The benefits of SFTP
FTP is the primary method used by website owners to upload content to their servers or distribute large amounts of data. FTP is easy to use and generally efficient at doing its job, but no one would claim that it is completely secure. Generally speaking, files you upload to your website are public anyway, so you might not care if someone intercepts an FTP session’s contents.
When dealing with private information, however, it is a good idea to use a secure transfer method. It is also a better practice in general to use something secure so that your transactions and possibly client and user transactions are not available for the world to see. SFTP is a method of transferring data over an SSH channel.
There are SFTP clients available, and many FTP clients also support SFTP. They may even refer to it as SSH, since SFTP stands for SSH File Transfer Protocol. SFTP does require the user to have an SSH account, and some web hosting providers do not allow them, but if yours does, it is an excellent alternative to FTP.
Photo: Wikimedia
Tag: download, files, ftp, sftp, ssh, transfer, upload
Naughty registrars keep ignoring ICANN rules
ICANN has clear policies about domain name transfers. If, for example, a person’s domain has expired but it has not yet been deleted from his current registrar, he has the legitimate right to transfer that domain to another registrar at their discretion. But three major registrars, who shall remain nameless, are notorious for denying customers transfers, often citing security concerns.
ICANN has twice updated this policy to refine and issued a warning to the registrars, but they refuse to comply. If a customer has followed ICANN rules and recently updated their domain contact information, these registrars will say that the activity “looks suspicious” and deny their transfers. They claim they are protecting their clients by denying them their basic rights.
In doing so, of course, they ensure that if the clients want to renew their expired domains, they must stay with them. It is reminiscent of the dial-up wars when AOL would send out mass mailings of their free trial CDs but then make it impossibly difficult to unsubscribe from their services. Regardless of whether some illegal transfers do occur, blocking legitimate ones for the sake of security is both illegal itself and in direct violation of the standards ICANN has established.
Photo: Flickr
Tag: domain names, domains, icann, registrars, transfer
Transferring your domain name
Domain name transfers can be a hassle, but they do no have to be. Whether your are unsatisfied with your current domain registrar or simply found a better deal, there are clear benefits to transferring a domain to a registrar you have researched and have grown to trust. A good registrar will provide a user control panel, email reminders about pending expiration dates, DNS management, and perhaps most importantly, good technical support.
While transferring should be easy, it should not be too easy. You should be weary of a registrar that is willing to transfer your domain without checking your identity. They should also not expect you to pay additional costs outside of the basic registration. Actually in many cases, they will provide incentives in addition to their low cost.
After you have signed up, the company will send you an authorization code. Usually, the code will either be sent to the owner listed in the Whois information or to your current registrar. Either way, you need to make sure that your information is current with both. Also, unless you are changing hosting providers, you need to make sure that the name servers in your new registrar’s control panel point to your current web host. Once the code is processed, you will be on your way to a new registrar.
Photo: SXC
Tag: domain name transfer, domain names, domain registration, top level domains, transfer