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I'm Bill Hartzer, Director of DNProtect AMA

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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.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
not responding to John's posting above

He's not going to, because it's really difficult to argue with objectively verifiable facts.

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When someone wants to hide the truth, there is a problem, and it is the same sort of runaround that one finds when looking under the hood of anything related to Epik.

So, to be clear... When Rob Monster was interested in providing some kind of "domain insurance", he mentioned that he would need a license to sell insurance through DNProtect

https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...for-dnprotect-com.1156889/page-3#post-7454960

As we engage re-insurance partners and secure the requisite insurance licensing, e.g. through an acquisition of an existing insurance agency, we are spending a lot of time on risk mitigation strategy.

But he didn't do that, and went ahead and advertised that DNProtect.com, an Epik service, was selling insurance anyway.

Concerned that Epik was started yet another unlicensed financial service, I contacted the Washington State Office of Insurance Commissioner and suggested they might want to have a look into the DNProtect "domain risk solution", "warranty", "ownership protection" and other phrases they used in order to try to dance around using the word "insurance" (apparently ignorant of the fact that a warranty is a form of insurance, among other things).

Subsequent to that investigation, the site was re-configured and this appeared:

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Now, just as a general safety tip, when a business says it does not provide services to people in the place where that business is operated, that's something of a warning sign. This is where things get really weird, since the site says right on the front page they can't provide services in Washington, but then if you look at the terms of service:

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Leaving aside who those "associates" might be and why you might get into a dispute with them, the site says "DNProtect LLC" on it. It is, or was, an LLC, not a partnership, according to the site.

And where might you find this LLC if you did have a problem? According to the DNProtect website, their address is:

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But if you look at the corporate registration record, that's simply the address of the corporate filing service which was used to form the LLC. You'll also notice that since the corporate agent wasn't being paid either - a recurring theme - then the agent resigned and does not receive correspondence on behalf of DNProtect at that address:

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So, look, I don't know if DNProtect is still purporting to sell insurance or not. Hopefully not, because it was a terrible idea to proceed as if they were selling insurance without "the requisite insurance licensing" - which Rob Monster himself admitted they needed to have before the thing was even launched.

There's also nothing wrong with Bill wanting to chase down stolen domain names in exchange for a share of the resale value when the domain name is recovered. But a simple truth is that people deserve to know with whom they are doing business, and I would bet that if any of the names recovered on that basis actually do sell, then there is going to be no end of problems - not the least of which is the fact that Epik is apparently insolvent and isn't going to pay the domain owner or Bill Hartzer for that matter. Rob's unusual approach to "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine too" as shown in the BC30 .com nonsense where he took possession of a customer's domain name and then put up a weird fight when they tried to get it back; his claiming to be the registrant of various customer domains in UDRP's; and the bizarre situation in which he landed with the "My Pillow" people and the Vocl domain; don't bode well for stolen domain names being held at Epik either in some sort of "partnership" with Rob, or by a defunct Wyoming mailbox LLC.

Bill's best move would simply be to get a divorce from Rob, stop the shenanigans, re-brand and take the scoring and domain recovery business as far away from that pit of madness as he can - and be honest about it.
 

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Looks like Epik stole your domain @bhartzer :)

Sorry to see them treat you like this.
 
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Pretty rigorous, how DNProtect has been killed. Since DNProtect was a private collaboration between Bill and Rob (not Epik), it is apparently Rob who did this, without intervention from Epik. But the story could also be completely different.

Anyway, I wish @bhartzer the best of luck.

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Pretty rigorous, how DNProtect has been killed. Since DNProtect was a private collaboration between Bill and Rob (not Epik), it is apparently Rob who did this, without intervention from Epik. But the story could also be completely different.
There's a lot more to the story, and hopefully some day I'll be able to share it publicly. But it is my understanding that Epik, not Rob, most likely turned off the website.
 
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There's a lot more to the story, and hopefully some day I'll be able to share it publicly. But it is my understanding that Epik, not Rob, most likely turned off the website.

The day has come my friend ... Save your reputation while your still can. The longer you drag on, the more it's going to hurt.

You of all should know... SEO is unforgiving.
 
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I would secure the DNProtect domain name for a possible relaunch without Epik.

What are your chances of doing so, Bill?
 
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I would secure the DNProtect domain name for a possible relaunch without Epik.
Or just let them have it. It's not that good anyway. Your surname .com domain would be an excellent brand, with a site revamp to change the 'blog feel' to a professional look that emphasises security & recovery.
 
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Or just let them have it. It's not that good anyway. Your surname .com domain would be an excellent brand, with a site revamp to change the 'blog feel' to a professional look that emphasises security & recovery.
My surname dot com (hartzer dot com) is now providing some of the services that DNProtect used to provide.
 
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My surname dot com (hartzer dot com) is now providing some of the services that DNProtect used to provide.
One thing you can add to the algorithm is a check for the registrar where the domain is registered and hosted. If the registrar has a bad reputation, like Epik has at the moment, your domain may be in danger.

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Despite the fact that the DNProtect domain is for sale, the DNProtect Twitter account continues to tweet happily. Who currently manages that account?
 
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https://insurance.wa.gov/news/kreidler-issues-11000-fines-violations-january

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@jberryhill that final order was mentioned in another thread.

What's interesting to me is that that was the first time I've ever seen BR claim that he was CEO of DNProtect. He was not CEO of DNProtect when I was involved. There was no CEO.
 
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Despite the fact that the DNProtect domain is for sale, the DNProtect Twitter account continues to tweet happily. Who currently manages that account?
The social media team that has always handled social media for DNProtect still manages those accounts. That includes Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, etc.
 
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The social media team that has always handled social media for DNProtect still manages those accounts. That includes Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, etc.
Thanks, but that's not really an answer. Are these people working for you, or for Epik?
 
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Wow, no. Absolutely not. :)
Hey Bill you really seem like a nice guy that enjoy helping people regain domain names that was wrongfully taken from them, and who provides that service for a fee. But often times starting a business relationship require more than just a handshake and a verbal commitment from the partners involved. In your case, the friendship over legal paperwork was the loop hole that was needed to take possession of the business domain name and shut down that particular project. I also see that you have visible and answering questions as it relates to you. Thank you for your sincere input. Going forward, There is an old saying "If it is not in writing, then it don't exist". Your reputation is worth more than a distressed business. There are plenty other jobs that await your expertise. Keep up the good work Bill...
 
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It’s funny that me and you have actually spoken and I’ve still yet to receive my money. If you are the director, you deserve some responsibility I never even talked to Rob Monster. However, I have evidence that you read every single email and tried to manipulate me out of close to 500k.

Anyhow, back to stolen domains BrianRyan.com. Let’s see you do something about it especially since you’re an affiliate of GoDaddy.
 
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