GoDaddy Will Start Masking Our WhoIs Info Jan 25th

[Ategy]

I just got the following email quoted below

For standard domain owners this is probably good ... but for domainers who want to be found via whois this is might be something we might want to be opt out of.

I'm thinking the real question is what will the searches actually see?

@Paul Nicks .. could you fill us in on the specific details of the change. Like what the searches will actually see, and some examples of "authorised" bulk searches.

Thanks

WHOIS masking starts January 25.

This service will block some of your contact details through automated access points.

We're always looking for ways to protect your information online. To help slow the flood of spam that can occur when you register a domain without privacy services, WHOIS masking of certain personal data will be turned on for all domains on January 25.

This service will limit a potential spammer's ability to access your first name, last name, email and phone number through automated means (also known as Port 43 access). We'll continue to publish full WHOIS details to users of our CAPTCHA-protected, web-based WHOIS system, as required.

Here's how to opt out:

If you still want your information to be available via automated sources of public WHOIS data, you can opt out anytime using one of these options:


• Call us at 866-938-1119.

• Send your request to [email protected]. We may ask for additional information for verification purposes.

Domain Privacy still matters.

While we hope this service will help cut down on spam calls and emails, because registration information is still made available publicly, Domain Privacy is still the best way to maintain anonymity online. WHOIS masking will only restrict spammers through automated bulk access sources.

To learn more, check out this help article:
https://ca.godaddy.com/help/masking...hared-via-whois-automated-access-points-27421

 

[Asfas1000]

Buyers can still find your whois. Your whois is not being hidden (privacy) or blocked. Automated whois information collection is being blocked

I think it is difficult for buyers to find my WHOIS details, because there is no email there and they have to know to search for a link which looks like this

http://who . godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx?domain=..............

 

[anantj]

No. The GD whois information externally returns a url directly to search for that domain's whois. For example:

Edit: The domain whose whois I looked up was GoDaddy

 

[anantj]

Or is there a registrar to registrar connection/port where registrars can pull such info from for transfer purposes? Based on transfers that have been stuck for months on end in the past, where I had to wait for the registrar to sort out the public WHOIS, I haven't seen anything indicating that there is such a thing. Though I'm not familiar with the technicalities of this part of the domain transfer system, so perhaps somebody more knowledgeable about it can chime in.

The latter is the case. This was confirmed by @Joe Styler on another thread (I'll try to search for it and link to it from here)

Found it - https://www.namepros.com/threads/go...ry-via-whois-impossible.1051677/#post-6455055

 

[platey]

In a way it's a good thing

Eg

It allows godaddy to sift through the spammers and gd to contact domain owners direct if an offer on their domain come in which saves domain name owners endless rubbish email offering seo etc and hosting etc and logos etc all of which are not needed by long term domain investors who just buy and sit on their domains and who could care less how long they own their domains etc

A search engine is more powerful than many people think

Especially in an era where people are working flexible lifestyles etc and more and more people searching for domains and the more people that buy from gd will put more $ in to gd pocket which in turn means gd will advertise more etc which will generate more people using gd search box trying to find their ideal domain etc

But whois although on some whois is blocked or hidden it still appears in gd whois

 

[Premiums]

great news but too late for us..

 

[tonyk2000]

I can understand this position. A week ago, I helped somebody I know offline to handreg a .com domain, it was very fast and we forgot to apply privacy immediately. Applied it on the next day. Already about a dozen of indian seo/design/logo emails received to my friends business email, and they are still coming to a private email which was shown in whois for a day or so. As a domainer I'm immune to these things, but an enduser was shocked. Thank goodness, privacy email @ the registrar in question is generic and does not forward anything, so hopefully the spam will soon decrease.

In related thread, Paul and Joe were of opinion that GD is in compliance with ICANN rules. I respectfully disagree, as there is nothing in ICANN rules or whois RFC that allows to limit whois output even today. Not sure what exact technical change will GD implement on Jan 25th, block any and all requests to port 43 whois if not from preapproved Ip ranges?

I am curious how is it possible for an ICANN accredited registrar not to follow the rules, even if the purpose is no doubts good and should be welcomed by any enduser.

