Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 196!
Running Time: 12 minutes | File Size: 5.38 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:

• Over 3,000 Free CSS Web Design Templates!
• Will the Swine Flu Take Out the Internet?
• Is Web Hosting a Falling Trend on the Web?
• 5 SEO Tips You Can Do, Right Now!

Here is this week’s web hosting news headline:
ICANN Breaks Free from US Control – Internet regulation body ICANN and the US Department of Commerce announced last week that they have signed a new agreement that ensures that ICANN will now be “independent and not controlled by any one entity”.

Trivia Question – Where are the ICANN headquarters?

We are back yet again, with another great web hosting podcast for you all to enjoy.  Remember, you can subscribe to the RSS feed to get daily updates on the topics we discussed on today’s podcast, or keep checking back at webhostingshow.com.  Hope you enjoy the show this week, and if you do – drop in a comment and let us know!

So what does a domain sniper do?  This is when somebody registering a domain name as soon as the domain name expires.  For an example, let us say I really wanted the domain name webhostingradio.com.  After doing a WhoIs search on the domain name, I find out it expires on February 19, 2009.  So I wait until that date, and then pick it up myself as soon as the registration runs out.

The fact is though, that this can pretty much be considered extinct, for now.

Thanks to ICANN’s Redemption Grace Period (RGP) registrants are allowed 30 days to reclaim their domain name.  Before the RGP went into effect, the money made in domain name sniping was done when the sniper would try to extort money from the original registrant to get their domain name back.

You can read more about the mission and goals of ICANN here:

http://www.icann.org/en/about/

What Does ICANN Accreditation Mean?

ICANN accreditation in layman’s terms would be a sort of “seal of approval” for all domain name registers.  The primary objective of ICANN is ensuring the stability of the Internet’s system of assigned names and numbers.

Who is Registered by ICANN?

If you are a little worried you are dealing with a company that claims they are accredited, but they are really not, you can check.  Use these two links to do some fact checking of your own.  Just click on the site index link from the icann.org web site and search down for the phrase “Accredited Registrars”.

• ICANN-Accredited Registrars
• All Businesses That Have Qualified for ICANN Accreditation

How Can I Complain About a Domain Name Register to ICANN?

The first thing you must do is visit internic.net.  Next, click on the link that says Complainant Form.  As stated on the web site form though, “ICANN itself does not resolve individual customer complaints. Instead, we refer your complaints to your registrar or other appropriate party, and follow up with them to make sure they are working with you to resolve your issues”.

To learn more about who ICANN is and what they do, check out icann.org.

Format might have changed a little but one thing will never change, I’m hyped, excited and ready to deliver you the best hosting podcast you’ve heard in a long time.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 163!
Running Time: 11 minutes | File Size: 5.02 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:

• What is ICANN and What Can It Do For ME?
• Get IP Based Info with Firefox
• Import POP3 Accounts into Gmail
• Trademark vs Copyright for Webmasters

Here are this week’s web hosting news headlines:

• School Spreads 1.5m Spam Emails
• Web Host HostGator 21st in Inc 5000 List
• WebHostingBuzz.com Wins Award for Best Web Hosting Support

Changing things up a ‘bit this week. A little change never hurt anybody, right? Also tune in this week to check out the new Web Hosting Show theme, which I must say does rock.  What else would you expect coming from the web hosting industry’s media rock star?

* - actual promises of delivering may vary.  This citation was just an excuse to plug the re-written about page on webhostingshow.com.  Go check it out to learn more about me and this podcast.

King of Spam to be Sentenced

You would think that the king of spam would at least get a crown made of mixed meat or something cool like that, but the only thing Robert Alan Soloway has to look forward to now is a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines of more than $500,000.  How did he get the crown?  According to Jeffrey C. Sullivan, a United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, “Our investigators dubbed him the ‘Spam King’ because he is responsible for millions of spam emails”.

Switzerland Tops World in Spam

The Swiss are usually only known for banks and watches, but now they can add one more title to that list, spam.  According to security vendor MessageLabs, Switzerland has exceeded former front-runner Hong Kong as the most spammed country.

