What are the advantages of private domain registration?
What does it differ from the ordinary domain registration process?
I plan to use this service from Ahosting.biz and wanna know all pitfalls that may occur.
Thanks.

It's just a way to keep your personal info private. Some people would rather not have the information made public. I don't think there are any disadvantages to private registration. This is a stretch, but I suppose if your site is all about being open and you're hiding details like these it could hurt your credibility. But that's a stretch. I don't think are any disadvantages.

I think if you are running a reputable business, there is no reason your information should not be public. But if it is more of a personal website, opting for a private registration could be better.

That is additional free of charg option which offer most domain name registrars. and that is not nececary at all if you are looking to run own business.

Originally Posted by Kaabi

I think if you are running a reputable business, there is no reason your information should not be public. But if it is more of a personal website, opting for a private registration could be better.

You Kaabi, say this well. We have thousands of names with eNom and not one is hidden, for the most part we are a very open company and like you say running a reputable business. We want people to know and find us.
Here is our portfolio of names none for sale just sharing there openess. <link removed>

It's not always about trying to hide if you are operating an unethical business. I work out of my home. There are a lot of crazy people out there especially on the internet. The last thing I want is for someone to get it in their head to just show up on my doorstep.

Just last year a blogger was sent death threats serious enough for her to cancel her speaking engagements for fear of her life.

For home business owners, I advocate using the privacy option or getting a post office box. There is just no reason to take that chance with your safety.

Agreed. Hiding your whois data isn't just about whether or not you're a legitimate business. There are other reasons not to want the information public. Arwen mentioned one. Another is to reduce how much spam you get.

Hi,

A domain name with ID Protect can shield you from:
• Domain related spam
• Identity theft
• Data mining
• Name hijackers

thank you.

Name hijackers

I thought that the domain name registrar should take care of that.

The ONLY additional step taken by the domain registrars while registering a "Private Domain" is to replace YOUR info with the domain registrar's info. This change is done with the public Whois contacts. Some registrars charge extra for it, some don't.

Personally I prefer the private registration, because I tend to be a little on the paranoid side, but many people do not care.

Does anybody here work with international domains?

As it turns out, I'm having an issue with a client and privatization. The site is hosted/registered in the Netherlands, and apparently getting domains privatized there requires jumping through a lot of hoops. There's an institution SIDN, in charge of all .nl domains, that frowns upon private info.

But, my client insists that their address and what-not be made private.

Anyone ever dealt with this?

Originally Posted by joerandom

Does anybody here work with international domains?

As it turns out, I'm having an issue with a client and privatization. The site is hosted/registered in the Netherlands, and apparently getting domains privatized there requires jumping through a lot of hoops. There's an institution SIDN, in charge of all .nl domains, that frowns upon private info.

But, my client insists that their address and what-not be made private.

Anyone ever dealt with this?

There are some domains (like .us) which cannot be privatized. However, the work-around (not sure about the legal implications at NL) will be to replace the client's Whois info with the hosting company's whois info. Most domain registrar's have an AUP clause that states that the Whois info MUST BE VALID (doesn't specify if it's the client's personal info OR the hosting company's info).

Originally Posted by gigapros

There are some domains (like .us) which cannot be privatized. However, the work-around (not sure about the legal implications at NL) will be to replace the client's Whois info with the hosting company's whois info. Most domain registrar's have an AUP clause that states that the Whois info MUST BE VALID (doesn't specify if it's the client's personal info OR the hosting company's info).

Interesting. Thanks for that tip!

I don't know if it is true or not but I have heard that Private registration can affect your search rankings - google thinks you have something to hide. I have not experienced this but have read about it.

Originally Posted by WebHostAdvisor

I don't know if it is true or not but I have heard that Private registration can affect your search rankings - google thinks you have something to hide. I have not experienced this but have read about it.

How can affect PR of your web site?

Originally Posted by WebHostAdvisor

I don't know if it is true or not but I have heard that Private registration can affect your search rankings - google thinks you have something to hide. I have not experienced this but have read about it.

Hm. I wonder why? I've had private domain websites in the google top ten for particular queries before so that comes as a surprise.

It is NOT true. Just more speculative guessology from the "experts"

Not true imo, just some "experts" who want to sound smart.

Everyone is entitled to have personal privacy. There's nothing wrong about private domain registration for protection purposes.