now for only 7 Euro by clicking here or using the code 25COM25.
The first .com domain was registered in 1985 and the number of .com names has grown drastically to reach the recent figure of 80 Million. The domain was first administered by the U.S. Department of Defense and then opened to commercial entities. The popularization and commercialization of the Internet turned the .com into an extension opened to all.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, comments “The history of the Internet and the domain names started with the .com extension. At the beginning there were just a handful of domain name extensions to choose from, essentially generic ones. Then the country code level domains came into place as well as more generic and sub domains. We can now list more than 260 types of extensions and 192 Million domain name registered in total, but these figures are evolving every day. At EuroDNS we already offer 150 different types of extensions and also a great promotion for the 25 years of the .com . Don’t miss this opportunity, click here”.
To celebrate the 25 years, .com operator, VeriSign, is organizing a high profile event, on March 16th , during which will be recognized the major innovators and leaders of the .com area. The top 75 people and companies having impacted most the Internet world have already been selected, and the".com 25" will be announced soon.
EuroDNS offers a significant number of domain name extensions from the generic ones, such as .ORG and .NET to country code top level domains, such as .FR, .DE and .ES. There is a great possibility to consolidate one’s portfolio with EuroDNS and benefit from a large number of free and added value services.
EuroDNS also provides resellers programs: API type or our Affiliate scheme (http://www.eurodns.com/AboutUs/view_category/6). At EuroDNS there is also a possibility to get a dedicated account manager and great dedicated prices.

For any questions related to the above matters, please get in touch with sales@eurodns.com

.Mobi and .info Promos

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:58:15 +0100

.Mobi joins Afilias family – EuroDNS Valentine’s day special

Afilias just announced the acquisition of mTLD Top-Level Domain Ltd., the sponsoring organization and registry operator for the .mobi top-level domain, for which they were already backend provider.

To celebrate this “marriage” properly EuroDNS gives you an extra promotion on .Info and .Mobi. You can now register your .MOBI and INFO for only 9 Euro, using the promocodes 9MOBI10 and 9INFO10.
These great discounts are valid from today until Feb 15th, 2010.
Formore information, read here: http://www.afilias.info/mobi+acquisition

EuroDNS Gets Mobile

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:22:46 +0100

EuroDNS launches a mobile version of its website (http://eurodns.mobi), essentially made for iPhone users, which enables a simplified and faster process for the registration of any domain names.
The mobile version has been created entirely based on EuroDNS’s existing interface and tools. Users will have the possibility to register any domain names and login into their EuroDNS account to perform renewals. The look and feel has been adapted to the iPhone’s default navigation elements.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “As we have entered the iPhone era, we needed to develop a mobile presence in order to allow our users to be able to register their domain names from their mobile, whenever and wherever. We have managed to aggregate EuroDNS’s look and feel and a number of tools. We have also rendered the registration process much simpler and faster, and all the elements are quickly accessible through a user friendly menu structure. To access the EuroDNS Mobile version, use your iPhone and browse: eurodns.mobi or m.eurodns.com".
In addition to quick registration, EuroDNS customers using the mobile version will also have the possibility to view EuroDNS’s FAQs, subscribe to the Newsletter and get some extra information.
The benefits of this mobile version are endless and eurodns.mobi will be constantly updated and improved to fit customers’ needs and expectations.
For more information on EuroDNS and our monthly promotions, please go to: www.eurodns.com

.ME is About You!

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:07:09 +0100

To celebrate the upcoming 2 years anniversary of the .ME, EuroDNS announces a great 50% promotion on the registration and renewal of any .ME domain names.
Get your .ME for only 12 Euro, by clicking here: http://www.eurodns.com/promo/12ME10 or by using the promocode: 12ME10.
.ME is the Top Level Domain for Montenegro but the extension is defined more by the personal meaning attached to it than the country it represents. In 2 years of existence, .ME has reached more than 350,000 registrations, from 190 different countries. It is important to note that 80% of the names registered have built proper web sites and 687 .ME domains are ranked in the 1 million most searched sites on the Internet. .ME has become a successful, internationalized and popular extension.
.ME offers a number of catchy names’ possibilities and marketing tools for both business and individuals. As the .ME registry summarizes well: “Me is about You”. The .ME registry has released a number of great names’ examples: Interact‐with.Me, DayDreamWith.Me, Network with .Me, Work‐with.Me, youAnd.Me, BlogDoctor.Me. The words’ association and combination are endless.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, comments “we launched .ME in May 2008 and the registrations haven’t stopped growing since. .ME offers so many possibilities in terms of marketing and innovativeness for companies, organizations and also personal sites. To follow this positive and ongoing trend, we are offering a 50% discount until this summer. Don’t miss this chance!”.
.Me is recognized as “a true phenomenon among TLDs because of its unforgettable meaning and limitless word combination possibilities, .Me gives a truly personal tone to your domain name. If you are looking for a name that speaks for itself .Me is your best choice. Let .Me speak for your online business or personal blog”, states the .ME registry, Affilias.

To register your .ME now, go here!

EuroDNS at ICT Spring!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:22:09 +0100

Datacenter Luxembourg, EuroDNS and voipGATE at ICT Spring Europe 2010 – Meet us there!

Luxembourg, February 4th 2010 – Datacenter Luxembourg, EuroDNS and voipGATE, all three part of the DCL Group, are proud to announce their participation and support at the first ICT Spring Europe taking place on March 15th and 16th in Luxembourg.

ICT Spring Europe is the first edition of a conference in Luxembourg oriented towards business technology and its latest evolutions, with a great focus on International players’ needs and expectations.

