Newest KB Articles in Domain names/DNS

Preparing your Domain Name for Transfer to Winhost.com

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 17:37:17 GMT

Before you initiate your domain transfer to Winhost.com you will need to prepare your domain for transfer with your current registrar and obtain EPP code which is also called Authorization Code, Transfer Code, or Auth-Code. You will need to contact your current registrar of your domain to obtain the instructions for preparing your domain for transferring away to another registrar. Please find the links to the instructions for some major domain name registrar below:

Domain name contact information changes

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:34:17 GMT

On December 1st, 2016, new ICANN rules go into effect that change the way some domain contact information changes are processed.

What has changed

The policy that has changed is the Transfer Policy. Previously the policy only covered domain transfers between registrars. So, for example, if you transferred a domain from GoDaddy to Namecheap, the policy would come in to play and start what is called the "trade process," and the necessary confirmation and approval emails would be sent.

The new Transfer Policy now includes the process of changing "ownership" information. Which means that in addition to a domain transfers between registrars, now any change to the FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS or ORGANIZATION of the domain registrant (domain owner) will start the "trade process," even if the domain is not being transferred.

How to avoid problems or delays that could be caused by this change

Take a few minutes now to make sure your registrant (domain owner) information is up to date, especially the email address.
When you change the FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS or ORGANIZATION for the registrant (domain owner), but are NOT transferring ownership to another person, make sure you approve the change by clicking the link in BOTH emails that you receive.
Additionally, you can avoid any problems or potential delays by granting OpenSRS (our domain registrar) "Designated Agent" status (see below), which gives OpenSRS the right to automatically approve Change of Registrant updates for you. This option will be available on the confirmation page that is linked to in the change approval email(s).

More about how the process works

Any changes to FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS or ORGANIZATION fields for the owner of any gTLD domain name will now start the trade process. Country code, or ccTLD domains such as .uk, .tv, .co, etc. are not affected by this change.
The process involves obtaining explicit confirmation from current and new registrants before a change can be completed. If both confirmations are not received within 7 days, the change will fail and the whois will revert back to the previous registrant info. Similarly, if the new registrant approves the request but the old registrant denies the request, the whois will revert back to the previous registrant info.
If you submit a second change of registrant request when one is currently pending, the first request will be canceled.
After a change of registrant has been completed, previous and new registrant will receive a confirmation notice informing them that the change has completed.
After a change of registrant has been completed, the domain is by default locked for transfers to a new registrar for 60 days.

Note that while the "current" and "new" registrant may be the same person, the "trade process" remains the same, meaning two emails are sent, one to the "current" registrant and one to the "new" registrant - even though they are the same person - and both of those emails have to be acknowledged by clicking a link in the email.

See the image below for a flow chart detailing the complete process.

60 day transfer lock

By default any registrant (domain owner) FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS or ORGANIZATION change will impose a 60 day transfer lock on the domain. The registrant (domain owner) can opt out of the 60 day lock on the confirmation page that is linked to in the change confirmation email(s).

If you intend to transfer a domain and change the registrant at the same time, we recommend transferring the domain first, and then the change the registrant. If you change the registrant first, the domain will be locked (if you don't opt-out) and the transfer will fail.

Note that the opt-out of 60 day transfer lock option is only available on the change confirmation page. That means if a registrant (domain owner) has made OpenSRS the "Designated Agent," they will not have the option to opt-out of the 60 day transfer lock (since the change is automatically approved and the registrant never sees the confirmation page).

Designated Agent

"Designated Agent" status gives OpenSRS the right to automatically approve Change of Registrant updates for you. You can contact us to enable Designated Agent status for a domain, or the option is available on the confirmation page that is linked to in the change approval email(s).

The Designated Agent status is applied to the specific FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS and ORGANIZATION combination in the registrant (domain owner) contact. The Designated Agent setting will then apply to all existing or future domains that share that unique combination as a current or new registrant.

