

Ask HN: What is your preferred registrar? - blhack

Recently I found out that namecheap forces you to contact them and get domains with the word "hacker" in them approved by one of their staff.<p>(I was trying to register raspihacker.com [as in: raspberry pi], and got told that I can't until they approve it.)<p>This <i>really</i> rubbed me the wrong way, and I'd rather not give money to a company that equates hackers with criminals.<p>Who are you using?  I've heard of some fabled google registrar, but have never seen it.  Are there any that don't try to upsell you on a bunch of things during checkout?
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redegg
I opened an OpenSRS reseller account the other day ($99 one-time fee but I had
a 50% coupon). Not the prettiest management panel but they give you lots of
control over your domains with their API. Plus, free WHOIS privacy for every
domain every year.

Compared with Namecheap renewals, .com on OpenSRS ($11.03) is actually a
couple cents cheaper than a renewal + WhoisGuard on Namecheap ($10.69 +
$2.88).

The primary reason I went with them was because they're a domain provider for
resellers; they leave all the shenanigans of domain registrations up to you.
They don't interfere with your operations unless they're legally obligated to
do so. Also, you don't have to be a "reseller" to sign up.

I don't want to sound like I'm being paid to endorse them, but it's been a
month so far and I like it.

\---

Also there's internet.bs. I'm not sure how they are but a friend suggested
them to me. They have an API too and are 2 dollars cheaper than OpenSRS.

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michaelbuckbee
I'm in the process of moving all of my domains from GoDaddy to DNSimple.com.
They have very definitely nailed the "straightforward and easy to use" aspects
of a registrar.

Two additional things that I hadn't really heard about them until a friend
recommended them:

1\. They have DNS Setup 'templates' - basically one click setup for things
like Heroku or GitHub Pages.

2\. They offer two-factor authentication (via Authy) which when you think
about just how bad things could go if somebody got hold of your DNS Settings
seems like something more registrars should do.

Biggest downside is that they are a little more expensive than GoDaddy or
Namecheap, but I guess it's rounding errors in the scheme of things.

<https://dnsimple.com> or <https://dnsimple.com/r/1d932aeba20283> if you don't
mind a referral code.

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mblake
Moniker. I've used them for years and haven't had any issues. Haven't really
looked into it, but at least they give out the impression that security is
really tight and that both your domains and your privacy are protected.

I've also used Name.com, but not enough to be able to recommend it to someone
else.

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meej
I've recently heard good things about Hover. <https://www.hover.com/>

I'm still using Dotster. They're not awesome, and they're not the cheapest,
but they've never done anything that would make me want to leave, either.

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ohashi
If you've got a lot of domains or are willing to pay their crazy retail prices
- Fabulous.com.

I've been with them for many years and have hundreds of domains with them.
Best service and feature set I've experienced (and price, but I am not sure
you will qualify). They've had the features other companies are just
'launching' for 5+ years. I can even see things like how many times people are
hitting my WHOIS lookup for a domain (go ahead, copy that feature, it's
awesome).

They have free privacy and can setup all sorts of authentication to change
domains if you want to add that level of security.

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andrewmunsell
Personally I've switched to Namecheap, but that's interesting that they
require approval for domains like that...

I used to use 1&1, and my only advice is to _not_ use them. I've had so much
trouble switching DNS around on their system that it's just not worth it. It
often will take the full 48 hours for DNS to switch for me, whereas other
registrars have it done in minutes. I'm not a DNS guy so I couldn't tell you
if it was their system or some other issue with _my_ DNS, but I've had enough
experiences with them to avoid buying anything new.

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Spoygg
I very much appreciate gandi.net. Read their no bullshit™ policy :)
<https://www.gandi.net/no-bullshit>

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3825
I was told to avoid registering and hosting at the same company. What do you
think about that?

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shanehudson
Sounds like good advice to me.

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Spoygg
Please elaborate, thanks :)

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shanehudson
Well for a start, using the same company will make it much harder to move.
Often the price shoots up after a year too. And then there is the risk of
somebody getting access, it is easier usually to hack a website than a
registrar so a cracker or their could get access to your domain through a
security flaw in your website. Also, companies are usually either better at
domain management or hosting rather than both, I have huge respect for good
support teams like Krystal Hosting have,which is easier when they are focused.

I'm not saying don't use the same company, but I always tend to prefer them
separate.

~~~
Spoygg
I understood question:

"I was told to avoid registering and hosting at the same company. What do you
think about that?"

as

"I was told to avoid registering and hosting at gandi.net. What do you think
about that?"

If it was meant as asked than there maybe some truth to it. But than again if
you are confident in how some company handles one area than that may give some
credibility of their work in other areas.

When I started using gandi they were just a domain registrar. And I am yet to
use them as hosting provider.

I agree somewhat with your view, it can be true in some cases :)

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shail
I would like to mention mediatemple.net. I have been using them for quite a
while and they seem to be really good. But my requirement are also very
limited. Just register a domain and occasionally fiddle with the name server
settings.

PS: they do not offer registration for all the TLDs.

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shanehudson
I am a massive fan of namecheap, best registrar I have used. Their support
team is great too.

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arn
I like namecheap. My biggest concern with them is they don't offer any sort of
two factor authentication. It has made me look around for my more valuable
domains.

~~~
shanehudson
True, but they have been proactive in retrieving stolen domains. I know 123reg
and others have been known tho not do anything.

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dynabros
I've used name.com and never had any problems

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tyrelb
DNSImple (dnsimple.com) (but the backend is enom). Run by two brothers -
really great guys!