 

[Joe Styler]

Real quick to address some of the main points on the thread.

We did this in order to help people reduce spam and protect our customers from companies soliciting them pretending to be us or affiliated with us or just spamming them based on new registrations. We have about 14 million customers and we do not want them to fall victim to any scams.

- I am not a lawyer, we do have a lot working here and outside counsel, we are not breaking any laws nor are we out of ICANN compliance with this change based on what the lawyers told me. We consult counsel from many sides in addition to legal before any changes are made. We take ICANN policy seriously.
- Your names can still sell. If someone is trying to find you they can. After using the captcha on our site they can get the full whois info. If anyone is savvy enough to use the whois to try and find you they are also very likely savvy enough to see the message on 3rd party whois searches saying for full info go to GoDaddy as was pointed out above in the thread.
- We do not block legitimate use of port 43 bulk lookups for transfers etc. This will not impact your transfers to other registrars. We allow them access for legitimate reasons.
- If for some reason you really want your information available to everyone including spammers you can easily opt out and your whois will show up as it used to.

I published a comment on our community page which explains the changes and how to opt out here:

https://www.godaddy.com/Domain-Investing/Whois-Masking-what-is-changing/m-p/88329#M788

 

[Paul Nicks]

I just got the following email quoted below

For standard domain owners this is probably good ... but for domainers who want to be found via whois this is might be something we might want to be opt out of.

I'm thinking the real question is what will the searches actually see?

@Paul Nicks .. could you fill us in on the specific details of the change. Like what the searches will actually see, and some examples of "authorised" bulk searches.

Thanks

Hey Ategy, thx for tagging me.

Authorized usage of port43 access will be from other registrars as part of a domain transfer. Port43 was setup initially as a means to facilitate easy transfer between registrars so we'll continue to comply with those requests as normal.

 

[tonyk2000]

According to the current Registrar Accreditation Agreement:

(quote begin)

3.3.1 At its expense, Registrar shall provide an interactive web page and, with respect to any gTLD operating a "thin" registry, a port 43 Whois service (each accessible via both IPv4 and IPv6) providing free public query-based access to up-to-date (i.e., updated at least daily) data concerning all active Registered Names sponsored by Registrar in any gTLD. Until otherwise specified by a Consensus Policy, such data shall consist of the following elements as contained in Registrar's database:

3.3.1.1 The name of the Registered Name;

3.3.1.2 The names of the primary nameserver and secondary nameserver(s) for the Registered Name;

3.3.1.3 The identity of Registrar (which may be provided through Registrar's website);

3.3.1.4 The original creation date of the registration;

3.3.1.5 The expiration date of the registration;

3.3.1.6 The name and postal address of the Registered Name Holder;

3.3.1.7 The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the technical contact for the Registered Name; and

3.3.1.8 The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the Registered Name.

The agreement between the Registry Operator of a gTLD and Registrar may, if approved by ICANN in writing, state alternative required data elements applicable to that gTLD, in which event, the alternative required data elements shall replace and supersede Subsections 3.3.1.1 through 3.3.1.8 stated above for all purposes under this Agreement but only with respect to that particular gTLD.

(quote end)

@Paul Nicks - can you please confirm that there is an ICANN-approved agreement between GoDaddy and Verisign Registry, which includes current and Jan. 25th GoDaddy whois policies for .com and .net, which are obviously not the same as we see in para. 3.3.1 of Registrar Accreditation Agreement?

 

[tonyk2000]

Port43 was setup initially as a means to facilitate easy transfer between registrars

After this happened, there was another development: actual Registrar Accreditation Agreement states that port 43 whois should be public, and free... See the quoted part above. I still do not see how the current (good and fine) behavior of godaddy port 43 whois can be in compliance with ICANN rules, most notably para. 3.3.1.7 and para. 3.3.1.8. of the Agreement...

