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Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

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Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#51

Post by acidburnNSA »

js2 wrote: post #15
rickydroll wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it time to change registrars already? I fled Gandi a while ago because of private equity fuckery. And now I need to go somewhere else. Who won't adopt enshitification-as-a-business-plan for a few years? No wonder people are leaving tech to go be goat farmers.

> Who won't adopt enshitification-as-a-business-plan for a few years? I don't have a crystal ball, but NearlyFreeSpeech was recommended to me in 2010 and I've been using it since 2012. I don't think it's changed at all in that time. https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/services/domains https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/services/respect

Their FAQ says they use Public Domain Registry to actually buy the domains. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of The Endurance International Group, who is owned by Clearlake Capital, a PE firm! So while it may shield you a bit, if you're moving from namecheap just to avoid PE then that may not be the most obvious choice.

https://faq.nearlyfreespeech.net/q/difftos

https://publicdomainregistry.com/about-us/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearlake_Capital

Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#53

Post by n8n_and_coffee »

This is disheartening to hear. This year I began slowly switching my domains to NameCheap from Godaddy before renewal because of the huge difference in price plus the added NameCheap free stuff Godaddy charges extra for. I guess there's a reason NameCheap is cheap :(

Was your domain in 'locked' status, preventing transfers etc?

Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#55

Post by Adachi91 »

I moved from Namecheap 2 years ago when I had auto renew on but it did not auto-renew, which their system automatically turns your domain into an advertisement hell page. Transfer system was locked and I contacted them and told them to transfer it to my other registrar or I would file an ICANN complaint. I moved it to my main registrar (Hover) which while more expensive I haven't a problem with them in the decades I've been with them. My original registrar shutdown sometime in the mid 2000s and Hover picked up my domains, so I'm all in over there now.

Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#56

Post by system2 »

blcArmadillo wrote: post #31
Thrashed wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did have domain privacy enabled. NC allows people to initiate a password reset via username, email address, or domain name. I was a happy customer right up until this incident. And I certainly agree that due diligence is a must for something as critical as a registrar.

Did you have 2FA enabled too?

Password reset would bypass 2fa.

Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#57

Post by mook »

OutOfHere wrote: post #46

It was not declared whether 2FA was enabled on the account or not. I will assume that it wasn't enabled.

Hmm, I don't know the area well; why would 2FA have been relevant here? From the (unverified) story, the account was administratively handed over via support; there was no indication from any party that the account was hacked. So 2FA prompts would never be part of the picture.

Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#58

Post by system2 »

n8n_and_coffee wrote: post #53

This is disheartening to hear. This year I began slowly switching my domains to NameCheap from Godaddy before renewal because of the huge difference in price plus the added NameCheap free stuff Godaddy charges extra for. I guess there's a reason NameCheap is cheap :( Was your domain in 'locked' status, preventing transfers etc?

If the price is your concern, the Cloudflare registration is only $10.

Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#59

Post by AussieWog93 »

pilingual wrote: post #19

Namecheap has been owned by a private equity firm for several months now. It would be nice to have a nonprofit registrar so jumping every few years isn't necessary.

I've been with VentraIP in Australia for a decade now.

They're not necessarily better or worse than any other provider (I'm assuming support is good and local but I've never needed it), but they're based in Melbourne - so if push comes to shove I can physically go over there and speak with them directly.

Same thing with my payment provider, after a Stripe snafu.

Re: Tell HN: Namecheap gave my account to an unverified third party

#60

Post by wrs »

joshuamcginnis wrote: post #41
terribleperson wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...seriously? Where do I jump ship to now?

I like https://www.dynadot.com/ . Good prices and privately owned for 30+ years.

They say they started in 2002, but same here, I've had hundreds of domains on Dynadot since the early 2000s with no problems.
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