Marco Houwen, founder of DCL Group and Managing Director of Datacenter Luxembourg, explains, “The idea of having such an international and technologically oriented conference is a plus for Luxembourg and will benefit all players on the ICT market, whether national or international. The three companies within DCL Group are truly leaders in their own markets and we are proud to share our best practices and knowledge during these 2 days of conference”.

Datacenter Luxembourg (www.datacenter.eu) is an independent datacentre service provider operating out of the Grand Duchy since 10 years now. The services comprise among others a diversified and carrier independent datacentre infrastructure, international Internet & Telco connectivity, managed e-commerce and managed housing solutions. Datacenter Luxembourg offers quality bandwidth and IP through a unique international looped dark fibre backbone as well as managed services on all servers and connectivity needs.

Created in 2002, EuroDNS (www.eurodns.com) is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.

voipGATE (www.voipgate.com) was founded in 2004 and operates locally and worldwide as one of the unique and leading Operators in Voice over IP by offering telecommunication services and local Phone Numbers across the world. voipGATE has strong partnerships with PBX key brands (i.e: Siemens, Avaya, Cisco, Nec-Philips, Patton, Mitel,…) and various mobile devices (i.e: Nokia, Grandstream…), to ensure and offer its customers both flexibility and ease of use. voipGATE’s major objectives are to promote and contribute to the VoIP market and to offer reliable and high quality services. voipGATE is present in the B2C and B2B (SME/SMI) local and International market as well as in wholesale (Callcenter,...).

Xavier Buck, founder of DCL Group and CEO of EuroDNS, states “it is really the first time we promote ourselves as a group and the ICT Spring is a first for us as well. We have worked hard since 10 years and having managed to achieve a leading position for all three companies within their own field of expertise is important. We are very excited to share our know-how and experience with all international and national players at the show”.

ICT Spring Europe has announced a panel of 60 international speakers from Absolu Telecom, ArcelorMittal, Clearstream, Deutschland Online, eBay, Forrester, Gartner, Microsoft, Paypal, Philips, RTL, SES Astra, TomTom and many more. For more information on the event, please go to: www.ictspring.com

Contact DCL Group:

Melanie Delannoy
Marketing & Communication Manager
mdelannoy@dclgroup.eu

.mobi for 9 Euro!

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:41:18 +0100

Five Reasons Why You Need a .mobi Domain – And get your .mobi for only 9 Euros !

According to analysts group Quantcast, the mobile Web grew 148 percent worldwide in 2009. Obviously the mobile Web is exploding in popularity. If you’re looking to join the mobile revolution, you should get a .mobi domain. Here are five reasons why …

1. .mobi is emerging as the de facto standard for mobile internet domains
With the growth of the mobile Web comes the need for standardization to allow consumers to easily find mobile content. Numerous times in the past, competing technology standards have delayed widespread adoption. In the ‘70s, it was VCR versus Betamax. In the 1990s it was Digital Audio Tape versus MiniDisc versus CD. In both of these examples, it was the format that got in the lead first, and enjoyed the widest industry support, that eventually triumphed. Today the .mobi domain enjoys this same position as the most prevalent mobile domain in use and was founded by a veritable who’s who of the mobile Internet.

2. .mobi domains are white-listed by network level transcoders
Designing great mobile sites takes time and effort to get the most out of the limited screen resolution and navigation mechanisms of mobiles. Having created your mobile presence, the last thing you want is a third-party transcoder modifying your site … but this is exactly what happens when you use a non-standard domain name. By industry convention, .mobi sites are automatically white-listed by all network level transcoders so you can be 100% sure that your site will render as you intended on every mobile device.

3. .mobi domains offer better search engine performance
Search engine performance is crucial to the success of any business. Because every .mobi domain registered gets its own entry in the Internet Zone Files, which are the files that search engines use to start their crawls, your site will automatically perform better than if you use any other naming convention. Additionally, search engines detect when searches are being made from mobile devices and prioritize their results accordingly. Because .mobi sites are high-quality, made-for-mobile sites, they are automatically brought to the top of the mobile search results.

4. .mobi names are designed for mobile use
Despite having close to one million names, the reality is that a lot of great names are still available. And having short names is essential for mobile where entering long URLs can be cumbersome. This is great news for companies who did not get their first-preference .com address. With the mobile Web experiencing triple digit growth year-on-year, and forecast to continue doing so, creating a memorable mobile presence now represents a huge opportunity for future growth.

5. .mobi is actively promoted and industry supported
The goal of dotMobi – the company behind the .mobi domain – is the widespread proliferation and usage of the mobile Web. For consumers, mobile content needs to be easily found and navigated. It’s this need for standards that prompted ICANN to make .mobi the only authorized top-level domain for finding mobile content. And by having the support of industry heavyweights such as Microsoft, Vodafone, Nokia and Google, dotMobi is able to promote a single, globally recognized, domain naming convention for the mobile Web: .mobi.

To get your .mobi domain for only 9 Euros with EuroDNS, please go here: http://www.eurodns.com/promo/9MOBI10, or use the promocode: 9MOBI10

Opening .LU IDN Sunrise

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:09:31 +0100

Luxembourg, February 1st, 2010 – EuroDNS is proud to announce the opening of the .LU Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) Sunrise period, starting today until March 31st.
The sunrise is open to all registrants who already own a .LU domain name. The IDNs give companies and individuals based in the European Union the chance to register domain names that contain non-Latin characters under the .LU domain.
As of today, domain name holders established outside Luxembourg do not longer need to give valid power of attorney to an agent established in Luxembourg for the registration and the management of their domain names.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “2010 is truly the year of the IDNs and we are proud to be part the .LU IDN Sunrise period. In order to secure your domain name, it is important you register it today. As Luxembourg has 3 main languages, Luxembourgish, French and German, this is a great opportunity. Don’t miss this chance to have your .LU written in your own language and alphabet. Besides the removal of the local presence will make registrations easier and open the .LU space to all ”.
There are a number of restrictions in registering a .LU IDN. The domain names eligible during the sunrise period are those derived from an existing domain name by replacing one or more characters with the same base character with a diacritic, or by applying the general replacement convention (ie: ü=ue). Besides, .LU IDN can only be registered during the Sunrise by the same holder of the similar .LU domain name.
The opening of the .LU IDN follows the recent launch of .PL, .EU, .DE, .COM and .NET IDNs.
For more information on .LU IDNs, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Luxembourg/Lu

