TulipHosting Tips

Today we are launching a new service that concerns the security of your domain names. The service is called ID Protect (also known as WHOIS / ID Protect) and is purposed to protect your personal or business information displayed in the WHOIS from spammers, fraudsters and solicitors who use the WHOIS data (e-mail addresses, phone numbers, etc.) illegally. In other words, once the service is activated, the registrar will display fictitious details in the WHOIS, so that the real information will stay hidden, but all the e-mails that are sent to the fictitious e-mail address will be filtered and forwarded to the actual e-mail address set in the WHOIS.

The ID Protect service can be ordered only for domain names registered with us, and has its own expiration date that is not related to the expiration date of the domain name. Another important thing is that this service is available for the .com / .net / .org / .biz / .info TLDs, but is not supported by country domain names like the .us TLD.

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Let’s see how to activate WHOIS protection for your domains.

ID Protect for new domain(s)

Just start the domain registration process from the Register / Transfer tab in the Domain Manager of the web control panel. At the top of the page, where you must setup the WHOIS information and order the service, you will see the domain name(s) that you have selected with the option to choose whether you want to activate ID Protect service and for how many years. When a domain is registered and the ID Protect service is activated, a green-shield-icon will be displayed in the Domain Manager. A single click on the icon will allow you to enable or disable the service.

ID Protect for already registered domain(s)

There are three ways to order ID Protect for domain(s) that have been registered with us.

The easiest way is to get into the Domain Manager and there click the Add link in the ID Protect column for the domain that you want to protect.

The other way is to use the Quick Controls option in the upper-left corner of the web Control panel. In the panel with the information for the domain that you have selected, you will find a WHOIS section with an Order ID Protect link. If you have activated the service for that domain, in place of this link there will be a Manage ID Protect link that will allow you to enable or disable the protection.

The third way to order the ID Protect service is to choose the Edit WHOIS option in the Domain Manager and to choose the green Order WHOIS / ID Protection link that is available there.

Management of ID Protect service

ID Protect service that is already active can be enabled or disabled at any time. This can be done using the Manage ID Protect link located in the Quick Controls panel of the domain names, or with a single click on the green shield for the selected domain name in the Domain Manager. It is recommendable that you disable the ID Protect service, when you are attempting to transfer a domain name away to another registrar, in order to approve the transfer request that is usually sent via e-mail.