ICANN Blames Register.com for Hack

Last but not least, to give you an amusing story for the web hosting water cooler, it looks like ICANN has tossed Register.com under the bus.  Since ICANN’s web site got hacked a few weeks back, looks like Register.com is becoming their scapegoat.  “The DNS redirect was a result of an attack on ICANN’s registrar’s systems.  A full, confidential, security report from that registrar has since been provided to ICANN with respect to this attack.” Register.com is a good company, and I don’t think it is totally fare that ICANN is looking to pass the buck so quickly with it’s own security problems.

If you have any news you’d like to share, be sure to drop me a line or leave a comment and I’ll be more than happy to spread the word about your latest happenings or interesting web hosting article.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 157!
Running Time: 10 minutes | File Size: 4.97 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• Why Not Setup a Data Center Out of Your Basement?
• The King of Spam to be Sentenced to Hard Time!
• What is Domain Name Front Running?
• What Country Tops the World in Spam?
• ICANN Blames What Domain Register for Recent Hack?

Short on words this week, but since we do have an awful lot of SPAM talk this week:

Have you taken the Web Hosting Show’s fan survey yet? If not, listen to the show and then get it done. Your feedback given there could dramatically change the production of this podcast! Be heard and give me you thoughts!

How about firstname.lastname?

Well thanks to those wacky and crazy people at ICANN and a few bottles of expensive French wine, we might see that go into effect sooner than you would think.  In an unanimous vote held in Paris, France last week ICANN has given approval for new top-level domain names including multilingual ones.  No longer will you just have the traditional domain name extensions.  Now you could practically have anything dot anything registered once all the regulation and paper work has gone though.  Unless something goes wrong, this should all go in effect in 2009.

Dr Paul Twomey, the chief executive of ICANN had an interesting quote:

“Like the United States in the 19th Century, we are in the process of opening up new real estate, new land, and people will go out and claim parts of that land and use it for various reasons they have. It’s a massive increase in the geography of the real estate of the Internet.”

Yeah, you’ll be able to claim a part of it if your a multi-million dollar company or have a hidden stash of cash hidden under your mattress.

Don’t let your blood boil yet.  I highly doubt that your traditional top-level domains are going anywhere.  People already have in their head that a web site domain has to be something with a dot com behind it (or dot org, dot net, ect).  Also it isn’t like you or me will be setting up our own domain name extensions because the application fee to get it going will cost around $100,000 or more.

From coast to coast, and all around the web hosting world. I can’t promise you you’ll be a millionaire if you listen to this week’s show. I can’t even make you better looking. What I can do for you is to make everything from server farms to domain name registrations make a little more sense and I can do so with what some may say is a funny accent.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 156!
Running Time: 18 minutes | File Size: 7.85 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• ICANN Wants to Give You .Anything?
• Where to go to Get 30GB of Disk Space Free?
• Free Billing Software for Web Hosting Resellers?
• Best Tool to Update Your Blogs?

Podcast Exclusive – Part 4 of Our “How to Purchase a Web Hosting Business” Series with Web Strategist Errett Cord. Download the podcast to check it out!

I’m back again, and sad to say ICANN is still turning down my application to be the official spokesperson for the organization. Maybe it is because I have no boobs? If I did, I know at least I’d get work from Bob Parsons. Time to start answering some questions, and to make some sense out of all this web hosting lingo.

It is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.  At least that is according to the United States federal law on the issue, the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

Now when people are squatting outside of the digital realm we live in, it usually means they are living in an abandoned building or some other space that the squatter does not own.

Back to the Online side of things, cybersquatters will actually register and pay for the domains in question and then wave it in the face of the copyright holder and sometimes even put up really bad things about them in hopes that they will want to give them a big ol’ check to shut them up and buy the domain.

For more information on domain name squatting I would highly suggest checking out ICANN’s uniform domain-name dispute-resolution policy.

Where is ICANN with this type of practice? I say if they were all over RegisterFly for what they were doing then Network Solutions really should not be treated any differently.

ICANN Comes in to Save the Day!

I am happy to see ICANN has decided to stand up and do something about this money grubbing nonsense. Under current ICANN rules, anyone who registers a new domain name has a five-day grace period to back out and receive a total refund. The problem is people use this period to test how well the domain name does in the real world and also slap ads all over it to make a buck.

