I'm Bill Hartzer, Director of DNProtect AMA

[bhartzer]

I'm Bill Hartzer, and I am the Director of DNProtect.

I developed the algorithm behind DNP Score, which gives you a free analysis/report of any domain name.

I have also personally dealt with hundreds of stolen domain name cases since DNProtect has been offering the service the past few years.

Ask me anything related to domain name due diligence or stolen domain names.

 

[jberryhill]

I started DNProtect in February 2020 as a partnership with Rob M. So 50/50 with Rob, not Epik.

But if you want to point to a case in particular, it's the UDRP for Patterns(.com).

...which was DNProtect's work, and which is not Epik.


https://domainnamewire.com/2022/03/01/epik-helps-patterns-com-owner-recover-domain-in-udrp/

...

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Who ya gonna call?

 

[Digital Nomad]

...which was DNProtect's work, and which is not Epik.


https://domainnamewire.com/2022/03/01/epik-helps-patterns-com-owner-recover-domain-in-udrp/

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...

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Who ya gonna call?

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[Future Sensors]

Bill, could you please tell what was the reason for your recent move from "Epik.com Staff" to "DNProtect Staff"?

 

[jberryhill]

Some get to the UDRP and URS stages.

Under what circumstances would you file a URS in the event of a stolen name?

The URS does not provide for transfer of a domain name. The only available outcome in a URS is to disable the domain name for the remainder of its registration term. If you win a URS, the registry locks the name. Consequently, the registrar is unable to transfer the name. If you can satisfy the TM and other requirements of the URS under the heightened 'clear and convincing' standard, then one would clear the lower threshold for a UDRP.

I'm always happy to learn new things, and I can't for the life of me figure out why one would file a URS against a stolen name, since that would then rule out the possibility of getting the name back for the remainder of its registration term.

It would be like finding your stolen car and then slashing the tires so nobody can drive it.

 

[TCK]

Companies should be proud and embrace their brands. By trying to convince people that DN Protect and other brands are not Epik, you are confirming that there is something toxic about the parent brand that we should not associate Epik with Dn Protect or Federated Identity. I appreciate you efforts to distance yourself from Epik.

 

[Future Sensors]

I'd like to add a Thank You for this opportunity to ask questions. Transparency is always good.

 

[bmugford]

For those who are not technically savvy, can you explain the DNP score in a little more detail?

For instance, Epik has a perfect score of 750/750.
https://dnprotect.com/epik.com

GoDaddy only has a 500/750 -
https://dnprotect.com/godaddy.com

Amazon.com only has 550/750 -
https://dnprotect.com/amazon.com

Can you explain the categories that are holding them back from a perfect score?

Thanks,
Brad

 

[bmugford]

Also, I noticed when I looked up some companies like Facebook, it shows the following -

https://dnprotect.com/facebook.com

Does the domain currently resolve? If so, whats the IP address?
Does the domain name currently resolve (does it have a website or web page on it)? If so, what is the IP address? NO.

 

[bmugford]

Also, how do you refresh the DNP score on a domain?

Many of these have "Last update" dates that are a couple of years old.
It doesn't seem to refresh when you type it in.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

Also, I noticed when I looked up some companies like Facebook, it shows the following -

https://dnprotect.com/facebook.com

Does the domain currently resolve? If so, whats the IP address?
Does the domain name currently resolve (does it have a website or web page on it)? If so, what is the IP address? NO.

 

[Digital Nomad]

For those who are not technically savvy, can you explain the DNP score in a little more detail?

For instance, Epik has a perfect score of 750/750.
https://dnprotect.com/epik.com

GoDaddy only has a 500/750 -
https://dnprotect.com/godaddy.com

Amazon.com only has 550/750 -
https://dnprotect.com/amazon.com

Can you explain the categories that are holding them back from a perfect score?

Thanks,
Brad

Epik's strategy:

Let's create rating platforms that Epik can control, to control the perception of the company with "truthful" ratings. This is for trustratings and this DNP score. But later let's say that DNProtect is not Epik.

WTF!

 

[bhartzer]

Also, I noticed when I looked up some companies like Facebook, it shows the following -

https://dnprotect.com/facebook.com

Does the domain currently resolve? If so, whats the IP address?
Does the domain name currently resolve (does it have a website or web page on it)? If so, what is the IP address? NO.

https://dnprotect.com/facebook.com the report is coming up just fine for me... might have been a 500 server error.