The year of the IDNs

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:27:41 +0100

After the recent launch of .EU IDNs, you can now get your .COM, .NET, .DE and .PL IDNs as well!More IDNs to come, so stay tuned!

.ES for only 11 Euro !

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:13:35 +0100

Luxembourg, January 11th, 2010 - EuroDNS announces today a one month promotion campaign on.ES domain names. For all new .ES registered, get a 30% discount, using the promocode 1ES10.
.ES is the country code top level domain for Spain. The number of .ES domain name registrations has reached more than 1 Million in 2009 and this figure is constantly growing. This is your chance to expand onto the Spanish market and get visibility within the .ES sphere.
Spain is the world's 51st-largest country, comparable in size to France, and somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California. Besides, according to the World Bank, Spain's economy is the ninth largest worldwide and the fifth largest in Europe. It is also the 3rd largest world investor.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, states “If you would like to position your company within Europe and get as much visibility as possible, it’s important to have your .ES domain name. If you are an individual, and you want to target Spanish speaking communities, the same thing applies. We are offering you a great monthly promotion on the .ES domain name! Don’t miss it, go directly here”.
The .ES extension will help you to reach and communicate with the audience in Spain. The domain names are available to anyone who wishes to offer services, information or products that are tied to Spain, either culturally, historically, socially or on a business level.
For more information check here: http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Spain/Es, and to get your promotion, go directly to: http://www.eurodns.com/promo/1ES10

Meet EuroDNS at DomainFest

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:39:52 +0100

EuroDNS will be present during DomainFest taking place in Santa Monica, CA on January 26-28, 2010.

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.
If you are interested to meet us to discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact marketing@eurodns.com

IPv6 and the IDNs

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:10:54 +0100

Luxembourg, January 5th 2010 – The Luxembourg IPv6 Council has followed closely the introduction of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), especially the recent launch of the .eu IDN in December 2009.

The introduction of IDN will require more IP address space which is no more guaranteed by the remaining 10% of the IPv4 address pool expected to be depleted by 2011. IPv6 will therefore extend the needed IP address capacity for IDN deployment around the world.

The implementation of IDNs gives companies and individuals based in the European Union the chance to register domain names that contain non-Latin characters under the .eu domain. The .eu IDNs support the 23 official languages of the European Union as well as the entire alphabets.

It was important for the Luxembourg IPv6 Council to analyze the interaction and market adaptation of these IDNs in relation with the next-generation Internet Protocol version 6. It was also a major step forward for key players and domain name registrars to implement IPv6 within their technology.

Together with EuroDNS, one of the IDN domain registrars, the Taskforce was able to evaluate possible influences, and confirm that both the implementation and usability of IPv6 in relation with IDN domain names works as smoothly and easily as for non IDN domain names.

“IDNs & IPv6 are good room-mates to extend the Internet over and beyond current limited scale. EuroDNS has already implemented IPv6 for .eu IDN. This is a major milestone for the New Internet in the making” states IPv6 Forum President Latif LADID, based in Luxembourg.

EuroDNS is a leading registrar of international domain name, offering more than 150 extensions. Any user who registered an IDN domain name at EuroDNS.com can simply go through his DNS management interface and select an IPv6 address for any registered domain name.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “At EuroDNS, we always strive to implement and adapt to the highest technological advancements existing on the market. For the development of .eu IDNs we felt it was important to use the most adapted technology, hence IPv6 that provides greater possibilities and name resolution”.

For more information about the IPv6 Forum, go to: http://www.ipv6forum.com , and to know more about EuroDNS and .eu IDNs, please go to: www.eurodns.com

About the IPv6 Forum
The IPv6 Forum is a world-wide consortium of leading Internet service vendors, National Research & Education Networks (NRENs) and international ISPs, with a clear mission to promote IPv6 by improving market and user awareness, creating a quality and secure New Generation Internet and allowing world-wide equitable access to knowledge and technology. The key focus of the IPv6 Forum today is to provide technical guidance for the deployment of IPv6. IPv6 Summits are organized by the IPv6 Forum and staged in various locations around the world to provide industry and market with the best available information on this rapidly advancing technology.
For further information, please visit the IPv6 ISP Logo Program website: http://www.ipv6forum.com/ipv6_enabled

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. www.eurodns.com

IPv6 Forum Contact:
Latif Ladid
Luxembourg
+352 30 71 34
Latif.ladid@ipv6forum.com

EuroDNS Contact:
Melanie Delannoy
EuroDNS
2, Rue Léon Laval
3372 Leudelange, Luxembourg

Register your .DO!

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:22:36 +0100

Register your domain name in the new Top Level domain extension .DO at EuroDNS!