Please enlighten me

 

[Joe Styler]

According to the current Registrar Accreditation Agreement:

(quote begin)

3.3.1 At its expense, Registrar shall provide an interactive web page and, with respect to any gTLD operating a "thin" registry, a port 43 Whois service (each accessible via both IPv4 and IPv6) providing free public query-based access to up-to-date (i.e., updated at least daily) data concerning all active Registered Names sponsored by Registrar in any gTLD. Until otherwise specified by a Consensus Policy, such data shall consist of the following elements as contained in Registrar's database:

3.3.1.1 The name of the Registered Name;

3.3.1.2 The names of the primary nameserver and secondary nameserver(s) for the Registered Name;

3.3.1.3 The identity of Registrar (which may be provided through Registrar's website);

3.3.1.4 The original creation date of the registration;

3.3.1.5 The expiration date of the registration;

3.3.1.6 The name and postal address of the Registered Name Holder;

3.3.1.7 The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the technical contact for the Registered Name; and

3.3.1.8 The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the Registered Name.

The agreement between the Registry Operator of a gTLD and Registrar may, if approved by ICANN in writing, state alternative required data elements applicable to that gTLD, in which event, the alternative required data elements shall replace and supersede Subsections 3.3.1.1 through 3.3.1.8 stated above for all purposes under this Agreement but only with respect to that particular gTLD.

(quote end)

@Paul Nicks - can you please confirm that there is an ICANN-approved agreement between GoDaddy and Verisign Registry, which includes current GoDaddy whois policies for .com and .net, which are obviously not the same as we see in para. 3.3.1 of Registrar Accreditation Agreement?

Neither @Paul Nicks nor I would like to interpret legal documents. We are not lawyers. As stated above we are in compliance with all ICANN regulations per the various attorneys and counsel we consulted. There are various ways for people to get whois information for names registered at GoDaddy as stated above by Paul and myself.
I also think it unwise to comment on a piece of a document without the context of the entirety. I do not think it is reasonable for you to ask us to comment on legal documents when we are not trained to do so. You are always free to contact our or ICANN's attorneys for legal clarification.

 

[tonyk2000]

Joe, I like current GD setup. But, as a domaining professional, I always read technical documents, rfcs, etc. I'm trying to see the technical document [or tech part of a legal document] which serves as a basis for current setup @ a registrar I am using. Not a legal document... And I am unable to find any. No, I have no time or interest in contacting ICANN. Sorry that GD is/was unable to post more detailed explanation. In fact, with a good explanation other registrars might do the same, and it will be good for registrants and the industry in general.

 

[ResoluteDomains]

I just got the following email quoted below

For standard domain owners this is probably good ... but for domainers who want to be found via whois this is might be something we might want to be opt out of.

I'm thinking the real question is what will the searches actually see?

@Paul Nicks .. could you fill us in on the specific details of the change. Like what the searches will actually see, and some examples of "authorised" bulk searches.

Thanks

For whatever reason half of my domains at Godaddy have already been masked (or severely limited WHOIS) for some reason, since early last year. Its significantly reduced incoming inquiries.

 

[SpareDomains]

I don't mind this as in 15 years of selling domains 90%+ of all of my offers/sales have generated from my own sales pages as that's where my domains point. Can recall 1 domain being sold by whois contact for $7500 but that buyer wouldn't be using an automated process to obtain my email so this should cut down on the junk in my spam box for web hosting, etc... which I do myself anyway as I have my own servers.

 

[xyo]

While I generally like this approach of GD to hide contact details (except the registrants name) on port 43 whois, I do not understand why they are also hiding domain status and domain dates (creation/update/expiry).

This is just technical domain data which often is essential to know/see.
It is not sufficent to get these values from Versign whois, as the data at the registrar can and does differ in some cases.

 

[ResoluteDomains]

I don't mind this as in 15 years of selling domains 90%+ of all of my offers/sales have generated from my own sales pages as that's where my domains point. Can recall 1 domain being sold by whois contact for $7500 but that buyer wouldn't be using an automated process to obtain my email so this should cut down on the junk in my spam box for web hosting, etc... which I do myself anyway as I have my own servers.

Sounds like a nice way to do it. I will probably need to go this route myself now.