All newly registered domains and domains transferred to us from another registrar will automatically give "Designated Agent" status to OpenSRS. If you would like that status changed, please let us know. Also, any domain using Whois Privacy service will automatically give "Designated Agent" status to OpenSRS.

Domain registration agreement

There is a new Domain Registration Agreement in place covering this updated Transfer Policy. Please read it, as it replaces any previous domain registration agreements.

How to update DNS zone records

Wed, 22 Jul 2015 20:34:43 GMT

If your domain name is using Winhost's DNS servers, you are afforded the ability to modify the Zone file of your domain name.

Log in to Control Panel and click the Domains tab.
In the DNS column click the Manage link.
This will take you to your zone file.

The records you can modify in your domain zone file are:

A Records
CName
MX Records
TXT Records
SRV (Service Record)

Service Record Manager

A SRV record is a specification of data in a DNS system defining the location of a hostname and port number and etc of servers for a specific service.

In order to add a SRV record to the DNS record you will need the following information for each record you wish to create.

Service
Priority
Weight
Port
Target Server
TTL (Default is 3600, set in seconds)

For example:

The (1)Service _sip._tcp.domain.com where domain.com is the domain that we host.

The (2)Priority value is for the intended target host. The lower the value, the more preferred.

The (3)Weight value is used when you have multiple SRV records for the same domain, a higher value here is proportionally better for records of the same priority.

The (4)Port value determines on which port the service will listen.

The (5)Target value is the CNAME of the host providing the service.

The (6)TTL value is a standard DNS Time To Live.

To reset your zone file to the default state, click the Reset button (all custom zone record entries will be deleted). Resetting DNS will remove any DNS customization that you have done. You may wish to make note of your current DNS settings before using the reset tool. A DNS reset is not reversible!

Keywords: nameserver nameservers

Domain registrant validation

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 23:41:03 GMT

The domain registry authority ICANN has introduced a policy requiring that domain owners validate the WHOIS information after registering, transferring or modifying information for a domain.

Failure to complete the validation process will lead to the suspension of your domain name. So you should complete the validation process as soon as you receive the email notice.

You will receive this notice when you:

Register a new domain
Complete a domain transfer to us
Change the first name, last name or email address of the domain owner

You will also receive this notice if:

A WHOIS Data Reminder Policy email bounces (this email is sent 120 days before the anniversary date of the domain registration)
The 30 day or 5 day domain expiration notice emails bounce (this email is sent to the domain owner)

If your domain name was suspended and you meet any of the above criteria, please check for the validation email at the email address associated with your domain (don't forget to check the spam folder).

If you suspect your domain was suspended because you meet any of the above criteria but you cannot find a verification email, make sure you are checking the email address associated with your domain. If you still cannot find the validation email, please contact support and we can help troubleshoot and resend the email to you if necessary.

You can read more about the ICANN validation requirement here.

How to recover an expired domain

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:42:13 GMT

Click here to see the timeline for domain expiration.

Grace Period
During the Grace Period you can renew your domain through the Winhost Control Panel.

Redemption Period

NOTE: If the domain name goes into the Redemption Period, it is possible that you can lose the domain.

If the domain is in the Redemption Period, you will not be able to renew the domain through the Winhost Control Panel. You must contact the billing department to see if it is possible to renew the domain.

If the domain is still available for renewal, then you can renew the domain, but there is an additional fee to recover your domain when it is in the redemption period. This fee is imposed by the registrar, not by Winhost.

Post-Redemption Period
It is not possible to renew domains that are past the Redemption Period. You can try (a) to see if the domain is on auction and bid on the domain, or you can (b) monitor if the domain is released to the public and register it then. There is no guarantee that you will be able to reacquire the domain name.

How to change the domain name for a site

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:04:59 GMT

To change the domain name of a site, first log into the Winhost Control Panel, click Sites1 and then the applicable domain name2.

Then in the Site Info pane, click the Change Domain link.

And finally enter the new domain into the field provided.

If the following error is returned, the domain is already being used for another site or domain pointer.