So what is the solution? ICANN is talking about charging the ICANN registration fee right from the start instead of waiting. That way companies and individuals would get less of a “freebie”. The cost would be picked up by the domain name register and hopefully this would end the practice of people testing to see how profitable a domain name is for free.

What About Front Runners?

This will also hurt companies like Network Solutions that have started “front running” domains (a fancy name for the same dirty tactics). This is where a domain name register will register your domain name searches and offer to resell them to you for a higher price.

The whole thing kinda reminds me of the mafia and being called in to “do a favor” for the godfather himself. Google is also getting a chance to get some positive press out of all of this. They said that they will no longer allow AdSense revenue to be collected on domains that are less than four days old. Now that will cost Google some big bucks but nice to see that they are doing the right thing. What they are losing in finances they are gaining in public trust in praise.

I’ll inform you about those, and let you know of a few hyper-linked medications to check out too. The Web Hosting Show includes no side effects and an awesome orange-like flavor I’m sure you will enjoy.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 140!
Running Time: 14 minutes | File Size: 6.23 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• A Cool New Visual Trace Route Tool!
• Thing is Web Hosting That Make Me Angry!
• ICANN and Google Hopes to Stop Domain Tasters?
• Fighting Terrorists via Web Hosts and Data Centers?
• Advice on How to Get Your Name Out There!

I am your medical malpractice for the hosting world ready to happen and I welcome you into my offices yet again to talk about web hosting, web development, domains, terrorists and even a few things that make me angry. Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry!

Hi Mitch, great podcast I try to download each show weekly. I was bitten by the RegisterFly.com problems a while back and today while browsing to their web site it looks like they are still in business? How can this be?

RegisterFly’s demise as an ICANN accredited register was one of the biggest hosting stories of last year. These days you don’t hear much about it though. Technically, yes – they are and can still be in business.

Look Back at the RegisterFly Mess

Back inn 2007, ICANN launched an investigation of RegisterFly since there were a lot of allegations they were sticking it to the customer. With other issues and lawsuits that followed, the RegisterFly co-owners Kevin Medina and John Naruszewicz had a breakup of their own. The road was rocky, the public was mad and then it was made known by an unsealed class action lawsuit that there were claims RegisterFly defrauded customers trying to register or renew domain names.

According to Wikipedia, one of the early lawsuits within RegisterFly was pretty hilarious.

Meanwhile RegisterFly filed suit against Kevin Medina, alleging he had stolen company funds for a $27,000 escort service, a $6,000 liposuction procedure, a $10,000/month penthouse apartment in Miami, Florida and a $6,000 chihuahua dog.

March 31, 2007 was the date that ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) removed RegisterFly’s ICANN accreditation and told them to take the ICANN logo off of their web site. Skipping ahead though the legal mumbo-jumbo they could no longer act as a domain name register themselves and had to give up the domain name registrations they had done to ICANN. GoDaddy and other companies stood up and offered the RegisterFly refugees a home for their domains and that pretty much catches us up to the present date and time.

So Why is RegisterFly Still Around?

Well, this message from Robert O’Neal, Chief Executive Officer for RegisterFly should give you a candy coated reason:

We are an authorized reseller of domain names, the same as we have been for 6 years prior, this has not changed. We are NOT OUT OF BUSINESS as the message may imply to some.

So they can’t act as a domain name register themselves, like a GoDaddy can but they can resell domain names to you, like many web hosts do out there though a reseller service. This is how they did business before becoming an accredited register. So technically they are no longer a domain name register, they are just reselling somebody else’s registration services to you.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 136!
Running Time: 15 minutes | File Size: 6.80 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• How can RegisterFly keep registering domain names?
• Tip on how to use Google Calender to organize your hosting mess!
• Mitch’s web hosting new year resolutions!
• Learn how to create a static web site using WordPress!
• What is the price you pay for your cheap hosting plan?
• No midgets and/or fairies were harmed in the production of this podcast!

From coast to coast and over the seven seas the Web Hosting Show is back to broadcasting the feel good web hosting talk, tips and so much more. Little known fact – but in 2007 the show you are listening to right now was downloaded by people in 160 different countries!

