Lock Would Have Saved CheckFree.com — Fabulous’ Executive
Service prevents nameserver changes without multiple levels of confirmation.
In light of the CheckFree.com nameserver “theft” the prior week, I opined that registrars must offer added security for notable domain names. Specifically, notable domain names ought to require more than just a username and password in order to change the nameservers.
It turns out at least one registrar has an official product offering to do just that: Fabulous offers Executive Lock. The product’s official description reads:
An Executive Lock adds another level of protection to a domain name.
The Executive lock effectively freezes a domain’s registry settings, and can only be removed by Fabulous management following any special conditions specified by the client have been fulfilled.
A domain name under Executive lock cannot:
* Be transferred out to another Registrar
* Be pushed to another Fabulous account
* Have changes to its Nameserver settings
* Have the Registrar-Lock status removedNOTE: Renewals and WHOIS contact updates will continue as normal.
If CheckFree.com used a service like this it would have been much more difficult for its nameserver settings to be hijacked.
Other registrars may offer similar services, but they aren’t promoted. I’ve heard that Register.com has a similar service but that it’s typically used in the case of a legal dispute.
Either way, any domain used for a major site, such as a Fortune 500 firm or a transaction-processing site, ought to have a safeguard like this in place. Fabulous’ service is free, but owners of notable domain names ought to be willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a service like this.