Luxembourg, December 14th, 2009 - EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the .DO domain extension.
.DO is the Country Code Top Level Domain for the Dominican Republic, a nation on the island of Hispaniola and also the 2nd biggest Caribbean nation with around 10 million people.
Having your name registered in a .DO is significant if you are planning to reach and communicate with the audience in the Dominican Republic. It can also be a strategic move as the word “DO” means different things in different languages. In English “DO” is the most used action verb, with plenty of meanings attached to it and possible usages. In Spanish, “DO” is the end of all verbs in past participle.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS says, “As part of our strategy to offer a large range of new and exotic extensions, from country code top level domains to generic ones, we are pleased to launch the .DO for the Dominican Republic. We already offered the second level domain .COM.DO, more centered on commercial organizations. .DO is not only significant for its association to a country, but it also has great marketing potential and has an obvious usage: for example, one could register howdoyou.do, whatyougonna.do”.
The registration fee for a .DO domain name is € 98 per year and the registration minimum term is of 2 years.

For more information, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/topLevelDomain/details/DominicanRepublic/Do

.co.uk for 9 Euros

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:53:27 +0100

Get your .co.uk for 9 Euros, go directly here: http://www.eurodns.com/promo/COUK8 or use the promocode: COUK8
This promotion is only valid for 2 days. Get it now!
In November 2009 the .uk register passed another significant milestone when it reached eight million registrations.

The 8 millionth domain name lambethsuperhomes.org.uk was registered by Lambeth Super Homes based in London.
This is yet another indicator of continued strong growth in the .uk Top Level Domain, with one million domain names having been registered since August 2008.

For further information and statistics about .uk and global domain name registrations,check out www.nominet.org.uk

Pre-register .eu IDNs for 9 Eur

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:54:54 +0100

EuroDNS has announced one month ago the opening of a pre-registration period for .eu Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), based on a first-come, first-served model. This gives companies and individuals based in the European Union the chance to register domain names that contain non-Latin characters under the .eu domain.
Until December 10th, benefit from a 50% promotion on your .EU, using the promocode 9EU9.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “the opening of IDNs for the .eu is a huge step forwards for businesses and individuals in Europe. This implementation will support the 23 official languages of the European Union as well as the entire alphabets. However there won’t be any sunrise period and as it is on a first-come, first-served basis, it is crucial that customers and especially the owners of a registered trademark register in advance via our interface, www.eurodns.com, in order to secure their names. There are only 10 days left”.
IDNs are domain names that contain non-Latin characters. These characters include, for example, the Swedish å, the German ü, the Romanian ș, the Cyrillic й, Latin accents such as é and characters from the Bulgarian and Greek alphabets. The characters that will be supported can be found here: http://www.eurid.eu/en/eu-domain-names/idns-eu/supported-characters
Another important technical aspect is the impossibility to mix scripts or characters from different scripts/alphabets in a single IDN, as some characters can look so similar that they cannot be differentiated. The maximum length of the IDN must be 63 characters after it is converted into the ACE string format needed by the Domain Name. To convert your name, please go to: http://www.eurodns.com/eu-idn-registration/
On receipt of your pre-registration order, EuroDNS will place it in a dedicated queue following the first come first served principle and will endeavor to automatically submit it to the .EU registry on December 10 of 2009. Besides, there is no additional fee to benefit from EuroDNS pre-registration queue.
For more information, please check here: http://www.eurodns.com/eu-idn-registration/

.MOBI Promo!

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:01:06 +0100

Get your .MOBI for only 9 Euros, for any new registrations and all renewals.Use the Promocode: 9MOBI10
Valid until the end of December! Don't miss it...

Pre-register .eu IDNs now!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:31:05 +0100

Luxembourg, November 9th 2009 - EuroDNS announces the opening of a pre-registration period for .eu Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), based on a first-come, first-served model. Companies and individuals based in the European Union have now the opportunity to register domain names that contain non-Latin characters under the .eu domain.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS states, “the opening of IDNs for the .eu is a huge step forwards for businesses and individuals in Europe. This implementation will support the 23 official languages of the European Union as well as the entire alphabets. However there won’t be any sunrise period and as it is on a first-come, first-served basis, it is crucial that customers and especially the owners of a registered trademark register in advance via our interface, www.eurodns.com, in order to secure their names”.
IDNs are domain names that contain non-Latin characters. These characters include, for example, the Swedish å, the German ü, the Romanian ș, the Cyrillic й, Latin accents such as é and characters from the Bulgarian and Greek alphabets. The characters that will be supported can be found here: http://www.eurid.eu/en/eu-domain-names/idns-eu/supported-characters
“IDNs are particularly important for .eu,” notes Marc Van Wesemael, EURid General Manager. “EURid supports all twenty-three official EU languages, and our employees come from twenty of the twenty-seven Member States. Supporting the use and growth of Internationalised Domain Names comes naturally to us.”
Another important technical aspect is the impossibility to mix scripts or characters from different scripts/alphabets in a single IDN, as some characters can look so similar that they cannot be differentiated. The maximum length of the IDN must be 63 characters after it is converted into the ACE string format needed by the Domain Name System (source: http://www.eurid.eu/en/eu-domain-names/idns-eu/idn-technical-limitations).
The start of the registration for the .eu IDNs is December 10th 2009, during which EuroDNS will submit all domain names being pre-registered.
For more information, please check here: http://www.eurodns.com/eu-idn-registration/

.CO.NL for 9,99!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:27:20 +0100

