Free domain ID protection – what’s included?

domain-id-protection

In case you didn’t know, any domain registered with or transferred to Websavers has the option to get free ID Protection — all you must do is check the box during your order. But what is ID protection and how does it compare to the competition?

Whenever you register a domain, the details of that registration like your name, address, telephone number, and email address are published in public WHOIS records for the domain. As an example, try searching for your domain, or any domain, on easywhois.com and see what it shows.

The core service behind ID Protection is to remove that information from the WHOIS records and put dummy info instead, hence protecting your ID.

But some providers, like GoDaddy, claim to have fancier domain protection services, which they call Domain Protection & Privacy, which you pay even more for! Let’s break those down here to see how they compare. Here’s the GoDaddy chart:

godaddy domain protection table

If you register or transfer your domain with/to Websavers, the ID Protection service we offer for free covers the first 4 of 8 items in the list. Here’s a breakdown of the remaining 4 items:

  • Protects against accidental expiration & malicious transfers: Presumably this means if you accidentally let your domain expire they’ll give it back without a redemption fee (which is typically a $300-400 fee), though the terms of this are not very clear. If you renew your domain on time, then this service is irrelevant. We do not currently offer this service.
  • Shuts down domain hijackers: Domain hijacking can only occur if someone gains access to your account and unlocks the domain. Domain locking is included free with our services and if you enable 2 Factor Authentication in your account, you will prevent domain hijacking without having to pay for an additional service.
  • Automatic malware scans: Malware protection occurs at the hosting level. We include this free with all of our shared hosting services and as an optional add-on to our VPS services.
  • Monitor Google search results: I’m doubtful they actually monitor Google, nor that this matters. In decades of business, we’ve never heard of a single person saying GoDaddy alerted them because their domain was dropped from Google.

By registering your domain with Websavers and taking advantage of our free ID protection service, you’ll have covered more than half of GoDaddy’s paid “protection services.” Better yet, if you also host with us, you’ll have all but one of these covered — all for no extra service fee.

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Jordan Schelew

Jordan has been working with computers, security, and network systems since the 90s and is a managing partner at Websavers Inc. As a founder of the company, he's been in the web tech space for over 15 years.
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