 

[Joe Styler]

This post I did on GoDaddy's community help pages explains the changes and how to opt out if you do not want your whois info to be limited on port 43 automated lookups. https://www.godaddy.com/Domain-Investing/Whois-Masking-what-is-changing/td-p/88329

 

[ResoluteDomains]

This post I did on GoDaddy's community help pages explains the changes and how to opt out if you do not want your whois info to be limited on port 43 automated lookups. https://www.godaddy.com/Domain-Investing/Whois-Masking-what-is-changing/td-p/88329

Thanks Joe but when I went to that URL I got this page:

 

[Joe Styler]

Thanks Joe but when I went to that URL I got this page:

Show attachment 78120

If may not show if you are not in the US. If you pick US English from the top left side of the main GoDaddy page you can pick a main country for GoDaddy to show you on the website. If you do that please manually revert the country and language back to your home country because it will show the wrong currency etc.

Here is the opt out info if you want it:
Here’s how to opt out:


If you still want your information to be available via automated sources of public WHOIS data, you can opt out anytime using one of these options:

• Call us at +1 (480) 505-8877.
• Send your request to [email protected]. We may ask for additional information for verification purposes.

 

[tonyk2000]

I am also unable to see this post on GD website. I am not in U.S., but have selected US/English/USD before. I see exactly the same as the screenshot posted by @AGAME shows - it says "EN" geo and shows US-based support phones

 

[ResoluteDomains]

If may not show if you are not in the US. If you pick US English from the top left side of the main GoDaddy page you can pick a main country for GoDaddy to show you on the website. If you do that please manually revert the country and language back to your home country because it will show the wrong currency etc.

Here is the opt out info if you want it:
Here’s how to opt out:


If you still want your information to be available via automated sources of public WHOIS data, you can opt out anytime using one of these options:

• Call us at +1 (480) 505-8877.
• Send your request to [email protected]. We may ask for additional information for verification purposes.

I am in the USA (north carolina) and have always USA - EN set as the language. But thank you for the instructions here!

 

[Joe Styler]

Maybe my link is bad somehow. you can get there by going to the main page https://www.godaddy.com/ and clicking on domain investing as the thread.

 

[Brandworthy]

If may not show if you are not in the US. If you pick US English from the top left side of the main GoDaddy page you can pick a main country for GoDaddy to show you on the website. If you do that please manually revert the country and language back to your home country because it will show the wrong currency etc.

That's an absolute embarrassment. For a company the size of Godaddy to not be able to publish accessible information to non-US customers is just shameful. Sorry, but I work with global brands, many far larger than GD, and someone would have their rear handed to them if this happened in nearly all companies this size.

Perhaps it makes sense to duplicate the article you wrote here on NP so that non-US customers can access this information?

 

[Joe Styler]

I understand your point but we are a big company and we like to test things. If we test something it may be in limited markets while we test it.

 

[Joe Styler]

Here is the article :
We’re making improvements to protect you from spam.

Starting January 25, your WHOIS contact details will be masked from automated access points.



This service will block some of your contact details through automated access points.



We’re always looking for ways to protect your information online. To help slow the flood of spam that can occur when you register a domain without privacy services, WHOIS masking of certain personal data will be turned on for all domains on January 25.



This service will limit a potential spammer’s ability to access your first name, last name, email and phone number through automated means (also known as Port 43 access). We’ll continue to publish full WHOIS details to users of our CAPTCHA-protected, web-based WHOIS system, as required.



Here’s how to opt out:


If you still want your information to be available via automated sources of public WHOIS data, you can opt out anytime using one of these options:

• Call us at +1 (480) 505-8877.
• Send your request to [email protected]. We may ask for additional information for verification purposes.

Domain Privacy still matters.


While we hope this service will help cut down on spam calls and emails, because registration information is still made available publicly, Domain Privacy is still the best way to maintain anonymity online. WHOIS masking will only restrict spammers through automated bulk access sources.



To learn more, check out this help article. https://www.godaddy.com/help/maskin...hared-via-whois-automated-access-points-27421



Important to note – If you are concerned about potential buyers of your domain not being able to find your information they can still see it after filling out a captcha. This change only impacts automated requests to cut back on spammers which gather the information in bulk.