Luxembourg November 3rd, 2009 - To celebrate the first year of the .CO.NL existence, EuroDNS announces a great promotion on the Dutch domain name extension.
Register now your .CO.NL today for only 9, 99 Euros, using the promo code: CONL999, or click here. This discount is available until the end of December 2009.
Sander Scholten, .CO.NL General Manager, says “this past year has been really hectic for us and it was interesting to see the gradual growth of the registrations of .CO.NL names. Not only were these names registered but they have also been actively used by their owners. Sub domains with the .CO.NL extension stand as a local alternative to the .NL, which has reached 3,6 Millions of domains. The decreasing availability of .NL names also strongly supports the existence of this alternative local extension. Besides, .CO.NL has some great international potential and traffic, and some of the best Key words for your business might still be available!”.
During the first priority phase, called Sunrise, a number of trademarks were registered such as www.podcast.co.nl, www.heineken.co.nl, www.bacardi.co.nl,www.coach.co.nl and www.google.co.nl. This phase was then followed by a successful Landrush and Go Live.
The .co.xx extension counts for 20% of the worldwide country code domains and 45 countries are actually promoting their .co.xx actively. For example .co.uk has become a highly commercial and popular domain extension, with more than 7 Millions names registered by 2008. The same goes for.co.nz, the subdomain for .nz, New Zealand. The commercial aim of such a domain name extension is obvious and usually fewer restrictions are associated to a .co.xx, which makes it very attractive for an individual or a company not actually based in the country to which the extension belongs.
For more information on the .CO.NL go here, and benefit from the promo, by clicking on this link.

Only 9 Euros for...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:53:19 +0100

.COM, .NET and .ORG
Use the Promocodes: 3COM9, 3NET9, 1ORG50
VAlid 2 months!

.ME Promotion!

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:16:32 +0200

EuroDNS announces the opening of a monthly promotion for the .ME domain extension. Get your .ME domain name for only 17 Euros, check here!

At the same time, get also a 50% promotion on the registration of your .COM and .NET!

The strength of the .ME is that the extension is not so much about the country it represents but more about the personal meaning attached to it. .ME registry has summarized the extension in one key sentence, “Me is about You”. There are also plenty of catchy names’ possibilities and marketing potential behind a .ME. A few examples are : networkwith.me, interact-with.me, registerwith.me. With more than 260,000 domains registered in less than a year, by people from 182 different countries, .ME has become a successful and popular extension

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, comments “we have launched the .ME in May last year and the results have been remarkable. .ME offers so many possibilities in terms of marketing and innovativeness for companies, organizations and even for personal sites. To follow this positive and ongoing trend, we are launching every month a 2 weeks promotion. We are starting this month with a 30% off, using the promocode: 17ME10”. .Me is recognized as “a true phenomenon among TLDs because of its unforgettable meaning and limitless word combination possibilities, .Me gives a truly personal tone to your domain name. If you are looking for a name that speaks for itself .Me is your best choice. Let .Me speak for your online business or personal blog”, states the .ME registry, Affilias.

The impact of .ME on businesses has been significant as they count for almost 60% of the totality of the .ME registered. The arguments for businesses to own a .ME include the possibility to protect the brand and to make it stand out more, compared to other competitors.
To register your .ME now, go here!

Promos on .COM & .NET

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:46:28 +0200

Get your .COM & .NET for only 9 Euros!

Use the Promocodes: 3COM9 & 3NET9
It's time to gain visibility and increase your presence on the web.
Don't miss this great great promotion, valid during 2 months!

Great prices for .pl and com.pl

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:54:18 +0200

Reach the Polish Market with EuroDNS

Luxembourg, September 23rd 2009 - EuroDNS announces a 50% decrease in the .pl and com.pl prices from September 2009 onwards, as well as a great promotion for .pl during the MeetDomainers meeting in Poland. Get your .pl for only 10 Euros, using the promocode: POL4PL, valid from September 25th until October 5th.

.pl is the Top Level Domain Name for Poland, a country with a central position within Eastern Europe, bordered by Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and the Baltic Sea. This central position gives Poland a great dynamism and key connections with the closest countries.

Since its launch in 1990, the .pl registry, NASK, has announced the registration of more than 1 Million 500 domain names. Besides, the growth of .pl extension is regular and ongoing with an average of 3% increase in registrations every month.

Adam Wagner, EuroDNS Account Manager in charge of the Polish market, explains “.pl is an interesting and growing market with great e-commerce potential. The fact that we have decreased the annual price will open more possibilities for our customers. We have also started a 60% promotion on .pl, which cannot be missed. Stay tuned on www.eurodns.com for more upcoming news”.

EuroDNS has become one of the top worldwide domain name Registrars with a steady growth in domain names’ registrations, a success due in part to its highly successful “one-stop-shop” strategy, which allows customers to consolidate their portfolio in Europe (.EU, .FR, .PL, .ES, .RU…), Asia (.ASIA, .KR, .CN), Latin countries and also in the more generic extensions (.Com, .tel, .org, .net, .Mobi…) under one roof.

EuroDNS is Gold Sponsor of the Polish MeetDomainers Conference held in Warsow from September 25th to 27th. Meet us there! Feel free to get in contact with us, just contact awagner@eurodns.com

.CM Golive FINALLY opens!

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:41:54 +0200

EuroDNS is delighted to FINALLY announce the successful opening of the .CM Golive period. Come and get your .CM domain at www.eurodns.com!

After many issues, both technical and political, the .CM Registry finally announced the opening on the landrush with a new and improved system. "After many 'false starts' EuroDNS decided to wait until the landrush finally happened before announcing it and give false hope" commented Stefan Haynes, Customer Care Manager for EuroDNS. The first .CM names were registered this morning.

The domain extension .CM is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Republic of Cameroon. Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “.CM is a significant extension as it covers the Central African region, which does not usually provide many domain names. It’s an opportunity to expand your portfolio in Africa”.

Registering a .CM also allows to protect your name as it is considered to be a typo of the .COM. Indeed, when typing a .COM domain name, people often forget to type in the ‘o’, which can cause a loss of traffic and also lead to a misleading use of the name if you are not the owner of the corresponding .CM name.