 

[Future Sensors]

@Joe Styler @Paul Nicks @Michael Cyger

It's frightening to see that GoDaddy currently has such a low score on DNProtect.

Your score can easily be increased by simply claiming your profile on DNProtect.

 

[bhartzer]

Epik's strategy:

Let's create rating platforms that Epik can control, to control the perception of the company with "truthful" ratings. This is for trustratings and this DNP score. But later let's say that DNProtect is not Epik.

WTF!

That's not Epik's strategy.
I "personally" created the "DNP Score" algorithm back in 2013-ish timeframe, and actually it was a manual process to calculate a score and do the due diligence. If you might remember, my previous product/service was called Verified Domains.
DNP Score is all MY 'intellectual property' and has been for years, nothing to do with Epik at all. Epik just automated my algorithm.

 

[Digital Nomad]

@Joe Styler @Paul Nicks @Michael Cyger

It's frightening to see that GoDaddy currently has such a low score on DNProtect.

Your score can easily be increased by simply claiming your profile on DNProtect.

Show attachment 224487

One of the most secure companies NameCheap has an even lower score...

 

[bmugford]

https://dnprotect.com/facebook.com the report is coming up just fine for me... might have been a 500 server error.

I get the same results on my desktop and mobile, using (2) different internet connections.

 

[bhartzer]

Also, how do you refresh the DNP score on a domain?

Many of these have "Last update" dates that are a couple of years old.
It doesn't seem to refresh when you type it in.

Brad

You can refresh the score on any domain name by clicking on the 'last update' date. It's a link, just tell it to recalculate.

@Joe Styler @Paul Nicks @Michael Cyger

It's frightening to see that GoDaddy currently has such a low score on DNProtect.

Your score can easily be increased by simply claiming your profile on DNProtect.

Show attachment 224487

There are certain data points on the report page that do not have an effect on DNP Score.
All domains start with a 400 score, positive things bring up your score, negative things (like not having DMARC implemented) will bring your score down. Claimed the profile doesn't have an effect on DNP Score.

 

[Digital Nomad]

I get the same results on my desktop and mobile, using (2) different internet connections.

Show attachment 224488

Remember don't believe everything on the internet. It "might" have been a "500 server error".

 

[TCK]

https://dnprotect.com/facebook.com the report is coming up just fine for me... might have been a 500 server error.

Let's put Facebook aside. Because that is not a baseline. We don't need Facebook to be the starting point. What are you using as your data points?

 

[Future Sensors]

You can refresh the score on any domain name by clicking on the 'last update' date. It's a link, just tell it to recalculate.

There are certain data points on the report page that do not have an effect on DNP Score.
All domains start with a 400 score, positive things bring up your score, negative things (like not having DMARC implemented) will bring your score down. Claimed the profile doesn't have an effect on DNP Score.

The way it is currently presented can therefore be improved a lot.

 

[Digital Nomad]

So NameCheap has a negative factor because of their expiration date, I highly doubt they will let their domain expire...

 

[bhartzer]

I am very tech savvy. But I could not answer you. The scores are controlled by the scores builders. But you already knew that.

Godaddy's score, for example, only was set to expire in 1 year. So, if you've registered a domain 5+ years in advance, you're going to get positive points on the DNP Score.
I just asked for it to be updated, so it might take a few minutes before it is fully calculated, as we have to hit a number of sites and APIs to gather the data.
You should see some of the top 100 banks' DNP Scores. Many have very low scores, haven't even set up things like DMARC on their domain.

 

[bmugford]

You can refresh the score on any domain name by clicking on the 'last update' date. It's a link, just tell it to recalculate.

Wouldn't it make more sense to have it automatically refresh when someone looks a domain up?
There is really no indication anywhere about how to refresh the page.

Brad

 

[bhartzer]

The way it is currently presented can therefore be improved a lot.

I agree, as with any UI on a website, there's always room for improvement. Will take this into account on the next UI update of the DNP Score report.

 

[Future Sensors]

Source: https://www.margaretgel.com/emergency-domain-theft-of-ryoko-love/