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 129!
Running Time: 13 minutes | File Size: 5.92 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• Google PageRank Updates and Debate
• Discrimination Against Southerners in Hosting
• How to Backup Using cPanel
• Best of the Forum Scripts
• ICANN Investigates Insider Domain Registrations

Get your vienna sausages and oversized cup of coffee ready because I am going to deliver the dull and boring world of web hosting and web development in a way never before seen or heard. Here on the web hosting show we deliver you real hosting talk with none of the angry fan boys.

Ping! Zine Gets New Layout and Design

We have unveiled a brand new look here at pingzine.com with a number of great, new interactive features such as the Ping! Zine blogs and newsletter. Take a look around and don’t hesitate to send us your feedback.

It does look a heck of a lot more advanced than the old version. How will Ping! Zine’s blog compete with The WHIR’s blogging team? I’m on the outside on both accounts – so I’ll sit back with the rest of you and see who tops who with the most interesting and informative topics.

RegisterFly Terminated by ICANN

On Friday, ICANN officially terminated its Registration Accreditation Agreement (RAA) with RegisterFly. Paul Twomey, the president and CEO of ICANN, said “Terminating accreditation is the strongest measure ICANN is able to take against RegisterFly under its powers”.

I bet your asking, “Why doesn’t ICANN do more?” and you deserve an answer. The truth of the matter though is they can not do much more to fix this situation. This is the biggest fly swatter that ICANN has and it is nice to see they finally used it. I just wish there was faster way to resolve this whole RegisterFly mess.

1&1 Reveals Survey Results

Web hosting provider 1&1 Internet announced on Thursday it has conducted a survey that found that more than 30 percent of small business owners said they have opted to use a do-it-yourself package to create their organization’s Web site.

Let me conduct a little survey of my own. Everybody who thinks conducting a survey with obvious results is a lame excuse to spit out a press release raise your hand.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 100!

GoDaddy Launches Domain Club

It looks like last week the folks over at GoDaddy launched a new domain club for folks that purchase a lot of domains. Now if you find yourself in this boat – good news for you, they are offering a ton of services with this deal. For around $90 a year or so – you get:

• Cheap Domain Names! Yes, Very Cheap!
• Free Domain Parking – With Ads! (so you can rake in some of the green stuff)
• Free Membership to GoDaddy’s Domain Auction Service!
• Discounted Domain Buy Service – Stalk the domains you really want cheaper!

So is this a deal or steal? Well, I would have to say if you find yourself buying a lot of GoDaddy domains through the year, this service is for you. For those of you who maybe purchase one or two and that is it? This might not be your cup of domain name tea.

RegisterFly About to Get Swatted Down

Speaking of domain names, the folks at RegisterFly are about to get swatted down themselves. Here is some inside information I found at the DomainTools.com Blog.

RegisterFly is in chaos right now. We are hearing reports that private registration in the whois, which consumers thought protected them, may do the opposite. Private registrations shields the identity of who owns the domain, which means the only company that can help you if something goes wrong is your registrar.

With this on top of their recent issues with ICANN – can RegisterFly survive? I have a feeling they are heading straight for that big bug zapper in the sky, but I guess time will tell with this one. I just feel sorry for their customers who are the ones being hit hardest with the proverbial fly swatter.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 97!

Now which domain names are on the cutting block? Well it mainly has to do with eliminating domain names that are associated with countries that no longer exist. ICANN currently controls 265 domain name extensions, so as you can image – they are a little over due for a house cleaning.

The corporation says the Soviet Union’s .su is on the top of the list for deletion and the former Yugoslav republic’s .yu is also being taken into consideration. Some domain names that have already become obsolete include Great Britain’s .gb, which has been replaced by .uk, East Germany’s .dd and Zaire’s .zr after the country became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Personally I think they could do away with .mobi as well for mobile devices. Nobody from ICANN or anywhere else has been able to answer my question about it. If you want to make a domain name extension that is easy to type in via a mobile device, why make it four characters long?

Typing those one or two extra characters just seems a little silly and it is not making my mobile experience any better.

+ Check Out the Podcast This Was From! Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Podcast 88!