The launch of .CM is also associated to the battle against poverty in Africa and the willingness to expand both e-commerce and Internet on the African territory. The .CM registry has thus decided that for each domain sold, a certain percentage will go the foundation “Flowers in the Desert”: 10% from landrush auction.

The Golive period begun on September 18th, 2009 at 8:00:01 UTC. At this point .CM domains can be registered on a first come, first served basis. The minimum registration term is 1 for 80 EUR .

To have more information and register your .CM now, just go to: www.eurodns.com, and stay tuned!

.MX Landrush Phase Now Open!

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:09:42 +0200

EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the .MX Landrush phase on September 1st for a start price of 485 Euros, which will decrease gradually until October 31st. See the daily prices here: www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Mexico/Mx.

.MX is the top level domain for Mexico, which has been re-opened by NIC Mexico on the second level following a successful exploitation of .COM.MX domain names.

The opening of the .MX extension at the second level (i.e www.eurodns.mx as opposed to www.eurodns.com.mx), to anyone without any requirement such as a local presence or specific link to the country of Mexico, is a great opportunity for anyone to expand onto the Mexican market and e-commerce platforms.

At present, the .MX Registry has decided not to establish a fixed registration price but rather to use a “Dutch style” process for the Landrush period. Accordingly, .MX prices will start quite high at the beginning to decrease gradually until October 31st when the price could be as low as 44 Euros. Given the Registry operates on a first come, first served basis, it is an opportunity for registrants to determine whether they are willing to pay more to make sure they get the exact name they want or wait until the price drops at the risk of having to change their minds according to the names that are yet unregistered.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “.MX landrush is a great opportunity for our customers, yet this first-ever pricing scheme can be a bit hard to master. In order to facilitate the registration process, EuroDNS has developed a daily RSS flow system that will allow anyone to instantly check the daily .MX price. We will also publish the ‘.MX Quotation’ based on past days pricings in order to give our customers a better feel of the market. Despite its one-of-a-kind methodology, re-opening of the .mx is a real opportunity and cannot be missed, so pre-register your name now if you want to secure it”.

Specific EuroDNS .MX Tools can be found at http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Mexico/Mx.

The landrush will last two months and any eligible person or organization interested can request a .mx domain name. A “first come, first served” basis will apply and the registration period will be for one year.

From November 1st on, the registration fee will be more or less 44 Euros, as will be the fee for all second level registrations in each successive year, of course, pending any price changes in coming years.
Registration fees for .MX domain names at the third level (.COM.MX, .ORG.MX, .EDU.MX, .NET.MX, .GOB.MX) will remain the same.

Pre-Register for the Landrush Phase of .MX today!

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:30:18 +0200

EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the .MX Landrush pre-registration phase from August 25th until September 1st, the latter being the official opening day of the Landrush period, for a price of 485 Euros.

.MX is the top level domain for Mexico, which has been re-opened by NIC Mexico on the second level following a successful exploitation of .COM.MX domain names.

The opening of the .MX extension at the second level (i.e www.eurodns.mx as opposed to www.eurodns.com.mx), to anyone without any requirement such as a local presence or specific link to the country of Mexico, is a great opportunity for anyone to expand onto the Mexican market and e-commerce platforms.

At present, the .MX Registry has decided not to establish a fixed registration price but rather to use a “Dutch style” process for the Landrush period. Accordingly, .MX prices will start quite high at the beginning to decrease gradually until October 31st when the price could be as low as 44 Euros. Given the Registry operates on a first come, first served basis, it is an opportunity for registrants to determine whether they are willing to pay more to make sure they get the exact name they want or wait until the price drops at the risk of having to change their minds according to the names that are yet unregistered.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “.MX landrush is a great opportunity for our customers, yet this first-ever pricing scheme can be a bit hard to master. In order to facilitate the registration process, EuroDNS has developed a daily RSS flow system that will allow anyone to instantly check the daily .MX price. We will also publish the ‘.MX Quotation’ based on past days pricings in order to give our customers a better feel of the market. Despite its one-of-a-kind methodology, re-opening of the .mx is a real opportunity and cannot be missed, so pre-register your name now if you want to secure it”.

Specific EuroDNS .MX Tools can be found at http://www.eurodns.com/top-level-domain/Mexico/Mx.

The landrush will last two months and any eligible person or organization interested can request a .mx domain name. A “first come, first served” basis will apply and the registration period will be for one year.

From November 1st on, the registration fee will be more or less 44 Euros, as will be the fee for all second level registrations in each successive year, of course, pending any price changes in coming years.
Registration fees for .MX domain names at the third level (.COM.MX, .ORG.MX, .EDU.MX, .NET.MX, .GOB.MX) will remain the same.

.DE Promo

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:19:03 +0200

30% off for .DE to celebrate the fact that .DE Registry reached 13 Million domains registered since its opening.
Use the Promocode: 13DE30 (Valid 1 week)

EuroDNS and Michau Enterprise Team Up!

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:21:42 +0200

EuroDNS S.A., a worldwide leader in domain registrations, announces partnership with Michau Enterprises Limited – a Cyprus company operating AfterMarket.pl, the largest Polish domain aftermarket website.

Within this partnership, EuroDNS takes a participation in Michau Enterprises Ltd. and license the software that is currently being used on AfterMarket.pl. This software allows the complete management of a marketplace for the buying and selling of domain names, with many additional services such as: domain dropcatching, parking, registration and tasting.

“Having access to the domain marketplace software will allow us to rapidly offer various domain aftermarket services to our customers”, says Xavier Buck, Chief Executive Officer of EuroDNS. “The software is already being used successfully in Central European markets, and since it supports multiple languages, currencies and domain registries, it is a perfect solution for our needs”.