If the domain is already being used for another site, it would need to be changed first. Follow the steps above to change that domain where the site account is using the domain name. If set as a domain pointer on any other Winhost accounts, make sure to delete the domain pointer first.

If Sitelock or SpamExperts services have been ordered for the domain being changed, note the services may have to be re-ordered with the new domain.

How to obtain an authorization/EPP code for a domain registered through Winhost

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:50:19 GMT

This article only applies to domain names registered through Winhost. If you registered your domain name through another registrar, you will have to contact that registrar and request the authorization code.

To generate the Authorization/EPP code for the domain name registered through Winhost:

Log in to the Winhost Control Panel and go to the Domain List page.
Click Unlock. This will take you to the 'Unlock Domain' page. Click the "Unlock" button to unlock your domain and generate the Authorization/EPP code.

Note: If you registered the domain name through us and have Whois Privacy enabled, you will need disable Whois Privacy before initiating a registrar transfer. You can disable Whois Privacy in the Domains Manager section of Control Panel. Click "View/Edit" under the Whois Record column.

Whois Privacy

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:26:11 GMT

When you register a domain name you provide contact information that becomes publicly available in the domain "whois" database. Whois Privacy sets the publicly available information for your domain name to generic information provided by the registrar (in our case the registrar is OpenSRS). The Whois Privacy option prevents your address, phone number, email, etc. from being publicly available. So it protects you from spammers and scammers who scrape the whois database.

Whois Privacy can be ordered when a domain is initially registered, or upon domain renewal. We can also provide Whois Privacy service for domains that are transferred to us (with the exception of the .pro extension, which does not support Whois Privacy).

Domain pointer service

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:55:50 GMT

The Domain Pointer Service allows you to point additional domain names to your website.

Important Notes

The Domain Pointer Service will point additional domain name(s) to the root of your primary hosted domain.
Domain pointers do not include email accounts. However, email aliases for domain pointers are available. Please refer to this Knowledge Base article.
We do not point additional domains to subdirectories.
To point a domain pointer to a subdirectory, you will need to use a redirect script. Please review this Knowledge Base article for an example of redirect code.
Adding a domain pointer does not register the domain.
If your domain is registered with an external registrar, the name servers or DNS records may need to be updated.

Winhost Name Servers

If required, use the following name servers:

ns1.winhost.com
ns2.winhost.com
ns3.winhost.com

How to Enable the Domain Pointer Service

Log in to your hosting Control Panel.
Click the Sites tab.
Click the domain link for the specific site.
In the Site Info Manager, click the Domain Pointer button.
Enter the domain name you want to add as a domain pointer.
(Optional) Enable email aliases for the domain on this page if needed.

The difference between a DNS update and a domain transfer

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:26:04 GMT

If you open a new Winhost account (or create a site in an existing account) using a domain name that you already own, you will either have to perform an update to the domain's DNS record to "point" the domain to your Winhost site, or transfer the domain to Winhost. If you're happy with your current domain registrar all you have to do is a DNS update to direct the domain's traffic to your site here at Winhost. If you want to transfer your domain registration to Winhost (meaning you'll pay for and manage the domain through your Winhost account), you'll want to do a domain transfer.

DNS update

When you update the name servers for your domain name you are instructing the DNS servers on the internet to point the traffic for your domain name to our name servers, which are:

ns1.winhost.com
ns2.winhost.com
ns3.winhost.com (if necessary)

Your domain registrar should provide a web interface where the name servers for your domain can be updated. Our Knowledge Base contains updating instructions for some of the popular domain registrars.

Your current domain registrar will still manage your domain, so you will continue to pay them for your domain renewal fees.

Domain transfer

A domain transfer takes place when you transfer your domain from one registrar to another (e.g., from GoDaddy to Namecheap). The new registrar takes over management and billing for your domain.

If you wish to move your domain registration to Winhost, you can initiate a registrar transfer request in your Winhost Control Panel.

Keywords: nameserver nameservers