Michal Pleban from Michau Enterprises Ltd. adds, “partnering with EuroDNS will strengthen our position on the Polish market by bringing foreign investors willing to purchase .pl names. Combining our experience with EuroDNS’s extensive partnerships and worldwide contacts creates a winning environment for all involved parties”.

EuroDNS plans to open end of the year several domain aftermarket websites based on the licensed technology, leveraging its long-standing relationships with European domain investors. One of these platforms will be launched under the great and unique domain name: domainauctions.com.

Register .IM for 2 Euros!

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:31:03 +0200

EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the .IM extension, now available for purchase for only 2 Euros at www.eurodns.com.
.IM is the Country Code Top-Level Domain extension for The Isle of Man, a self-governing crown dependency located within the British Isles, but constitutionally separate from the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man is a "low tax economy" with no capital gains tax, wealth tax, or inheritance tax.
Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, explains “The .IM extension represents more than just a country code domain available to all Isle of Man’s businesses and residents. It can indeed be used to personalize your web address, as .IM in English phonetically corresponds to “I am”. Therefore, having an address such as YourName.IM could sound really interesting. .IM is also strongly linked to the social characteristic of Instant Messaging, which allows you to create a website using your instant messaging screen name. The need of unique, specific and personalized domain name extension such as .IM is growing. Don’t miss this opportunity and register your .IM at EuroDNS for 2 Euros. This great offer will only be available for 6 months”.

.IM extension offers a number of interesting possibilities around the personalization and social aspects of a web address. It is also a way to expend one’s business and e-commerce within The Isle of Man. For more information on this offer and to get more promotions and an extensive list of available extensions, please go to www.eurodns.com

Opening .CM Landrush!

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:08:34 +0200

EuroDNS announces the opening of the .CM Landrush period, starting today at 0:00:01 UTC and lasting until July 31st. The Sunrise phase of .CM was a real success and a significant number of trademark names have been registered at www.eurodns.com.
During the Sunrise period, all applications will be subjected to a premium fee and an auction system, with a minimum registration time of 2 years. Indeed, in case there is more than one application per domain, the domain will go into an auction system that will be held shortly after the end of the Landrush period. The price for each domain name application will be 260 EUR, including a two years term. The domain extension .CM is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Republic of Cameroon. Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “.CM is a significant extension as it covers the Central African region, which does not usually provide many domain names. It’s an opportunity to expand your portfolio in Africa”.

Registering a .CM also allows to protect your name as it is considered to be a typo of the .COM. Indeed, when typing a .COM domain name, people often forget to type in the ‘o’, which can cause a loss of traffic and also lead to a misleading use of the name if you are not the owner of the corresponding .CM name. The launch of .CM is also associated to the battle against poverty in Africa and the willingness to expand both e-commerce and Internet on the African territory. The .CM registry has thus decided that for each domain sold, a certain percentage will go the foundation “Flowers in the Desert”: 10% from landrush auction.

The Go Live will begin on August 1st, 2009 at 0:00:01 UTC. At this point .CM domains can be registered on a first come, first served basis. The minimum registration term is 1 year and the price will be announced soon. The price for the each Go Live registration is 80 EUR. To have more information and register your .CM now, just go to: www.eurodns.com, and stay tuned!

Great Promo for .ME Domain

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:45:58 +0200

EuroDNS announces the opening of a monthly promotion for the .ME domain extension. Get your .ME domain name for only 17 Euros, just click here.

The strength of the .ME is that the extension is not so much about the country it represents but more about the personal meaning attached to it. .ME registry has summarized the extension in one key sentence, “Me is about You”. There are also plenty of catchy names’ possibilities and marketing potential behind a .ME. A few examples are : networkwith.me, interact-with.me, registerwith.me. With more than 260,000 domains registered in less than a year, by people from 182 different countries, .ME has become a successful and popular extension. Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS, comments “we have launched the .ME in May last year and the results have been remarkable. .ME offers so many possibilities in terms of marketing and innovativeness for companies, organizations and even for personal sites. To follow this positive and ongoing trend, we are launching every month a 2 weeks promotion. We are starting this month with a 30% off, using the promocode: MEJU30”. .Me is recognized as “a true phenomenon among TLDs because of its unforgettable meaning and limitless word combination possibilities, .Me gives a truly personal tone to your domain name. If you are looking for a name that speaks for itself .Me is your best choice. Let .Me speak for your online business or personal blog”, states the .ME registry, Affilias.

The impact of .ME on businesses has been significant as they count for almost 60% of the totality of the .ME registered. The arguments for businesses to own a .ME include the possibility to protect the brand and to make it stand out more, compared to other competitors.
To register your .ME now, just go here!

Updates on the Community Telhosting platform

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:01:21 +0200

EuroDNS is glad to announce a number of new functionalities for the .TEL domain extension.

The Community Telhosting Platform (CTH) OT&E has been upgraded to a version that supports 10 new languages for both administrator and end user interfaces.

As the .TEL registry, Telnic, explains “This release introduces Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish language versions for both end-users and your administrator areas. The language shown will be automatically determined from the language settings within the viewer’s browser, so your CTH view will be in French if your browser preferred language is set to French etc, for all available languages”.

Register your .TEL at: www.eurodns.com

Get a free USB stick for each new .ASIA domain nam

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:02:34 +0200

EuroDNS/AsiaDNS (www.asiadns.com) is glad to announce today the launch of a 3 months .ASIA campaign, during which every new .Asia domain name registered for a minimum of 2 years will come with a complimentary USB stick.

With around 300,000 .Asia names registered since more than one year, .Asia has become a significant extension worldwide for e-commerce and visibility, with a coverage of 70 countries, from the Middle East, to the Far East and Oceania regions. Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS/AsiaDNS, comments, “We believe .Asia domain extension has a unique and strong potential as it gives consumers and companies the possibility to largely reach the Asian market and develop their presence on it as well as position their brand. The ranking chance on search engines is also high. This new .Asia campaign is definitively a great opportunity to reach such a new and lively market. The registry will send a free USB key branded EuroDNS and .Asia for each new single registration of 2 years or more, to the contact address given to EuroDNS”.

Leona Chen, DotAsia Organisation Ltd., explains “Having a .Asia domain not only improves a company searchabiity and visibility online, but also helps a business save on cost without having to register ALL country code level domains within Asia”. More than 60% of the world population resides in the Asia region and Asian’s governments have been launching initiatives to develop their broadband capability and other leading technologies, which has contributed to position Asia as one of the largest online market. Asia has become one of the most advanced wireless markets in the world and there is a trend towards making Internet functionality available in a wide array of devices beyond the PC.
For more information and to register your .Asia, go here:
www.asiadns.com

Please contact directly the registry if you don't receive the USB stick.

Register your domain name in .CM

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:33:57 +0200

The launch of .CM has successfully started with a significant number of trademark names registered during the Sunrise period at www.eurodns.com.
The domain extension .CM is not only the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Republic of Cameroon, but also corresponds to the .COM typo. As Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains, “it is important to protect your .COM domain name by registering the corresponding .CM name. Indeed, when typing a .COM domain name, people often forget to type in the ‘o’, which can cause a loss of traffic and also lead to a misleading use of your name if you are not the owner of the corresponding .CM name. Don’t miss this opportunity. The sunrise, which allows all trademark owners to register at the earliest stage, is still running until July 15th”. The launch of .CM is associated to the battle against poverty in Africa and the willingness to expand both e-commerce and Internet on the African territory. The .CM registry has thus decided that for each domain sold, a certain percentage will go the foundation “Flowers in the Desert”.

Moustapha Saya Kaigama, CEO of Netcom.cm, explains “.CM will definitively open the African market in terms of presence, e-commerce and Internet, but our goal is also to contribute to the fight against poverty by giving to the foundation “Flowers in the Desert” a certain percentage for each domain name sold: 10% from landrush auction / and for registration during sunrise and open registration Euro 2.5 per domain and year”. During the Sunrise phase, the minimum registration period is 2 years and applicants must hold a valid and issued trademark at the time of application. If there is more than one valid Sunrise application for the same domain name, the name will be awarded to the registrant with the oldest registered trademark.

Each domain application costs 360 EUR with a non-refundable fee of 60EUR, including a two years term. The registry will then open the Landrush period from July 15th, 2009, 0:00:01 UTC until July 31st, 2009, 0:00:01 UTC, during which all applications will be subjected to a premium fee and an auction system, with a minimum registration time of 2 years. Indeed, in case there is more than one application per domain, the domain will go into an auction system that will be held shortly after the end of the Landrush period.

The price for each domain name application will be 260 EUR, including a two years term. The Go Live will begin on August 1st, 2009 at 0:00:01 UTC. At this point .CM domains can be registered on a first come, first served basis. The minimum registration term is 1 year and the price will be announced soon. The price for the each Go Live registration is 80 EUR.

To have more information and register your .CM now, just go to: www.eurodns.com, and stay tuned!

Important: Please read this!

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:55:25 +0200

We are really sorry for any inconvenience but there have been some hick ups with the backbone between June the 23 and 24th.
The BGP sessions with our different IP providers went unstable and some very few AS were not reachable on the Internet.

The problem was fixed as soon as we were able to locate the problem.

Please accept our apologies. Kind regards,

EuroDNS Team

Special Rackspace offer today

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:57:08 +0200

Domain Extension .CM opens at EuroDNS!

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:34:45 +0200

EuroDNS is glad to announce the opening of the .CM Sunrise phase on June 15th 2009 at 9:00 UTC until July 14th 2009 at 23:59:59 UTC. .CM is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Republic of Cameroon. The Sunrise period allows all trademark owners to register at the earliest stage and thus protect their brand name in the .CM extension.

Xavier Buck, CEO of EuroDNS explains “We are proud to be part of the launch of the .CM extension. Central Africa does not provide many domain name extensions and this is a great opportunity to expand one’s portfolio. Another advantage is that people often forget to type the ‘o’ when looking for a .com domain name, and having your domain name in .CM could secure a lot of traffic and avoid any misleading use of your name”. The launch of .CM is also a key initiative in the battle against poverty in Africa. Indeed, for each domain sold, a certain percentage will go the foundation “Flowers in the Desert”. The .CM will also contribute to the development of Internet and e-commerce on the African market and push its expansion.

During the Sunrise phase, the minimum registration period is 2 years and applicants must hold a valid and issued trademark at the time of application. If there is more than one valid Sunrise application for the same domain name, the name will be awarded to the registrant with the oldest registered trademark.
Each domain application costs 360 EUR with a non-refundable fee of 60 EUR, including a two years term.

The registry will then open the Landrush period from July 15th, 2009, 0:00:01 UTC until July 31st, 2009, 0:00:01 UTC, during which all applications will be subjected to a premium fee and an auction system, with a minimum registration time of 2 years. Indeed, in case there is more than one application per domain, the domain will go into an auction system that will be held shortly after the end of the Landrush period.
The price for each domain name application will be 260 EUR, including a two years term.
The Go Live will begin on August 1st, 2009 at 0:00:01 UTC. At this point .CM domains can be registered on a first come, first served basis. The minimum registration term is 1 year and the price will be announced soon. The price for the each Go Live registration is 80 EUR.
To have more information and register your .CM now, just go to: www.eurodns.com, and stay tuned!